Why HCI and Why Now?VMWARE TREND BRIEF

Discover the data center infrastructure strategy that radically simplifies storage

Do you hear that? It’s the sound of a massive wave of change generated by social media, mobile devices, and the growing Internet of Things. This wave is driving the pace of business, pushing companies to accomplish more, in less time, than ever before.

The engine of that change is IT.

As it increasingly drives business value, IT must deliver resources with unprecedented speed and cost-efficiency. IT made tremendous leaps with server and application virtualization, which delivered exceptional compute efficiency and flexibility. But today, two critical resource silos remain largely untouched: networking and storage.

Relics of the past, these infrastructure silos are slow, expensive, and not well suited to the needs of highly dynamic applications being deployed today. Today’s IT leaders need new levels of dexterity – and fixed, purpose-built hardware models simply can’t come through.

For many decision-makers, it’s time to re-evaluate fundamental infrastructure choices – do I want to be poised for growth and change, or continue to be crippled by inefficient hardware silos?

A new choice for data center infrastructure One of the fastest-growing solutions for evolving to the next-generation data center is Hyper-Converged Infrastructure (HCI). In an HCI solution, all the typical hardware-based data center resource pillars – storage, compute, and networking – are virtualized and collapsed onto an industry-standard x86 server. Since the resources are software-based, and managed from a single management console, a well-architected HCI solution can dramatically increase efficiency, improve flexibility, and reduce TCO across the data center — without any trade-offs on performance or availability.

In this brief, you’ll learn:

The definition of Hyper-Converged Infrastructure (HCI)

How HCI differs from traditional and converged infrastructures

The essential elements of an HCI solution

Change is happening. Are you being left behind?

1

2

3

This model, which still exists in “modern” storage models, relies on proprietary, purpose-built hardware. It typically has its own management software and works best when optimized and managed by dedicated specialists. Furthermore, because performance is set at the hardware layer, resources are not properly optimized and overprovisioning often occurs.

It’s an expensive solution to a general-purpose IT need, and results in an increased footprint, increased complexity, and increased staffing and specialization. Worse, today’s dynamic applications and virtualized workloads require provisioning flexibility that hardware-centric approaches aren’t designed to deliver. Quite simply, it’s the opposite of simple and streamlined.

A converged infrastructure improves on the traditional model by bringing storage, networking, and compute into a single rack. These elements are typically provided by different specialty vendors. While the management may be integrated and optimized, separate systems, workflows, and management platforms still exist.

In addition, the hardware bundles are pre-configured to run specific workloads and can’t be easily altered – resulting in a loss of flexibility. The physical boundaries may have been eliminated, but provisioning and operational challenges remain.

Hyperconverged solutions take the next step – the resource pillars are physically converged onto a single industry-standard x86 server, forming a seamless, software-defined environment well- suited to today’s IT challenges. The secret lies in the hypervisor – it’s the source of the “hyper” in hyper-convergence. All the key data center functions – compute, networking, and storage – are now running as software on the hypervisor, enabling efficient operations, streamlined and speedy provisioning, and cost-effective growth.

1 Traditional Silo-based Infrastructure 2 Converged Infrastructure 3 Hyper-Converged Software Stack

Three approaches for equipping your data center If you’re facing a server or storage refresh, or are looking to expand your data center capacity, you have no shortage of choices. From traditional specialty hardware to new HCI solutions, the options are abundant. Your first choice is – which model to pursue?

All data centers contain the same fundamental building blocks – compute, storage, and networking. How you choose to outfit your data center with those elements will affect your day-to-day workflow, operating costs, short-term and long-term costs, capital costs, ability to scale, and more.

Getting to know HCI For a growing number of IT decision-makers, the choice is clear – HCI offers the performance, flexibility, and efficiency that budget-conscious, resource-starved IT departments crave.

Let’s examine the two essential ingredients in every HCI solution: the software and the hardware – and why it’s important to make a software choice first.

Start with Software HCI software comprises a hypervisor, a software-defined storage solution, and typically a unified management console. Some HCI software solutions may also include certain network virtualization features. HCI solutions collapse data center resource pillars onto industry-standard x86 servers and use a hypervisor to virtualize and manage those resources.

The hypervisor forms the foundation of HCI – it’s the “hyper” in hyperconverged, so it’s vital that you make a smart choice. There are a number of hypervisors options, including free, built-in, and customized, HCI-specific versions. To reap the maximum performance and operational advantages, you’ll want to choose a solution that provides the highest degree of compatibility and integration across your data center.

Your hypervisor choice will lead you to the storage and networking solutions for your HCI solution. It will also dictate your management options and future expansion choices. In choosing your hypervisor vendor, keep these qualifying questions in mind:

• Does it provide strong support?• Can it demonstrate a track record of enhancements? • Does it have an exceptional ecosystem of

application and hardware compatibility?

The software-defined storage layer is built on the hypervisor foundation, and is critical in ensuring data availability, application performance, and flexible scalability. The correct storage architecture can deliver the same simplicity, efficiency, and cost-saving benefits to storage that server virtualization brought to compute.

HCI solutions leverage different software-defined storage architectures. To minimize trade-offs and maximize performance, choose a solution where the storage layer is tightly integrated with the hypervisor. This will reduce data latencies and eliminate unnecessary resource overhead, both of which can have a significant impact on cost and efficiency. In addition, a tightly integrated software stack will deliver the easiest solution to learn and manage.

For six straight years in a row, VMware has positioned

as a leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for its

x86 Server Virtualization Infrastructure.

Gartner Magic Quadrant for x86 Server Virtualization Infrastructure,

July 2015

Source: Gartner, Magic Quadrant for x86 Server Virtualization Infrastructure, July 2015. Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner’s research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

Next, add some hardware Once you select your software, you’ll be confronted with hardware options. There are three basic choices: Engineered Appliances The simplest way to deploy HCI is an appliance that is fully integrated, pre-configured, and tested with specific software to automate configuration and lifecycle management. It’s all packaged up as a turnkey appliance to minimize hassle. But there is a downside to all this simplicity: most appliances can’t be reconfigured or changed after purchase, and configuration options and hardware platform choices are limited – which means you have less flexibility.

Certified Nodes These nodes include pre-certified server and storage configurations from major x86 vendors. You gain greater flexibility with the ability to select hardware that meets your exact needs, with a broad range of options and price points. To further simplify deployments with this option, purchase nodes “as configured” with factory-installed software and licenses.

Customized Solutions Building your own HCI configuration allows you to select from a list of certified components for the ultimate flexibility. This option requires attention and expertise – for instance, you will need to validate OEM support for all your preferred components, including drivers. The trade-off: speed and simplicity for precision-tailored solutions.

First things first Remember that you shouldn’t make a hardware selection until after you choose your software. As several industry analysts advise, savvy buyers will choose the most hardware-agnostic and software-portable option possible. If your needs change (and in IT, they often do) and you want to move your HCI software licenses to a different server, or if you want to repurpose your HCI to meet a new requirement, your HCI solution must be flexible. If the licenses are tied to the hardware or the hardware is too highly customized to the HCI solution, you may find yourself stuck and unable to repurpose the hardware or the software.

Ideally, the hyper-converged solution should be sought

that has no such hardware dependencies. In fact, pursuing

a hardware-agnostic approach is the only way that you

can scale different parts of the node at different times

based on need or the availability of new technology.

Data Management Institute Hyperconverged Infrastructure:

No-nonsense Selection Criteria, Joe Toigo, 2015

Bottom-line benefits of HCINo IT decision-maker chooses a new technology or adopts a new strategy just because it’s trending. Even if industry analysts tout a particular solution as the next big thing, it must support the business, and deliver clear benefits and rewards.

Depending on the deployment model selected, HCI solutions expand in a much more granular fashion than traditional hardware purchases. In many instances, increasing storage capacity is as simple as adding more flash to existing servers. When both compute and storage capacity is called for, simply add new HCI nodes or appliances. You no longer need to plan for budget-breaking capital expenditures (CAPEX); with HCI, you can “grow as you go.”

HCI enables highly efficient operations, leveraging the hypervisor to automatically align and allocate resources where they are needed most. And since all operations are managed from a single interface with policy-driven control and automation, the need for specialized staff to perform routine provisioning and maintenance tasks is eliminated.

By taking advantage of industry-standard components (servers and storage) instead of proprietary hardware, HCI solutions deliver a high-performance result at a fraction of the cost. And because you’re simultaneously reducing your hardware footprint, you’ll save on space, too.

The Hyper-Converged Infrastructure model delivers a variety of benefits:

And the benefits don’t stop there In addition to making measurable improvements to the business, an HCI solution also brings a set of additional rewards that can be seen day to day. With the right solution, such as that from VMware, you can benefit from a single device – giving you only one UI and workflow to manage, and making it simpler and faster to deploy and scale. In addition, HCI improves performance by bringing data close to compute and leveraging SSDs to enable massive amounts of IOPS at very low latencies.

HCI also delivers high availability by replicating data between nodes and enabling failover to eliminate downtime. Within your HCI solution, the storage software being controlled by the hypervisor eliminates overprovisioning, so that idle resources no longer lie in wait for occasional peak demand. Furthermore, the storage software reduces storage capacity though data efficiency features like deduplication and compression.

Finally, the right storage solution within your HCI prepares you for the future, with dynamic application-based provisioning to meet the needs of 3rd platform, web-scale applications.

Cost-efficiency Operational simplicity Scalable, affordable growth

Taneja Group, Cut Through the Hyper-Convergence Hype

In a hyperconverged environment, you don’t see any seams. It is entirely seamless.

How to determine the right environmentAs you work to identify the right solution for you, a great first step is to make a list of what matters most. What is most important to your business today – and tomorrow? Perhaps it’s cost containment or scalability, flexible growth or ease of management. Identify the areas that are your highest priority, and look at the solutions that meet those needs.

Is adding new appliances whenever you need more storage or compute resources a deal-breaker – or not?

Are hardware compatibility and compliance with existing standards important to you? If so, an appliance model may not offer you the hardware platform you require.

Are cost and scalability big considerations? If they are, make sure that your system is designed to provide capacity on demand and can expand without disruption or significant capital outlays.

How will it impact your staff? The last thing a stretched IT staff wants is a brand-new system to learn, troubleshoot, and integrate. Determine if you can leverage the software and hardware expertise and vendor relationships you already have in place. The more you know about what you need, the easier the process will be.

Factors to consider include:

Industry Standard Hardware

Hyper-Converged Software

The VMware solution for HCI: radically simple infrastructure As the HCI market grows, so too does VMware’s leadership. VMware has emerged as a leader in powering HCI solutions through its VMware Hyper-Converged Software (HCS). The foundational components of VMware HCS include VMware vSphere®, VMware Virtual SAN™, and VMware vCenter Server™, which collapse compute, storage, and networking onto a single, integrated layer of software that can run on industry-standard x86 infrastructure.

vSphere abstracts and aggregates compute and memory resources into logical pools of compute capacity while Virtual SAN, embedded in vSphere, pools server-attached storage to create a high-performance, shared-data store for virtual machine storage. vCenter Server provides unified management, simplifying and streamlining provisioning and operations. The solution can be further extended to deliver a complete software-defined data center solution with solutions like VMware NSX™. NSX decouples network resources from underlying hardware and brings the operational model of a virtual machine to the data center network.

By decoupling the software and hardware layers, organizations benefit from the broadest and deepest set of HCI deployment options on the market. With VMware Hyper-Converged Software, you can continue to use your preferred hardware for your data center and business needs.

Your team instantly becomes more agile, allowing you to meet the needs of your business users and maintain a competitive advantage. It also gives you a strong foundation for the future by freeing you from vendor lock-in, so that you can maintain full flexibility as your needs continue to shift and change.

VMware Virtual SAN and hyperconverged infrastructure enabled us to reduce our overall

platform cost by a staggering 70% which translated directly into savings for our customers.

Beyond just direct savings we are also able to simplify how we scale our platform.

Neil Cresswell, CEO, IndonesianCloud

Click here to learn more

The U.S. hyperconverged market will reach $10.6

billion over the next 12 months. Businesses of all sizes

are deploying hyperconverged systems to improve

the performance and management of storage-centric

workloads.

Technology Business Review

Try Virtual SAN in a Hands-on Lab today

ConclusionFlexible, cost-conscious companies are discovering that moving toward hyper-converged infrastructure does not require a radical shift in thinking. Rather, it’s part of the natural evolution of the virtualized data center. Now that server and application virtualization are part of the fabric in all data centers, it simply makes sense that the next step is HCI.

HCI leverages the hypervisor to deliver compute, networking, and storage from a single x86 server platform. By choosing HCI, you extend the benefits of virtualization to storage and networking, gaining the ability to manage storage and compute from one central place, which streamlines data center operations and reduces complexity. Different work streams converge into one, allowing you to focus on what matters most for your business. And you do it all on industry-standard x86 servers and storage components.

By comparison, standalone silos look quite rustic and quaint – not to mention expensive and inflexible. The infamous quote is that “software is eating the world.” In the IT sector, it’s perhaps more accurate to say that virtualization is eating infrastructure: compute, networking, and storage alike. Introducing an HCI solution is the first step toward a smarter, more efficient data center.

With VMware, you can set up the right infrastructure that will allow you to be more agile and competitive in today’s digital era. The single integrated software stack from VMware—VMware Hyper-Converged Software—includes vSphere, the market-leading hypervisor; Virtual SAN, radically simple, enterprise-class native storage; and vCenter Server, a unified and extensible management solution. The result is the simplest, most cost-efficient, and highest-performing platform for your demanding, ever-changing data center needs.