SAN-Optimized FlexPod with NetApp ASA

In the pursuit of excellence in data center operation, the efficiency and performance of your data center are paramount. Businesses like yours are constantly seeking solutions that offer high performance, application-reliable infrastructure, scalability, and flexibility.  

When you’re looking for infrastructure to support your mission-critical applications, keep in mind that your SAN storage infrastructure is the beating heart of your data center. It’s where your critical applications live—and it must be fast, reliable, and ready to scale.  

Enter the SAN-optimized FlexPod® platform with NetApp® ASA all-flash SAN arrays, a tested and validated SAN reference architecture. This solution is not just keeping pace with the demands of modern applications, it’s setting a whole new standard for excellence. 

FlexPod is a data center infrastructure that was developed in a partnership between Cisco and NetApp. It’s a prevalidated architecture that combines networking, computing, and storage best practices into a single reference architecture. The key components of SAN-optimized FlexPod include Cisco Unified Computing System (Cisco UCS) Servers, Cisco Nexus switches, and NetApp ASA all-flash SAN storage systems. 

 The FlexPod design emphasizes flexibility and scalability, so your organization can tailor the system to your unique needs. Whether you’re a small business or a large enterprise, FlexPod can scale to meet your demands. 

What distinguishes SAN-optimized FlexPod is the peace of mind that comes with its comprehensive prevalidation and testing. Think of it as a seal of approval for your data center’s infrastructure. With more than 240 full-stack reference architectures, FlexPod has been put through its paces across a range of scenarios. So, no matter what your workload is, there’s a proven blueprint for success.

Downtime isn’t just a nuisance—it’s a business nightmare. That’s where the reliability of SAN-optimized FlexPod shines. With the NetApp Six Nines Data Availability Guarantee, you can trust that your data will be accessible whenever you need it, keeping your mission-critical applications up and running around the clock. 

 Resilience is at the foundation of FlexPod. The FlexPod architecture is designed to withstand the unexpected, keeping your data available and your applications running. The combined strength of Cisco Unified Computing System and NetApp ASA all-flash SAN array reliability results in a solution that’s resilient by design, offering a robust platform for your most demanding workloads. 

NetApp ASA outshines the competition with industry-leading features such as: 

• End-to-end NVMe. NetApp ASA systems use NVMe technology across the entire data path to deliver ultralow latency and massive throughput, enhancing your application performance. 
• Flexible SAN storage integration. ASA systems support a variety of SAN protocols, including NVMe/FC, traditional FC, and iSCSI, enabling seamless integration into your existing network fabrics. 
• 4:1 Efficiency Guarantee. ASA systems are designed as simple, high-performance SAN storage for your mission-critical applications, databases, and VMware Infrastructure. They come standard with an industry-leading effective capacity through a combination of high-capacity raw-to-usable conversion. 
• Data protection and security. With NetApp ASA, your organization gets robust data protection and security with features such as NetApp Snapshot™, MetroCluster®, and SnapMirror® technologies, keeping your data secure and recoverable. 
• Scalability and nondisruptive operations. The FlexPod stack with NetApp ASA arrays is designed to scale storage and compute independently, so you can meet your organization’s needs without disrupting ongoing operations and with only minimal impact on business continuity.
• Hybrid cloud readiness. FlexPod and NetApp ASA systems are cloud-ready, offering simple and secure data mobility between your on-premises environment and public clouds, facilitating a flexible hybrid cloud strategy. 
• Six nines (99.9999%) availability. NetApp ASA systems come with a Six Nines Data Availability Guarantee, emphasizing their reliability for mission-critical applications. 
• Ransomware Recovery Guarantee. ASA systems are equipped with advanced security features to protect your organization against ransomware and other cyberthreats, backed by the NetApp Ransomware Recovery Guarantee. 

To get started, find out more about FlexPod and NetApp ASA systems: 

• FlexPod.com 
• Cisco FlexPod Design Guides 
• FlexPod Validated Designs  
• NetApp ASA all-flash SAN array