Understanding the physical architecture of UCS
The Cisco UCS solution can be divided into the following three main categories:
- The Cisco UCS FIs
- The Cisco UCS blade servers
- The Cisco UCS rack-mount servers
The Cisco UCS FIs
The Cisco UCS FIs provide network connectivity and management for the connected servers. The UCS FIs run the UCSM control software and consist of the following components:
- 6100 series and 6200 series FIs
- Transceivers for network and storage connectivity
- Expansion modules for both FI series
- UCSM software
The Cisco UCS blade servers
The Cisco UCS blade servers require a mother chassis where these servers can be installed. The UCS blade server solution consists of the following components:
- A blade server chassis, used for installing blades
- B-series blade servers
- IOM modules for connectivity to the FIs
- Transceivers for connectivity to the FIs
- Mezzanine cards for network and storage connectivity
The Cisco UCS rack-mount servers
The Cisco UCS rack-mount servers are standalone servers that can be installed and controlled individually. Cisco provides Fabric Extenders (FEXs) for the rack-mount servers. FEXs can be used to connect and manage rack-mount servers from FIs. The UCS rack-mount server solution consists of the following components:
- UCS C-series rack-mount servers
- FEXs for connecting rack-mount servers to FIs
In this chapter we will provide details about hardware options available for both blade servers and rack-mount servers. Most of the field deployments of UCS servers are based on blade servers. Therefore, our main focus will be on blade server configuration in this book. However, if proper connectivity is established between rack-mount servers and FIs, rack-mount servers can also be managed in the same fashion.
The following figure depicts the FIs running the UCSM software, a blade server chassis with IOM modules, and the main components of a blade server:
In this chapter, we will go into the details of various UCS components and will focus on their physical specifications and installation in the subsequent sections.
Note
The Cisco interactive 3D model for Cisco 5100 series chassis and blades is an excellent resource for exploring Cisco UCS components physically. It is also available for iPhone/iPad (search for UCS Tech Specs in the marketplace). More details on this are available at http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/ps10265/ps10279/ucs_kaon_model_preso.html.