The competition in the hyperconverged infrastructure market is taking on new dimensions. Nutanix Inc., which was recently named as the top provider in this segment by Forrester Research Inc., is making its management stack available on Cisco Systems Inc.’s UCS servers today without its official blessing. In fact, the networking giant is actively working to distance itself from the offering if recent reports are to be believed.

An anonymous insider has told CRN that Cisco is alerting partners that it’s in “no way publicly supporting or advertising” Nutanix’s software. The friction between the vendors probably has something to do with the fact that they reportedly engaged in acquisition talks at the start of the year, but failed to reach an agreement due to price disagreements. More recently, rumors surfaced that Cisco and Nutanix are looking to forge a partnership in a bid to certify their respective products for use with one another. The latter vendor’s decision to go at it alone seems to suggest that those negotiations fell through as well.

That shouldn’t make a big difference for customers, however. Nutanix had Indian services giant HCL Technologies Ltd test how its software runs on UCS C-Series rack servers and found performance to be up to snuff. The company further claims that its platform is interoperable with Cisco’s software-defined switching equipment, which means organizations won’t have to modify their networks in order to accommodate the offering. The only reach catch is that administrators may need to deal with two separate help desks when troubleshooting certain issues.

Nutanix will now be able to compete directly with the UCS-based hyperconverged offerings from rivals Springpath Inc. and SimpliVity Inc., which are both officially supported by Cisco. Though it probably won’t be receiving a similar endorsement anytime soon, the vendor has an advantage thanks to the popularity of its hyperconverged solutions in the broader industry. Nutanix marketing boss Howard Ting told CRN that partners and customers are already lining up to use the offering.

As for Cisco, it’s reportedly looking to acquire Springpath in a bid to gain more control over its product roadmap. And the competition in the hyperconverged infrastructure market is only set to increase from here as organizations continue to replace their legacy gear with integrated appliances.

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