Cisco Cisco Nexus 5010 Switch Dépliant
Fabian Reber
IT Network Manager
Lonza
IT Network Manager
Lonza
Customer Case Study
Solution
A new network was needed to provide robust interconnection with a planned
back-up data center, as well as providing the needed boost to performance and
scalability. The solution had to be simple to install and operate by removing the
need to agree service windows for maintenance and software upgrades, for
example. After considering several proposals and reaching a shortlist of two,
Lonza chose a solution based on the Cisco Nexus® 5548UP Switch.
back-up data center, as well as providing the needed boost to performance and
scalability. The solution had to be simple to install and operate by removing the
need to agree service windows for maintenance and software upgrades, for
example. After considering several proposals and reaching a shortlist of two,
Lonza chose a solution based on the Cisco Nexus® 5548UP Switch.
“We wanted the best technology,” says Reber, “and decided that our long-term
needs would be best served by Cisco Nexus with its advanced capabilities such as
FabricPath and Virtual Port Channel.”
needs would be best served by Cisco Nexus with its advanced capabilities such as
FabricPath and Virtual Port Channel.”
Cisco® FabricPath, a crucial element in the Cisco Unified Fabric data center network
architecture, is a Cisco NX-OS Software innovation that combines the flexibility
of Layer 2 switching with the reliability and scalability of Layer 3 routing. With the
plug-and-play simplicity of Ethernet, FabricPath helps enable very large, scalable
topologies without having to build multiple tiers. It also eliminates Spanning Tree
Protocol issues that sometimes block links and restrict potential traffic pathways.
architecture, is a Cisco NX-OS Software innovation that combines the flexibility
of Layer 2 switching with the reliability and scalability of Layer 3 routing. With the
plug-and-play simplicity of Ethernet, FabricPath helps enable very large, scalable
topologies without having to build multiple tiers. It also eliminates Spanning Tree
Protocol issues that sometimes block links and restrict potential traffic pathways.
Cisco Virtual Port Channel (vPC) technology allows links that are physically
connected to two different Cisco Nexus 5500 Series devices to appear as a single
port channel to a third device. That third device can be a Cisco Nexus 2000 Series
Fabric Extender or a switch, server, or any other networking device or end system.
Through the provision of Layer 2 multipathing it also boosts redundancy by helping
enable multiple parallel paths between nodes and load balancing of traffic where
alternative paths exist.
connected to two different Cisco Nexus 5500 Series devices to appear as a single
port channel to a third device. That third device can be a Cisco Nexus 2000 Series
Fabric Extender or a switch, server, or any other networking device or end system.
Through the provision of Layer 2 multipathing it also boosts redundancy by helping
enable multiple parallel paths between nodes and load balancing of traffic where
alternative paths exist.
Lonza was already benefiting from Cisco In-Service Software Upgrades (ISSU), an
industry-first that allows the data center to remain operational without interruption
during essential software upgrades. “Using the ISSU feature ensured smooth
migration to the Nexus platform,” says Reber, “and was a major factor in keeping
our global business processes on a stable and resilient footing throughout the
Nexus implementation.”
industry-first that allows the data center to remain operational without interruption
during essential software upgrades. “Using the ISSU feature ensured smooth
migration to the Nexus platform,” says Reber, “and was a major factor in keeping
our global business processes on a stable and resilient footing throughout the
Nexus implementation.”
Results
Lonza is an example of best practice in cost effectively transforming data center
operations. By introducing Cisco Nexus technologies, it has optimized IT performance
and simplified operations, while lowering total cost of ownership. Exceptionally low
latency has also enhanced operational efficiency and customer responsiveness.
operations. By introducing Cisco Nexus technologies, it has optimized IT performance
and simplified operations, while lowering total cost of ownership. Exceptionally low
latency has also enhanced operational efficiency and customer responsiveness.
“Application performance has improved with Cisco Nexus, mainly because of the
injection of greater bandwidth with a low-latency lossless fabric,” says Reber. “In
our VMware virtualized environment, for example, we’re experiencing far fewer
bottlenecks for resource-intensive applications, resulting in an overall performance
improvement of up to 30 percent.”
injection of greater bandwidth with a low-latency lossless fabric,” says Reber. “In
our VMware virtualized environment, for example, we’re experiencing far fewer
bottlenecks for resource-intensive applications, resulting in an overall performance
improvement of up to 30 percent.”
With Cisco FabricPath, Lonza has a foundation for building massively scalable
and flexible data centers. When deployed across multiple Cisco Nexus chassis,
the FabricPath switching system creates a flat data center fabric that delivers
operational efficiencies through network simplification, faster provisioning, and
reduced power needs.
and flexible data centers. When deployed across multiple Cisco Nexus chassis,
the FabricPath switching system creates a flat data center fabric that delivers
operational efficiencies through network simplification, faster provisioning, and
reduced power needs.
Reliability has also improved. Deploying vPC increases Layer 2 stability by allowing all
links to operate in forwarding mode and reducing Spanning Tree complexity. Thus
no service disruption caused by ports changing state can occur.
links to operate in forwarding mode and reducing Spanning Tree complexity. Thus
no service disruption caused by ports changing state can occur.
© 2013 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. This document is Cisco Public Information.
Page 2 of 3