Unified Computing products — which combine computing, storage and networking all in one chassis, have become more popular these days as data center giants have taken the one-stop shopping approach. There are pros and cons to this.
On the one hand, there’s a lot to be said for one bill for everything and knowing that the vendor has tested and integrated all of the hardware. On the other hand, does buying all the gear you need for your data center from one vendor mean you are now locked in to that vendor? Enterprise Storage Forum examines both sides of the issue.
Cisco’s (NASDAQ: CSCO) Unified Computing System (UCS) and entry into the server market a year ago sparked a new IT arms race and has forced data storage, server and networking vendors alike to come up with a strategy for data center convergence.
The promise of a converged or unified computing platform is clear — centralized management and provisioning of virtual resources on-the-fly while reducing physical infrastructure and overall cost.
