Cisco Cisco UCS 6324 Fabric Interconnect Libro blanco
© 2016 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. This document is Cisco Public information.
Page 6
Cisco UCS Unified Fabric
January 2016
approach reduces infrastructure cost per server and interconnects servers with a
single hop, in contrast to the multiple hops and higher latency inherent in traditional
environments. The combination of the system’s fabric interconnects, fabric
extenders, and Cisco UCS VICs establishes a centrally managed yet physically
distributed system that can contain both blade and rack servers.
single hop, in contrast to the multiple hops and higher latency inherent in traditional
environments. The combination of the system’s fabric interconnects, fabric
extenders, and Cisco UCS VICs establishes a centrally managed yet physically
distributed system that can contain both blade and rack servers.
Connecting to Physical Servers and Virtual Machines
Cisco VICs directly connect the network to physical rack and blade servers and
virtual machines. Static PCI Express (PCIe) interfaces are configured on demand
to adapt servers to meet the best-practice needs of any operating system or
hypervisor, providing the NICs and HBAs they need without requiring any special
driver software. Dynamic interfaces are configured and attached to virtual machines,
giving them direct access to the network. After they are attached, a virtual
machine’s network interfaces migrate from server to server along with the virtual
machine, simplifying virtual network management and providing air-gap security
to virtual environments. Every network link has the same security as if it were a
physical cable. This Cisco Data Center Virtual Machine Fabric Extender (VM-FEX)
technology coordinates the movement of virtual network connectivity in concert with
the leading hypervisors.
virtual machines. Static PCI Express (PCIe) interfaces are configured on demand
to adapt servers to meet the best-practice needs of any operating system or
hypervisor, providing the NICs and HBAs they need without requiring any special
driver software. Dynamic interfaces are configured and attached to virtual machines,
giving them direct access to the network. After they are attached, a virtual
machine’s network interfaces migrate from server to server along with the virtual
machine, simplifying virtual network management and providing air-gap security
to virtual environments. Every network link has the same security as if it were a
physical cable. This Cisco Data Center Virtual Machine Fabric Extender (VM-FEX)
technology coordinates the movement of virtual network connectivity in concert with
the leading hypervisors.
Within a Cisco UCS instance, every interface on a Cisco VIC (or on a third-party
converged network adapter [CNA]) is terminated at a virtual interface within the
fabric interconnect. Virtual interfaces are not permanently bound to a specific
physical interface on the fabric interconnect. Simply by changing the virtual-to-
physical mapping in the fabric interconnect, you can move virtual NICs (vNICs) from
server to server. Terminating every connection at a virtual interface allows physical
and virtual machines to be treated equivalently, with the same visibility and control
converged network adapter [CNA]) is terminated at a virtual interface within the
fabric interconnect. Virtual interfaces are not permanently bound to a specific
physical interface on the fabric interconnect. Simply by changing the virtual-to-
physical mapping in the fabric interconnect, you can move virtual NICs (vNICs) from
server to server. Terminating every connection at a virtual interface allows physical
and virtual machines to be treated equivalently, with the same visibility and control
Rack Server
Each Network Link Is Treated as if It Were Physical
Single Ethernet and
FCoE Network
Single Network Layer
Ethernet and Fibre
Channel Connectivity
Management
Connectivity
Cisco UCS
Manager
Direct Connection
to Virtual Machines
Blade Server
Fabric
Extenders
Fabric
Interconnect
Physical Architecture
Logical Architecture
Cisco
Integrated
Management
Controller
UCS B22 M3
CONSOLE
Figure 1. Virtual Interfaces Allow the Network Fabric to Treat Every Link as if It Were on a
Separate Cable
Separate Cable