Scale your data center with success.
When you need to increase and decrease your infrastructure, there is no simple way to do that within the square walls of your data center without cloud resources. Converged Infrastructure is the foundation for utilizing cloud and adding agility to your data center. Think of it as a LEGO® set -bringing together the right components—server and storage and applications—in smaller building blocks to meet needs now, and scalable to meet future needs as success and growth brings new demands to the data center.
There are so many advantages to Converged Infrastructure technology today that companies need to consider. Here are the most important ones:
- Streamline data center management from design through deployment
- Quick, easy procurement and implementation
- Validated, well-supported design
- Add layers to the mix for ease of management
- At-a-glance visibility at every level
- An optimal data center foundation
Let’s take a closer look at each advantage.
Streamline data center management from design through deployment
As a foundation for your data center, Converged Infrastructure means ease of management from design to procurement to day-to-day operations. With it, I can build a simple, scalable, integrated data center and IT infrastructure—fast, and employ data center designs with tested, trusted technologies.
A Converged Infrastructure design for your data center means an established, tested configuration with predictable performance. Leveraging expertise and responsibility ensure a smooth process from design through procurement—every detail from component to model number is ready in a configuration designed to support your needs—and on through installation.
Quick, easy procurement & implementation
Capitalize on other people’s experience and expertise for quick and successful deployment. With a validated design, the data center Converged Infrastructure is an expert pre-mix vs from-scratch design. I know what these components will eventually support from a performance perspective. You can just follow the recipe: this model number and this set of storage, network, servers will support this need.”
This means reduced risk, leveraged knowledge and expertise, and benefits of research and development. Thus, the path of deployment and implementation has been traveled and is smoothed to avoid pitfalls while following the fastest path to up and running. Run books plus step-by-step deployment guides provide support through the process.
Validated, well-supported design
From entrepreneur to enterprise, a business can benefit from shared research and development of converged stacks—or building blocks—at the right level of investment and scalable for future needs. Data center managers can expand capacity with a validated design created to meet specific needs. Components are brought together by experts, then tested to validate the design meets requirements. This also means engineering the data center to be energy efficient—and to deliver superior economics. With Converged Infrastructure, the data center manager can simply follow a recipe to build a foundation or enhance capabilities. Making the infrastructure easier to manage frees up time for managers to do other things.
Add layers to the mix for ease of management
An orchestration layer can be added to provide services and provisioning as needed. The data center manager can build a service catalog of capabilities and the things you want to offer users that can be readily available to service business requirements. Internal users can request a server with desired memory and a selection of apps hit “go” and kick off the provisioning of that environment, automatically. Deployment of resources to the end-user is enabled by the converged infrastructure with an orchestration layer on top.
Get at-a-glance visibility at every level
A core benefit of Converged Infrastructure is having the maximum amount of information in a single view. A Converged Infrastructure yields visibility to the server, network, storage, hypervisor with a single interface. This makes access to key information quick and simple. At a glance, managers can monitor for problems and quick resolution in essential areas such as data protection and recovery while upholding business continuance.
Converged Infrastructure designs provide a single pane display of key operating indicators. The dashboard view can provide visibility into key data center performance indicators. Information can align operational metrics and business priorities in support of business goals. This management tool integrates information from varied sources across applications of the Converged Infrastructure.
This is the creme de la creme of automation and provisioning via the cloud or within the data center walls. The orchestration layer can make decisions to leverage cloud resources or dedicate local resources to the requested application. It is quick, easy and efficient.
In Summary
Converged Infrastructure is an optimal foundation for the data center. Converged Infrastructure systems work together perfectly to operate efficiently regardless of workload. Your data center can be built to withstand unpredictability. Tested, validated solutions are at your fingertips with converged architecture solutions. From entrepreneur to enterprise, there is a design that will meet your current needs then scale with your growth and success.
A Converged Infrastructure solution provides readiness for cloud resources and enablement. Designs can scale to meet fluctuating demand and to manage varied workloads. The architecture can be easily refreshed with new or upgraded components as it supports hot swaps and moves while ensuring business continuance. The data center structure can be orchestrated to operate seamlessly at every level with speed and agility.
It all goes back to simpler management and superior ongoing economics—the cost of acquisition and cost of ongoing management. The cost of ongoing management surpasses the cost acquisition by multiples—and is the larger portion of costs. Converged Infrastructure boosts agility for the data center and simplifies ongoing management which drives down the major part of the total cost of ownership (TCO) of the gear.
