Virtual Computing Environment: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 19:13, 9 August 2013

Revision as of 19:36, 9 August 2013

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It was founded (originally named '''Acacdia''') as a joint venture between [[Cisco Systems]] and [[EMC Corporation]] with additional investments from [[VMware]] and [[Intel Corporation]].

VCE builds and assembles Vblock Systems using EMC storage, Cisco Unified Computing System servers and networking, and VMware virtualization technology. It bundles and tests these systems before shipping them to customers.<ref name="bets">{{Cite news |title= Converged Infrastructure Bets Are In: Where Are They Paying Off? |author= Joseph F. Kovar |date= May 27, 2013 |work= CRN |url= http://www.crn.com/news/data-center/240155540/converged-infrastructure-bets-are-in-where-are-they-paying-off.htm?pgno |accessdate=2 August 9, 2013 }}</ref>

==History==

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VCE was created by combining Acadia and the Virtual Computing Environment coalition into a single entity in January 2011, called VCE, the Virtual Computing Environment Company.<ref>http://thevarguy.com/virtualization-applications-and-technologies/vce-coalition-combines-acadia-simplifies-name-vce</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title= VCE Coalition and Acadia Combined and Renamed VCE, the Virtual Computing Environment Company |work= Press release |date= January 20, 2011 |publisher= VCE |url= http://www.vce.com/about/media/news?id=tcm:20-468 |accessdate= August 9, 2013 }}</ref>

From 2011-2013, the chairman of VCE was [[Michael Capellas]], who also was a board member forof Cisco.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://online.wsj.com/article/NA_WSJ_PUB:SB10001424052748703322204575226973507577344.html |title=Capellas to Run Cisco, EMC Ventures |author=Don Clark |date=May 5, 2010 |work=WSJ.com |publisher=Dow Jones & Co. |accessdate= August 19, 2010 }}</ref>

In July 2012, Cisco executive Praveen Akkiraju was appointed CEO and Frank Hauck as president.<ref>{{Cite news |title= VCE Appoints Praveen Akkiraju Chief Executive Officer |work= Press release |date= July 19, 2012 |publisher= VCE |url= http://www.vce.com/about/media/news?id=tcm:20-2159 |accessdate= August 9, 2013 }}</ref>

In May 2013, VCE estimated a $1 billion annual sales rate with more than 1,000 Vblock systems sold.<ref>{{Cite news |titlename= Converged Infrastructure Bets Are In: Where Are They Paying Off? |author= Joseph F. Kovar |date= May 27, 2013 |work= CRN |url= http://www.crn.com/news/data-center/240155540/converged-infrastructure-"bets-are-in-where-are-they-paying-off.htm?pgno=10 |accessdate= August 9, 2013" }}</ref>

In November 2012, the company slclaimed VCE was the market share leader for integrated infrastructure systems in an analysis by [[Gartner]]. The report was Gartner's first analysis of the integrated systems, which traditionally tracked server, networking, and external controller-based storage as individual markets. The report claimed that VCE had a 57.4% share among endors of integrated infrastructure systems in the second quarter of 2012 based on revenue.<ref>{{Cite web |title= Market Share Analysis: Data Center Hardware: Integrated Systems, 1Q11-2Q12 |publisher= Gartner |date= November 30, 2012 |url= http://www.vce.com/asset/documents/gartner-market-share-analysis-report.pdf |accessdate= August 9, 2013 }}</ref>

VCE was named one of the “2013 Virtualization 50” by ''[[CRN Magazine]]''.<ref>{{Cite news |title= 2013 Virtualization 50 |work= CRN |date= May 24, 2013 |url= http://www.crn.com/slide-shows/virtualization/240155351/2013-virtualization-50.htm?pgno=43 |accessdate= August 9, 2013 }}</ref>

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==Products and services==

VCE manufacturesmarkets products is calls Vblock systems as [[converged infrastructure]] called [[Vblock]] systems that combine [[VMware vSphere]] software running on [[Cisco Unified Computing System]]s connected with [[Cisco Nexus switches]], attached to EMC Corporation storage. Despite the "block" in the name, the storage can be accessed as either a [[block device]] or a [[file basedserver]].

SAP,Vblock assystems wellare asmarketed virtualfor desktoplarge-scale infrastructure[[data (VDI),center]]s Microsoftto Exchangerun andapplications Microsoftsuch SharePoint,as are said[[Microsoft toExchange]] be, some[Microsoft ofSharePoint]] theor biggest[[SAP useERP]].<ref cases for Vblock Systems.name="bets"/><ref>http://www.crn.com/news/storage/240148969/vce-intros-entry-level-vblocks-unveils-pre-configured-sap-hana-appliances.htm?pgno=2</ref>

===VblockEnterprise-level systems===

Vblock systems support horizontal applications, vertical industry offerings, and application development environments, allowing customers to focus on business innovation instead of integrating, validating, and managing IT infrastructure. <ref>http://www.crunchbase.com/company/vce</ref>Noted for providing high availability and lower total cost of ownership in the most demanding data centers, Vblock Systems have proved themselves reliable and stable, particularly for virtualized desktop and large-scale Microsoft Exchange environments.<ref>http://www.crn.com/news/data-center/240155540/converged-infrastructure-bets-are-in-where-are-they-paying-off.htm?pgno=10</ref>

SAP, as well as virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI), Microsoft Exchange and Microsoft SharePoint, are said to be some of the biggest use cases for Vblock Systems.<ref>http://www.crn.com/news/storage/240148969/vce-intros-entry-level-vblocks-unveils-pre-configured-sap-hana-appliances.htm?pgno=2</ref>

Vblock Systems markets to datacentersdata centers in financial services firms, hospitals, large enterprises and federal agencies.<ref>http://www.crn.com/news/data-center/240155540/converged-infrastructure- name="bets-are-in-where-are-they-paying-off.htm?pgno=10<" /ref>

====Enterprise-level systems====

Vblock Systems markets to datacenters in financial services firms, hospitals, large enterprises and federal agencies.<ref>http://www.crn.com/news/data-center/240155540/converged-infrastructure-bets-are-in-where-are-they-paying-off.htm?pgno=10</ref>

The Vblock System 700 was unveiled at EMC World 2012, and is the highest-level Vblock System, supporting applications running over thousands of virtual machines. Additionally, the Vblock System 700 introduced the inclusion of EMC data protection technologies to give Vblock Systems backup, recovery, replication, business continuity and data mobility for virtualized environments. Applications include EMC Avamar, EMC Data Domain, and EMC RecoverPoint. The Vblock System 700 also included EMC VPLEX workload mobility and business continuity software, as well as support for new features in EMC Unified Infrastructure Manager, improved VMware integration, and centralized monitoring of multiple Vblock Systems.<ref>http://www.crn.com/news/storage/240000838/vce-intros-new-higher-end-vblock-integrates-emc-data-protection.htm</ref>

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In February 2013, VCE refreshed the Vblock 300 and Vblock 700 with increased performance and data throughput, thanks to upgrades to their [[Cisco]] server and [[EMC]] storage components.<ref>http://www.crn.com/news/storage/240148969/vce-intros-entry-level-vblocks-unveils-pre-configured-sap-hana-appliances.htm?pgno=2</ref>

====Midmarket and entry level systems====

VCE recently broadened its line of Vblock Systems to include entry-level models. <ref>http://www.crn.com/slide-shows/virtualization/240155351/2013-virtualization-50.htm?pgno=43</ref> 2013 has seen the release of Vblock Systems product lines intended for the midrange and remote branch office market. These models include the Vblock System 100 and Vblock System 200.

The Vblock 100 is designed to host up to 200 virtual machines in a 24U or 42U rack mount space with up to eight Cisco C220 M3 blade servers, two Cisco Catalyst 3750-X switches and up to 8 TB of storage capacity on an EMC VNXe3150 or VNXe3300 array. The Vblock 200 comes configured with up to 12 Cisco servers, two Nexus 5548UP unified Ethernet and SAN switches, a Cisco Catalyst 3750 management switch, and up to 105 hard drives via the included VNX 5300 array. <ref>http://www.crn.com/news/storage/240148969/vce-intros-entry-level-vblocks-unveils-pre-configured-sap-hana-appliances.htm?pgno=2</ref>

====Specialized systems====

VCE introduced the Vblock Specialized System for SAP HANA in February 2013. It combines a Vblock System with SAP HANA in-memory computing and database application. <ref>http://www.crn.com/news/storage/240148969/vce-intros-entry-level-vblocks-unveils-pre-configured-sap-hana-appliances.htm?pgno=2</ref>

====Discontinued systems====

In 2009, the Virtual Computing Environment coalition announced three models of Vblock Infrastructure Packages.

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Vblock 0, the intended low-end configuration, was projected for release in 2010 and designed to support 300 to 800 virtual machines and use a similar configuration, but with EMC Unified Storage.<ref>http://www.crn.com/news/storage/221600134/cisco-emc-vmware-channel-chiefs-talk-up-vblock-partner-play.htm</ref>

====Vision Intelligent Operations Software====

Launched in February 2013, VCE Vision Intelligent Operations Software is a management software application <ref>http://www.crn.com/news/storage/240148969/vce-intros-entry-level-vblocks-unveils-pre-configured-sap-hana-appliances.htm?pgno=1</ref> aimed at providing rapid provisioning and management of cloud infrastructure with new APIs.<ref>http://www.crn.com/news/data-center/240155540/converged-infrastructure- name="bets-are-in-where-are-they-paying-off.htm?pgno=10<" /ref>
VCE Vision software provides a single management pane for the various components in the Vblock Systems it manages. <ref>http://www.crn.com/news/storage/240148969/vce-intros-entry-level-vblocks-unveils-pre-configured-sap-hana-appliances.htm?pgno=2</ref>

==Services==