Cisco coming out with a blade server? That's a possibility, according to a blog post by Allan Leinwand writing in Gigaom. He 
writes: "[Cisco] already produce Linux-based blades for their Catalyst 6500 Series switches, so it seems logical to expect that a blade server will appear shortly in the Nexus 7000 Series." Leinwand offers no evidence that Cisco is testing such a blade or has one on the drawing board, other than to say that to stay relevant in the data center - where data networking "is no longer the central force" - developing its own blade server will help Cisco remain in the data center. He adds: "IBM currently sells Cisco switch ports attached to their blade servers. Once Cisco reverses this selling dynamic and announces their blade server for the Nexus 7000 switch you can bet that the folks in control of the enterprise accounts will take notice and go on the offensive."
It's an interesting theory but is it worthwhile Cisco developing its own blade servers - a market that it has no experience in and one that is being aggressively protected by traditional hardware vendors that can produce blades in high volume, such as Dell? Or are blade servers for Cisco's big switch the right way for Cisco to go? (Compare blade servers here.)
UPDATE: Read what Doug Gourlay, senior director of Cisco's data center solutions marketing has to say about this speculation. (He thinks such a product from Cisco is unlikely.)
More from Cisco Subnet: * Telco unions have no place in today's economy * Bain and Huawei throw in the towel; 3Com left out in the cold * Another NAC vendor bites the dust: Is Cisco to blame? * How to upgrade or replace power supply in Cisco Catalyst 6500 switch * Frank Quattrone, the banker who brought Cisco public, is back * Privacy breach insurance mitigates the risk of credit card, identity breaches * Vyatta's Dear John (Chambers) letters are a hoot * Hackers hijacking routers and blackmailing firms to regain access * Which vendors' certifications are the most popular for exam cheaters? * Ciena: A little known manufacturer that's showing the way * Security wireless networks: Using the wireless network to monitor itself * Understanding MPLS label distribution Go to Cisco Subnet for more Cisco news, blogs, discussion forums, security alerts, book giveaways, and more. 20 useful sites for Cisco networking professionals Cisco Subnet's Top 20 Cisco Press books: How do you rate them? Network World's IT Buyer's Guide: Cisco products Subscribe to Network World's Cisco Alert, which includes a weekly digest of all Cisco Subnet items
The Cisco Subnet blog is the official blog of the Network World Cisco Subnet community, managed by Editor Linda Leung. Cisco Subnet is the independent voice of Cisco customers and is your gateway to daily Cisco news, blogs, opinion, books, prize giveaways and more. Visit the Cisco Subnet home page daily and while you are there, subscribe to the Cisco Alert e-mail newsletter, which includes news and views generated by the Cisco Subnet community as well as Cisco-related stories on Network World and elsewhere on the Web.
(WAN community)
|
|
Not a chance !
The slots in a Nexus 7000 are too valuable and high performance to waste on a simple server. At 230G/s, unless you are looking at putting 20 servers in a slot, this would be a complete waste of money. Cisco wants to make $40K per slot, not $3K for a blade server.
Cisco needs to get its wants
Cisco needs to get its wants and needs in parallel. Welcome to IBM in the late 90's...