Cisco’s UCS X-Series: What’s New, What’s Different, and Why It’s Considered “Future-Ready”

According to the IDC’s Futurescape: Worldwide IT Industry 2020 Predictions report, there will be an “industry app explosion.” They predict that by 2023 over 500 million digital applications and services will be developed and deployed using cloud-native approaches. Further, by 2024 800% more apps will run in edge locations.  

While these constant changes in technology bring innovation, more efficient processes, and safer environments, these consistent advancements also pose a challenge for organizations. Modern applications can be unpredictable, have different needs, and reside in multiple locations. What may be compatible one day could very well be incompatible the next.  

With Cisco’s UCS X-Series with Intersight, this “future-ready” system is engineered to innovate at the speed of software and evolve with new technology across a hybrid cloud landscape. As a device designed to accommodate the diversity of modern applications, this modular system is managed entirely from the cloud.  

5 Reasons Cisco’s UCS X-Series Modular System Stands Out 

As a solution designed to be both simple and adaptable, all while providing for traditional scale-out and enterprise workloads, the UCS X-Series helps take the complexity out of IT.  

Here’s how:   

  1. A Simplified Data Center 

The UCS X-Series Modular System was designed to simplify the data center into a single unified system which is managed entirely from the cloud. Here you control all apps and your entire infrastructure.  

As the requirements for today’s applications can be unpredictable, you don’t want to be locked into one set of resources. With the UCS X-Series Modular System, you can consolidate into a single platform for better performance, automation, and efficiency.  

Using a single server means the system supports a broader range of workloads, resulting in less products to support, reduced training costs, and increased flexibility. The chassis is free from “parasitic hardware” (switches and management modules that must be purchased, configured, powered, cooled, and maintained) with a midplane-free design so there are no limitations on future interconnect technology.  

A unified fabric interconnects all devices in the system and securely carries all traffic to the fabric interconnects where it can be broken out into IP networking, Fibre Channel SAN, and management connectivity.  

2. Ease of Deployment & Management with Cisco Intersight 

Powered by the Cisco Intersight cloud operations platform, Intersight consists of optional, modular capabilities of advanced infrastructure, workload optimization, and Kubernetes service. As a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) management platform, Intersight has access to both configuration and monitoring capabilities.  

This provides Cisco with the ability to deploy, monitor, manage, and support all physical and virtual infrastructure. This reduces redundant manual tasks and administrative details for you and your employees so you can focus on business outcomes that matter. Cloud-based management keeps everything up to date automatically, with a constant stream of new capabilities. 

3. Modular Networking Components 

A pair of Cisco UCS 9108 Intelligent Fabric Modules carry all network traffic to a pair of Cisco UCS 6400 Series Fabric Interconnects. Each IFM features server ports of up to 200 Gbps of unified fabric connectivity per compute node with two IFMs and uplink ports made up of 8x 25-Gbps SFP28 ports.  

Because of the midplane-free design, upgrades to new networking technology are easily enabled as they become available, as opposed to systems with fixed network and I/O traces on a chassis midplane. This supports a wide range of workloads and is equipped to accommodate future I/O technologies as they emerge.   

4. Computing Capabilities & Storage 

The Cisco UCS X9508 Chassis is designed to house and interconnect a variety of computing and I/O devices to accommodate future additions.   

The Cisco UCS X210c M6 Compute Node features: 

  • CPU: Up to 2x 3rd Gen Intel® Xeon® Scalable Processors with up to 40 cores per processor 
  • Memory: Up to 32x 256 GB DDR4-3200 DIMMs for up to 8 TB of main memory. Configuring up to 16x 512-GB Intel Optane™ persistent memory DIMMs can yield up to 12 TB of memory. 
  • Disk Storage: Up to 6 SAS or SATA drives can be configured with an internal RAID controller, or up to 6 NVMe drives scan be configured with four lanes each of PCIe Gen4 connectivity, and up to 2 M.2 memory cards can be configured with RAID 1 mirroring.  
  • mLOM virtual interface card: The Cisco UCS Virtual Interface Card 14425 can occupy the server’s mLOM slot enabling up to 50 Gbps of unified fabric connectivity to each of the chassis IFMs for 100 Gbps of connectivity per server.  
  • Mezzanine virtual interface card: The optional Cisco UCS Virtual Interface Card 14825 can occupy the server’s mezzanine slot at the bottom of the chassis. This card’s I/O connectors link to Cisco UCS X-Fabric technology that is planned for future I/O expansion. 

This is the first device of the Cisco UCS X-Series Modular System with the capability to integrate  third-party devices, including storage from NetApp, Pure Storage, and Hitachi.  

5. Adaptability & Resilience for the Future  

The UCS X-Series can be considered a long-term investment for users due to its open, modular design that allows for the adoption of new technology, such as future generations of processors, storage, non-volatile memory, accelerators, and interconnects. Users can simply install new modules, as needed, allowing this design to last for years. Now, users can embrace emerging technology without hesitation.  

Due to the unique packaging of the UCS X-Series and its power and cooling systems, higher powered processors and accelerators will be possible in the future, all with continued support from Cisco Intersight.  

Next Steps: Stay Flexible in a Changing World 

A lot has changed and will continue to change. With Cisco’s UCS X-Series, users will have the flexibility they need to adapt, no matter where technology takes them in the future. Our teams have the knowledge and experience necessary to help you determine if this system would be right for you. Reach out to one of our experts today with any questions or to start a conversation.  

Visit https://www.arrayasolutions.com//contact-us/ to connect with our team now.

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