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FlexPod with Microsoft Private Cloud:A Microsoft Private Cloud Fast Track Reference Implementation

KEY FEATURES

Increase Agility Respond faster at reduced cost to changing business needs.

Improve Efficiency Automate management tasks using Microsoft System Center 2012 SP1 integrated with NetApp data management software and Cisco UCS™ Manager and UCS PowerTool, a comprehensive infrastructure management offering.

Utilize a Proven Platform The proven combination of NetApp and Cisco technology solutions and expertise helps you jump-start your Microsoft Private Cloud deployment.

What Is FlexPod with Microsoft Private Cloud?FlexPod® with Microsoft® Private Cloud is a reference architecture validated with Microsoft Private Cloud Fast Track that combines Cisco® and NetApp® technology, including compute, network, and value-added software components, with Microsoft software and consolidated guidance. Says Brian Hillger, Director of Server and Tools Marketing at Microsoft: “Microsoft’s Cloud OS approach provides customers with a comprehensive platform for implementing their infrastructure on the premises with a hosting service provider and in the cloud. The Microsoft Private Cloud Fast Track architecture is a proven approach, and the FlexPod data center platform is an early implementer of the converged infrastructure solution that has achieved Microsoft Private Cloud Fast Track validation for environments built on Windows Server® 2012 and System Center 2012 SP1. Cisco and NetApp are simplifying Private Cloud deployment for customers with prevalidated and certified configurations that dramatically reduce infrastructure and application deployment time from days to hours and can result in even faster time to value for customers.”

Built on Windows Server 2012 Hyper-V™ technology and Microsoft System Center 2012 SP1 solutions, Microsoft Private Cloud solutions can help customers and service providers build dedicated infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) environments that transform the way they deliver IT services. Specifically, Microsoft Private Cloud Fast Track solutions provide a turnkey approach to delivering scalable, preconfigured, and validated infrastructure platforms for on-premises private cloud implementations. With local control over data and operations, IT can dynamically pool, allocate, secure, and manage resources for agile IaaS. Likewise, business units can deploy line-of-business applications with speed and consistency using self-provisioning (and decommissioning) and automated data center services in a virtualized environment.

A Private Cloud on Your Terms— Simplify Your Data Center TransformationFlexPod with Microsoft Private Cloud and Microsoft Private Cloud Fast Track deliver a private cloud on your terms. Here are some of the benefits.

FlexPod is built on leading computing, networking, storage, and infrastructure software components. It provides an excellent virtualized data center solution through:

• Jointly validated technologies from industry leaders in computing, storage, networking, and server virtualization

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• One platform built from unified computing, fabric, and storage technologies, with popular and trusted software virtualization

• Integrated components that help enable you to centrally manage and automate all your infrastructure pools

• An open management framework that integrates with your existing third-party infrastructure management solutions

Accelerate deploymentWith FlexPod with Microsoft Private Cloud, the comprehensive feature set and detailed guidance make Microsoft private clouds easy to deploy. Features include:

• End-to-end architectural and deployment guidance• Streamlined infrastructure planning through the use of predefined capacity• Enhanced capabilities and automation tailored to your needs to support Microsoft

applications in the private cloud • Ease of repeatability, enabling your organization to simply deploy another FlexPod

solution as your needs grow and change, without needing to start from the beginning

Move to the cloud with confidenceValidated configurations mean that you can implement your move to the cloud with confidence. To help reduce the risk in your move to the cloud, FlexPod offers:

• Integrated management for physical and virtual machines• A self-service portal for rapid and simplified provisioning of resources• Tested, end-to-end interoperability of computing, storage, and networking resources• Predefined, out-of-the-box solutions based on a common cloud architecture• A high degree of service availability through automated load balancing

Gain Greater scalabilityFlexPod can scale up for greater performance and capacity, or scale out for environments that need numerous consistent deployments. You can size and optimize FlexPod to accommodate different use cases, such as application workloads that include but are not limited to:

• Microsoft SQL Server®

• Microsoft Exchange Server• Microsoft SharePoint Server®

• Desktop virtualization• Secure multitenant environments

FlexPod: The Foundation for a Microsoft Private Cloud InfrastructureTogether, NetApp and Cisco deliver a strong foundation for a Microsoft Private Cloud: NetApp provides sophisticated storage capabilities and tight integration of data management software with Microsoft products and Cisco supplies a leading-edge data center platform that consolidates core server and networking functionalities. When your organization builds a private cloud with FlexPod, Windows Server 2012, and System Center 2012 SP1, it can deliver IT services and applications more efficiently and cost effectively.

computeCisco delivers state-of-the-art enterprise computing resources. The Cisco Unified Computing System™ (UCS) is a server platform specifically designed for virtualized environments.

• Unite compute, network, storage connectivity, and virtualization into a single cohesive system.

• Automate large-scale server and application deployments by using policy-based service profile templates in Cisco UCS Manager.

WHAT IS PREVALIDATED?FlexPod combines networking, computing, and storage with management software for a best-in-class converged infrastructure that supports numerous applications and workloads. This prevalidated architecture has been rigorously tested by Cisco and NetApp and delivers a proven configuration that enables fast, consistent deployments and reduced risk as organizations move to private-cloud computing.

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NetworkCisco UCS integrates computing resources with Cisco Nexus® switches and a unified I/O fabric.

• Greatly simplify network management and reduce costs by consolidating traffic onto a single high-performance, highly available 10-gigabit Ethernet network.

• Take advantage of the integration of computing resources by using Cisco Nexus switches to provide an intelligent method for identifying and handling different types of network traffic.

storage The unified architecture from NetApp can help to reduce cost and complexity for virtualized storage in your private cloud environment with a single highly scalable solution.

• Enhance efficiency and save disk space with built-in deduplication and thin provisioning.• Deploy thousands of virtual machines in minutes with NetApp FlexClone® technology.• Boost availability with integrated Snapshot™ technology for space-efficient backups. • Create dynamic disaster recovery capabilities with NetApp SnapMirror® technology and

integration with Microsoft System Center Orchestrator 2012.

ManagementThe FlexPod solution takes advantage of System Center 2012 SP1 capabilities with Cisco UCS management packs, UCS PowerTool for PowerShell™, OnCommand® Plug-in for Microsoft, and the Data ONTAP® PowerShell Toolkit, all of which enable the comprehensive management and automation of compute and storage workflows across cloud infrastructures.

• The NetApp OnCommand Plug-in for Microsoft monitors and manages storage systems and workflow automation processes directly from Microsoft System Center.

• NetApp provides the Data ONTAP PowerShell Toolkit, a collection of more than 1,200 cmdlets that make NetApp APIs available within PowerShell scripts to automate a wide variety of NetApp specific management and operational tasks.

• Cisco offers comprehensive infrastructure management controlled by Windows PowerShell with Cisco UCS PowerTool, a user-friendly UCS management tool based on a command-line interface.

• Operations teams can use Cisco UCS PowerTool to easily tie together the management of storage components, compute components, and software applications into a custom, end-to-end management solution that is easy to use and easy to script.

“ Microsoft’s Cloud OS approach provides customers with a comprehensive platform for implementing their infrastructure on the premises with a hosting service provider and in the cloud. The Microsoft Private Cloud Fast Track architecture is a proven approach, and FlexPod is an early implementer of the converged infrastructure solution that has achieved Microsoft Private Cloud Fast Track validation for environments built on Windows Server 2012 and System Center 2012 SP1. Cisco and NetApp are simplifying Private Cloud deployment for customers with prevalidated and certified configurations that dramatically reduce infrastructure and application deployment time from days to hours and can result in even faster time to value for customers.”

–BrianHillgerDirector Server and Tools Marketing Microsoft

Figure 1. FlexPod with Microsoft Private Cloud components.

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www.cisco.comwww.netapp.com

© 2013 NetApp, Inc. and Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. No portions of this document may be reproduced without prior written consent. Specifications are subject to change without notice. NetApp, the NetApp logo, Go further, faster, Data ONTAP, FlexClone, SnapDrive, SnapManager, SnapMirror, and Snapshot are trademarks or registered trademarks of NetApp, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. Cisco, the Cisco logo, and Nexus are registered trademarks and Unified Computing Systems and UCS are trademarks of Cisco Systems, Inc. Windows, Windows Server, SQL Server, and SharePoint Server are registered trademarks and PowerShell and Hyper-V are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. All other brands or products are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders and should be treated as such. DS-3455-0413

Private Cloud TechnologiesMicrosoft windows server 2012 hyper-vTake advantage of the cost savings of virtualization and increased scalability of Windows Server 2012 Hyper-V. Consolidate numerous server roles as separate virtual machines on a single physical machine that runs different operating systems in parallel and uses the power of x64 computing.

Microsoft system center 2012 sP1Microsoft System Center 2012 SP1 is a cloud and data center management solution that provides a common toolset to manage private and hybrid cloud applications and services. System Center:

• Spans physical, virtual, and cloud computing models with common management experiences throughout

• Provides comprehensive, end-to-end management of your infrastructure and applications, including interoperability for heterogeneous environments

• Offers compelling economic value

FlexPodFlexPod combines NetApp and Cisco components to deliver a prevalidated, best-in-class data center or infrastructure solution with deep integration with the Microsoft Private Cloud infrastructure.

leading components• Cisco Unified Computing System• Cisco Nexus family switches• System Center management packs• Cisco UCS PowerTool

FlexPod Features• Flexible and performance-matched stack that scales to fit Windows application workloads • Step-by-step validated design, deployment, and application sizing guides • Enhanced efficiency and disk savings through built-in deduplication and thin provisioning • Consolidated, multiprotocol, high-performance, highly available 10-gigabit Ethernet

network with support for iSCSI and FCoE (Fibre Channel is available separately, if desired)• Support for several classes of computing and storage in a single deployment• NetApp data management software integration with Windows Server 2012 Hyper-V as

well as the Orchestrator, Virtual Machine Manager, and Operations Manager components of System Center 2012 SP1

For More Information• www.cisco.com/go/microsoft• www.microsoft.com/privatecloud• www.netapp.com/microsoftcloud• www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps10265/index.html• www.cisco.com/en/US/solutions/ns340/ns517/ns224/ns1097/unified_network_services.html

• NetApp fabric-attached storage hardware• NetApp OnCommand Plug-in for Microsoft• NetApp OnCommand PowerShell Toolkit• NetApp SnapManager® for Hyper-V• NetApp SnapDrive® for Windows®