Cisco Cisco UCS Director Version 3.4.1.1 Information Guide
3 © 2014 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. This document is Cisco Public Information.
Results
With Cisco UCS Director running on FlexPod, ORBIT gains visibility into the workflow that
improves project and resource management. From a single interface, managers can
see what projects are ongoing and the amount of resources spent on each project. This
insight helps developers and customers gain a better understanding of how much work
is being attributed to a project for clearer project budgeting.
improves project and resource management. From a single interface, managers can
see what projects are ongoing and the amount of resources spent on each project. This
insight helps developers and customers gain a better understanding of how much work
is being attributed to a project for clearer project budgeting.
The ability to view all projects at once enables managers at ORBIT to grasp overall resource
usage and project system capacity. When projects are completed, all virtual machines
related to that project can be identified and decommissioned quickly, which frees up
resources for other projects.
usage and project system capacity. When projects are completed, all virtual machines
related to that project can be identified and decommissioned quickly, which frees up
resources for other projects.
“By hastening the virtual machine lifecycle, we’re able to increase our utilization rates on
the FlexPod environment,” says Majunke. “We can scale the environment to meet our
current needs without over-investing in resources that will sit unused.”
the FlexPod environment,” says Majunke. “We can scale the environment to meet our
current needs without over-investing in resources that will sit unused.”
Automating the provisioning process for virtual machines helps developers get started on
work for customers even faster. Previously, provisioning servers was a manual process
that took three days to complete. Using Cisco UCS Director and FlexPod, those servers
can be provisioned in less than an hour. ORBIT has also moved beyond internal use with
a self-service portal for customers. Using this portal, customers can provision their own
servers in a matter of minutes.
work for customers even faster. Previously, provisioning servers was a manual process
that took three days to complete. Using Cisco UCS Director and FlexPod, those servers
can be provisioned in less than an hour. ORBIT has also moved beyond internal use with
a self-service portal for customers. Using this portal, customers can provision their own
servers in a matter of minutes.
Automation also helps ensure more consistent results, leading to more predictable resource
usage, while reducing the load on consultants. Rather than manually configuring and
attributing resources, consultants can concentrate on more valuable activities that support
developers and contribute to better quality service and results for clients.
usage, while reducing the load on consultants. Rather than manually configuring and
attributing resources, consultants can concentrate on more valuable activities that support
developers and contribute to better quality service and results for clients.
“We have hundreds of virtual machines running at any time, so there were times where we
needed to work nights or weekends just to keep on top of the machines,” says Majunke.
“By automating provisioning and decommissioning with Cisco UCS Director, we’re saving
man-hours, up to five days a month. We can now spend more time on customer projects
and revenue generation.”
needed to work nights or weekends just to keep on top of the machines,” says Majunke.
“By automating provisioning and decommissioning with Cisco UCS Director, we’re saving
man-hours, up to five days a month. We can now spend more time on customer projects
and revenue generation.”
The powerful FlexPod architecture contributes to the performance of the virtual machines.
Every component of the FlexPod implementation is built with high density to handle virtual
environments efficiently. “Applications are running faster on FlexPod, which helps our
developers be more productive,” says Majunke.
Every component of the FlexPod implementation is built with high density to handle virtual
environments efficiently. “Applications are running faster on FlexPod, which helps our
developers be more productive,” says Majunke.
The converged FlexPod solution makes scaling simple when ORBIT needs to increase the
overall capacity of its virtual environment. With fewer devices involved, there’s no need for
complex cabling as required by other types of solutions. More importantly, FlexPod is a pre-
validated and integrated system, so ORBIT can eliminate complex configurations and testing
processes to scale quickly and efficiently. “Time for testing has nearly been eliminated,”
says Majunke. “FlexPod enables us to add resources effortlessly.”
overall capacity of its virtual environment. With fewer devices involved, there’s no need for
complex cabling as required by other types of solutions. More importantly, FlexPod is a pre-
validated and integrated system, so ORBIT can eliminate complex configurations and testing
processes to scale quickly and efficiently. “Time for testing has nearly been eliminated,”
says Majunke. “FlexPod enables us to add resources effortlessly.”
With FlexPod delivering fast scalability and provisioning, the time needed to deliver services
has been reduced from days to hours. Before FlexPod, it could take two days for ORBIT
to provision a new database server, but that time has been reduced to hours. Even complex
cloud services can be deployed and running smoothly in just weeks.
has been reduced from days to hours. Before FlexPod, it could take two days for ORBIT
to provision a new database server, but that time has been reduced to hours. Even complex
cloud services can be deployed and running smoothly in just weeks.