Solving Your Data Center’s Cable Addiction

Which of these best describes your data center:

A) Rows of neatly bundled cables all running in an ordered direction

Cable Image A
Credit: Cisco

B) A hodgepodge of wires and cables going every which way


Credit: TechEBlog

Getting to option “A” would be great, but it can take time and also carry a heavy price tag. However, there is a choice “C.”

C) An agile and powerful data center with three-quarters fewer cables and reduced infrastructure costs

Cable Image C
Credit: Cisco

That’s the advantage of Unified Computing System (UCS) from Cisco. Consider a typical data center set up. Each server you add can require:

  • Two 10G Links for data
  • Two 8G HBAs for storage
  • A Management link
  • A KVM link
  • KVM port
  • Managed PDU Port
  • Two 10 Ethernet ports
  • Two 1 G Ethernet ports
  • Two 8G FC storage ports

You may also have to add a server to a Managed PDU so you can power it on and off. You’ll also need some way of tracking what port the server is on or else you run the risk of accidentally powering off the wrong server. If you want to manage the server remotely, you’ll need to add it to a KVM and once again be sure you’re keeping track of the port.

That’s a lot of cables. If the cabling is anything less than a sight to behold, then it only adds to the already complex work of managing and configuring your data center.

In a UCS-powered data center, the Fabric Interconnect (FI) is wired once and then each chassis gets between four to eight cables to the FI. Each rack mount server runs only two cables to the FI. Configuration, monitoring, KVM and power are all controlled by the UCS Manager which lives on the FI and is backed by Cisco High Availability technology, so you’ll have uninterrupted access to your apps, data, and more from anywhere. And the price tag is comparable to a traditional set up.

Let’s take a closer look at some of the other savings:

  • an 86% reduction in provisioning time
  • a 74% reduction of ongoing management costs
  • a 53% reduction of power and cooling costs

To learn more about this and other cutting edge solutions for your data center, be sure to register for the 2015 Arraya Tech Summit. This free event will be held on June 4th, 2015 at the Sheraton Valley Forge in King of Prussia. It features courses geared specifically toward a tech-savvy audience, presented by Arraya’s renowned team of engineers. Attendees will have the opportunity to participate in deep-level technical discussions that focus on the issues and tools that matter most to today’s IT professionals. The lessons and skills you and your team will walk away with can propel IT to a whole new level, enabling the rest of the business to follow suit.

Or for more information now, reach out to your Arraya Account Executive or visit us at www.ArrayaSolutions.com. You can also stay in touch with us by following Arraya on Twitter @ArrayaSolutions.

Arraya Insights