Cisco upgrades switches to 100GBE to handle cloud traffic

Grazed from ITWire.  Author: Stuart Corner.

Cisco has announced the addition of 100GBE and 40GBE ethernet capabilities to its Nexus Switches and 40GE to its Catalyst switches in anticipation of surging data centre workloads driven by cloud computing.

Cisco’s first Global Cloud Index, released in November 2011 predicted that more than 50 percent of computing workloads in data centres will be cloud-based by 2014 and global cloud traffic will grow more than 12 times by 2015, to 1.6 zettabytes per year.

According to Cisco, "Data intensive applications such as cloud, ‘big data,’ video, virtual desktop solutions and virtualisation are accelerating the adoption of 10GE at the server level and network access/aggregation layers, introducing bandwidth bottlenecks in the core interconnects connecting the data centre to the campus to the service provider."…

Cisco said: "Based on these trends, Cisco…has updated its switching portfolio with 100 gigabit ethernet (GE) and 40 GE capabilities…[to] provide a holistic architectural approach across campus, data centre and service provider environments, and give customers a significant advantage while addressing emerging trends like cloud, video, mobility, and the proliferation of 10GE."

Cisco also announced two new fixed-configuration platforms that provide high-density 10GE switching and simpler network virtualisation functionality for its Catalyst 6500, 4500 and Aggregation Services Router (ASR) 1000 product lines with a new technology called Easy Virtual Network.

"Together, these enhancements will help businesses scale their networks, simplify operations, and protect their existing Cisco switching investments – many of which have been deployed for a decade or longer," the company said.