Cisco UCS offers a number of unique competitive advantages:
- Simple architecture: built-in centralized management system, convergence, and universal network components
- High performance: the best of x86 architecture, optimal loading and resource utilization
- Scalability: the best scalability among data center solutions, unique holistic solution design
The Cisco Unified Computing System radically simplifies traditional architecture and significantly reduces the number of devices that need to be purchased, cabled, powered, cooled, secured, and administered. This system provides comprehensive optimization of virtualized environments while maintaining the ability to support traditional operating systems and application stacks in physical environments.
Types of servers and devices
UCS blade servers are the workhorses of modern data centers. The hardware platform makes it easy to handle scalable workloads.
Customers can choose between two server options: half-width and full-size, UCS B200 M5 and B480 M5, respectively.
The servers are installed in a shared UCS 5108 chassis, 6U high. This provides the performance and compute density required to support multi-tier and distributed applications.
| Model | UCS B200 M5 blade server | UCS B480 M5 blade server |
|---|---|---|
| Processors | Up to 2 Intel Xeon Scalable 2nd generation | up to 4 Intel Xeon Scalable 2nd generation |
| Memory | 24 DDR4 DIMM slots: 16, 32, 64, and 128 GB with a frequency of up to 2933 MHz | 48 DDR4 DIMM slots: 16, 32, 64, and 128 GB with frequencies up to 2933 MHz |
| Intel Optane DC Persistent Memory | 12 of 24 DIMM slots: 128, 256, and 512 GB with frequencies up to 2666 MHz | 24 of 48 DIMM slots: 128, 256, and 512 GB with frequencies up to 2666 MHz |
| mLOM network adapter | Cisco UCS VIC 1440 (2 x 40-Gbps) | Cisco UCS VIC 1440 (2 x 40-Gbps) |
| Storage controller | Diskless configuration Cisco FlexStorage 12-Gbps SAS RAID Controller Cisco FlexStorage 12-Gbps SAS RAID Controller with 2GB cache Cisco FlexStorage NVMe pass-through module | |
| Mezzanine adapters | Can be installed: Cisco UCS VIC 1480 (2 x 40-Gbps) Cisco port expander Cisco NVIDIA P6 GPU Cisco blade PCIe/NVMe storage | |
| Storage drives | 2 x ‘hot-plug’ 2.5” drives Front access: HDD: 10,000 or 15,000 RPM, up to 1.8 TB capacity SSD: SATA or SAS, up to 7.6 TB capacity NVMe: up to 7.7 TB Additional internal installation options: 2 internal SD cards (32, 64, or 128GB with boot-mirroring) or 2 x M.2 SATA (240 or 960 GB) via LSI software RAID | 4 x ‘hot-plug’ 2.5″ drives Front access: HDD: 10,000 or 15,000 RPM, up to 1.8 TB capacity SSD: SATA or SAS, up to 7.6 TB capacity NVMe: up to 7.7 TB Additional internal storage options: 2 internal SD cards (32, 64, or 128GB with boot-mirroring) or 2 x M.2 SATA (240 or 960 GB) via LSI software RAID |
| Management | Cisco UCS Manager 4.0 |
Cisco UCS rack servers cover a wide range of tasks, allowing you to install up to 4 latest-generation Intel Xeon processors and up to 18 TB of RAM (24x256GB DDR4 DIMM).
In addition to standard management via the dedicated Cisco Integrated Management Controller (CIMC, similar to iLO and iDRAC) interface, the servers can be integrated into a single Cisco Unified Computing System architecture by connecting to Fabric Interconnect.
| Model | Cisco UCS C220 M5 | Cisco UCS C240 M5 | Cisco UCS C480 M5 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Height | 1U | 2U | 4U |
| Processors | Up to 2 Intel Xeon Scalable 2nd generation | Up to 4 Intel Xeon Scalable 2nd generation | |
| Memory | 24 DDR4 DIMM slots: 16, 32, 64, and 128 GB with frequencies up to 2933 MHz | 48 DDR4 DIMM slots: 16, 32, 64, and 128 GB with frequencies up to 2933 MHz | |
| Intel Optane DC Persistent Memory | 12 of 24 DIMM slots: 128, 256, and 512 GB with frequencies up to 2666 MHz | 24 of 48 DIMM slots: 128, 256, and 512 GB with a frequency of up to 2666 MHz | |
| Integrated network adapter | Intel x550, 2x 10Gbase-T Ethernet (with wake-on-LAN, WoL support) | ||
| Dedicated management port | Yes, CIMC | ||
| mLOM network adapter | Intel i350, 4x 1Gb Base-T Cisco UCS VIC 1457, 4x 10/25Gb SFP+ Cisco UCS VIC 1497, 2x 40/100Gb QSFP | No | |
| Storage controller | Diskless configuration Cisco 12-Gbps SAS RAID Controller with 2GB cache Cisco 12-Gbps SAS HBA Controller Cisco 12-Gbps SAS HBA Controller for JBOD connection | ||
| PCIe connectors | Two PCIe Gen3 slots: half-height, x16 full-height, x16 | Up to 6 PCIe Gen3 slots, plus 2x 2.5″ hot-plug drives. GPU card support (up to 6x NVIDIA T4) | Up to 12 full-height full-length PCIe Gen3 slots. Support for GPU cards (up to 6x NVIDIA V100) |
| Power supplies | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Management | Cisco Integrated Management Controller (CIMC) or Cisco UCS Manager 4.0 | ||
| Storage | 10x 2.5″ or 4x 3.5″ hot-plug drives | Up to 24x 2.5″ or 12x 3.5″ hot-plug drives | Up to 24x 2.5″ hot-plug drives |
Converged Fabric Interconnect switches combine the functions of switching all LAN and SAN traffic with the functions of managing the UCS infrastructure.
UCS infrastructure management
- A single point of switching between physical servers regardless of their physical location in the chassis
- Universal transport for all server connections: LAN and SAN subnets in the required quantity, management traffic
- Flexible dynamic bandwidth allocation between different types of traffic
- Simple cabling, no need for physical cable reconfiguration
- Full duplication of the Cisco UCS Manager control system, no need to deploy separate management servers
| Name | Available interfaces | Specifications |
|---|---|---|
| UCS-FI-6332-U | 32×40 Gb ports | Ethernet & FCoE |
| UCS-FI-6332-16UP-U | 24×40 Gb + 16xUP (unified ports) | Ethernet, FCoE, and FC |
To build the most resource-intensive and high-density infrastructures in data centers, Cisco introduced Fabric Interconnect 6454, enabling the implementation of 100Gb Ethernet, 25Gb FCoE, and 32Gb FC technologies.
Cisco UCS Manager 4.0 interface.
The unified Cisco UCS Manager web management interface comes out of the box, requires no additional licenses, and allows you to:
- Flexibly configure virtual LAN and SAN network adapters, assign MAC and WWN addresses;
- Assign server profiles, including:
- UUID, MAC, WWN
- Type and number of virtual I/O adapters
- BIOS settings, RAID, boot order
- Firmware on all components
- I/O adapter settings – NIC and HBA
- Power management policies
- Remote management controller address
- VLAN, QoS settings, etc. for LAN ports
- VSAN for FC switches
- Access the server console