There's been a fair amount of industry chatter taking place about what the growing adoption of hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) might mean for the converged infrastructure (CI) space.  But, Dell EMC and Cisco may be trying to put some of those questions to rest after outlining new converged infrastructure integrations through VxBlock 1000 and server, networking, storage and data protection.

Earlier in the year, the pair reaffirmed their long-standing commitment to converged infrastructure with a multi-year extension to their longstanding systems integrator agreement with one another.

"At the heart of our CI strategy is the VxBlock 1000, a system that delivers a true mission critical-foundation for the hybrid cloud and helps customers achieve greater simplicity and efficiency," said Pete Manca, SVP, Solutions Engineering, Dell EMC Networking & Solutions.

The announcements coincide with Cisco Live, Cisco's world-renowned annual customer and partner conference taking place this week in San Diego.

They include:

• Realizing the Power and Performance of NVMe Over Fabrics - New integrated Cisco compute (UCS) and storage (MDS) 32G options, extending PowerMax capabilities to deliver game-changing NVMe performance across the VxBlock stack.  Dell said the compute and storage options will be available sometime later this month.

• Extending Integrated Data Protection to the Cloud - Dell EMC offers a flexible family of options for streamlined backup and recovery, data replication, business continuity, and workload mobility to deliver reliable, predictable, and cost-effective availability for Dell EMC converged infrastructure.
  

"As of today, we're extending our trusted, factory-integrated on-premise integrated protection solutions for VxBlock to hybrid and multi-cloud environments, including AWS," said Manca.  "This release, which will be available to order in July, features options to help protect VMware workloads and data using new cost-effective Data Domain Virtual Edition and Cloud Disaster Recovery software options."

• Simplifying Cloud Operations with VxBlock Central 2.0 - Features new modular licensing that matches workflow automation, advanced analytics and life-cycle management/upgrade options.  VxBlock Central 2.0 will be available in July.

As for the VxBlock Central 2.0 licensing, there are four options: Base, Workflow Automation, Advanced Analytics and Lifecycle Management. 

Base is the free tier which comes with the purchase of VxBlock, providing a license for managing the system and improving compliance with inventory reporting and alerting.  Workflow Automation uses vRealize Orchestrator and provides new workflows that include Cisco UCS server expansion with Unity and XtremIO storage arrays.  Advanced Analytics will offer views into capacity and KPIs to discover deeper actionable insights through vRealize Operations.  Lifecycle Management will apply "guided path" software upgrades to optimize system performance, and will include a new multi-tenant, cloud-based database based on Cloud IQ.