SAN JOSE and SUNNYVALE, Calif.-May
17, 2011-Cisco and NetApp (NASDAQ: NTAP) today announced
that more than 150 customers have implemented joint data center
solutions based on the FlexPod™ design architecture. Cisco
and NetApp®'s FlexPod is a pretested architectural design
guide that combines networking, computing and storage in a shared
infrastructure, and supports multiple applications and workloads to
help channel partners accelerate and simplify their customers'
transition to the cloud. Last November, Cisco and NetApp introduced
the first FlexPod solution with VMware, now available through 120
qualified channel partners worldwide. Today, Cisco and NetApp are
announcing a new additional design guide for FlexPod that supports
SAP applications in the cloud.
Key Facts
- FlexPod is a design architecture with combined networking,
computing, and storage infrastructure. The flexible, scalable
shared infrastructure is pretested to help channel partners and
customers lower deployment risk, increase data center efficiencies,
and create a flexible information technology (IT) environment to
build a private cloud.
- FlexPod is built on the Cisco Unified Computing System™
server platform, Cisco Nexus switches, and NetApp unified storage
systems running Data ONTAP®.
- More than 150 customers, including
Dominion, Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc., and Radiant
Communications, have deployed FlexPod and received benefits such
as:
- A shared infrastructure that scales to meet the changing
requirements of growing data centers without disruption or the need
to make architectural changes in the future;
- Integrated networking, computing and storage components that
can be centrally managed. These components are optimized for a
virtual data center environments and enable central management of
an entire infrastructure (storage, compute, network, and
hypervisor);
- An open design management framework that integrates with
existing third-party infrastructure management solutions from
vendors including SAP and VMware.
- Today, Cisco and NetApp released new design guides that use the
FlexPod design architecture in support of SAP applications.
- The design consists of SAP solution-based landscapes validated
on the FlexPod shared IT infrastructure that help customers
minimize application downtime to accelerate the deployment of SAP
solutions in a virtualized environment.
- The design allows customers to transition their existing or new
SAP applications to a dynamic and flexible cloud-enabled
environment.
- The FlexPod solution for use with SAP applications can support
both virtual and physical configurations and scales up or down as
required.
- For added security, customers can isolate different development
or maintenance environments, or manage different production
environments for SAP applications through the Cisco, NetApp and
VMware Secure Multi-tenancy (SMT) Design Architecture design
guide.
- Cisco, NetApp, and VMware have built a new Unified Support Lab
where support engineers can reproduce customer environments,
diagnose issues, and rapidly resolve customer cases. This further
strengthens the global 24-hour cooperative support model that
Cisco, NetApp, and VMware developed to offer customers a
streamlined response to identify and solve potential issues related
to the FlexPod for VMware and Secure Multi-tenancy architecture
designs.
QUOTES
- Rockwell Bonecutter, Global Alliance Channel Lead,
Accenture
"We are seeing strong interest in flexible, secure, scalable, and
highly functional IT infrastructure solutions that help companies
optimize their SAP applications to achieve greater efficiencies and
reduce costs."
- Bert Odinet, Vice President and Chief Information
Officer at Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc.
"As a global natural resources company, the latest economic
downturn provided us with a unique opportunity to focus on business
process transformation in preparation for the eventual recovery in
our business. We turned to SAP, Accenture, and NetApp to help us
create a strong and flexible application platform better aligned to
our evolving business requirements. There were crucial differences
in the capabilities of the innovative stack approach they offered
with their other partners that couldn't be matched by alternative
solutions we evaluated. As a result, we were able to reduce program
risk, provide infrastructure scalability, and create a lower-cost
operating model-all of this while accelerating a significant
business process transformation program."
- Jason Leeson, Vice President, Advanced Hosting at
Radiant Communications
"As one of the largest independent business-to-business Internet
service providers in Canada, we needed to expand our cloud hosting
business with an additional data center and were looking to improve
our services. Using Cisco and NetApp FlexPod for VMware®, we
now have a flexible and efficient shared IT infrastructure that
scales easily and quickly, allowing us to deploy highly secure,
multi-tenant cloud-based services on demand."
- Kevin Ichhpurani, Senior Vice President, Business
Development and Strategic Alliances, SAP
"FlexPod, now available in support of SAP applications, brings the
power of the Cisco and NetApp FlexPod solution to our customers,
providing them with a proven, flexible IT infrastructure that
enables them to build secure private clouds. Organizations can now
scale SAP solution-based landscapes on demand, helping them be
ready for the future and capitalize on new growth
opportunities."
SUPPORTING RESOURCES
About Cisco
Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO), is the worldwide leader in networking that
transforms how people connect, communicate and collaborate.
Information about Cisco can be found at www.cisco.com. For ongoing news, please
go to newsroom.cisco.com.
About NetApp
NetApp creates innovative storage and data management solutions
that accelerate business breakthroughs and achieve outstanding cost
efficiency. Discover our passion for helping companies around the
world go further, faster at www.netapp.com.
Cisco and the Cisco logo are trademarks or
registered trademarks of Cisco and/or its affiliates in the U.S.
and other countries. NetApp, the NetApp logo, Go further, faster,
Data ONTAP, and FlexPod are trademarks or registered trademarks of
NetApp, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. VMware is
a registered trademark and/or trademark of VMware, Inc. in the
United States and/or other jurisdictions. The word "partner" or
"partnership" does not imply a legal partnership relationship
between Cisco, NetApp, VMware, and any other company. All other
brands or products are trademarks or registered trademarks of their
respective holders and should be treated as such.
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Statement
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