Cisco Systems has concocted a virtual switch that it’s selling in tandem with VMware, the leader in virtualization software and a close Cisco partner.
The Cisco Nexus 1000V is a curious device because it is a virtual device. Instead, the virtual switch, scheduled to ship in the first half of next year, uses software to handle many of the networking and security functions found in Cisco’s standard hardware.
Cisco’s networking products tend to receive less attention than the third-party servers and storage systems they connect. The new virtual product can be seen as a way for Cisco to try to tap into one of the hottest parts of the software market and draw more attention to its data center gear.
The switching technology proves helpful when dealing with the virtual servers created by VMware’s software. VMware customers can run numerous operating systems and applications on a single physical system, and all of that software still needs to maintain the networking connections and policies usually associated with physical systems. To date, VMware has been including a virtual switch of its own making, but the Nexus 1000V can link more systems and is a step up from the old VMware product.
“That virtual switch today does not have the capabilities of our product,” said Soni Jiandani, a vice president at Cisco.
Cisco declined to provide any pricing details for the virtual switch but did say it would ship as standard with VMware’s software and customers would pay to activate the technology.
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