Hyper-Converged Infrastructure (HCI)
Hyper-converged infrastructure (HCI) is a modern approach to data center architecture and represents a unified system that virtualizes all elements of a traditional data center within a single, software-defined platform: storage, hypervisor (computers), network and management. The goal of HCI is to simplify data center management, improve scalability and improve resource utilization, in line with user needs, while reducing operating costs.
HCI allows remote configuration of resources using a console, which allows changing the configuration depending on the current needs. In other words, HCI combines all the advantages of a public cloud with the privacy and control of a traditional data center.
HCI – Key Components
and features
Integrated components of hyper-converged infrastructure include:
- Computers: HCI integrates computing resources in the form of virtualized servers. Each server node contributes processing power and memory to the entire infrastructure.
- Repositories: HCI combines storage resources into a common pool often based on software-defined storage (SDS) principles.
- Networking: Networking components are included to facilitate communication between nodes and provide connectivity to external networks.
Software-defined storage and networking enable centralized management and automation of infrastructure components.
The most important features of HCI:
- Virtualization: an underlying technology that includes hypervisors (such as VMware vSphere, Microsoft Hyper-V, or KVM) to create and manage virtual machines on integrated computing resources
- Scale-Out Architecture: HCI is designed to scale horizontally by adding additional nodes, while collectively scaling compute, memory and network resources according to the growing demands of the environment
- Management and Orchestration: HCI provides centralized management interfaces or consoles for administrators to configure, monitor and manage the entire infrastructure
Efficient storage: HCI platforms include features that optimize storage
High availability and resilience: data is often distributed and replicated across multiple nodes, reducing the impact of potential hardware failures
Simplified scaling: new nodes can be added without disrupting existing operations, and the infrastructure automatically integrates new resources
Cost reduction: HCI eliminates the need for separate, dedicated components for computing, storage and networking (just standard x86 servers are sufficient)
Flexibility and adaptability: HCI provides the necessary flexibility to run different workloads, from traditional to modern containerized applications
Recommended HCI solutions
In projects for its clients, Coming uses a wide range of HCI solutions, the most popular of which are:
vSAN (VMware vSphere Storage Area Network) – a key element of the HCI infrastructure that works as a software-defined storage solution and is tightly coupled with the vSphere hypervisor. With an HCI cluster, the vSAN solution eliminates the need to purchase separate storage systems and enables the creation of a scalable, reliable, high-performance storage infrastructure.
Nutanix – a revolutionary solution for managing IT infrastructure. Nutanix seamlessly integrates compute, storage and networking resources into a single software-defined platform. It offers a scalable and flexible environment that easily adapts to the company’s needs. With simple management, improved performance and agility, it enables organizations to provide their users with a seamless web experience. It can be used on multiple hypervisors, such as EXS, Hyper-V and AHV.
VxRail – an HCI component designed to simplify and accelerate IT deployment. It provides a complete turnkey solution, which is pre-configured and optimized for different workloads, including websites. VxRail provides seamless integration with VMware software, enabling efficient management and orchestration of virtualized environments.
