Cisco's MDS 9000 Series of Multilayer Intelligent directors and IP Storage Services Module will be installed as part of the bank's project to extend its business continuity strategy using fibre channel over IP (FCIP) network technology.

Cisco says the new implementation will help ensure the availability and back-up of business-critical data. The technology will enable Unicredito to transport high volumes of storage and LAN traffic over a single converged wide area network using IP.

Under the first phase of the project, Unicredito connected its data centres using Cisco Catalyst 6500 series switches and a 10 Gigabit Ethernet wide area link for high-volume data replication over distances of up to 180 kilometres.

The Cisco MDS 9000 technology will help the bank to capture fibre channel traffic, using FCIP connectivity from its Cisco MDS 9000-based SAN infrastructure, and transport it over an IP network to remote SAN data centres.

Marcus Chambers, operations director, storage networking at Cisco EMEA, says: "As the Basel II initiative becomes more defined, an increasing number of financial institutions are realising that IP represents a cost-effective way to help ensure business resilience as well as comply with the Basel II guidelines."

News of the deal comes as the tech bellwether helped push down US markets yesterday, posting lower than expected second quarter profits and talking down prospects for any imminent recovery in IT spending.