5/4/2010 -- Cisco Systems Inc. unveiled its Unified Computing System (UCS) more than a year ago. Since then, Cisco has fleshed out its Data Center 3.0 portfolio with several key UCS deliverables, such as its 6100 Series Fabric Interconnects, UCS B-Series Blades, UCS 5100 Server Blade Chassis and UCS C-Series rackmount servers. Factor in Cisco's recent announcement of its M81KR Virtual Interface Card -- or, for that matter, its ceaselessly-evolving UCS Manager software -- and you've got the makings of a full-fledged data center portfolio.

What a difference a year makes. A year ago, UCS was something of a Potemkin phenomenon. That just isn't the case anymore, say analysts.

"[Cisco] continues to make strides in improving performance, scalability, interoperability, manageability and total cost of ownership in its data center solutions portfolio," writes Steven Schuchart, an analyst with consultancy Current Analysis, in a research assessment. "Cisco is determined to deliver a soup-to-nuts [solution] that addresses enterprise physical and virtual server requirements." It's a daunting task, Schuchart concedes, but -- in the space of just 13 months -- Cisco has already made demonstrable strides.

"While Cisco is clearly still the underdog in the server market it is just as clear that the company is committed to building out market share and becoming a serious player in the space," he argues.

Gordon Haff, a principal IT advisor with consultancy Illuminata, says there's even a sense in which Cisco (along with long-time friend and emerging arch-rival Hewlett-Packard Co.) have helped champion a reevaluation of the data center status quo. "We're seeing blades used for integration of a different sort in enterprises. Going by terms like ‘converged networking,' the idea is that all communications are brought together on a single virtualized network, typically 10 gigabit Ethernet. Products such as Cisco's UCS and HP's Virtual Connect are based on this concept -- as is, more generically, FCoE," Haff notes. "Blades-as-integration point is, in many respects, the polar opposite of the initial idea that blades would be about separating computing from storage and networking."

Cisco at this point can point to a creditable portfolio of UCS reference customers -- including stun gun manufacturer Taser International Inc., which is using Cisco's UCS B-Series blades to power a new cloud-based service.

Taser officials say UCS saved them almost $1 million in upfront costs; Cisco's combined offering -- which comprises UCS hardware, Nexus Series switches and Cisco-branded security technologies -- came in at about two-thirds the cost of the next cheapest competitor, according to Cisco and Taser.

Surprisingly, given the relative immaturity of Cisco's offering, Taser spins its decision to adopt UCS as a no-brainer. "We realized that you can't build the data center of tomorrow using the technology of yesterday," said founder and CEO Rick Smith, in a webcast video. Taser VP of operations Vince Stephens offered more insight. "What was enticing to us specifically was this new server platform was built around virtualization, which was big part of our architecture. We were able to basically get more RAM capabilities out of our hardware than any other vendor could provide," said Stephens, in the same video. "That means we are operating our database in nanoseconds versus milliseconds coming off of a [prior] product … The UCS chasses themselves have much less cabling, and then it was coupled with a very easy to use interface."

Stephens highlighted UCS' built-in switching fabric, which by itself makes it considerably cheaper -- to the tune of $200,000 -- than competitive offerings. Cisco's UCS-from-scratch approach pays other dividends, too, according to Stephens: "Our leading competitor to the UCS system was going to require twice as much power, so the power savings itself [came to] $17,000 monthly, and as we grow, that savings will actually multiply over time."

Current Analysis' Schuchart, for his part, says that Cisco needs to continue to flesh out its UCS line with newer and more feature-rich offerings. Drumming up additional customer references -- similar to that of Taser, for example -- wouldn't hurt either. In the final analysis, Schuchart is enthusiastic about Cisco's UCS execution -- thus far: "Cisco needs to mature and extend its server offerings quickly, and it has made progress in that regard with these announcements."
--By Stephen Swoyer