What is Converged Infrastructure?
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What is converged infrastructure?

A converged infrastructure – sometimes abbreviated to CI – is a collection of computing, storage and networking systems that are designed and built to work together, with support for centralised management and modular expansion.

What is an example of converged infrastructure?

Converged infrastructure is commonly found in server rooms and data centres, where it’s useful and convenient to be able to monitor and manage all systems from a single console. The integrated architecture makes it easy to deploy and expand resources as needed: new CI hardware can be plugged in, connected to the network and instantly added to the working cluster. 

What are the advantages of converged infrastructure?

Converged infrastructure simplifies purchasing decisions for IT managers. It also improves reliability and reduces integration costs, as in-house IT staff don’t need to spend time configuring different components to work together, or troubleshooting compatibility issues.

What are the disadvantages of converged infrastructure?

Converged systems give companies less flexibility to tailor their computing resources to their needs, as they can only buy the packages offered by their chosen CI supplier. By contrast, businesses that handle their own integration can save money by more closely tailoring their IT procurement to their needs, and sourcing from whichever supplier is the most cost-effective.

What is a converged network?

A converged network usually means one that delivers data, voice and video services (sometimes referred to as “converged services”) all over the same connection, with a single point of management. A converged network need not be part of a wider converged infrastructure, but it offers similar benefits of simplified deployment and administration.

What is hyperconverged infrastructure?

Hyperconverged infrastructure – HCI for short – is a type of converged infrastructure that uses virtual rather than physical hardware. The philosophy is the same, with computing, storage and network services provided by integrated, centrally managed modular units. The difference is that the units are not physical appliances but virtual machines running inside a hypervisor. 

Why do we need hyperconverged infrastructure?

The benefits of HCI systems are similar to those of any virtualised server setup: there’s no need to invest in specialist hardware to deploy or upgrade services and infrastructure elements. The HCI environment can run on commodity hardware, giving administrators great freedom to configure the software and customise the hardware resources as needed. 

What is the difference between HCI and a hypervisor?

HCI is not an application: it is an approach to network and computing services, or a suite of services that embodies such an approach. It can be defined by the integration of two key components: an infrastructure or data plane that handles computing, storage and communications, and a management plane that provides services for administrators to monitor and configure their HCI platforms. The hypervisor simply operates as the host for these services.

What is the difference between converged infrastructure and cloud?

Cloud data centres often run on CI hardware, as it suits their requirements for scalability and centralised management. Since HCI uses virtual hardware, it’s also possible for businesses to run their own HCI deployments on cloud servers. Not all cloud services are HCI, however: as in a local environment, the defining factor of HCI is the integration of the infrastructure and management planes.

Is Nutanix an HCI? 

The Nutanix platform is one of the most popular HCI implementations. Its services are designed to run on third-party cloud providers such as AWS or Microsoft Azure – or across multiple clouds – as well as on companies’ own on-premises systems. This is sometimes called a hybrid converged infrastructure, and it allows businesses to get the best of both worlds. Applications that need to scale dynamically can run in a cloud datacentre, while other systems can be hosted on low-cost, on-premises hardware, while maintaining central manageability for the whole stack.

Is Nutanix better than VMware?

VMware is the world’s biggest provider of enterprise virtualisation software, and its ESXi hypervisor is a popular choice for HCI deployments. However, its vCenter management software is less focused than Nutanix on multi-cloud and hybrid HCI environments. Businesses seeking the most flexible HCI may choose to use VMware within a Nutanix deployment. Other hypervisor options include Microsoft Hyper-V, or Nutanix’ own AHV hypervisor software.

How do you deploy converged infrastructure?

Once a CI or HCI platform is in place, any new resources added to the local network – in the form of physical or virtual hardware – can be discovered in a few clicks, and configured directly from the management console. With cloud resources, the remote platform simply needs to be set up with the correct HCI environment; it can then be connected to and managed just the same as a local server.

What is the future of HCI?

Hyperconverged infrastructure is growing rapidly in popularity. Mordor Intelligence projects that the total HCI market will be worth $13.4bn in 2024, rising to $41bn by 2028. Part of this growth will be fuelled by companies deploying virtual desktop services running on cloud HCI platforms: these will enable workers to securely access their desktops on any device, from any location, while management benefits from simplified scaling and management. HCI resources may also increasingly move to edge computing sites, to provide better performance while retaining the advantages of cloud deployment. 

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Darien Graham-Smith

Darien is one of the UK's most knowledgeable technical journalists. You will find him in PC Pro magazine, writing reviews for a variety of sites and on guitar with his band The Red Queens. His explainer articles help TechFinitive's audience understand how technology works.

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