Cisco Cisco ACE Application Control Engine Module Information Guide
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Q.
How does the Cisco ACE fit in with the Cisco Data Center Solutions for Application Networking?
A.
The Cisco ACE represents the next-generation application services module within the family of application networking solutions. Initially,
ACE is targeted at the largest and most demanding data center environments where its performance and functional capabilities are required.
As such, customers focusing on more discrete problems or in smaller environments will continue to find great value in the Cisco Content Switching
Module (CSM). For customers who desire the appliance form factor, the Cisco Content Services Switch (CSS) line in combination with the Cisco
AVS appliances is the leading choice.
Table 1.
CSS, CSM and ACE Product Comparison
Cisco CSS 11501
Cisco CSS 11503
Cisco CSS 11506
Cisco CSM for
Catalyst
®
6500
Cisco ACE for
Catalyst
Catalyst
®
6500
Form Factor
Standalone fixed
Standalone modular
Standalone modular
Integrated module
Integrated module
Port Density
8 FE Standard
1 GE Option
2 GE Standard
Up to 32 FE/6 GE
2 GE Standard
Up to 80 FE/12 G
46-528 FE
8-178 GE
46-528 FE
8-178 GE
Site Activity
Low
Medium
High
High
Highest
Hardware Scalability
Hardware
Redundancy
Redundancy
No
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Session
Redundancy
Redundancy
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Layer 2–3
Networking
Networking
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Management/Control
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
SSL Acceleration
External
Internal
Internal
Catalyst 6500 SSL
Module
Internal
Content Switching
Servers, caches, firewalls, VPN
POSITIONING
Q.
What is the Cisco ACE?
A.
The Cisco Application Control Engine, a multifunction module for the Cisco Catalyst 6500, that allows organizations to rapidly deploy,
provision, accelerate and manage application deployments. By logically partitioning the infrastructure to minimize physical application silos,
providing new standards in performance and security, and integrating multiple functions, Cisco ACE gives IT unprecedented control and delivers
new levels of service velocity and high-performance service on behalf of the business.
The Cisco ACE solution provides the following:
•
Application infrastructure control—Providing IT with a next-generation solution to better control the way they deploy, operate, and manage
their application infrastructures with virtual partitioning and role-based access control
•
Application performance—Providing the highest performance, maximum scalability and best availability for data center application delivery