VCE—the startup that brought Cisco, EMC, VMware and Intel together—whipped the curtain back from Vblock System 100 and 200, two new systems for smaller data centers. It’s also introducing some enhancements to its higher-end products, just in case anyone’s feeling left out: the existing Vblock 300 and 700 architectures now feature twice the computing and storage resources. VCE emerged two years ago as a partnership between all four companies. Cisco supplies the servers and networking technology, upon which VMware's virtualization and management software runs; EMC provides the storage infrastructure, while Intel supplies the underlying processors. According to Gartner, the company held the lead position for integrated infrastructure systems—in which the compute, networking, and storage are all integrated—in mid-2012, with a 57.4 percent share. The new System 100 and 200 will use Cisco's UCS C Series blade servers (Computerworld broke out the specs beyond VCE’s own product description). Within the most basic VBlock 100 system, users can choose the 24RU Vblock 100BX or the 42RU Vblock 100D. Vblock System 100 will be built using Cisco's UCS C220 M3 servers, Cisco Catalyst 3750-X switches, and EMC’s VNXe 3150/3300 storage arrays. The Vblock System 200 will use Cisco's UCS C220 M3 servers, Cisco's Nexus 5548UP switches, and EMC's VNX 5300 storage array. The VBlock System 200 is designed for customers who, having already deployed VBlock 700 or VBlock 300 in their primary data center, are looking for solutions for their remote office deployments. However, the VBlock 200 can also be used as the primary core IT deployment for a mid-size data center. VCE also introduced a specialized solution for SAP's HANA, the company’s first in a series of systems optimized for specialized workloads. Finally, the VCE Vision software automatically discovers VCE systems through the VCE Intelligent Operations systems library, ensuring that they’re configured properly. The software is integrated into the VMware cloud management and virtualization portfolio, and also supports API integration into other industry tools, said Debbie Umbach, senior manager of product management for VCE.   Image: VCE