The Cisco Unified Computing System (UCS) is an (x86) architecture data center server platform composed of computing hardware,

virtualization support, switching fabric, and management [1] software introduced in 2009. The idea behind the system is to reduce total cost of ownership and improve scalability by integrating the different components into a cohesive platform that can be managed as a single unit. Just-In-Time deployment of resources and 1:N redundancy can be configured with UCS [2] systems.
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1 Computing 2 Virtualization 3 Networking 4 Management 5 Stateless Computing 6 References 7 External links

Computing[edit]

Cisco UCS blade servers

The computing component of the UCS is available in two versions; the B-Series (a modular package consisting of a powered chassis and full and/or half slot blade servers), and the C-series rackmount servers (that can be used with or without Fabric Interconnects). The compute hardware managed by the UCS Manager software on the Fabric Interconnects can be B-Series (blades), C-Series (rackmount) or a combination of the two. Both form factors utilize the same standard components seen throughout the industry, including Intel Nehalem / Sandy Bridge processors and DIMM memory. The servers are distinctive for supporting Converged Network Adapters (CNAs), Port Virtualization, and in some models the Catalina chipset (ASICs) that expand the number of memory sockets than can be connected to a single memory bus, allowing for instance 1TB with 64 RDIMM sockets on a dual Xeon E7-2800 board.

Virtualization[edit]

Cisco UCS supports several hypervisors including VMware ESX, ESXi, Microsoft Hyper-V, Citrix XenServer and others. VMware Virtualization is provided through a partnership with VMware and uses a version of that company's ESXi. Unlike the VMware Workstation software, ESX and ESXi run directly on the system hardware without the need for any other software (called Bare Metal), and provide the necessary hypervisor functions to host several guest operating systems (such as Windowsor Linux) on the physical server. Guest operating systems are limited to 255 gigabytes of vRAM and 8 virtual processors for vSphere 4.x and has been upgraded to 1TB of vRAM and 32 vCPUs in vSphere 5.0. Additionally the Cisco UCS Virtual Interface Cards incorporate VM-FEX technology that associates Virtual Machines direct access to the hardware for improved performance and network visibility.

Networking[edit]