What is UCS Fabric Interconnect?
UCS Fabric Interconnect is a network device that acts as a link between multiple end devices and a comprehensive data center network. The device is easily configurable, offers streamlined management capabilities, and is designed to provide reliable and efficient performance. With the growing demand for high-density virtualization and cloud services, UCS Fabric Interconnect has become a go-to solution for organizations looking to optimize their data center infrastructure.
UCS stands for Unified Computing System, a data center architecture developed by leading technology company Cisco. This system allows data centers to combine computing, network, storage, and virtualization resources into a single unit, thus enabling administrators to manage all aspects of the data center infrastructure from a single interface. The UCS Fabric Interconnect is a critical component of this system, which allows IT teams to manage and scale up their data center network with ease.
The Fabric Interconnect can provide up to 80 ports of 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE) or up to 320 ports of 40GbE. It can also offer Fibre Channel connectivity with a maximum bandwidth of 8Gb/s. The device can be deployed as a standalone device, or in a pair with a redundant configuration for high availability.
The UCS Fabric Interconnect is designed to provide a comprehensive set of networking features, including Quality of Service (QoS), virtual PortChannels (vPC), Multicast and Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) support, and more. These features help ensure that data center traffic is efficiently routed and managed, leading to better application performance and reduced latency.
The device also comes equipped with a set of management tools that allow administrators to monitor and control their network traffic in real-time. This includes features such as traffic analysis, flow visualizations, and system health monitoring. These management tools allow IT teams to quickly diagnose and resolve issues, and to make any necessary adjustments to their network configurations to optimize performance.
UCS Fabric Interconnect is designed to facilitate the consolidation of data center infrastructure, allowing organizations to simplify operations and reduce costs. The device eliminates the need for traditional standalone switches and reduces cabling requirements, thereby reducing power consumption, operational costs, and the amount of space required for data center operations.