Silicon Valley's technology behemoth Cisco has unveiled the second-generation model of its Unified Computing System - a high-density IT infrastructure solution that includes blade servers and networking gear the company first launched in early 2009, for the first time entering the server market.

The vendor says its new two- and four-socket servers provide up to 50 percent more processor cores. The next-generation UCS delivers up to four times more compute capacity and bandwidth than the predecessor. The company says it is more energy efficient and geared toward virtualized infrastructure deployments.

The two-socket servers, M2 B-Series and C-Series, are powered by Intel's recently announced next-generation Xeon processors from the 5600 series and have been available since March. The four-socket computers will run on Xeon 7500-series processors and Cisco expects to start shipping them in the third quarter of 2010.

Cisco UCS

While companies have been very selective in choosing applications to run in virtualized environments, generally abstaining from deploying mission-critical workloads on virtual IT resources, Cisco says the new system is "the ideal platform" for most workloads enterprises deploy.

The company also added two new fabric extenders to its Nexus switch portfolio. The new Nexus 2248 and 2232 are geared for 10-Gbps Ethernet. Cisco says the extenders will enable IT managers to make their environments more flexible and scalable and substantially reduce the amount of cables in their data centers, as well as reduced power and cooling requirements.

To date, about 400 private and public organizations have bought Cisco UCS, according to the vendor. Its most recent customer wins include Seattle University, RackForce and the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Some of the previously announced clients include Curtin University of Australia, Taser and Purdue University.

"We are now managing open computers in 17 of the educational and administrative buildings, residence halls and student areas on campus," Seattle University CTO Daniel Duffy said in a statement. "We cut the number of people deploying software in multiple areas for specific classroom needs and requests. The Cisco UCS provides centralized management across campus to modernize our learning environment."