User guide

© 2011 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. This document is Cisco Public Information. Cisco Validated Design Page 8
Figure 1. Cisco Unified Computing System
3.2 Cisco Unified Computing System Components
3.2.1 Fabric Interconnect
The Cisco UCS 6100 Series Fabric Interconnects are a core part of the Cisco Unified Computing System,
providing both network connectivity and management capabilities for the system (Figure 2). The Cisco UCS 6100
Series offers line-rate, low-latency, lossless 10 Gigabit Ethernet and FCoE functions.
The Cisco UCS 6100 Series provides the management and communication backbone for the Cisco UCS B-Series
Blade Servers and Cisco UCS 5100 Series Blade Server Chassis. All chassis, and therefore all blades, attached
to the Cisco UCS 6100 Series Fabric Interconnects become part of a single, highly available management
domain. In addition, by supporting unified fabric, the Cisco UCS 6100 Series provides both the LAN and SAN
connectivity for all blades within its domain.
From a networking perspective, the Cisco UCS 6100 Series uses a cut-through architecture, supporting
deterministic, low-latency, line-rate 10 Gigabit Ethernet on all ports, independent of packet size and enabled
services. The product family supports Cisco low-latency, lossless 10 Gigabit Ethernet unified network fabric
capabilities, which increase the reliability, efficiency, and scalability of Ethernet networks. The fabric interconnect
supports multiple traffic classes over a lossless Ethernet fabric from the blade through the interconnect.
Significant TCO savings come from an FCoE-optimized server design in which network interface cards (NICs),
host bus adapters (HBAs), cables, and switches can be consolidated.
The Cisco UCS 6100 Series is also built to consolidate LAN and SAN traffic onto a single unified fabric, saving
the capital and operating expenses associated with multiple parallel networks, different types of adapter cards,
switching infrastructure, and cabling within racks. Fibre Channel expansion modules in the interconnect support
direct connections from the Cisco Unified Computing System to existing native Fibre Channel SANs. The
capability to connect FCoE to native Fibre Channel protects existing storage system investments while
dramatically simplifying in-rack cabling.
Figure 2. Cisco UCS 6120XP 20-Port Fabric Interconnect (Top) and Cisco UCS 6140XP 40-Port Fabric
Interconnect