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On March 12, 2015, VCE launched VxBlock, a converged-infrastructure family designed to grow beyond a single system. Its Vscale architecture could scale up within a system or scale out by pooling resources across multiple systems; Data Center Dynamics reported a launch-era extension claim of up to 1,000 racks. This was an enterprise data-center platform, not a retail server product.
What VCE launched in March 2015
VCE positioned VxBlock as an integrated, pre-built and pre-tested data-center system. Instead of asking customers to assemble and validate infrastructure components themselves, VCE supplied a configured platform with lifecycle support and a single support contact. The March 2015 report from Data Center Dynamics described the launch as a move beyond the earlier Vblock model toward combining systems into a larger pooled environment.
VCE Vision 3 added management intelligence across multiple systems. The intended value was not simply a larger hardware footprint: it was a way to operate a group of systems with more consistent management and support.
How Vscale was meant to scale
Vscale addressed two different growth patterns. Scale-up means increasing resources within a system; scale-out means adding systems and coordinating them as a larger pool. VCE described Vscale as supporting both approaches, with storage and processing resources pooled across systems. Data Center Dynamics reported that VxBlocks could be extended to as many as 1,000 racks. That was a launch-era product claim, not a current capacity specification or a guarantee that every deployment could reach that size.
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Pooling changes the planning question from “How large can this one block become?” to “How can additional blocks be added and managed without treating each as an isolated island?” The architecture aimed to give organizations room to expand while applying policies and operational controls across the resulting environment.
VxBlock, Vblock and Vscale: what the names mean
Vblock was VCE’s original converged-infrastructure offering. Cisco’s 2009 announcement described it as integrated, tested and validated Cisco, EMC and VMware infrastructure, with end-to-end accountability. VxBlock was the new hardware family announced in March 2015, while Vscale described the approach for scaling and pooling systems. The terms are related, but they are not interchangeable: VxBlock named a system family, and Vscale described a broader scale-up/scale-out architecture.
The original Vblock sizing categories illustrate the earlier system-based framing. Cisco’s 2009 announcement associated the models with these virtual-machine ranges:
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| Original Vblock model | Virtual machines listed in Cisco’s 2009 announcement |
|---|---|
| Vblock 0 | 300–800 |
| Vblock 1 | 800–3,000 |
| Vblock 2 | 3,000–6,000 |
Those figures describe the 2009 announcement’s model ranges, not a universal workload capacity or a specification for the 2015 VxBlock family.
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The March launch emphasized VMware NSX factory integration. VMware’s launch post said VxBlock included VCE pre-integration, pre-testing and pre-validation, component-level updates, lifecycle assurance and unified single-call support. NSX’s cited uses included automating network and security services and applying micro-segmentation.
In a separate announcement on November 23, 2015, Cisco described Vblock with Cisco ACI and Vscale as a policy-driven architecture. Cisco said ACI could maintain application policy as applications scaled up or out, while Vscale let multiple VCE systems operate as a single policy-automated pool. Cisco also said the ACI ecosystem included more than 45 technology vendors. That ecosystem figure is Cisco’s statement from 2015, not a current count.
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These announcements show two networking approaches discussed in the VCE context; they do not establish that NSX and ACI were identical products or that every system included both. The useful distinction is what each announcement emphasized:
- NSX: network and security virtualization, automation of network services and micro-segmentation.
- ACI: policy-driven networking intended to preserve application policy as infrastructure scaled.
- Vscale: coordination of multiple systems as a pooled, policy-automated environment in Cisco’s ACI description.
For an enterprise evaluating the architecture, the question was not just which network product had more features. It was how network policy, security boundaries, application placement and operational responsibility would fit the organization’s existing environment.
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VCE’s proposition combined hardware integration with deployment and support responsibilities. Pre-validation was intended to reduce integration work before installation; ongoing lifecycle assurance addressed updates over time; and a unified support contact aimed to give customers one route for system-level issues. VCE Vision 3 addressed management across multiple systems rather than only an individual block.
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These are operating-model promises, not proof that deployment, upgrades or troubleshooting would require no customer effort. Organizations still needed to plan capacity, decide how workloads and policies would be managed, and confirm which support services and product configurations applied to a specific purchase.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How the launch fits VCE’s earlier history
VCE’s earlier positioning centered on integrating and validating infrastructure. Cisco’s 2009 announcement framed Vblock as a tested Cisco, EMC and VMware system. It also reported that early customer trials saw up to a 40 percent reduction in the cost of operating and managing virtualized data-center infrastructures. That was a vendor-reported trial result, not a general or independently established savings guarantee.
In 2013, Cisco and EMC reported a $1 billion annual demand run rate and shipment of the 1,000th Vblock system. Cisco also cited a Gartner figure of 57.4 percent integrated-infrastructure market share that year. These are historical company-reported milestones and a market-share figure attributed by Cisco to Gartner; they should not be read as current sales, market share or performance. Against that background, the 2015 VxBlock and Vscale announcement extended the original integration story toward pooled, rack-scale growth.
Who the VxBlock approach was for
VxBlock was aimed at enterprise data centers that wanted a pre-integrated infrastructure platform and a path to expand across systems. It was not a generic server model to select from a consumer catalog. Evaluation and procurement belonged in an enterprise infrastructure process, involving VCE and its authorized integrator or channel partners, with the buyer confirming configuration, lifecycle coverage, support terms and compatibility for its environment.
Quick Recap
- Potential fit: organizations valuing pre-validation, lifecycle support and a coordinated path to add systems.
- Key design decision: whether growth would happen within a system, across a pooled environment, or through both patterns.
- Network decision: how NSX-style virtualization and security automation or ACI-style policy networking would align with application and operational requirements.
- Procurement check: the exact available configuration and support arrangement for the relevant purchase; the 2015 announcement alone does not establish present-day product availability or terms.
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