Cisco has started its push into the data center market, putting it head to head with long-time partners such as IBM, HP and Sun.

 

The networking leader this week unveiled a new architecture that combines computing, networking, storage and virtualization.

 

Cisco will launch the first servers based on its unified computing system (UCS) in the second half of 2009, it said.

 

The converged servers would reduce data center capex by up to 20% and opex by up to 30%, Cisco said.

 

Servers based on the system will use Cisco blades based on Intel's upcoming Nehalem processor. They will feature 10Gbps Ethernet networking and promise to consolidate LANs, storage area networks and high performance computing networks.

 

Analysts said UCS is the latest Cisco’s effort to open up revenue streams beyond switches and routers, but it pitches the firm into a confrontation with some of its most important technology partners.

 

Forrester Research analyst James Staten described it as “a direct frontal assault on IBM and HP,” the New York Times reported.

 

GigaOm tech blog said HP and IBM would bear the brunt of the move, “while companies that have a healthier commodity and lower-end server business such as Dell will likely feel less pain in the near term because some of their customers will not need the God-like powers Cisco is promising with its newest system.”

 

The UCS will be powered by Red Hat Enterprise Linux, and use virtualization technology provided by Red Hat and VMware. It will also use information infrastructure technologies provided by EMC.

 

“The Virtual Machine has become the new atomic building block of the data center [and has] the potential to transform the computing environment and deliver significant benefits,” said Mario Mazzola, senior vice president of Cisco's server and virtualization unit.