San Jose and Sunnyvale, Calif. — April 10, 2012 — To help more customers accelerate their transition to the cloud, Cisco and NetApp (NASDAQ: NTAP) today announced plans to extend the FlexPod with a series of new pre-validated design architectures priced and sized for smaller workloads.  This new FlexPod series is built on a flexible, scalable, shared infrastructure that combines computing, networking and storage solutions from Cisco and NetApp. Additionally, to simplify and accelerate implementation of cloud automation capabilities, Cisco and NetApp have also validated several new management solutions from leading software management vendors for all FlexPod design architectures.

Highlights/ Key Facts

Entry-Level FlexPod Solution

• Offering price and scale that's sized for business application workloads with 500 to 1000 users, the entry-level FlexPod solution allows customers to invest only in the infrastructure they require and allow for simple and rapid scaling to meet growing demands as their business needs change.

• Customers gain investment protection with the new entry-level FlexPod solution, which easily scales to larger enterprises by simply adding incremental capacity, as their needs grow for larger application workloads.
• The entry-level FlexPod combines for the first time the NetApp entry level FAS 2240 and the Cisco UCS™ C-Series Cisco Nexus 5000® Switches, Cisco® Nexus 2232 Fabric Extender, and Cisco UCS 6200 Series Fabric Interconnects.  
• Similar to other FlexPod pre-validated solutions, this entry level FlexPod provides greater flexibility and customer choice, supporting multiple hypervisors and business applications to help accelerate deployment of private clouds.
• Since Cisco and NetApp first announced FlexPod in November 2010, it has grown to become an extremely popular converged infrastructure platform. FlexPod is available worldwide through more than 500 FlexPod partners and more than 850 customers are using FlexPod for their data center infrastructure – representing more than 400% growth in customer adoption in less than a year. 

Flexible Management Options

• Cisco and NetApp offer customers greater flexibility and choice in how they manage their FlexPod solution. Management options include:
  • Validated FlexPod management solutions which provide unified, turn-key functionality for automation and orchestration. These solutions have passed extensive testing in Cisco and NetApp labs against a broad set of functional and design requirements. Solutions available today include products from CA Technologies, Cloupia, and Gale Technologies.  
  • In addition, customers can also maximize their investment in existing management tools by managing their solution via open APIs, Cisco Intelligent Automation for Cloud, VMware vCloud® Director or VMware vCenter™ Server. 

Quotes

• Omer Mushahwar, senior associate at Torti Gallas and Partners, Inc.

"As a global architecture, planning and urban design firm, our IT infrastructure is a vital foundation in enabling us to create the innovative residential, commercial, and institutional structures our clients rely on us for. When we began looking for a solution to replace a large part of our existing server infrastructure, we sought three things: storage, speed, and virtualization. FlexPod has freed us not only from aging equipment but a 100% physical environment, which has allowed our infrastructure to take a huge leap forward. Our FlexPod solution has helped us to prevent the loss of $45,000 per day during power outages, streamline IT management, improve service levels, position the company for growth, and empowers us to serve our clients and generate revenue without skipping a beat."

• Satinder Sethi, vice president data center solutions, Data Center Group, Cisco
  "As customers balance their need to scale for their future growth with simplified solutions that can be rapidly deployed, Cisco is continuing to work with partners like NetApp to deliver cost-effective pre-tested cloud infrastructure solutions to address these needs. With NetApp, Cisco is working to increase opportunities for partners to provide customers with the scalability, flexibility, and manageability of Cisco UCS with NetApp storage to achieve maximum return on investment."
• Chris Cummings, vice president, Products and Solutions Marketing, NetApp

"Since the initial announcement of FlexPod more than a year ago, the innovative stack approach leveraging best-of-breed technology has achieved strong adoption and proven highly successful in enabling partners and customers to simplify their transition to the cloud. With today's announcement, Cisco and NetApp have evolved the FlexPod architecture to address growing demand and deliver greater value to an expanded range of customers."

• Gary Green, vice president, Global Strategic Alliances, VMware

"Our continued collaboration with NetApp and Cisco on the FlexPod architecture provides businesses of all sizes with trusted and simplified data center solutions as they accelerate their journey to the cloud. By utilizing the VMware cloud infrastructure on the new entry-level FlexPod solution, organizations are empowered with a greater level of flexibility and efficiency as their business needs evolve."

Additional Resources

• Learn more about FlexPod: www.netapp.com/us/technology/flexpod/

• Connect with NetApp experts and storage enthusiasts in the NetApp Community: http://communities.netapp.com/community/products_and_solutions/efficient_it
• Follow NetApp on Twitter: www.twitter.com/NetApp
• Join NetApp on Facebook: www.facebook.com/NetApp
• View NetApp videos on YouTube: www.youtube.com/NetAppTV
• Connect with NetApp on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/groups?about=&gid=111681
• Follow Cisco on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.
• VMware blog: VMware / NetApp / Cisco Enterprise Solution Comes to a Mid-Size Business Near You

About Cisco

Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO), is the worldwide leader in networking that transforms how people connect, communicate and collaborate. Information about Cisco can be found at www.cisco.com. For ongoing news, please go to newsroom.cisco.com.

About NetApp

NetApp creates innovative storage and data management solutions that deliver outstanding cost efficiency and accelerate business breakthroughs. Our commitment to living our core values and consistently being recognized as a great place to work around the world are fundamental to our long-term growth and success, as well as the success of our pathway partners and customers. Discover our passion for helping companies around the world go further, faster at www.netapp.com.

NetApp, the NetApp logo, and Go further, faster are trademarks or registered trademarks of NetApp, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. All other brands or products are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders and should be treated as such. The use of the word "partner" or "partnership" does not imply a legal partnership between NetApp and any other company. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

VMware, VMware vCenter and VMware vCloud are registered trademarks and/or trademarks of VMware, Inc. in the United States and/or other jurisdictions. The use of the word "partner" or "partnership" does not imply a legal partnership relationship between VMware and any other company.

Cisco and the Cisco logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Cisco and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and other countries. A listing of Cisco's trademarks can be found at www.cisco.com/go/trademarks. Third-party trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners. The use of the word partner does not imply a partnership relationship between Cisco and any other company.

# # #