Home / Datacenter / Cisco Unified Computing System- Cisco UCS Blade Server Chassis

Cisco Unified Computing System- Cisco UCS Blade Server Chassis

Today we will discuss on the computing part of the datacenter environment where we will discuss about the different models of UCS B series Blade servers and the features in the various models of the Cisco UCS B Blade servers.

Why these UCS B Blade servers are used and where they are fit in the technology platform ?
Well  whenever we have the infrastructure if the Computing system with the use of virtualised and non-virtualised applications. we are using the UCS Blade chassis to have the better performance with the increase in the demand and the scalability of the customer utilised  applications.

In the Next generation networks, Unified Compute systems will be in the demand that unites compute, storage, network and virtualisation with reduction of the business cost and increase in the agility of the customer. Starting from the M1 platforms, Cisco always moved on the various enhanced platforms which include M2, M3 and now the next generation M4 platforms in the B Blade UCS platforms architecture.

Every-time there is increase in the capabilities of the UCS architecture starting from 1st Generation UCS platform named " UCS B200 M1 or B250 M1 servers" and now they introduce many UCS next generation platforms from M2, M3 and M4 ( latest edition ).

Each Cisco UCS B-Series Blade Server uses converged network adapters (CNAs) for access to the unified fabric. This design reduces the number of adapters, cables, and access-layer switches while still allowing traditional LAN and SAN connectivity. This Cisco innovation reduces capital expenditures and operating expenses, including administrative overhead and power and cooling costs.
Fig 1.1- Cisco UCS B200 M3 Blade Server Chassis.

 Cisco UCS Models are :

  • Cisco UCS B200 M1 Blade Server - Outdated and discontinued
  • Cisco UCS B250 M1 Blade Server - Outdated and discontinued
  • Cisco UCS B200 M2 Blade Server - Outdated and discontinued
  • Cisco UCS B250 M2 Blade Server - Outdated and discontinued
  • Cisco UCS B200 M3 Blade Server - Outdated and discontinued
  • Cisco UCS B420 M3 Blade Server - Outdated and discontinued
  • Cisco UCS B200 M4 Blade Server - Latest Addition
  • Cisco UCS B260 M4 Blade Server - Latest Addition
  • Cisco UCS B420 M4 Blade server - Latest Addition
  • Cisco UCS B460 M4 Blade Server - Latest Addition

Cisco UCS with UCS Manager and UCS Central provide in the datacenter environment:
  • You can have the Embedded integration of LAN, SAN, and management
  • With the help of UCS Manager, you will have Local (and optionally global) server profiles and templates for policy-driven server provisioning in your datacenter environment.
  • It can also do Auto-discovery, with automatic recognition and configuration of blades
Fig 1.2 - Cisco UCS B Blade Server Connectivity

So if we are comparing the current models in Cisco UCS M4 Blade servers we have the following comparison.
  • Cisco UCS B200 has 1.5 TB of memory while in Cisco UCS B260 and Cisco UCS B420 you can have the maximum of 3 TB of memory space. On the other hand you have 6 TB of maximum memory in Cisco UCS B460 M4 blade server.
  • Cisco UCS B200 and B260 have two sockets while Cisco UCS B420 and Cisco UCS B460 have 4 Sockets.
  • Total Bandwidth supported by Cisco UCS B200 is 80 Gbps, In Cisco UCS B260 and B420 it is 160 Gbps and on the other hand in Cisco UCS B460 it is 320 Gbps.
  • Cisco UCS B200 uses Intel Xeon E5-2600 v3/v4 processors, Cisco UCS B260 uses Intel Xeon E7 v2/v3/v4 processor family, Cisco UCS B420 uses Intel Xeon E5-4600 v3/v4 processors and Cisco UCS B460 uses Intel Xeon E7 v2/v3/v4 processor family
We will further discussion in detail on Cisco UCS B Blade server and the use cases around it.