Xsigo Systems, a start-up based in San Jose, California, unveiled its fully virtualized infrastructure for cloud-optimized data centers. 
The Xsigo Server Fabric aims to do for infrastructure what VMware did for the servers -- namely, to enable one-click network connections from virtual machines to any data center resource – including servers, networks, storage, and other virtual machines. By providing this "one click" tool to connect VMs to networks and storage while using existing Ethernet routers + FC directors, Xsigo calculates that it can reduce the number of I/O cables and cards in a data center by up to 70%, thereby significantly cutting deployment CAPEX and simplifying operations.
"Cloud data centers demand a different, far more flexible infrastructure, and everyone knows it," said Lloyd Carney, Xsigo CEO. "But while legacy networking vendors remain mired in the status quo, essentially trying to cross oceans with railroads, Xsigo has invented the equivalent of the airplane. Today, Xsigo is ushering in a new era of data center connectivity – virtualized infrastructure – that does for the data center infrastructure what server virtualization did for the servers themselves."
The Xsigo Server Fabric is a rack-based solution that works by virtualizing connections between networks, servers and storage, not by re-configuring switches, switch ports, or VLANs. It supports Ethernet and Fibre Channel connections at up to 40 Gbps. Environments can be scaled to 1,000 physical hosts with tens of thousands of virtual connections linking virtual machines to each other and to network and storage resources.
Xsigo said its fabric is fully interoperable with existing core networking products from Cisco, Brocade, Juniper and others.
Key components include the Xsigo I/O Director and Xsigo XMS Management Software – together with a software upgrade package called the SFS 1.0 Server Fabric Suite. The upgrade package includes host drivers, a management software plug-in, and operating software designed specifically to deliver the enhanced features and scalability of the Xsigo Server Fabric.
The SFS 1.0 Server Fabric Suite will be available in December 2011. It is licensed on a per-physical-host basis at a list price of $1,000 per host. http://www.xsigo.com
- Xsigo Systems was founded in 2004 and is backed by Kleiner Perkins, Khosla Ventures, Greylock Partners, and North Bridge Venture Partners.
- Xsigo Systems is headed by Lloyd Carne (CEO, who previously was general manager of IBM's Netcool Division, which acquired Micromuse where Carney had been chairman and CEO. Xsigo's Vice Chairman and Founder is Ashok Krishnamurthi, who previously held the positions of Vice President and General Manager of the Infrastructure Product Line at Juniper Networks.
