With its new Unified Computing System (UCS) family of products, Cisco has introduced a fundamentally new vision for data center computing: one that promises to reduce ownership cost, improve agility, and radically simplify management. In this book, three Cisco insiders explain UCS, and offer practical insights for IT professionals and decision-makers who are evaluating UCS or preparing to implement it. The authors begin by reviewing the evolution of the data center server. They discuss the growing impact of virtualization, unified I/O, large memories and other key technologies, and show how powerful trends like cloud computing and green IT will drive the next-generation data center. Next, they take a closer look at the evolution of server CPU, memory, and I/O subsystems, covering advances such as Intel XEON 5500, DDR3 memory, and Unified I/O over 10 Gbps Ethernet. The authors then offer a detailed look at UCS's specific features, characteristics, and advantages. Along the way, they offer deep insights into UCS architecture and components, and migration, as well as realistic guidance for planning, installation, and migration.