Cisco Systems : Commvault Data Protection for HyperConverged Environments

Cisco Blog >Data Center

A year ago you might remember a blog from our own Todd Brannon called 'All about that BaaS' which outlined a jointly tested reference architecture for 'Backup as a Service' with Commvault software. That engagement advanced Commvault to preferred solution partner status to deliver our joint customers a solution that is fully tested for compatibility with Cisco UCS servers and also comes with a 24/7 support model. The solution is targeted for enterprise and cloud service providers and consists of Commvault software running on the Cisco UCS C3000 series of storage optimized servers providing secondary storage. A lot can happen in a year when participating in Cisco's Solution Partner Program and I am excited to share with you the latest developments around Data Protection and our continued partnership with Commvault.

On the Cisco side of things, we launched the second generation of Cisco UCS C3000 called the Cisco UCS C3260. This new storage optimized server is modular by design to maximize a customer's investment protection as their storage requirements scale up over time.

Most high capacity storage optimized servers are fixed configuration meaning their main system boards are physically screwed to the chassis requiring a fork lift to upgrade. A modular system architecture provides flexibility for end users to upgrade server nodes, networking and storage components as each respective component's technology evolves without the need for data migration during maintenance windows. The new Cisco UCS C3260 offers dual-node support for two socket Intel Xeon processors, 40Gb connectivity provided by a Cisco VIC 1300 enabled system I/O controller and support for a number of storage protocols such as FCoE, NFS, SMB, SMB Direct and iSCSI enabling centralized mass storage for heterogeneous data centers.

This brings me to where we are at with Commvault as Cisco UCS servers are the key underpinnings of our joint solutions. Creating the Commvault 'Backup as a Service' solution enabled us to offer a proven reference architecture that is validated in our labs and backed by Cisco UCS Compatible status to reduce risk for our customers. We took it a step further and focused on the relationship between primary and secondary storage for how we could further reduce risk and complexity. This week at Cisco Live, Commvault unveiled a new reference architecture enabling customers looking to hyperconverge their infrastructure a proven backup solution for Cisco HyperFlex HX Series.

If you have been under a rock you may not have heard that hyperconverged Infrastructure is the hottest thing to hit data center computing since blade servers triggered a wave of data center re-stacks in the early 2000s. These new hyperconverged environments just like existing rack mount or blade systems will need backup services just the same. We have had huge success working with customers across all markets deploying converged systems and now see major interest in hyperconverged for virtualized environments, remote office and branch office (ROBO), development and test, and of course VDI. As these environments vary in size and could scale incrementally over time customers will need a data protection strategy that scales similarly. Cisco and Commvault have have worked closely to validate a wide range of capacity based data protection solutions ranging from the Cisco UCS C240 server all the way up to high capacity options like the Cisco UCS C3260 for web scale storage needs. If you are interested in learning more please take a peek at the new reference architecture by reading our new Data Protection for Cisco HyperFlex with Commvault Software Solution Brief.