What is HCI (Hyper Converged Infrastructure)? All About Hyperconverged Infrastructure Architecture
What is HCI hyperconverged infrastructure? What is converged and hyperconverged infrastructure? What are example of hyperconverged infrastructure? What is hyperconverged infrastructure on cloud architect?
Hyperconverged infrastructure, or HCI, allows SMBs and larger businesses to reduce cost and simplify maintenance of data center environments. HCI allows Information Technology (IT) teams to easily manage and scale IT resources.
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The term, also known simply as hyperconvergence, has been gaining a lot of attention in the business world. HCI has been the fastest growing segment of the converged infrastructure market for several years. This growth is expected to continue. According to IDC, the HCI market increased from $2.32 billion in 2016 to $7.64 billion in 2021.
What is Hyper Converged Architecture (HCI)?
Hyperconverged infrastructure, or HCI, is an IT framework that combines compute, storage, networking and virtualization technology into a single system, often called a node. A hyperconverged infrastructure is a software-defined system that combines the elements of a traditional data center: storage, computing, networking and management. Because software-defined elements are implemented in or through the hypervisor, management of all resources can be unified across all instances of a hyperconverged infrastructure.
HCI solutions are provided by a single vendor and allow IT administrators to manage all components as a single system with one common set of tools.
The Birth of Hyperconvergence Technology
There is no definitive answer as to when and where the term “hyperconverged infrastructure” originated or who coined it. The concept of convergence initially emerged to address the challenges of 3-2-1 architecture, which combines hardware components into clusters. Before the emergence of hyperconverged infrastructure, IT vendors pooled disparate hardware and software and packaged them as a single set of tools known as converged infrastructure (CI).
As dependence on technology increased, businesses needed efficiency, reliability and scalability to keep up with ever-changing business needs that traditional infrastructure could not provide. Hyperconverged infrastructure is an evolutionary step that addresses ever-increasing data center complexity and storage challenges.
While the origin of the term “hyperconverged infrastructure” is unknown, Nutanix was the first technology company to launch an HCI-specific product called Complete Cluster in 2011.
How Does Hyper Converged Architecture (HCI) Work?
How Does Hyper Converged Architecture (HCI) Work?Source: wikipedia
HCI combines data center server hardware with locally attached storage supported by a distributed software layer that distributes all operating functions across a cluster for superior performance and durability. With virtualization, these multiple infrastructure silos are combined and managed as a single entity, providing a holistic, software-defined and integrated system.
Virtualization software abstracts the basic resources of the node. To optimize performance, the software dynamically allocates resources to applications running in virtual machines (VMs) or containers. By using a local hypervisor on the node or cluster, the underlying storage architecture is embedded directly into the hypervisor, eliminating the need for inefficient storage protocols, file systems, and virtual storage devices (VSAs).
Hyperconverged infrastructure typically runs on an x86 server architecture, which is ideal for virtualization. The latest generation of x86 servers offer broad compatibility to support a wide range of software development needs, while their reliability and scalability make them ideal for application hosting.
Hardware etc. Software Hyper Converged Architecture Deployment?
Businesses purchasing hyperconverged infrastructure can choose a hardware-agnostic hyperconverged platform or HCI hardware, also known as an integrated HCI appliance, from a single vendor. HCI software allows you to bring your own technology and deploy infrastructure. With HCI hardware, you must purchase the hardware/software package from a single vendor.