SAN JOSE, CA--(Marketwire - May 16, 2011) - Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) today announced new data center solutions for customers who want to run Microsoft enterprise software on the Cisco Unified Computing System (UCS). The new data center solutions support Microsoft SQL Server for data warehousing and online transaction processing. Each solution is designed to help customers accelerate software deployment, reduce IT complexity, and lower overall total cost of ownership by utilizing the unique attributes of Cisco UCS.

HIGHLIGHTS:

The new additions to the Cisco portfolio of Data Center Microsoft solutions are:
Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 Fast Track Data Warehouse 3.0 for Cisco Unified Computing System:

• The reference architecture is designed to meet the needs of medium to large enterprises who want a template for combining server, storage and networking technologies in a way that optimizes the performance of Microsoft SQL Server 2008 on Cisco UCS C-Series Rack-Mount Servers.
• The reference architecture simplifies system selections for customers based on the performance, capacity, scalability, and pricing that the customer needs.
• The reference configurations include industry leading storage vendors, EMC and NetApp.

Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2OLTP reference configuration for Cisco UCS:

• This reference configuration is validated by Cisco and optimized for online transaction processing (OLTP) workloads.
• This reference configuration can help customers further reduce deployment complexity and the total cost of ownership by providing prescriptive guidelines on the deployment of the Cisco UCS as well as of EMC unified midrange and enterprise storage configurations.
• Based on Cisco UCS C-Series Rack-Mount Servers, these reference architectures are designed to meet the needs of small, medium-sized and large enterprises with additional storage options are scheduled to be available in the future.

SUPPORTIVE QUOTES:

• Val Fontama, senior product manager, Business Platform Marketing Group at Microsoft Corp.
  "We developed the Microsoft Fast Track Data Warehouse program to help our customers accelerate their data warehouse road maps, lower costs, and reduce risk with reliable reference architectures and best practices for warehousing. Using the Cisco Unified Computing System with Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 Enterprise provides our mutual customers with scalable, preconfigured servers, storage and networking design guides that are specifically balanced and optimized for data warehousing workloads."

• Simon Arkell, CEO at Predixion Software
  "Predixion enables self-service predictive analytics, allowing customers to use and analyze large amounts of data to make actionable decisions. Our solutions rely on resilient backend data warehousing systems. If the systems are decentralized they can increase the number of potential 'break points,' complicating the maintenance, management, and operation of dependent applications. The combination of the Cisco Unified Computing System server platform with SQL Server 2008 R2 and Predixion Insight provides balance and cohesiveness among computing, networking and storage access to help companies operate their applications efficiently."

• Brian Martin, senior director of Global Partner Alliances at EMC
  "Taking the risk out of deployment is a key priority to our customers. By working with Cisco to deliver pretested design architectures that support Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2, customers can gain the benefits of fast and easy deployments. EMC VNX unified storage systems are optimized for SQL Server because they are proven to deliver high performance, high capacity and the superior level of protection needed to meet demanding workload, reliability and scalability requirements."

• Phil Brotherton,vice president and general manager of the Microsoft Business Unit at NetApp
  "Together, Cisco, Microsoft and NetApp continue to deliver on our commitment to helping our customers achieve greater flexibility and efficiencies at lower costs. Through these reference design offerings, Microsoft SQL Server 2008 customers see the power of a highly secure, integrated infrastructure. Optimized for Cisco Unified Computing System server platforms, NetApp's data management storage solutions for data warehouse environments deliver proven reliability and availability; fast, space efficient backup and recovery and simplified disaster recovery."

SUPPORTING RESOURCES:

• More information Cisco solutions for Microsoft: www.cisco.com/go/microsoft
• Cisco Data Center Blog: http://blogs.cisco.com/category/datacenter/

TECHNORATI TAGS: Cisco, Microsoft, Microsoft SQL Server, NetApp, EMC, Data Warehouse, Business Intelligence, Unified Computing System, UCS

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