Ask the Expert: Utilizing Cisco UCS Director to Manage Your Integrated Infrastructure

[ciscomoderator]

Welcome to this Cisco Support Community Ask the Expert conversation. This is an opportunity to learn and ask questions about utilizing Cisco Unified Computing System Director to manage your integrated infrastructure (for example, Vblock, VSPEX, or FlexPod) with Cisco subject matter expert Mike Bollman.

Cisco UCS Director is critical to increasing efficiency as it delivers unified converged infrastructure management for administering computing, network, virtualization, and storage from one self-service web interface. 

For more information, visit www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/servers-unified-computing/ucs-director/index.html.

Mike Bollman is a product marketing manager for Cisco UCS Director. His work involves helping customers and partners understand the value of deploying an overarching software management solution such as Cisco UCS Director to manage an entire data center infrastructure from a single interface. This includes heterogeneous data center environments that span multiple geographies.

Remember to use the rating system to let Mike know if you have received an adequate response.

Because of the volume expected during this event, Mike might not be able to answer every question. Remember that you can continue the conversation in the Data Center Community, under the subcommunity Unified Computing, shortly after the event. This event lasts through July 18, 2014. Visit this forum often to view responses to your questions and the questions of other Cisco Support Community members.

[Walter Dey]

Where can we find the interop guide for V5 ?

http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/servers-unified-computing/ucs-director/products-technical-reference-list.html

Walter.

PS. I find the name UCS Director very misleading; historically yes, but now, it works as well in non UCS environment, and therefore causes alot of misunderstandings.

[mibollma]

That is the correct link.  The Compatibility Matrix for UCS Director 5.0 will be made available when the 5.0 release is generally available around late summer / early fall time frame.

Regarding the UCS Director name, the focus of Cisco UCS Director is in managing both physical and virtual infrastructure resources – across compute, network, and storage – for Cisco UCS-based integrated infrastructure as well as heterogeneous environments.

One benefit from the use of the UCS name is to leverage the growing brand recognition of UCS.  UCS is currently one of the primary growth engines for all of Cisco, and UCS Director is a key element of our UCS management strategy.  The UCS Manager / Central / Director product family has a natural hierarchy (e.g. Manager controls a UCS domain, Central manages multiple domains, Director manages UCS-based integrated infrastructure including FlexPod, Vblock, and VSPEX).

[AnilaZafar]

Hi, Sir!

can you please teach me about UCS? means that where and how can i use it? and whats its configuration? and also please hightlight your answer regarding gns3. means that how can i use it in gns3 topology? please explain me with the help of any toplogy and its configuration.

Thank you Sir!

[mibollma]

Hi Anila,

I'm unfamiliar with a gns3 topology.  Can you provide a further explaination?

Thank you

[AnilaZafar]

Ok sir here is a link,

http://www.gns3.net/documentation/gns3/introduction-to-gns3/

i hope you will understand about GNS3.

[rramlal]

Hi Mike,

My query are what are the options to transfer data from an external storage device to a storage array that is connected to the UCS 5108 with B200 blades. There are no USB ports. I am not familiar with the storage side so I am seeking assistance with this. The data is large at a size of 4TB. The virtual machines configured using Vmware.

[mibollma]

Test

[tenaro.gusatu.novici]

Hi Mike,

thanks for giving us opportunity to discuss such a great topic. I consider myself a flexpod admin and even if I know quite a lot about UCS-M, DCNM, OnCommand System Manager and vCenter but I can't say I understand what is UCS Director about. Only info I received long time ago, when it was still Cloupia is that it should replace all previously mentioned components and allow centralized provisioning for complete flexpod environment. So, before going into any details about UCS Director, can you please confirm if that previous statement is true (centralized provisioning management tools for complete flexpod or vblock). I'm also good with answers like: we are not yet there but going into that direction, UCS Director can completely replace all mentioned components, UCS Director works together with all mentioned components and is not trying to replace them, UCS Director doesn't have anything to do with mentioned components.

Thank you,

Tenaro

[mibollma]

Hi Tenaro,

Yes you are correct - UCS does provide centrilized provisioning for the complete Flexpod environment but it also does much more.  Cisco UCS Director is unique in the industry because it offers the ability to manage virtual and physical infrastructure and virtualization resources from a single self-service web portal. Cisco UCS Director operationally integrates the data center infrastructure stack, bare metal and virtual, to address the time consuming, manual, and complex processes that have burdened IT organizations.

Cisco UCS Director extends the unification of computing and network layers through Cisco UCS to provide data center administrators with comprehensive visibility and management capability.  It support FlexPod, Vblock, VSPEX converged infrastructures as well as other heterogeneous 3rd party infrastructures.

I hope that helps.