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Cisco and NetApp reveal entry-level FlexPod bundle

Cisco and NetApp are to bring out an entry-level version of their FlexPod datacentre platform, which combines hardware from the two firms for companies looking to run business applications in the cloud.The companies announced the move on Tuesday, along with the validation of CA Technologies's datacentre automation suite as a management option for all FlexPod architectures.
Written by David Meyer, Contributor

Cisco and NetApp are to bring out an entry-level version of their FlexPod datacentre platform, which combines hardware from the two firms for companies looking to run business applications in the cloud.

The companies announced the move on Tuesday, along with the validation of CA Technologies's datacentre automation suite as a management option for all FlexPod architectures.

"As customers balance their need to scale for their future growth with simplified solutions that can be rapidly deployed, Cisco is continuing to work with partners like NetApp to deliver cost-effective pre-tested cloud infrastructure solutions to address these needs," Cisco datacentre chief Satinder Sethi said in a statement.

The entry-level FlexPod bundle combines the NetApp FAS 2240 storage system with Cisco's UCS C-Series Nexus 5000 switches, Nexus 2232 fabric extender and UCS 6200 Series fabric interconnects.

According to the companies, this package can be scaled up for larger enterprises "by simply adding incremental capacity, as their needs grow for larger application workloads".

The validation of CA's datacentre automation suite means there are now three companies providing such options for FlexPod customers, the other two coming from Cloupia and Gale Technologies.

"Only two other vendors have achieved this level of validation from NetApp and Cisco — the partners behind the FlexPod converged infrastructure offering — and CA Technologies is the first and only major IT management vendor to achieve it," CA product marketing manager Bill Talbot wrote in a blog post on Tuesday.

Other management tools for FlexPod come from the likes of Microsoft, SAP, IBM, VMware, Citrix and Eucalyptus.

Cisco and NetApp's statement also included some updates on the progress of the FlexPod line, which it launched in late 2010. According to the companies, there are now more than 500 integrators that offer FlexPod, and more than 850 customers that have bought it.

Customer adoption grew by 400 percent in the last nine months alone, Cisco and NetApp noted.

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