Converged Infrastructure Management

In this webinar, learn how HPE SimpliVity provides edge-optimized capabilities for the global centralized management for multiple edge sites and edge-to-cloud data protection for backing up thousands of VMs across multiple of sites, as well as, discover how AI can predict and prevent issues before they happen.

converged infrastructure management

Quick to deploy, fast to scale, and hyper efficient, hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) 2.0 solutions from HPE can power all of your apps while streamlining operations, consolidating workloads, and protecting your data. Discover how organizations have pivoted to intelligent, high-performance solutions leveraging HPE SimpliVity and HPE Alletra dHCI to drive their businesses from datacenter to edge to cloud.

Now organizations of any size can benefit from the benefits of moving to HCI. Whether you have multiple sites running disparate platforms or a single complicated campus location, it all equals a genuine hassle for your IT department. A common hyperconverged infrastructure, from core to edge, brings order to administration, support, deployment, and data protection.

Powerful IT doesn't have to be complicated. Get the Hyperconverged Infrastructure for Dummies guide to learn how hyperconvergence combines all of your virtualized infrastructure and data services into a single, integrated powerhouse.

Power your business with AI-driven solutions that combine compute, storage, and networking with advanced data services in a single, integrated platform. Deliver unprecedented simplicity, agility, and intelligence with hyperconverged IT.

A hyperconverged infrastructure, or hyperconvergence infrastructure, is defined as an IT framework that combines storage, computing, and networking into a single system to reduce data center complexity and streamline operations.

Hyperconverged software-defined infrastructure virtualizes all elements of the traditional hardware stack, including compute, storage, networking, and hypervisor, and is centrally managed by a single piece of software. A typical HCI system consists of a hypervisor for virtualized computing, a software-defined networking (SDN) component. These resources are combined into pools that can be dynamically balanced and allocated to deliver the right amount of capacity, performance, and protection needed by a virtual machine to run business applications.

A key difference between these two technologies is that in a converged infrastructure, each of the components is discrete and can be used for its intended purpose the server can be separated and used as a server, just as storage can be separated and used as functional storage. In a hyperconverged infrastructure, the architecture is software defined meaning all the components are tightly integrated and cannot be broken out into separate parts.

Another key difference is how each handles storage. In a converged architecture, the storage is attached directly to the physical servers. Hyperconverged infrastructure has the storage controller function running as a service on each node in the cluster, thereby improving scalability and resilience. Flash storage is generally used for each to ensure high performance for applications.

In a non-converged architecture, physical servers operate a virtualization hypervisor that manages each of the virtual machines (VMs) that have been created on the server. For data storage, there are typically three options:

With converged architecture, storage is attached directly to the physical server. Regular converged architecture can be just as fast (if not faster) than hyperconverged alternatives. In this setup, flash storage is almost always used. (The need for expensive SAN and NAS, in particular, is eliminated.)

Hyperconverged infrastructure has a storage controller function that runs as a service on every node in the cluster, which is why this is classified as software-defined storage. Most commonly, important data that you need to access quickly is kept local (hot storage) while less crucial data is stored on the actual servers (warm or cold storage).

Converged infrastructure is an approach to data center management that aims to minimize compatibility issues between storage systems, servers, and network devices. A secondary aim of CI is to reduce costs that are associated with physical components including everything from floor space and cooling to power and cabling.

Rather than adding a new shelf, as in traditional storage, you offload the workload to a converged storage system. This ensures that there is a viable data storage solution for the foreseeable future. There are many advantages to this solution, including:

Also known as ultra-converged infrastructure, hyperconverged infrastructure is widely regarded as the future of data center design. In this approach, software controls all of the resources that are atop the hypervisor.

In many instances, the vendor also provides additional functionality for disaster recovery and cloud bursting. This allows the admins to manage the virtual and physical infrastructure in a federated manner via a single pane of glass.

Converged infrastructure is a way of structuring an IT system that combines various components into a single optimized computing unit. It minimizes hardware compatibility issues while lowering the response time between the components. The components are:

Companies need a faster, reliable, and scalable IT infrastructure more than ever before. By leveraging a converged infrastructure, organizations can use one of the go-to frameworks for achieving an agile, high-performance, and cost-efficient IT environment.

Converged infrastructures eliminate the need for complex and often tedious integration of individual IT components. IT admins can quickly provision new applications and respond to organizational changes.

Many converged systems require disparate software solutions to manage the server, storage, and networking. However, IT admins can configure and manage all the resources via a single unified interface. This can eliminate unnecessary hardware and software, potentially minimizing capital expenses. Such an Infrastructure can also reduce operational expenses since there is less equipment to configure and maintain.

Converged infrastructure is hardware-based and packages legacy data center components into a single solution provided by a single vendor, making data center deployment and management more effortless. On the other hand, hyper-converged infrastructure is a truly software-defined solution that virtualizes x86 servers and storage and allows management through a single console.

Hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) abstracts all data center components and provides greater flexibility. Compute and storage resources are completely virtualized, allowing faster scalability. However, scaling one resource will automatically scale other resources as well. For instance, organizations can add storage by adding more nodes, but each node will bring its storage and compute. The other option could be to scale up by adding storage arrays or drivers, a higher upfront cost.

Parallels Remote Application Server (RAS) leverages the advantages of any existing converged infrastructure by allowing for efficient and secure application and desktop delivery. By choosing Parallels RAS, IT admins can deliver seamless workplaces effortlessly, managing remote sessions and virtual applications through the Parallels RAS Console without configuring anything else. Additionally, there is no vendor lock-in when deploying Parallels RAS, as it can combine and work with multiple infrastructures, both on-premises and in the cloud.

Converged infrastructure uses a preconfigured computing solution provided by one or more vendors. It is primarily designed to provide centralized management of IT resources, where complete pools of resources are managed through a single control panel.

Converged infrastructure typically consists of several computing resources that are preconfigured, pretested and designed specifically around a business/IT use case. These computing resources may include servers, storage, software, network and other IT/computing products and services.

Sirius is a national leader in the design and implementation of converged infrastructure solutions. Our dedicated CI Practice is made up of experts with 500-plus technical CI certifications. Our CI architects and engineers provide a consultative approach based on experience with the entire spectrum of leading converged technologies. Our experience allows us to guide clients in what works best for specific environments and workloads. We can analyze your current infrastructure, platforms, services and workloads to identify where converged infrastructure can support your organizational strategies and align your investments with overarching business goals.

Hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) combines virtualized computing, software-defined storage, and virtualized networking into a single server. These nodes scale quickly along with your needs. With Intel architecture-based hyperconverged infrastructure solutions, you can invest incrementally over time, taking advantage of next-generation capabilities across compute, storage, network, memory, and accelerator technologies.

The rising demand for cloud services, along with the need to replace outdated hardware and lower operational costs, is leading enterprises to adopt hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) in the data center. With hyperconverged infrastructure, compute and storage workloads run together on a server. Servers are clustered into a virtualized pool of compute and storage resources over a standard Ethernet network. 041b061a72