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Xsigo Systems

Xsigo Announces Certification And Support For Oracle VM

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Xsigo Systems has announced certification and support for Oracle VM, a server virtualization solution for both Oracle and non-Oracle applications. The combination of Oracle VM and Xsigo virtual I/O delivers cost-saving improvements for virtualized data centers.

“Server virtualization greatly increases the demands on server I/O, often leading to bottlenecks that can sap application performance,” said Bruce Fingles, Xsigo’s VP of product management, alliances, and support.

“Xsigo’s support for Oracle VM means that customers can now get 4X more bandwidth to each server to help them run mission-critical Oracle applications in a virtualized environment without compromising on performance.”

Xsigo Introduces First Adapter-Free Ethernet-based Virtual I/O

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Xsigo Systems yesterday announced a significant advancement in virtual I/O technology, simplifying and accelerating data center convergence – a key enabler of private cloud computing.

The company today released an Ethernet-based version of its award-winning Xsigo I/O Director, the industry’s first virtual I/O technology to leverage the standard Ethernet ports found on every x86 server.

The new technology helps customers drive enterprise efficiency – both OPEX and CAPEX – by connecting servers to every data center resource via a single conventional Ethernet server port. Unlike alternative approaches such as FCoE that require costly add-on cards, Xsigo’s new approach can deliver a complete end-to-end converged connectivity solution for less than $500 per server, or about 1/3 the cost of a converged network adapter (CNA) card alone.

Previously, infrastructure convergence meant purchasing add-on cards like FCoE adapters and PCIe link extenders that are disruptive to install, increase power consumption, and strain IT teams with laborious support tasks. Compared with these alternatives, Xsigo virtual I/O can save up to 80% on capital cost and avoid days or weeks of server downtime.

By connecting to servers via standard Ethernet ports, the new Xsigo I/O Director allows customers to:

  • Leverage the power of converged infrastructures with fast, simple and cost-effective deployment: Dynamically connect servers to as many as 64 isolated Ethernet and Fibre Channel networks with a single Ethernet cable to consolidate server connectivity and make private cloud architectures a reality.
  • Install on existing equipment without disruption: Companies can utilize the standard 1 gigabit and 10 gigabit Ethernet ports found in all x86 servers today – no special server hardware is required.
  • Spend less on new purchases: IT managers can save up to $5,600 per server by eliminating the converged network adapters required by other products.
  • Respond quickly to change: IT administrators can modify server connections in seconds via software rather than physically changing conventional adapters and cables, which can take hours or even days.

The new product installs in just minutes by connecting a server’s Ethernet port to the Xsigo I/O Director. Customers then install drivers to their server. Server I/O consolidation and management can begin immediately.

The Ethernet-based Xsigo I/O Director employs the same hardware and software platform as Xsigo’s proven InfiniBand-based I/O Director, which is deployed in more than 100 enterprise data centers worldwide and is demonstrated compatible with software and hardware from VMware, Microsoft, Citrix, Dell, HP, IBM, Hitachi, Oracle, EMC, NetApp, Cisco, Brocade and many others.

Available in September, the Ethernet-based Xsigo VP780 and VP560 I/O Directors are priced starting at $35,000.

PrimaCloud Deploys Xsigo Virtual I/O To Deliver Enterprise-Class Cloud Computing

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Xsigo Systems announced today that PrimaCloud, a leading managed cloud computing services provider, has deployed the Xsigo I/O Director as the foundation of its new service offering.

The virtual I/O architecture allows customers to provision a complete virtual private data center in just five minutes, a task that would otherwise require days or weeks. With Xsigo, PrimaCloud maintains 99.99% uptime at 50% less cost and in 85% less physical data center space than would otherwise be possible. Capital and operational cost savings enabled by Xsigo virtual I/O are expected to exceed $1 million in the company’s first year of operation.

Xsigo virtual I/O allowed PrimaCloud to deploy a fault-tolerant architecture based on highly-dense, quad server systems that package 48 processing cores within a compact 2U high chassis, reducing data center space requirements by 85% compared with conventional 4U high servers. By providing 40 Gb of bandwidth to each server while consuming only two PCI slots, Xsigo virtual I/O allowed PrimaCloud to deliver superior performance from more than 200 virtual machines per 2U system, a compute density that is believed to be the industry’s highest.

Xsigo virtual I/O was deployed in conjunction with VMware ESX software and Enigmatec’s EMS cross-platform policy-based automation solution. The combination allows configuration changes to be completed entirely in software — either manually or automatically — eliminating the need to visit the data center. When adding physical server resources, installation only requires connecting two I/O cables, reducing configuration time by 90%.

Xsigo Systems To Support New Intel Xeon Processor Family

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Xsigo Systems today announced support for Intel’s next-generation Xeon processor family. The new Intel processors offer enhanced performance and throughput capabilities that are expected to increase the need for Xsigo virtual I/O as users migrate to high-density computing environments that demand greater I/O capabilities.

The new Xeon processors include architectural enhancements that increase both processing power and memory bandwidth. When users add workload to capitalize on these features, there is an elevated risk of I/O bottlenecks unless there is a commensurate increase in I/O capabilities. Xsigo virtual I/O eliminates I/O bottlenecks with dynamic bandwidth allocation that delivers performance on-demand to I/O connections over a high-speed 20Gbs fabric. Xsigo virtual I/O also incorporates quality of service features that reduce the risk of I/O resource contention, an issue that arises when multiple virtual machines compete for bandwidth on a single I/O link.

Increasing compute density frequently exacerbates I/O issues since high-density devices may lack the physical space to accommodate the needed I/O, particularly when blade systems or compact 1U or 2U servers are deployed. Xsigo virtual I/O eliminates this concern by providing up to 40Gbs of bandwidth to each I/O card or mezzanine card, or 2X to 40X the bandwidth density of conventional I/O.

Customers using Xsigo’s I/O virtualization products can reduce both the operational and capital costs associated with server I/O. Xsigo consolidates the I/O infrastructure and replaces physical network and storage interfaces (NICs and HBAs) with virtual resources that can be deployed on-the-fly. Compared with traditional server I/O, benefits of the Xsigo virtual I/O infrastructure include:

  • 100 times faster I/O configuration management
  • 30 percent less power consumption
  • 70 percent fewer I/O cards, cables, and switch ports
  • Predictable I/O bandwidth to applications via hardware-enforced QoS

This open standards-based solution, interoperable with servers and storage across most leading platforms, is designed to remove the constraints imposed by traditional I/O cards and cables that otherwise limit the flexibility to re-deploy assets. The result is a wire-once infrastructure where configuration changes are completed in minutes rather than days, are executed in software rather than hardware, and can be remotely managed. Eliminating the need to re-cable can help reduce operational costs and remove the risk of cabling errors that may cause unplanned downtime.

Xsigo Hooks Up With Dell

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Xsigo Systems, the I/O virtualization specialist, today announced that Dell has selected the company as a provider of I/O virtualization solutions — a critical technology necessary for optimizing data centers. In addition to reselling Xsigo’s virtual I/O solutions, the companies will work together on technology roadmaps and the development of reseller resources, allowing Dell to further expand its data center offerings.

As a result of this agreement, Dell will offer the Xsigo I/O Director as an option with its PowerEdge servers and storage solutions, creating a simple path to creating fully virtualized data centers. The combined Xsigo – Dell solution lets IT professionals manage I/O resources across multiple vendor platforms from a single console, instead of being restricted to a single vendor solution. In addition, the combined system eliminates the restriction of physical I/O ports, letting users deploy new I/O resources to servers on-demand.

Dell customers using Xsigo’s I/O virtualization products can reduce both the operational and capital costs associated with server I/O. Xsigo consolidates the I/O infrastructure and replaces physical network and storage interfaces (NICs and HBAs) with virtual resources that can be deployed on-the-fly.

This open standards-based solution, interoperable with servers and storage across most leading platforms, is designed to remove the constraints imposed by traditional I/O cards and cables that otherwise limit the flexibility to re-deploy assets. The result is a wire-once infrastructure where configuration changes are completed in minutes rather than days, are executed in software rather than hardware, and can be remotely managed. Eliminating the need to re-cable can help reduce operational costs and remove the risk of cabling errors that may cause unplanned downtime.

Included within the agreement is the full range of Xsigo products, including the VP780 I/O Director. The Xsigo offering complements Dell’s product families by enabling universal connectivity across all I/O types, which simplifies and accelerates the adoption of heterogeneous solutions such as Dell PowerVault, Dell/EMC and Dell EqualLogic storage. The Xsigo I/O Director provides a scalable I/O solution interoperable with most currently available Dell servers, including the Dell PowerEdge M-Series Blade Systems.

Pricing for the Xsigo Virtual I/O System begins at approximately $30,000, and is immediately available.

Xsigo Upgrades VP780 I/O Director

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Xsigo Systems (previous coverage), provider of data center I/O virtualization solutions, today announced the availability of an enhanced version of the company’s VP780 I/O Director. The enhanced product, called the VP780 x2, is designed to set new performance and ease-of-use standards for data center customers using virtual I/O technologies.

The new VP780 x2 offers all the benefits of its predecessor — greater data center agility, up to 50% less capital cost, and 70% fewer cables — now with a 100% increase in server connectivity speed. The VP780 x2 delivers 20Gbs of bandwidth to each server, making it the world’s fastest converged I/O fabric. The product also offers industry-first features that allow users to quickly monitor and manage their I/O topology with a single view that extends from the virtual machines to the physical switch ports.

The enhanced data center I/O management capabilities of the VP780 x2 include a single-screen view of virtual machines, virtual switches and I/O topologies. This view enables end-to-end visualization of resources extending from the virtual machine to a physical switch port. Enhanced performance monitoring now includes traffic statistics accessible through third party tools.

The faster server connection speed delivers greater throughput and increased VMotion performance for faster deployment of virtual resources.

Also new in the VP780 x2 are enhanced SAN and iSCSI boot capabilities that allow users to boot any server from any Fibre Channel or iSCSI LUN for fast re-purposing of server resources. Customers can now adapt to dynamic workloads, deploy resources on demand, and boost utilization by rapidly changing both a server’s I/O personality and its application workload, all within the Xsigo virtual I/O environment.
Xsigo is the only vendor to combine virtual I/O technology, a unified fabric, and a hardware-based platform to deliver data center-wide scalability and a single point of management for all I/O resources.

Xsigo launched its first virtual I/O product in September of 2007 specifically to address the I/O complexity and performance bottlenecks found in today’s data centers. Xsigo consolidates the I/O infrastructure and replaces physical network and storage interfaces (NICs and HBAs) with virtual resources that are remotely manageable from a single console. The Xsigo solution works with today’s existing infrastructure, and incorporates a modular design that is easily adapted to accommodate new networks, servers, and interconnect standards.

The beta version of the VP780 x2 is available immediately and sold directly through Xsigo Systems, Inc. and its qualified resellers.

Xsigo Systems