Cisco Launches New Virtual Networking Systems

Chris Preimesberger,

At VMworld 2011 Cisco is highlighting a new crop of virtualised networking infrastructure products

Cisco Systems, slogging through a relatively tough time in its 20-year history, is putting its troubles aside and focusing on launching a flock of new products, mostly co-delivered with host VMware, on 30 August at VMworld 2011 in Las Vegas.

The world’s largest networking company has endured layoffs, product cutbacks and major strategy changes during the last 12 months as it looks to expand into other markets.

Unified Computing

Its Unified Computing System server and pre-configured vBlock cloud systems, built in partnership with EMC, VMware and BMC, have been selling fairly well. The company is still the No. 1 provider of enterprise routers and switches, but it is quite aware it needs to succeed in new areas in order to continue to grow.

Soni Jiandani, Senior Vice President of Cisco’s Server, Access, Virtualisation Technology Group, said the company is highlighting a major new virtual networking technology, which will be Cisco’s biggest news at VMworld 2011.

The new software is available in the Cisco Nexus 1000V, which enables customers to easily create virtual networks that scale to support thousands of virtual machines while increasing application performance and security in multi-tenant private, public and hybrid cloud infrastructures, Jiandani said.

Joint cloud solutions

At booth 700, the company also will demonstrate a series of new Cisco and VMware joint cloud solutions that include:

  • Unified Computing System advancements for cloud infrastructures; 
  • Nexus 1000V virtual switching solutions that support VMware vSphere 5 and VMware vCloud Director 1.5;
  • Cloud security capabilities to better protect multi-tenant data centres and cloud environments;
  • Cloud security capabilities based on Cisco’s ASA firewall technology to better protect multi-tenant data centres and cloud environments; and
  • Unspecified new scalable and media rich desktop virtualization solutions.