Time is the greatest enemy of IT.
Developers need better agility to use their time more effectively rather than stitching infrastructures together. Convergence makes this possible by bringing in compute, storage, and networking together in an infrastructure.
Converged infrastructure (CI) allows organizations to maximize their speed to value while creating virtual machines (VMs). It improves resource deployment speed and makes it more scalable in delivering consistent performance. With the help of solutions validated by a vendor, you have to do less guesswork, reducing any deployment risk.
Many businesses use hyperconverged infrastructure solutions (advanced alternatives to CI) to virtualize their servers (compute), storage, and networks. These solutions take a software-centric approach, where each element is integrated and managed as a system.
Let’s explore converged infrastructure and understand why IT moved from traditionally setting up virtual machines to a hyperconverged software-defined route.
Converged infrastructure (CI) bundles together storage, server, networking, and virtualization while setting up a VM. Earlier, these components were stitched manually into a data center infrastructure. With CI, businesses save time setting up or configuring each hardware piece as it comes pre-configured by the vendor.
The package synchronizes hardware and software so users can manage all their resources through one system. This allows them to avoid headaches associated with compatibility checks or manual setups.
Although CI architecture is similar to non-converged infrastructure, the converged architecture comes pre-integrated from the vendor. Non-converged infrastructure consists of hardware components that clients purchase individually and then integrate themselves or with the help of hired consultants.
IT resources were deployed in silos earlier. They were dedicated to a technology or business line, managing one demand type. As usage needs kept changing, the setup wasn’t fit to make reliable optimizations or corrections. This led to IT sprawl, hampering productivity and operating costs.
This cost increase lowered the IT budget for driving new initiatives, making it trickier for IT to adapt to real application demand. When developed, converged infrastructure tackled this issue by creating a shared pool of virtualized servers and networks across different business areas and applications.
Below are a few common types of infrastructure technologies. This section will help you evaluate these technologies better.
(Compute, storage, and network components are physically distinct and managed separately.)
In this type, sometimes the storage resides within the servers themselves, but it's still considered traditional because it’s not managed centrally. You get to pick the vendor of your choice for each tier.
Did you know? In cloud computing, “compute” describes concepts and objects related to software computation.
Customers who wish to change server vendors can do so without any other disruption to their environment. Each tier is independently scalable. You can add capacity to a storage array or server to compute stacks without affecting other systems.
It takes up more physical space and is expensive. You might feel that repurposing components for other workloads is cumbersome.
(One or more of the components have been abstracted by software from their physical components.)
The most common virtual deployments are in the compute stack, with storage and server gaining traction.
Virtualization mitigates the amount of hardware you need to deploy. It increases operational efficiency using centralized management and allows you to use more of your deployed capacity.
It adds to the cost and overhead of virtualization technology.
(Compute, network, and storage are still physically discrete components, but they're all managed from one point.)
In a converged infrastructure, compute, storage, and networking are all controlled via a single management interface. Just because the tiers have been brought together does not mean all components must be from a single vendor.
There are limits as to what components you can use. They need to be validated to work within the solution.
(Compute and storage collapse into a single offering. Some vendors might include networking components, too, as per the end user.)
A hyperconverged or ultraconverged environment is centrally managed. It's high-performing within its caching envelope and can, in certain circumstances, save on the overall cost of ownership.
It manages compute resources using software-defined networking, storage, and a hypervisor. A hypervisor is a software, firmware, or hardware that allows multiple VMs to run on a single computer's hardware.
Did you know? Caching is a technique that stores data on a device to improve the user experience when revisiting a website or app.
You can only run the software the vendors have certified. Some solutions require expanding your storage footprint, even if you need more servers or vice versa. If you overrun the disc caching mechanism, your performance will be unsuitable.
Finding the most suitable solution is tricky, especially when you’re looking at the different topologies discussed in the above section.
These tips will help you make a decision:
Many network vendors exclude network components from their solutions. Make sure you clearly understand the bandwidth, latency, and cost requirements. Get an understanding from the vendor of how they will help you support the environment in case of issues.
Traditional technologies use disk striping for data protection. This technique improves system performance by dividing data into blocks and writing them across multiple disk drives simultaneously. Some newer solutions rely on making several copies of the data in numerous locations.
When comparing solutions, a 90 TB traditional array might give 70 TB of usable space. A 90 TB hyperconverged array might only have 30 TB of usable space. When you hear about the expected usable disk, always ask if the vendor provides guarantees and what actual usable space you'll have.
Never take the number of cores and total RAM at face value. When evaluating different solutions, always ask how much CPU and RAM you can actually allocate to your virtual machines.
Make sure you understand how the new environment will be managed. Can you use a single tool, or must you use multiple? How will the vendors interact with non-vendor parts of the solution?
You can evaluate the initial cost of different systems against each other, but always understand what happens when you grow.
Always ensure there's a path for growth in any solution you deploy.
Converged Infrastructure solutions were created to make deploying compute, network, and storage resources easier. To scale, adding more complete predefined modules may be necessary. It has integrated management, but the components aren’t tightly integrated. Let’s see how CI is different from various other solutions:
Dheeraj Pandey, Former CEO of Nuantix, says, “The idea behind convergence is to make private cloud computing just as agile as public cloud computing. Convergence offers several benefits to converged infrastructure."
In addition to the ability to deploy resources faster with a modular solution, it delivers a range of benefits, including:
While CI is a powerful solution, its pre-configured design means limited flexibility for further customization. Adding non-validated components later may increase costs and create compatibility issues, negating the original benefits of CI’s simplicity and reliability.
Converged infrastructure platforms bring some challenges that organizations should consider.
Here’s a structured process to help organizations deploy converged architecture using reference architectures and pre-racked configurations:
Reference architectures provide pre-validated guidelines and blueprints for setting up converged systems. They specify the types, quantities, and connections required for resources.
These blueprints help IT teams set up systems quickly and confidently, knowing they’re using a tested configuration. Reference architectures allow teams to integrate existing equipment, making the deployment more flexible and cost-effective.
With the initial setup, application administrators can easily scale up individual components, like adding more storage or compute power, to meet growing demands.
In this approach, the main components, compute, storage, and networking, come pre-installed in a data center rack, ready to be used. These components are also pre-connected and cabled, which significantly reduces setup time.
Teams simply turn on the system and run initial checks, reducing installation time and the potential for errors. However, these pre-racked setups often allow only for scale-out scalability, meaning that organizations can add more racks to grow capacity but may find it challenging to modify components within the existing rack setup.
Once the equipment is in place, allocate resources following the vendor's guidelines. Compute, storage, and network resources are distributed according to the specific requirements of your organization’s applications, ensuring that each component has the right capacity.
Stick to the vendor's configuration recommendations and maintain optimal performance and compatibility within the converged infrastructure.
As application needs grow, teams can either scale up by adding more resources to the existing system or scale out by integrating additional racks. When following reference architecture, scaling up allows flexibility in adding specific resources, like storage or processing power, according to each application's needs.
On the other hand, pre-racked setups make adding new racks consistently and in a standardized manner for larger expansions easier.
Run initial tests on data handling, processing, and storage to catch any compatibility or configuration issues early. Once the testing is complete, IT teams can make any necessary adjustments to improve system performance.
Although CI is packaged for easier consumption and deployment, it still overlaps with the traditional approach. Contrastingly, HCI moves away from the complexities of legacy infrastructure.
It offers significant cost and flexibility benefits compared to a traditional CI. Some say it offers agility similar to a public cloud solution. Does it really?
Learn more about hyperconverged infrastructure and see if it’s the right choice for your needs.