HCI  COMPONENTS  

COMPUTE  

NETWORKING  

STORAGE  

SOFTWARE  

The   compute   layer   is   the   underlying   processor,  memory   and   hypervisor   technology   components  that  power  the  applica7ons.     In  HCI,  the  hardware  components   that  make   up   the   compute   layer   are  abstracted   by   so>ware   to   enable   higher-­‐level  constructs   such   as   automated   provisioning   and  orchestra7on  of  workloads.  

Storage   assets   are   pooled   and   enhanced   with  features   such   as   de-­‐duplica7on,   replica7on,   thin  provisioning,  snapshots  and  backup.  

Networking   services   are   managed   through  abstrac7on   of   lower   level   func7onality   via  so>ware.   This   is   done   by   decoupling   the   system  that   makes   decisions   about   where   traffic   is   sent  (the   control   plane)   from   the   underlying   systems  that  forward  traffic  to  the  selected  des7na7on  (the  data  plane).  

The  So>ware  Defined  Data  Center  (SDDC)  is  a  key  construct   in   HCI.     All   HCI   solu7ons   employ   SDDC  so>ware   as   the   orchestra7on   and   management  layer.    By  abstrac7ng  and  uncoupling  the  compute,  storage,   and   networking   capabili7es,   SDDC  reduces   complexity   and   elevates   overall  func7onality.  

Hyperconverged   Infrastructure   (HCI)   combines   a   so>ware-­‐centric   architecture  with   integrated  compute,  storage,  networking  and  virtualiza7on  resources   in  a  commodity   hardware   plaLorm.   Simply   put,   HCI   is   the   union   of   key   resources  and  capabili7es  in  a  single,  appliance-­‐like  device.    

Tradi7onal  datacenter  equipment  needs  a  small  army  of  specialists  to  provision  all   the   compute,   storage,   virtualiza7on   and   networking   resources   needed   to  host   an   applica7on   workload.   HCI   appliances   use   so>ware   to   harness   and  orchestrate   these   valuable   resources   into   a   powerful,   easy-­‐to-­‐use   workload  plaLorm.   HCI   management   so>ware   works   in   conjunc7on   with   virtualiza7on  and  acts  as  an  abstrac7on  layer  that  handles  all  the  heavy  li>ing.  

The   core   benefit   is   that   HCI   simplifies   provisioning   and   management   of  applica7on   workloads.   With   HCI,   produc7vity   doesn’t   require   advanced   IT  exper7se  as  workloads  are  easily  provisioned  directly  by  applica7on  teams.  

         

WHAT  IS  HYPERCONVERGED  INFRASTRUCTURE  (HCI)?  

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Hyperconverged  Power,  Intelligent  Management  

HCI  Defini7ve  Guide  

      

HCI   is   the   natural   progression   of   hardware   commodi7za7on   and   the   rise   of   virtualiza7on   coupled   with   dispropor7onate   opera7onal  complexity.  The  driver  behind  the  rise  of  HCI  is  the  abstrac7on  of  storage  and  the  ability  to  use  so>ware  to  orchestrate  all  the  key  elements  of  the  datacenter.    This  level  of  hardware  abstrac7on  via  virtualiza7on,  together  with  so>ware  control,  introduces  the  concept  of  a  So>ware-­‐Defined  Data  Center  (SDDC).        The   SDDC   resources   within   HCI   allow   you   to   create   and   manage   workloads   in   a   container-­‐like   fashion   as   opposed   to   tradi7onal   and  converged  infrastructure  solu7ons  that  treat  compute,  storage,  and  networking  as  discrete  elements.  With  tradi7onal  datacenters,  a  vendor-­‐specific  knowledge  set  is  required  to  ‘s7tch’  together  all  the  proprietary  so>ware  and  provision  the  underlying  compu7ng  assets.    HCI  and  SDDC  enable  you  to  establish  quality  of  service  policies  per  workload  and  have  everything  else  managed  by  the  system.  It’s  this  marriage  of  technologies  that  reaps  produc7vity  benefits  while  reducing  opera7onal  budget.  

EVOLUTION  OF  HCI  

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A  CLOSER  LOOK:  Tradi?onal  vs.  Converged  vs.  Hyperconverged    

PlaKorm   Convergence  Level   Deployment  Effort   Integra?on  Effort  

Tradi7onal/Legacy   None   Weeks/Months   Difficult  

Converged   Rack  Level   Days   Medium  

Hyperconverged   Full   Hours/Minutes   Low/None  

HCI  vs.  Tradi?onal  (Legacy)    Unlike   legacy   solu7ons   where   physical   servers   run   in   a  virtualiza7on  hypervisor,  HCI  solu7ons  integrate  storage  as  a   so>ware-­‐defined   service   that   runs  on   each  node   in   the  cluster,  improving  scalability  and  resilience.        HCI   allows   organiza7ons   to   start   small   and   scale   out   as  needed,  while   legacy   solu7ons   require   IT   departments   to  predict   future   needs   and   buy   and   replace   hardware   at  regular  intervals.    

HCI  vs.  Converged    HCI  appliances  are  designed  and   implemented  as  a   single  device,   providing   seamless   management   and   measurable  performance   benefits.     Converged   systems   are   merely  discrete   compute,   storage   and   networking   components  racked  together  and  sold  as  a  ‘solu7on’.    In  contrast  with  converged  architectures  where  storage   is  aZached   to   physical   servers,   HCI   solu7ons   integrate  storage   as   a   so>ware-­‐defined   service   that   runs   on   each  node  in  the  cluster,  improving  scalability  and  resilience.        

DID  YOU  KNOW?  

HCI  Market  Size  -­‐  Gartner  es7mates  the  market  opportunity  for  integrated  systems  is  expected  to  be  one  of  the  fastest-­‐growing  areas  of  data  center  infrastructure  with  a  compound  annual  growth  rate  of  23.8%  from  2013  through  2018    

         

KEY  SDDC  BENEFITS    

High  Availability—  HCI  o>en  features  high  availability  that  affords  greater  data  resilience  and  faster  workload  restora7on.  

Ease  of  Use  —  HCI  consolidates  servers,  storage,  networking  and  security  into  a  single  solu7on,  enabling  management  from  a  single  pane  of  glass.      

Lowest  TCO  —  HCI  offers  a  sustainable  model  that  eliminates  waste  and  allows  organiza7ons  to  purchase  only  what  is  needed  at  the  7me.  

Security—  HCI  solu7ons  that  do  not  run  in  a  VM  provide  direct  access  between  the  hardware  and  OS,  making  data  protec7on  much  easier.  

Scalability  —  HCI  makes  it  easy  to  scale  capacity  and  provision  virtual  machines  as  needed.  As  your  business  grows,  addi7onal  HCI  appliances  can  be  added  to  expand  compute  and  storage  capabili7es.      

      HCI   gives  administrators   and  applica7on   teams   the  flexibility   and  performance   to   run  nearly   any  applica7on  more  efficiently.   The   following  table  outlines  the  value  of  HCI  in  common  datacenter  scenarios:  

HCI  USE  CASES  

DID  YOU  KNOW?  

“Stack”  Ownership  -­‐  The  so>ware  for  a  hyperconverged  infrastructure  solu7on  sits  in  one  of  two  layers  in  the  stack  –  either  in  the  hypervisor  layer  (“stack  owner”)  or  in  the  guest  layer  (“stack  dependent”).  Nimboxx  and  Scale  Compu7ng  (using  KVM)  are  considered  stack  owners  while  Nutanix  and  SimpliVity  are  stack  dependents    

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Scenario   Characteris?cs/Requirements   HCI  Value  

SMB  /  ROBO  

Limited  IT  personnel  Remote  /  branch  loca7ons  

Space  /  power  constraints  

Lean  budget  

Single  appliance,  turnkey  solu7on  Low  entry  price  (no  licensing  fees)    

Two-­‐node  high  availability  

Set  up  in  less  than  10  minutes    

Ease  of  administra7on  

Enterprise  

High  I/O  /  bandwidth  High  availability  /  Disaster  recovery  

Highly  complex  

Lean  /  shrinking  budget  

High  IO  performance  System  resiliency  

Ease  of  administra7on  

Scalable  growth  per  applica7on  requirements  

Total  cost  of  ownership  

Dev  /  Test  

Rapid  provisioning  Environment  crea7on/tear-­‐down  management  

Mul7ple  OS  support  

Low  entry  price  (no  licensing  fees)    Dedicated  storage  

High-­‐performance  VM  environment  

Modular  growth  

Ease  of  set  up,  administra7on  

      

In  summary,  HCI  brings  a  fresh,  innova7ve  approach  to  hos7ng  data  center  applica7ons.    Taking  a  high-­‐level  view,  the  main  value  proposi7on  of  HCI  is  two-­‐fold:  

HCI  IMPACT  

WHAT  SDDC  IS  NOT  

HCI   is   not   a   specific   applica7on   or   task-­‐built   appliance.   It’s   an   integrated   compute   and   storage   plaLorm   for   hos7ng   some   or   all   of   your  datacenter  and  VDI  workloads.  

HCI  is  not  a  sta7c  plaLorm.  A  well-­‐designed  HCI  appliance  can  easily  grow  and  change  to  accommodate  business  needs.  

Reduced  Footprint  

By   levering   commodity   hardware   and   orchestra7ng   the  workloads,  the   full   compute   power   is   available   to   your   applica7ons.   HCI  appliances  can  host  more  VMs  and  VDI  sessions  than  tradi7onal  and  converged  solu7ons.  This  directly  translates  into  lower  IT  spending.  

Unleashed  Resources  

A  well  designed  HCI  solu7on  reduces  complexity  and  puts  7me  back  in   the  hands  of   IT  personnel.    With  HCI,   valuable   IT   staffs  can  shi>  their   focus   from   tac7cal   to   strategic   and   lead   the   transforma7on  from  cost  center  to  innova7on  center!    

PERFORMANCE  

HCI  offers   substan7al  performance  gains   as   commodity  hardware   is   leveraged  and   the   SDDC  layer  ensures  applica7on  compute  and  storage  demands  are  delivered  as  required.    Generally  speaking,   vendors   that   own   the   so>ware   stack   (i.e.,   don’t   run   their   so>ware   inside   another  vendor’s  VM),  make  the  most  efficient  use  of   resources  with   this   transla7ng   into  higher  data  throughput  and  applica7on  density.  

COMPLEXITY  In  theory,  HCI  is  designed  to  reduce  datacenter  complexity,  but  in  reality,  not  all  solu7ons  are  created   equal.   Some   require   third-­‐party   hypervisors   and   integra7ons   that   complicate   the  deployment  process  and  burden  everyday  management.  

INTEGRATION  

Many  organiza7ons  make  the  switch  to  HCI  during  a  budget  cycle  or  during  a  hardware  refresh  of   an   aging   datacenter.   Some   hyperconverged   solu7ons   integrate   well   with   legacy  architectures,  while  others  do  not.  Understand  which  integra7ons  are  available  with  your  HCI  solu7on.    

LICENSING  

Server   virtualiza7on  does   not   cons7tute   a   hyperconverged   infrastructure.   Some  HCI   vendors  rely   on   third-­‐party   virtualiza7on   plaLorms   such   as   VMware   or  Hyper-­‐V.  While   this   approach  relieves   the   HCI   vendor   from   some   of   the   heavy   li>ing,   it   prevents   them   from   having   full  control  of  the  infrastructure  stack  and  increases  the  solu7on  price.  

IMPLEMENTATION  

Determine  how  many  nodes  you  need   to  get   started.  At  7mes   it  makes   sense   to   start   small,  with  just  enough  nodes  to  meet  minimum  cluster  requirements  and  data  protec7on/availability  needs.  Some  vendors  require  a  minimum  of  three  nodes,  while  others  require  only  one  or  two.  Standalone  solu7ons  that  do  not  require  3rd  party  integra7ons  or  separate  so>ware  are  easier  and  faster  to  deploy.  

COST  

Evaluate   your   server   and   storage   op7ons,   as  well   as   hypervisor,   backup   and   recovery   tools.  Consider  solu7ons  that  offer  automa7c  storage-­‐7ering  capabili7es  that  leverage  RAM,  SSD  and  hard  disk  drives  to  ensure  storage  is  used  efficiently  and  costs  are  minimized.  Understand  the  costs  associated  with  power  and  cooling  as  well  as  virtualiza7on  licenses  that  are  required  by  some  HCI  solu7ons  and  not  required  with  others.  

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There  are  many  scenarios  where  the  move  to  an  HCI  architecture  makes  sense.  These  include  hardware  refreshes,  pilot  projects,  warranty  expira7ons  and  where  opera7onal  budgets  have  spiraled  out  of  control.    

As  you  evaluate  solu7ons,  keep  these  considera7ons  in  mind:    

      

GETTING  STARTED:  KEY  CONSIDERATIONS  

Converged   Systems   -­‐   Solu7ons   that   par7ally   integrate   disparate  compu7ng   and   storage   assets   and   are   sold   as   a   ‘combined’  package.  

Hyperconverged  Systems  -­‐  Turnkey  solu7ons  that  offer  the  same  elas7c   compu7ng   benefits   as   a   cloud   framework,   plus   the  workflows   to   support   legacy   applica7ons   in   a   single,   modular  appliance.   Unlike   converged   systems,   these   datacenter-­‐in-­‐a-­‐box  solu7ons   are   designed   and   architected   as   standalone,   scalable  appliances.  

Hypervisor  -­‐  A  so>ware  program  that  manages  mul7ple  opera7ng  systems   (or   mul7ple   instances   of   the   same   OS)   on   a   single  computer  system.  

KVM   (Kernel-­‐based   Virtual   Machine)   -­‐   An   open   source  virtualiza7on   offering   for   Linux   that   enables   hypervisor  func7onality  for  running  mul7ple  virtual  machines.  

KEY  ACRONYMS  &  TERMS  

Orchestra?on   –   Automa7ng   the   provisioning   of   datacenter  compute,  storage  and  networking  assets  through  policies  or  SLAs.  

Tradi?onal   (legacy)   Environment   –   A   datacenter   infrastructure  based   around   disparate   compute,   storage   and   networking  equipment   from   mul7ple   manufacturers.     Typically   storage   is  provided  via  a  separate  network  SAN  or  NAS.  

Virtual   Desktop   Infrastructure   (VDI)   –   The   prac7ce   of   hos7ng   a  desktop  opera7ng   system  within   a   virtual  machine   (VM)   running  on   a   centralized   server.   Users   access   their   desktops   over   a  network   using   a   remote   display   protocol   via   a   connec7on-­‐brokering  service.  

Virtualiza?on  Stack  -­‐  A  group  of  so>ware  components  suppor7ng  a   virtual   environment.   Items   include   the   management   console,  virtual   machine   processes,   emulated   devices,   management  services  and  the  UI  combined  with  the  hypervisor.