Secure Multi-Tenancy and FlexPod

In my two previous postings, I highlighted the key features and benefits two industry leading private cloud architectures; the VCE VBlock Infrastructure Package and the HP BladeSystem Matrix. This posting will provide a brief overview of the Cisco/NetApp/VMware FlexPod Architecture.

The FlexPod Architecture is a Cisco Validated Design based on Cisco UCS Compute resources, Cisco Nexus, NetApp Storage, and VMware vSphere at the virtualization layer. The FlexPod architecture allows customers to adapt quickly and offers the needed flexibility to make fast changes without large amount of resources and processes.




Secure Multi-Tenancy

A shared cloud environment requires strict isolation between the different tenants that are resident within the infrastructure. The tenants can be different clients, business units, departments or security zones. Previously, customers with a shared cloud infrastructure were able to achieve “pockets” of isolation within the virtual server layer, the network layer, and storage, but never completely end-to-end.





Feature and Benefits of FlexPod

- Low-risk standardized shared infrastructure supporting a wide range of environments
- Highest possible Data Center efficiency
- IT flexibility giving business agility: scale out or up, but manage resource pools
- Complete Data Center in a single rack
- Flexibility in performance and capacity
- Fast setup for production
- Solutions guide for multiple environments
- Easy path for upgrading without fork lifting or data migrations
- Centralized management: NetApp OnCommand and Cisco UCS™ Manager
- VMs are isolated using vShield zone technology
- VMs connected and secured using Nexus products
- VMs on secure partitioned storage via MultiStore
- Service level assurance through VMware resource pools, Cisco QoS, and NetApp FlexShare


WWT and FlexPod
As a NetApp Star Partner with over 100 NetApp customers, combined with Cisco’s North American Partner of the Year, WWT is the leading FlexPod systems integrator. For example, WWT recently planned, designed, and implemented a FlexPod for a major financial institution based in New York and hosts a number of FlexPod demos throughout the United States.

What is VCE and Vblock?

The Virtual Computing Environment (VCE) coalition is a collaborative effort between Cisco, EMC, and VMware to deliver a complete IT infrastructure that integrates best-of-breed virtualization, networking, compute, storage, security, and management technologies. The concept is wrapped around VCE's Vblock Infrastructure Packages, composed of the Cisco Unified Computing System (UCS), EMC storage, and VMware vSphere. The result is a reference architecture jointly created by EMC, VMware, and Cisco to create a modular building block architecture for cloud computing.

There are three Vblock Reference Architectures:

Vblock 0 (300 – 800 VMs): An entry-level configuration to meet the IT needs of small datacenters; test/development platform for Partners and customers.

1-2 Blade Chassis

6-30 ½-height Blades + 2 Management
32-128 Cores
48-GB Server Memory per Blade
46+ TB Storage Capacity
SATA drives
NAS, iSCSI, and SAN
1 Rack

Vblock 1 (800 – 3,000 VMs): A mid-sized configuration to deliver a broad range of IT capabilities to organizations of all sizes.

2-4 Blade Chassis
16-32 Blades
128-256 Cores
960-1,920-GB Server Memory
38-64-TB Storage Capacity
FC, SATA, & EFD drives
SAN, iSCSI, and optionally NAS
2 racks (min) or 3 racks (max)

Vblock 2 (3,000 – 6,000+ VMs): A high-end configuration that is completely extensible to meet the most demanding IT needs of large enterprises or service providers.

3,000-6,000 VMs
4-8 Blade Chassis
32-64 Blades
256-512 Cores
3-7TB Server Memory
96-146TB Storage Capacity
FC, SATA, & EFD drives
SAN, iSCSI, and optionally NAS
4 racks (min) or 5 racks (max)

WWT and Vblock

As Cisco largest UCS and Federal partner, WWT has successfully deployed the Vblock solutions a number of customers. For example, VCE was deployed for one customer to performance issues for their existing Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) solution. After implementation, overall performance in creating and starting virtual machines was enhanced by 50% or more. Having reads from “delta” disks on SSD drives eliminated I/O issues. PCoIP was proven to display audio and video well enough to meet their needs.