A promising Solution and you never regret [it].
Overall Satisfaction with Cisco UCS Series
We are using Cisco UCS B Series for the Production client-facing environment and a very small portion of the same series on non Production environment. The VMware Hyper-Visor is running on bare metal hosting several virtual machines. It's been for almost 7 years we have been using this and it boosted our up-time as we didn't have any issues while it's running or even during any kind of firmware upgrades.
Pros
- [It's] easy to manage and configure all the chassis and blades using the UCS manager.
- Upgrading the firmware, VMware driver on Cisco UCS is very straight forward.
- Uptime. We never had a situation where the server had crashed.
Cons
- [The] initial investment was very expensive unless Cisco provides a good deal compared to their competitors.
- Increase the hardware EOL and support for min 10 years.
- Very expensive to upgrade the Memory as Cisco recommends not to use the third-party product as it voids the warranty.
- Up-time is always the priority.
- As and when the vulnerabilities are identified, the patches were available from Cisco.
- We did had a good ROI but its still the CAP-ex is expensive.
We do have a Cisco C service server, but that was never configured in a production environment as it was solely used for R&D purposes. Cisco UCS [Series] is very compact with easy to install. 8 Full and 16 half fits in 1 chassis and [it] is very easy to upgrade both vertically and horizontally. We were also able to expand the number of virtual machines growing vertically by adding additional RAM on all the blades without even investing in additional chassis or blades.
The chassis that we use supports 8x10GB=80 GB bandwidth per IOM module with a total of 160 GB. There is no doubt the Cisco Blades offers very good performance, bandwidth, and latency. Having said that, customer satisfaction can always be achieved if we have a good uptime of the application by having a rock-solid redundant backend infrastructure. With 2 Fabric interconnect, all the chassis are cross-connected balancing equally down to virtualization and thus we were able to achieve 100% uptime in the last 7 years. This is a great accomplishment so far.
The beauty of the Cisco UCS Manager is that all the configurations can be driven from a common global template and customization can be done on the specific service profile thus by calling the policies from the various policy template. Whether it's an ISCSI or SAN requirement, the configuration is very user-friendly. All the VLAN's for Vmware virtualization can be defined in the Cisco UCS Manager and then it can be seamlessly configured in the ESXi.
Do you think Cisco UCS Series delivers good value for the price?
No
Are you happy with Cisco UCS Series's feature set?
Yes
Did Cisco UCS Series live up to sales and marketing promises?
Yes
Did implementation of Cisco UCS Series go as expected?
Yes
Would you buy Cisco UCS Series again?
Yes
Using Cisco UCS Series
500 - Our entire IT infrastructure, both for production and non-production environments, operates on a variety of Cisco UCS (Unified Computing System) hardware models. These servers serve as the backbone for hosting and running our proprietary, homegrown application, which is designed specifically to cater to our customers' needs.
The UCS hardware in our environment spans multiple generations and versions, providing a mix of performance, scalability, and reliability to support different workloads. Our production systems handle live customer operations, ensuring high availability and optimal performance, while our non-production environments are used for development, testing, and staging before rolling out updates to production.
By leveraging Cisco UCS, we take advantage of its advanced compute capabilities, unified fabric architecture, and seamless integration with virtualization platforms like VMware vSphere. This setup allows us to maintain efficiency, scalability, and resilience in delivering our application services to customers.
The UCS hardware in our environment spans multiple generations and versions, providing a mix of performance, scalability, and reliability to support different workloads. Our production systems handle live customer operations, ensuring high availability and optimal performance, while our non-production environments are used for development, testing, and staging before rolling out updates to production.
By leveraging Cisco UCS, we take advantage of its advanced compute capabilities, unified fabric architecture, and seamless integration with virtualization platforms like VMware vSphere. This setup allows us to maintain efficiency, scalability, and resilience in delivering our application services to customers.
5 - ur UCS infrastructure is managed and supported by a highly skilled team of senior system engineers, along with engineers who hold the prestigious Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert - Data Center (CCIE DC) certification.
Expertise of Our Team:
Senior System Engineers: These professionals bring extensive experience in designing, deploying, and maintaining our Cisco UCS environment. They handle day-to-day operations, performance tuning, troubleshooting, and ensuring high availability of our compute resources.
CCIE Data Center Certified Engineers: These experts possess deep technical knowledge of Cisco's data center technologies, including UCS, Nexus switches, ACI (Application Centric Infrastructure), and storage networking. Their expertise is crucial in handling complex deployments, optimizing infrastructure, and resolving advanced issues efficiently.By leveraging the expertise of our senior engineers and CCIE-certified professionals, we ensure that our Cisco UCS infrastructure remains robust, scalable, and capable of supporting our mission-critical applications with minimal downtime
Expertise of Our Team:
Senior System Engineers: These professionals bring extensive experience in designing, deploying, and maintaining our Cisco UCS environment. They handle day-to-day operations, performance tuning, troubleshooting, and ensuring high availability of our compute resources.
CCIE Data Center Certified Engineers: These experts possess deep technical knowledge of Cisco's data center technologies, including UCS, Nexus switches, ACI (Application Centric Infrastructure), and storage networking. Their expertise is crucial in handling complex deployments, optimizing infrastructure, and resolving advanced issues efficiently.By leveraging the expertise of our senior engineers and CCIE-certified professionals, we ensure that our Cisco UCS infrastructure remains robust, scalable, and capable of supporting our mission-critical applications with minimal downtime
- Our primary business applications, which are developed in-house, run on Cisco UCS servers. These applications serve our customers and require high availability, scalability, and performance to ensure a seamless user experience.
- The UCS infrastructure supports both production and non-production environments, enabling continuous development, testing, and deployment.
- We leverage VMware vSphere on UCS to create a highly virtualized environment, optimizing resource utilization and scalability. This enables us to efficiently run multiple virtual machines (VMs) for different workloads, ensuring flexibility and cost savings while maintaining performance and security.
- Given the robust compute power of UCS, we use it for running high-performance workloads, including data analytics, monitoring tools (e.g., Zabbix), and database services (e.g., MySQL for Zabbix monitoring). These workloads demand low-latency processing and high throughput, which UCS delivers with its advanced architecture.
- Running High-Performance Monitoring & Analytics (MSSQL & SSIS on UCS)Instead of relying on dedicated database appliances, we run Microsoft SQL Server (MSSQL) and SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) on Cisco UCS to handle our high-performance monitoring, analytics, and ETL workloads. This setup allows us to process large datasets efficiently, leveraging UCS’s compute power, memory optimization, and high-speed storage integration.
- Hyperconverged-like Infrastructure Using UCS & All-Flash Storage
- While we don’t use a traditional hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI), we have combined UCS with Pure Storage & Nimble HF40 arrays to achieve similar benefits , low-latency, high-throughput performance with centralized management. This approach gives us better control over storage, compute, and networking without being locked into proprietary HCI solutions
- Dynamic Workload Migration Between Production & Non-Production. By utilizing UCS Service Profiles, we can dynamically shift compute resources between production and non-production environments without physically reconfiguring hardware. This helps optimize resource allocation during peak loads—such as diverting extra capacity to production during high-traffic periods and then reallocating it for testing or development when demand stabilizes.
- Implementing SQL Server Always On for Mission-Critical Databases
- We could leverage Cisco UCS with Microsoft SQL Server Always On Availability Groups to enhance database fault tolerance, automatic failover, and high availability. This would improve data redundancy and minimize downtime for our critical business applications and analytics workloads.
- Kubernetes & Containerized Workloads
- As we modernize our infrastructure, running Kubernetes clusters (e.g., AKS, OpenShift) on UCS could allow us to deploy, manage, and scale containerized applications efficiently. This would provide greater agility for microservices-based architectures, improving application deployment and resource utilization.
- Hybrid Cloud Integration with Azure & AWS
- We could further extend our UCS workloads into the cloud, using hybrid cloud strategies that leverage Azure Arc or AWS Outposts. This would allow seamless workload migration, cloud bursting, and disaster recovery solutions for scalability and cost efficiency.
- Enhanced Automation & Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC)
- By leveraging UCS APIs, Ansible, or Terraform, we could automate provisioning, patching, and scaling of UCS blades dynamically. This would reduce manual effort, enforce consistency, and streamline operations for both production and non-production environments.
Evaluating Cisco UCS Series and Competitors
- Cloud Solutions
- Scalability
- Integration with Other Systems
- Ease of Use
The decision to purchase Cisco UCS Series was primarily driven by its scalability, allowing us to easily expand compute resources for both production and non-production environments. Its ability to integrate seamlessly with other systems, such as Pure Storage, Nimble HF40, VMware vSphere, and MSSQL, played a significant role. The ease of use provided by unified management tools like UCS Manager, Intersight, and Service Profiles helped streamline operations. Additionally, the UCS platform's cloud solution capabilities, low-latency architecture, and high-performance compute made it a strong fit for our infrastructure needs.
If we had to redo the evaluation and selection process for Cisco UCS, we would place greater emphasis on cloud integration capabilities, ensuring seamless alignment with public cloud platforms like Azure and AWS for future scalability. We would also conduct a broader comparison with hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) and cloud-native solutions to evaluate cost-efficiency and scalability. Additionally, a more detailed Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) analysis would be performed to fully understand both initial and long-term costs, including potential alternatives. Lastly, we would implement a more comprehensive proof of concept (PoC) to assess performance and operational suitability for critical workloads before committing to a full purchase.
Cisco UCS Series Implementation
- Implemented in-house
Change management was a big part of the implementation and was well-handled - 1. Clear Communication is Key: We ensured that all stakeholders were well-informed about the changes, including timelines, expected outcomes, and potential impacts. Regular updates and communication channels helped keep everyone aligned and minimized confusion during the implementation phase.2. Thorough Training for Staff: Given the complexity of UCS and its management tools, we realized the importance of providing adequate training for the IT team. Ensuring that everyone was comfortable with the new platform, from UCS Manager to integration with storage and networking systems, significantly reduced friction and potential errors during the transition3. Proactive Change Management Tools: Implementing change management tools such as change control processes, documentation, and testing environments allowed us to thoroughly vet changes before they went live. This helped prevent disruptions and ensured smoother adoption by the organization.
- Training and Knowledge Gaps:
- While Cisco UCS is a powerful platform, the learning curve for the team was steep, especially when it came to leveraging all the features of UCS Manager, Service Profiles, and automation tools. We had to invest time and resources into training staff to ensure effective use and management of the platform.
- Downtime During Upgrade Process:
- During both the hardware and firmware upgrades, we had to carefully manage downtime and minimize disruptions to our production systems. Despite planning and testing, some unexpected issues arose during these upgrades, requiring extra support and attention to ensure everything ran smoothly.
- While these issues were significant, they were addressed through careful planning, support from Cisco, and a systematic approach to troubleshooting, ultimately leading to a successful deployment.
Cisco UCS Series Training
Configuring Cisco UCS Series
We follow a comprehensive hardening guide and best practices for configuring Cisco UCS Series to ensure security, scalability, and optimal performance. Key practices include enforcing strong password policies, utilizing role-based access control (RBAC), regularly updating firmware for security patches, and disabling unused ports and services. We leverage Service Profiles for consistent configurations, plan for future growth by ensuring scalability, and implement robust monitoring and alerting to catch issues early. Regular backups and a structured approach to firmware management help protect configurations, while efficient resource allocation ensures optimal performance. These practices help maintain a secure and reliable UCS infrastructure
No - we have not done any customization to the interface
No - we have not done any custom code
We didn't make any additional configurations or customizations beyond the standard setup and best practices outlined. Our focus has been on adhering to the hardening guide and best practices to ensure a secure, scalable, and efficient deployment of Cisco UCS Series, without the need for extensive custom configurations. This approach has allowed us to maintain a stable and reliable environment without introducing unnecessary complexity.
Cisco UCS Series Support
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Quick Resolution Knowledgeable team Problems get solved Kept well informed No escalation required Immediate help available Support understands my problem Support cares about my success Quick Initial Response | Poor followup |
Yes, we purchased 24x7x4-hour support for Cisco UCS since we run this hardware in our production environment. Given the critical nature of our operations and the need for high availability, it was essential to have round-the-clock access to support. The 4-hour response time ensures that any issues are addressed promptly, minimizing potential downtime and keeping our business running smoothly. This level of support provides us with the peace of mind that we can quickly resolve any hardware or performance issues that may arise, which is crucial for our mission-critical workloads
1. Resolution of Driver Conflict: Cisco helped us resolve a conflict between the VMware-recommended NFNIC driver version and the Cisco-recommended version, ensuring compatibility and optimal performance.
2. Hardware-Related Issues: When we faced hardware-related issues, Cisco's support team was quick to diagnose and guide us through the resolution process, minimizing downtime.
3. Assistance During UCS Hardware Upgrade: Cisco provided valuable assistance during a UCS hardware upgrade, ensuring a smooth transition and minimizing disruption to our services.
4. Support During UCS Firmware Upgrade: Cisco helped us navigate through a UCS firmware upgrade, ensuring a seamless update and proper configuration of new features.
5. Performance Troubleshooting in VMware: When we encountered performance-related issues in VMware, Cisco's support team guided us through troubleshooting steps, helping us identify and resolve bottlenecks efficiently
2. Hardware-Related Issues: When we faced hardware-related issues, Cisco's support team was quick to diagnose and guide us through the resolution process, minimizing downtime.
3. Assistance During UCS Hardware Upgrade: Cisco provided valuable assistance during a UCS hardware upgrade, ensuring a smooth transition and minimizing disruption to our services.
4. Support During UCS Firmware Upgrade: Cisco helped us navigate through a UCS firmware upgrade, ensuring a seamless update and proper configuration of new features.
5. Performance Troubleshooting in VMware: When we encountered performance-related issues in VMware, Cisco's support team guided us through troubleshooting steps, helping us identify and resolve bottlenecks efficiently
Using Cisco UCS Series
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Like to use Relatively simple Easy to use Technical support not required Well integrated Consistent Convenient Feel confident using | Slow to learn Lots to learn |
- Provisioning and Configuration with Service Profiles:
- The use of Service Profiles allows for quick and automated configuration of compute resources, enabling rapid deployment of new servers without manually adjusting hardware settings. This process streamlines the initial setup and ensures consistency across the environment.
- Unified Management with UCS Manager:
- The UCS Manager provides a centralized, intuitive interface to manage compute, networking, and storage resources, making it easy to monitor and configure all components within the system. It simplifies tasks like firmware upgrades, system health monitoring, and resource allocation.
- Firmware Upgrades:
- The process of upgrading firmware across UCS blades and chassis is straightforward, with automated tools and the ability to schedule updates to minimize downtime. This helps ensure that all hardware stays current with minimal effort.
- Scaling Infrastructure:
- Adding or removing blades and chassis is seamless, with UCS making it easy to scale our infrastructure based on changing demands, all through a unified management platform.
- Complex Configuration for Advanced Networking:
- Setting up more advanced networking configurations, such as UCS Fabric Interconnects or multi-chassis clustering, can be intricate and may require in-depth knowledge of Cisco’s networking architecture. These configurations are not always intuitive and can lead to potential misconfigurations if not handled carefully.
- Troubleshooting Hardware Failures:
- While UCS Manager offers monitoring tools, troubleshooting hardware failures, especially when dealing with complex issues like faulty DIMMs or CPUs, can be more challenging compared to some other platforms. The diagnostic process may require detailed log analysis and could involve multiple steps, which can be time-consuming.
- Firmware Compatibility Management:
- Managing firmware compatibility across different hardware versions (especially during upgrades) can be cumbersome. Sometimes, ensuring that all components are running compatible versions of firmware (for both UCS blades and network adapters) requires additional attention to detail and is more error-prone than expected.
Yes, but I don't use it
Cisco UCS Series Reliability
Integrating Cisco UCS Series
- VMware vSphere:
- Cisco UCS Series is tightly integrated with VMware vSphere for virtualized workloads. We leverage UCS for compute resources and manage virtual machines through vSphere, ensuring seamless compute and storage provisioning.
- Storage Solutions (Pure Storage, Nimble HF40):
- UCS is integrated with our Pure Storage and Nimble HF40 arrays to provide high-performance storage for virtualized environments and applications. This integration enables efficient storage management and data accessibility.
- Backup Solutions:
- Cisco UCS is integrated with our backup solutions to ensure data protection and disaster recovery capabilities across the infrastructure, ensuring business continuity in case of failure.
- Monitoring and Management Systems (Zabbix, Intersight):
- We use Zabbix for monitoring the UCS hardware and Cisco Intersight for centralized management and monitoring, allowing us to track performance and health across multiple systems.
- As of now, there are no specific plans to integrate Cisco UCS Series with additional systems. Our current integrations with VMware vSphere, storage solutions, Cisco ACI, and monitoring tools like Zabbix and Intersight are sufficient to meet our needs. However, we remain open to exploring further integrations in the future as our infrastructure evolves.
As of now, there are no specific plans to integrate Cisco UCS Series with additional systems. Our current integrations with VMware vSphere, storage solutions, Cisco ACI, and monitoring tools like Zabbix and Intersight are sufficient to meet our needs. However, we remain open to exploring further integrations in the future as our infrastructure evolves.
- Single Signon
We have used Okta integration with Cisco UCS Series for single sign-on (SSO) and user authentication. This integration allows us to manage user access securely and centrally, providing seamless authentication across our UCS management interfaces. By leveraging Okta, we ensure that our user credentials are handled in a secure and streamlined manner, reducing the complexity of managing multiple login credentials for different systems.
Plan Integration Carefully:
Before starting, thoroughly assess your infrastructure and the systems you plan to integrate with UCS. Ensure compatibility between your storage systems, networking solutions, and virtualization platforms. For example, verify that the driver and firmware versions align with both UCS and other systems like VMware vSphere.2. Leverage UCS Manager and Intersight:
Use UCS Manager for configuring UCS and Cisco Intersight for centralized management. These tools provide built-in support for integration and automation, helping streamline the configuration process and reducing manual intervention. 3. Standardize Authentication:
Implement a centralized authentication system like Okta for single sign-on (SSO) across your UCS infrastructure. This will simplify user management and enhance security by reducing the number of credentials that need to be handled.
4. Document All Configurations:
Keep a detailed record of your integration steps, configurations, and any custom settings applied. This documentation will be invaluable for troubleshooting, future integrations, or system migrations.
Before starting, thoroughly assess your infrastructure and the systems you plan to integrate with UCS. Ensure compatibility between your storage systems, networking solutions, and virtualization platforms. For example, verify that the driver and firmware versions align with both UCS and other systems like VMware vSphere.2. Leverage UCS Manager and Intersight:
Use UCS Manager for configuring UCS and Cisco Intersight for centralized management. These tools provide built-in support for integration and automation, helping streamline the configuration process and reducing manual intervention. 3. Standardize Authentication:
Implement a centralized authentication system like Okta for single sign-on (SSO) across your UCS infrastructure. This will simplify user management and enhance security by reducing the number of credentials that need to be handled.
4. Document All Configurations:
Keep a detailed record of your integration steps, configurations, and any custom settings applied. This documentation will be invaluable for troubleshooting, future integrations, or system migrations.
Relationship with Cisco
The principal terms we were able to negotiate with the vendor included pricing and additional hardware. Cisco offered us a competitive pricing structure that aligned with our budget, which helped secure the deal. Additionally, as part of the negotiation, they provided some extra hardware at no additional cost, which added significant value to our purchase. These terms helped enhance the overall cost-effectiveness of the solution and made the investment more attractive.
To effectively deal with the vendor, it's important to clearly define your technical and business needs from the start, enabling them to provide a tailored solution. Negotiate early and often, particularly around pricing and additional services, and consider the total cost of ownership over time. Build a strong relationship with both the sales and support teams to ensure smooth communication and quicker resolutions. If uncertain about a product, request a trial or proof of concept to test its fit. Lastly, stay informed about product updates and special offers, which can provide negotiation leverage and help you secure the best deal.
Upgrading Cisco UCS Series
Yes - Yes, the process of upgrading to a new release of Cisco UCS Series was seamless. The upgrade process went smoothly without significant issues, and the system continued to function reliably throughout the transition. The vendor's support, along with well-documented upgrade procedures, helped ensure that the upgrade was completed efficiently and without any major disruptions to our environment.
- Improved Performance:
- The upgrade enhanced the overall performance of our infrastructure, resulting in faster processing times, more efficient resource allocation, and improved workload handling.
- Enhanced Security:
- With updated firmware and security patches, the upgrade strengthened our security posture, helping to protect against vulnerabilities and ensuring that our systems remain compliant with industry standards.
- Simplified Management:
- The upgrade provided a more user-friendly management interface, improving the efficiency of system administration and making it easier to monitor and maintain the UCS environment.
- Further Performance Enhancements:
- We anticipate even faster processing times and better resource utilization, allowing us to handle more demanding workloads with ease.
- Advanced Security Features:
- We expect to see additional security enhancements, including new tools or features to protect against emerging threats and maintain compliance with industry standards.
- User Experience Improvements:
- We look forward to a more intuitive and streamlined user interface, making system management even easier for our teams.


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