Just prior to Interop about two weeks ago, Cisco unveiled its Remote Integrated Services Engine (RISE) on the Nexus 7000 series switch. Remote Integrated Service Engine (RISE) is a new protocol being added to the Nexus 7000 and 7700 platforms through NX-OS (software upgradeable to existing devices), that integrates external service appliances attached to Nexus 7000 Series switches with the same benefits as if the appliance was directly connected to the switch backplane, just like a dedicated service module. Initially, Citrix NetScaler Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) and the Cisco Prime Network Analysis Module (NAM) are the first services appliances that have integrated with RISE, and have been tested and Certified as "RISE-enabled". With the announcement of RISE, we expect to develop an ecosystem of partners that will work with Cisco to take advantage of this technology, including other application services vendors and firewalls.

At Interop, I had a chance to meet up on the show floor with Citrix NetScaler Product Manager, Joe Peck, to talk about why Citrix is taking advantage of this new RISE technology.

But wait there's more...

Later that same week, Citrix put together a nice demonstration video that shows how NetScaler and the Nexus 7000 work together that's pretty slick.

Related:

1. RISE announcement blog: http://blogs.cisco.com/datacenter/rise
2. RISE video blog with Citrix: http://blogs.cisco.com/datacenter/citrix-rise
3. RISE and Cisco Prime NAM video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7MRTWOx6Q4
4. Gartner blog on RISE: "Cisco and Citrix RISE to the Occasion": http://blogs.gartner.com/andrew-lerner/2014/03/31/cisco-and-citrix-rise-to-the-adc-occasion/
5. Citrix Press Release: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/citrix-netscaler-is-industrys-first-adcto-integrate-with-nexus-fabric-through-ciscos-rise-technology-2014-04-08
6. New RISE web page: http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/solutions/data-center-virtualization/remote-integrated-services-engine/index.html
7. RISE At A Glance: http://www.cisco.com/c/dam/en/us/products/collateral/switches/nexus-7000-series-switches/at-a-glance-c45-731306.pdf
8. Citrix and Cisco RISE whitepaper: http://www.cisco.com/c/dam/en/us/products/collateral/switches/nexus-7000-series-switches/white-paper-c11-731370.pdf