Network Interface Cards

Cisco Unified Computing System overview

The Cisco Unified Computing System^™ (Cisco UCS^®) is a next-generation data center platform that unites computing, networking, storage access, and virtualization resources into a cohesive system designed to reduce Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) and increase business agility. The system integrates a low-latency, lossless 10/25/40/50/100/200 Gigabit Ethernet network fabric with enterprise-class blade and rack x86-architecture servers. The system is an integrated, scalable, multichassis platform in which all resources participate in a unified management domain.

Portfolio overview

The Cisco UCS Virtual Interface Card (VIC) 15000 Series extends the network fabric directly to both servers and virtual machines so that a single connectivity mechanism can be used to connect both physical and virtual servers with the same level of visibility and control. Cisco^® VICs provide complete programmability of the Cisco UCS I/O infrastructure, with the number and type of I/O interfaces configurable on demand with a zero-touch model.

Cisco VICs support Cisco SingleConnect technology, which provides an easy, intelligent, and efficient way to connect and manage computing in your data center. Cisco SingleConnect unifies LAN, SAN, and systems management into one simplified link for rack servers, blade servers, and virtual machines. This technology reduces the number of network adapters, cables, and switches needed and radically simplifies the network, reducing complexity. Cisco VICs can support 512 PCI Express (PCIe) virtual devices, either virtual Network Interface Cards (vNICs) or virtual Host Bus Adapters (vHBAs), with a high rate of I/O Operations Per Second (IOPS), support for lossless Ethernet, and 10/25/40/50/100/200-Gbps connection to servers. The PCIe Generation 4 x16 interface helps ensure optimal bandwidth to the host for network-intensive applications, with a redundant path to the fabric interconnect. Cisco VICs support NIC teaming with fabric failover for increased reliability and availability. In addition, it provides a policy-based, stateless, agile server infrastructure for your data center.

The VIC 15000 series is designed for Cisco UCS X-Series M6/M7 Blade Servers, Cisco UCS B-Series M6 Blade Servers, and Cisco UCS C-Series M6/M7 Rack Servers. The adapters are capable of supporting 10/25/40/50/100/200-Gigabit Ethernet and Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE). They incorporate Cisco's next-generation Converged Network Adapter (CNA) technology and offer a comprehensive feature set, providing investment protection for future feature software releases.