By Chad Berndtson, CRN, February 2, 2012, 1630 hrs
Cisco has confirmed significant updates to its major Ethernet switching lines, as well as disclosed plans for a major upgrade cycle on its key integrated services router (ISR) line.
Among the big changes on the switching side are that Cisco has added 40G Ethernet to the Catalyst 6500 and also added 40/100G Ethernet to its Nexus 7000 data center switch.
Any updates to Cisco's switch lines, of course, affect a major installed base. Craig Huitema, Director, Data Center Solutions, Cisco said, “Cisco has shipped in excess of more than 10 million 10G Ethernet ports but that the enterprise and service provider transition to more robust Ethernet is well underway.”
The updated Catalyst 6500 switches will be available in April, while the updated Nexus 7000 will be available later in the second quarter of calendar 2012. Cisco plans to put 40G Ethernet on its Nexus 5000 switches next, Huitema added.
Cisco is also launching two new fixed configuration switches, the Catalyst 4500-X, a 40-port 10 GbE switch intended for constrained campus environments wanting easy compatibility with virtualized networks, and the Nexus 3064-X, which adds additional bells and whistles, such as QSFP+ ports.
Further, Cisco is adding network virtualization capabilities to its Catalyst 6500, Catalyst 4500 and ASR 1000 products using a technology Cisco calls the Easy Virtual Network configuration, plus a virtual services appliance for the data center, the Nexus 1010, which supports Cisco's six-month old Virtual Extensible LAN (VXLAN) capability for scaling different data center workloads. Cisco confirmed that the Nexus 1000V virtual switch also now supports VXLAN.
“The new switches will apply to Cisco's major partner incentive programs, such as VIP, TIP and OIP,” said Wenceslao Lada, Vice President, Worldwide Channels for Borderless Networks, Cisco. “Partners should also expect new value-added services opportunities in the coming months.”
Cisco is also in the midst of a major routing refresh; one that its top routing executive says will bring even more services and other capabilities onto its integrated services routers (ISR).
Praveen Akkiraju, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Services Routing Technology Group, Cisco said the expansion of Cisco's routing expertise is a big part of that strategy, and that future ISR upgrades would be made with cloud computing in mind.
The routing blitz by Cisco is actually a defensive move, as well. Cisco announced end of sale for the first-generation ISR in November, meaning that a huge routing installed base will need to be steadily migrated. That presents an opportunity for Cisco channel partners, Akkiraju acknowledged, and also a threat, based on router competitors who will try to sway customers to change their routing options instead of upgrade to more Cisco.
"This is a unique opportunity for partners to upgrade the installed base," Akkiraju said. "So we are focused on helping them understand how they can use trends like cloud and mobility, and how we have prepared the routers, to drive a big upgrade cycle. Over the course of the year, you are going to see us announce many more cloud-based solutions, especially connecting the assets we have to the cloud in a way that is meaningful for customers."
Lada added that Cisco is now running workshops and doing other outreach with partners to educate customers on continuing to invest with Cisco's routing strategy. Cisco partners will see added incentives for routing upgrades, particularly around services, in Cisco's various partner incentive programs, he said
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