Cisco Enters Portable Data Centre Market with Containerized Data Centres

Strategic Insights -

Cisco Systems, the networking giant, has extended its Unified Computing System (UCS) into the portable container data centre market. The UCS network-centric data centre infrastructure allows partners such as EMC, BMC, NetApp, VMware, and Intel to provide components that Cisco does not make. By offering containerized data centres, Cisco aims to expand its market reach and provide customers with a quick and easy way to deploy data centre capabilities.

Key Takeaways:

  • Cisco Systems has entered the portable data centre market with the introduction of the Cisco Containerized Data Center.
  • The Cisco Containerized Data Center is based on the company's Unified Computing System (UCS) and allows partners to provide components that Cisco does not make.
  • Containerized data centres come in standard 40-by-8-feet and 20-by-8-feet shipping containers for transport on ships and trucks.
  • All necessary servers, storage, and networking equipment are crammed into these containers, requiring only electrical power and cooling-fluid sources on location.
  • Cisco plans to rely on key partner-vendors to fulfill orders, including companies that compete directly in the space.
  • Partners such as EMC, BMC, NetApp, VMware, and Intel will work with Cisco to provide components for the containerized data centres.
  • Portable data centres are generally deployed for work done by military, science, and high-performance enterprises, and are often used in harsh environments such as the Middle East and oil and gas exploration locations.

Statistics:

  • 40-by-8-feet and 20-by-8-feet are the standard shipping container sizes for the Cisco Containerized Data Center.
  • 5 companies (EMC, BMC, NetApp, VMware, and Intel) have been authorized by Cisco to provide components for the UCS.
  • 4 major players (HP, Oracle Sun, IBM, and Dell-Microsoft) have been competing in the portable data centre market for the last few years.
  • 3 main types of users for portable data centres are military, science, and high-performance enterprises.

Sources:

  • "Cisco Containerized Data Center" data sheet, available for download on the Cisco corporate site.
  • eWEEK, "Cisco Enters Portable Data Centre Market" (12 March, no author given).
  • Contify.com, "Cisco Systems Enters Portable Data Centre Market with Containerized Data Centres".