Break down the challenges, benefits of hyper-converged infrastructure
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Article
Flexible pricing models boost HCI enterprise appeal
To keep up with a competitive market, some HCI vendors have introduced cloud-like, pay-as-you-go pricing, as well as new container features. Learn how to take advantage of this new approach to hyper-converged. Read Now
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Simplify IT management, organization with hyper-converged infrastructure
All IT organizations strive for simplicity. Hyper-converged infrastructure achieves that goal by breaking down silos, supporting private and hybrid clouds and using policy-based virtualization management. Read Now
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Photo Story
Hyper-converged streamlines VDI planning, storage
It can be complicated to plan for IT infrastructure that supports VDI. With the easy removal and addition of nodes, hyper-converged infrastructure helps solve the problems of VDI planning and storage. View Now
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Video
With hyper-converged infrastructure, IT inches closer to centralized management
Hyper-converged infrastructure provides admins with a single management display, making it easier to interpret data about IT infrastructure from a single location. But according to some experts, reaping the benefits of hyper-converged infrastructure goes deeper than management. Watch Now
Editor's note
In any IT organization, an ultimate goal is simplicity. So it's not surprising that hyper-converged infrastructure -- which, at its core, combines networking, storage and compute into a single package -- has a wide appeal among IT pros.
Although it's tempting to hop on the hyper-converged infrastructure (HCI) bandwagon, investigate all of your options before adopting an HCI system. There are many benefits of hyper-converged infrastructure, but there are drawbacks too, and the technology isn't a good fit for every workload. In some cases, converged infrastructure (CI) is a better option -- it all depends on your needs. Use this guide to weigh the pros and cons of hyper-converged infrastructure, and to learn best practices for adoption.
If you do decide to take the next step with hyper-converged infrastructure, it's crucial to implement it correctly. Understand how to properly manage the system to take full advantage of its benefits. After fully exploring the ins and outs of hyper-converged infrastructure, you may be able to deliver greater value to your organization.
1The difference between hyper-converged infrastructure and converged infrastructure
Both converged and hyper-converged systems condense compute, storage and networking into a single chassis and break down data center silos -- so how do they differ? There are key architectural differences between the two technologies. For example, one of the benefits of hyper-converged infrastructure is that it allows users to add nodes of compute and storage as needed, increasing flexibility. But CI still has its strengths, and likely won't disappear from the data center anytime soon.
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Article
Discover which projects make sense for hyper-converged infrastructure vs. CI
CI and HCI have different strengths in enterprise data centers. Converged infrastructure is a good option to support remote data center projects, for example, hyper-converged infrastructure can be useful for workloads such as VDI, as well as app testing and development labs. Read Now
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Article
As HCI adoption grows, CI holds its value
Although converged infrastructure adoption is on the decline, some organizations still choose this infrastructure model over hyper-converged infrastructure because of its stable and agile environment. Learn why CI will continue to have a place in enterprise data centers. Read Now
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Article
Converged infrastructure drop-off doesn't mean data center death
A defining characteristic of hyper-converged infrastructure is a node-based architecture that provides increased scalability, and replaces the storage network and array with clustered storage. Navigate these, and other architectural differences, associated with hyper-converged infrastructure vs. CI. Read Now
2Overcome hyper-converged infrastructure implementation, management challenges
Though one of the end goals of hyper-converged infrastructure is simplicity, implementation of a new system can be anything but simple. Find ways to ease the process, which includes choosing the right hardware and carefully replacing legacy systems. Once you've implemented the technology, ensure you manage it correctly to reap the benefits of hyper-converged infrastructure -- which can include capitalizing on certain components that pave the way toward software-defined data centers (SDDCs).
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IT pros question new support, pricing models with HPE-SimpliVity deal
In early 2017, HPE acquired SimpliVity to strengthen its HCI strategy. In the wake of the new deal, be prepared for changes as an HPE or SimpliVity customer. Read Now
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Emerging HCI storage options come with new challenges
All-flash storage is an appealing option for HCI data centers, but it requires new management techniques. Discover which tools and analytics approaches are best for these emerging HCI systems. Read Now
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Ease into hyper-converged infrastructure implementation to avoid issues
When it comes to hyper-converged infrastructure implementation, don't be hasty. Ensure that you have the right amount and type of switch ports, among other considerations. Read Now
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Take advantage of HCI's scalability with the right apps
HCI's scalability can especially pay off when you use it to support big data and distributed systems. Explore solid options for HCI, ranging from NoSQL databases to analytic platforms like MapReduce and Apache Spark. Read Now
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Efficient hyper-converged infrastructure management requires a policy-based approach
Be fully prepared for hyper-converged systems to secure their benefits. For example, create, apply and standardize the right policies to efficiently manage VMs, disaster recovery and more. Read Now
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Article
Explore the role of hyper-convergence in SDDCs
Implementing a hyper-converged system won't automatically create an entire SDDC, but parts of it -- including an automation API, backup and replication -- can help to get you there. Read Now