Cisco wants to get server and storage vendors to collect and share information about their equipment and send it to Cisco routers and switches. Software on routers and switches would collect the information and then take actions or forward it on to separate building management, energy management or virtualization control systems, according to a story by IDG News Service. The story cites new Cisco hire Paul Marcoux, who joined Cisco as its green guru, as saying that if virtualization software looks at a process that requires more computing power or storage space, then enlists servers or storage devices that are near to overheating or running out of power, it could send a rack of servers over the edge and shut it down.

For that reason, the virtualization system needs to know the power status of all the resources it may call upon, according to Marcoux.

Since control of virtualization in the data center is the hot battleground, according to Burton Group analyst Dave Passmore, we're not sure which server and storage vendor would give up that info.

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