Highlights:

  • One of the fundamentals of the latest FlexPod XCS is seamless integration with Cisco’s core Intersight cloud operations management platform.
  • Clients today can view and manage all the FlexPod components through a single window on the Intersight dashboard.

Cisco and NetApp have updated their converged-infrastructure platform, FlexPod, to manage hybrid cloud services.

Both NetApp and Cisco have been developing FlexPod since 2010 with approximately 10,000 customers. The vendors say FlexPod includes Cisco UCS servers, networking gear, and NetApp ONTAP storage components delivered as on-premises or edge converged-infrastructure packages.

Talking about enhancements, Siva Sivakumar, senior director for Computing System Platforms Group at Cisco, said in a blog, “Clients today are in between the process of a significant shift to modernize and centralize their infrastructure and operations.”

“Customers are evaluating every tool available to augment their in-house resources and skillsets including automation, observability, and a variety of hybrid-cloud and SaaS services,” he wrote. “The goal is simple: Use whatever is available to supercharge IT productivity and agility to drive better operational results while lowering operational costs.”

This is where the evolution of the FlexPod package – FlexPod XCS is currently going. The FlexPod XCS has been optimized for hybrid clouds and includes enhanced management and automation to back up cloud-native apps.

One of the fundamentals of the latest FlexPod XCS is seamless integration with Cisco’s core Intersight cloud operations management platform that provides visualization, optimization, and orchestration for applications and infrastructure.

Clients today can view and manage all the FlexPod components through a single interface on the Intersight dashboard. According to Sivakumar, the purpose is to help businesses see and reply to changes more quickly and efficiently.

Additionally, with seamless Intersight support, organizations will have FlexPod-specific views that deliver the operational status of their current and new FlexPods, including inventory, health status, alerts, and lifecycle advisories, according to Cisco.

On enriching automation, clients can use Intersight Cloud Orchestrator and NetApp automated scripts to allow configuration, deployment, expansion, and infrastructure consumption and optimization without IT intervention.

FlexPod users can also integrate Cisco Intersight and NetApp ONTAP storage and data services to handle and process data efficiently in the cloud, NetApp quoted.

Moreover, they have launched NetApp as a service for their clients to buy and consume the services per their needs.

Mid 2022 is the expected launch date of evolved FlexPod XCS.