Cisco and Pure Announce FlashStack – a Joint CI Solution

Last week, Cisco and Pure Storage announced FlashStack. FlashStack is a jointly-developed Converged Infrastructure (CI) solution bundle / reference architecture.

The FlashStack solution uses Cisco network and compute hardware, Pure Storage storage hardware, and VMware for the hypervisor and virtualization layer.

FlashStack CI is not a product, per se, but a Cisco Validated Design (CVD) or reference architecture (RA) that both companies will work together to support. This support includes both Pure Storage’s Flash Forward and Evergreen Storage programs.

What’s In It

A FlashStack CI solution consists of:

  • Cisco Nexus switches
  • Cisco UCS Fabric Interconnects
  • Cisco UCS B-Series blade servers
  • Pure Storage FlashArray//m storage array
  • VMware vSphere

The exact configuration of the UCS servers and the FlashArray//m will depend upon the capacity and performance needs of the customer’s workload.

Supported Solutions

As of this writing, FlashStack CI reference architectures (all considered part of the “v1 FlashStack RA”) are available specifically designed for use with:

  • Citrix XenDesktop
  • Epic Electronic Health Records (EHR)
  • Microsoft SQL Server
  • VMware Horizon View
  • VMware vSphere

Speculation

While I’m not privy to any FlashStack roadmap plans, I fully expect that we might see other application-specific FlashStack reference architectures before the end of the year. I’d guess Oracle RAC, SAP HANA, and other vendors’ EHR applications.

Availability

The FlashStack CI is orderable now from “accredited FlashStack Partners”. Don’t know if the reseller/VAR you normally purchase through is an accredited FlashStack Partner? You’ll have to ask them, or check with your Cisco and/or Pure Storage reps.

Resources

Links to more information on the FlashStack CI solution:

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