Cisco Cisco UCS Integrations Getting Started Guide

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Service profiles and templates: The infrastructure policies 
needed to deploy applications are encapsulated in the service 
profiles templates, which are collections of policies needed for the 
specific applications. The service profile templates are then used 
to create one or more service profiles, which provide the complete 
definition of the server, storage, and fabric. Service profiles and 
service profile templates also help eliminate configuration drift 
and ensure a standardized environment for the applications. 
Unified Control Plane
 in the Cisco UCS management 
framework work in conjunction with the 
the VICs to facilitate IaC (Figure 1). The Cisco UCS management API 
provides a unified control plane. It is a programmatic interface for all the 
components in the system, including Cisco UCS B-Series Blade Servers, 
C-Series Rack Servers, and 
 hyperconverged infrastructure. Developers 
can automatically provision and tailor their infrastructure to meet their 
application requirements. An API call can initiate changes to attributes of 
one or more objects, including chassis, servers, adapters, drives, policies, 
and other configurable components.
Figure 1.  Cisco UCS Management and the API Manage Cisco UCS and Cisco 
HyperFlex Infrastructure as Code
API
Cisco UCS Management
Policy- and Model-Based Infrastructure
Unified Control Plane
Cisco UCS
Mini
Cisco UCS
B-Series
Servers
Hyperconverged
Storage
Cisco UCS
C-Series
Cisco UCS
S-Series
Cisco HyperFlex
Systems
Integrations
Customization
Different Application Types
Python
Windows
PowerShell
IBM
Symantec
VMware
Chef
Puppet
Zenoss
Hewlett Packard Enterprise
CA Technologies
BMC
Microsoft System Center
SolarWinds
Splunk
OpenStack
Operating System
Bare Metal
Container
Application
Operating System
Application
Operating System
App App App
Hypervisor
The software-defined infrastructure—both Cisco UCS and Cisco 
HyperFlex platforms—are policy and model based. The service profiles 
allow you to define connectivity, computing, storage, chassis, and 
firmware settings once and then roll out components with the same 
settings every time, with confidence that the settings will stay the same 
over time.
Service profiles are essential to Cisco UCS management automation. 
They provision the infrastructure and facilitate infrastructure lifecycle 
management for Cisco UCS and the I/O properties within a Cisco 
UCS domain. Infrastructure policies are created by server, network, 
and storage administrators and are stored in the Cisco UCS fabric 
interconnects. In combination with the Cisco UCS API, the policies 
provide a common language for provisioning and configuring the 
infrastructure across the various types of devices. This policy- and 
model-based approach also helps ensure that the environment does 
not drift from the intended configuration. This approach increases 
speed and flexibility, helps ensure consistency, and reduces the risk 
of manual errors.
Facilitate Change While Preserving Investments
To address the broader requirements for DevOps and continuous delivery, 
you need a holistic approach. Our open architecture supports a variety of 
infrastructure solutions from Cisco and more than a dozen independent 
software vendors (ISVs). This includes out-of-the-box integrations with 
Puppet, VMware, Microsoft, OpenStack, and many ISVs. This 
 includes configuration, deployment, orchestration, monitoring, 
and analysis tools. Cisco UCS management integrates with 
. It is also an essential 
component of 
The unified API also facilitates 
 through 
 for Microsoft Windows 
of Cisco UCS Manager and the Cisco UCS API without requiring physical 
hardware. The emulator significantly shortens the development cycle for 
applications that are based on the Cisco UCS API. You can create and test 
programs using only the emulator installed on a PC or laptop computer. 
© 2016 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
Cisco UCS Programmability 
At a Glance
Cisco Public