Cisco claims virtualisation will become easier for network
administrators in the next year when it releases its first software
network switch,
The
Nexus
1000V virtual switch is the first developed to work with the
newly announced
Virtual Data Centre Operating System (VCD-OS) from VMWare for
virtual infrastructures.
The VCD-OS will enable distributed virtual switches for enhanced
connectivity between VMWare's ESX servers in a virtual
environment.
Cisco has used VMWare's open API for the default switch within
the VCD-OS to develop a customised virtual switch with added
functionality.
The biggest benefit, according to Cisco, is that network
administrators will be able to use the same familiar management
tool for both physical and virtual environments.
This will remove some of the complexity of setting up and
managing virtual networks and help speed up the transition to a
virtual environment for many organisations.
William Fellows, principal analyst at The 451 Group, said
Cisco's virtual switch would bring together server and network
management for the first time.
"Until now this has been an inhibitor to the whole idea of a
shared infrastructure," he said.
The Nexus 1000V will also extend Cisco's security, policy
enforcement, automated provisioning and diagnostics features into
VMWare enviroments.
The same policy-based configuration and operation of network
services traditionally available in Cisco physical switches will be
applied to each virtual machine.
The release of the Nexus 1000V is expected in the first half of
2009 and marks another strategic partnership aimed at preserving
VMWare's leadership in the virtualisation market.
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