Deploying HyperFlex Anywhere with Intersight

The latest updates to Cisco HyperFlex 3.0 deliver a hyperconverged platform that adapts to enterprise applications with industry leading performance. Cisco Intersight empowers you to deploy and manage these systems anywhere – simply and consistently.

Guest Blogger: Jonathan Gorlin, Product Manager

Maintaining Simplicity in a Multicloud Environment

Cisco’s new cloud-based management platform, Cisco Intersight, simplifies data center operations by delivering systems management as-a-service, alleviating the need to maintain islands of on-premise management infrastructure. HyperFlex 3.0 delivers platform flexibility with new hypervisor options, simplified container deployment, and multicloud capabilities to efficiently and economically deploy any application.

As customers adopt a multicloud strategy, they require a scalable and consistent management experience across their data centers, private clouds, remote offices/branch offices (ROBO), and edge environments.  Intersight provides unified management of HyperFlex and Cisco UCS servers deployed across the globe. It provides unique advantages for managing edge and ROBO environments, as we explained in a prior blog describing the management of edge computing.

Seamlessly Deploy HyperFlex Anywhere

With Intersight, you can deploy and manage all of your HyperFlex clusters from anywhere. The new HyperFlex Installer makes it easy to deploy clusters automatically. In this demo video I describe some of the innovative new capabilities of the HyperFlex integration in Intersight.

The new HyperFlex Installer for Intersight is consumed as a service, eliminating the need for on-premise infrastructure along with the lengthy download and setup of a static virtual installer appliance. The intuitive wizard includes reusable policies for rapid and consistent deployment.

HyperFlex cluster profiles can be cloned and then executed on-demand for fast and easy scaling. There are three levels of built-in validation to ensure the deployment runs smoothly from start to finish. Intersight is always up to date, securing the latest features and improvements to the platform automatically without any user intervention.

Once deployment is complete, you can seamlessly launch HyperFlex Connect in context from Intersight to drill down for more detailed monitoring and analysis. All these capabilities are available in Cisco Intersight Base, so they are included for free with every HyperFlex cluster!

Making Deployment at Scale Easier

A major pain point for traditional hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) offerings is how to deploy at scale. In the old operational model, HCI appliances are typically shipped to a staging site, partially checked and configured, boxed up, shipped to the final site, and then installed by skilled IT administrators who help set up the solution on site.

With Intersight, this model is completely transformed. The HyperFlex appliances can be shipped directly to the final site, bypassing the expensive and complex staging process. The gear is racked, connected to power and network, and then all appliances automatically connect to Intersight and are securely claimed. The rest of the deployment can now be completed by the centralized IT staff. It is all done remotely and from anywhere. To top it all off, the HyperFlex Installer for Intersight can run multiple deployment jobs in parallel, enabling quick ramp-up of even the largest HCI projects.

Cisco is delivering on the promise of HCI simplicity, creating the most powerful and compelling deployment experience for our customers.

Simplify Management Today

If you are an existing HyperFlex user with HyperFlex Data Platform version 2.5 or later, you can take advantage of the benefits of cloud-based management now. Just go to the Intersight portal at intersight.com and logon using your Cisco ID. There’s also a getting started video to help you.

For additional information:

#CLEUR: If you’re attending Cisco Live Barcelona, learn more about the HyperFlex Platform and Cisco Intersight during the show.

If you can’t join us at Cisco Live, please go to www.cisco.com/go/intersight