Dell EMC: Convergence Conversion
Digital transformation, its impact on the work of IT departments and business in general is a popular topic of discussion today. Digital transformation involves the use of modern technology to dramatically increase productivity, work efficiency and the "value" of enterprises. Companies in various industries are trying to more actively introduce analytics, mobile and cloud technologies, social networks, the Internet of things into their practice. They try to use the achievements of the digital era to create new services and products, change customer relationships, optimize internal processes, enter new markets and strengthen competitive positions. Major trends transforming markets and businesses were also discussed at the Dell EMC Forum 2016.
The realities of the modern market make us think about ways to modernize business and IT. Creating your own IT solution involves a number of difficulties. Yes, and very few people today will come to mind, for example, to buy separate parts and assemble a car from them: too complicated and expensive. Buy a finished product that does not need to be independently integrated and tested. A convergent system is such a ready-to-deploy solution.
Sales of convergent and hyperconvergent systems in Russia are still small, but interest in them is very high, and many customers are now testing similar solutions. Note that the main value of such systems is not hardware platforms, but software.
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What are the advantages associated with the introduction of new technologies and the transformation of IT, have converged systems? First of all, like any integrated systems, they speed up modernization, increase IT efficiency, reduce risks. At least, for this purpose they were conceived.
System architecture changes - from traditional servers and storage systems to software-defined solutions with a high-speed network.
Hyper convergence means changing the system architecture: individual servers and storage in a storage area network (SAN) are replaced by a single solution - a virtualization platform with high-speed Ethernet and software-defined storage (SDS) with flash drives. Moreover, the integration can be carried out at different levels.
Dell EMC offers a comprehensive portfolio of converged and hyperconvergent solutions, covering different levels: devices, racks and blocks.
The choice of a solution of a particular level depends on the use case:
Dell EMC currently offers several hyperconvergent models: stand-alone VxRail devices for VMware environments and XC series devices for other environments, rack-mount VxRack 1000 systems with SDDC nodes and VMware and VxRack 1000 environments with Flex nodes for scalable enterprise environments. As practice shows, the hyperconvergent infrastructure reduces TCO by 30% due to the absence of scattered storage facilities with excessive allocation of resources, scaling “on demand” and investments as it grows. VxRail is a ready-made solution, based on which you can deploy both small data centers and large enough configurations. But for large-scale installations, there is another convergent solution, the rack-level - VxRack. Let us consider in more detail what it is.
Ready-made infrastructure "turnkey" VxRack is a wardrobe with switching and a set of hyper-convergent nodes for specific tasks. If VxRail is positioned as a solution for small or remote data centers and mid-level tasks, then VxRack is an enterprise-class product for data centers, where one cluster contains hundreds of nodes. Such a system provides more opportunities in terms of scalability and efficiency.
The VxRack rack contains from 6 to 48 server nodes (three are used for management), up to 24 drives in each. The networking of nodes and racks uses Cisco Nexus 3000 and 9000 series rack switches.
One of the key points is a ready-made network infrastructure. If for several dozens of servers it is rather simple to build it, then when the IT infrastructure grows from 50 to 500 servers, this is already a difficult task. VxRack's ready-made network infrastructure design ensures no network performance problems when scaling.
The VxRack 1000 is a hyper-convergent system with an integrated rack factory optimized to increase operational efficiency and reduce transaction costs. This software-defined solution can support different types of workloads.
Features of the rack-mount solution VxRack - high performance at any scale, simple horizontal scaling to a multitude of nodes, elimination of isolated storage points in the IT infrastructure.
In fact, the VxRack 1000 is a whole product line. Rack-mount convergent VxRack systems are offered in two versions.
Let us consider in more detail what they are.
VxRack Flex uses Dell EMC ScaleIO software that virtualizes storage connected directly to the server. This system can serve as the basis for IaaS services and is capable of supporting corporate and modern applications in a wide range of scenarios.
The VxRack Flex system is scaled to 1,000 nodes or more, allows you to use different hypervisors, to create a heterogeneous infrastructure. VxRack Flex nodes are Dell EMC PowerEdge R630 or R730xd servers with flash storage or hybrid storage — up to 38.4 and up to 46 TB per node, respectively. The intended use of such systems is virtualized workloads, high-performance computing, and file management.
ScaleIO software combines existing storage capacity into a single array. Each node runs a software agent, through which the node acts as a data source. The software agent also emulates the iSCSI driver. As a result, a virtual device is created in which the storage resources of all nodes are collected into a single data storage array with block access.
VxRack FLEX nodes
VxRack SDDC is based on VMware Cloud Foundation software with automated deployment and management tools.
VxRack SDDC nodes
Management in SDDC Manager.
Vblock Converged Infrastructure is an evolutionary approach to data center development. Vblock blocks also include network infrastructure. High-speed network allows you to move the load between nodes. With 64 nodes, the data network would become overly complex and inefficient, so the network infrastructure in Vblock is already integrated into the system. This makes scaling much easier.
Block convergent systems also exist in three versions:
Vblock configurations.
Vblock is designed as a single product. Dell EMC adheres to a multi-year plan for its development, optimization and integration. The engineering team brings together architects, data center operations experts, software developers, and application specialists. Vblock is an established engineering cycle with support for quality standards, a well-thought-out system architecture and configuration, integration / compatibility matrixes and a single delivery model.
Vblock is managed and maintained as a single product.
It takes only 48 hours to start up the system. The Vblock system has integrated data protection functions and offers guarantees for delivery and implementation. According to statistics, more than 90% of requests are resolved without escalation. Provides direct access for support engineers to vendor resources, regular software updates and recommendations.
Vblock is a fully integrated platform for building a converged data center infrastructure designed to simplify the deployment of a private cloud. Preconfigured Vblock systems combine network infrastructure for data transfer and storage, computing resources, virtualization technologies, storage infrastructure, management tools, and also additional equipment for organizing racks, cable connections, and power supply. To manage the various components of a Vblock, you can use a software package called VCE Vision Intelligent Operations.
Like VxRack, Vblock is a whole set of configurations, but this system, unlike VxRack with ScaleIO software, has no restrictions on combining nodes. In one system, you can combine both flash and hybrid nodes, you can create a multi-level storage system with levels of different performance. Thus, Vblock allows you to build a more flexible configuration.
VCE Vision software can be integrated with VMware vCenter: VMware administrators will use the familiar vCenter interface as the main management tool.
VxBlock and Vblock systems use Dell EMC, Cisco, VMware and other vendors. All their elements are preconfigured and tested: the system is a single, efficiently managed solution. VxBlock and Vblock allow you to create modern data centers, built entirely on flash arrays. You can use the Dell EMC Unity, XtremIO, and VMAX storage options for this. The state of the systems is monitored by VCE Vision software. It manages compute nodes, network, storage systems and virtualization components as a single pool of resources, automates security management. The VCE Vscale architecture simplifies horizontal and vertical scaling of the data center. Thanks to the Dell EMC Fabric network factory with the scalable spine-leaf architecture, you can connect a large number of systems and modular components to the network, creating a single pool of resources.
Several VxBlock and Vblock converged systems are offered: 200th series for SMB and Dell EMC VNX5200 storage-based branches, 300th series with Dell EMC Unity and Dell EMC VNX storage options — flexible and scalable solutions for virtualized data centers, 500th Dell EMC XtremIO Flash Array Series, which can be combined with the Dell EMC Isilon, as well as the 700 Series with the industry's highest performance, scalability, and availability features based on Dell EMC VMAX hybrid or flash arrays.
Convergent infrastructure based on VxRail and Vblock is a turnkey solution.
Convergent solutions emerged in response to the market demand for the rapid deployment of the computing infrastructure with the increasing complexity of integrating its component components (servers, storage systems, network equipment). If the market of traditional infrastructure IT solutions in the world practically does not grow, then the market of convergent systems has grown almost four times over the past five years. Organizations choose convergent solutions when they want to abandon the problems of “self-assembly” when building a data center, so that they do not have to buy, assemble and maintain individual components from different sources. In the case of a converged infrastructure, the supplier provides everything from the installation and launch of the solution to the technical support of both hardware and software components that are part of it. In essence, this is a new model for the supply and operation of any IT infrastructure as a single system, contributing to the digital transformation of organizations.
Convergence as a trend
The realities of the modern market make us think about ways to modernize business and IT. Creating your own IT solution involves a number of difficulties. Yes, and very few people today will come to mind, for example, to buy separate parts and assemble a car from them: too complicated and expensive. Buy a finished product that does not need to be independently integrated and tested. A convergent system is such a ready-to-deploy solution.
Sales of convergent and hyperconvergent systems in Russia are still small, but interest in them is very high, and many customers are now testing similar solutions. Note that the main value of such systems is not hardware platforms, but software.
')
What are the advantages associated with the introduction of new technologies and the transformation of IT, have converged systems? First of all, like any integrated systems, they speed up modernization, increase IT efficiency, reduce risks. At least, for this purpose they were conceived.
System architecture changes - from traditional servers and storage systems to software-defined solutions with a high-speed network.
Hyper convergence means changing the system architecture: individual servers and storage in a storage area network (SAN) are replaced by a single solution - a virtualization platform with high-speed Ethernet and software-defined storage (SDS) with flash drives. Moreover, the integration can be carried out at different levels.
Dell EMC offers a comprehensive portfolio of converged and hyperconvergent solutions, covering different levels: devices, racks and blocks.
The choice of a solution of a particular level depends on the use case:
| Type of solution | Special features |
| Hyper Converged Devices | Ease of use, low cost, minimal initial configuration with the possibility of expansion |
| Hyper Converged Rack Systems | High scalability with small volumes, ready network infrastructure, lowest total cost of ownership on a small scale |
| Traditional Converged Infrastructure | Scalable, reliable data management services, low TCO |
Dell EMC currently offers several hyperconvergent models: stand-alone VxRail devices for VMware environments and XC series devices for other environments, rack-mount VxRack 1000 systems with SDDC nodes and VMware and VxRack 1000 environments with Flex nodes for scalable enterprise environments. As practice shows, the hyperconvergent infrastructure reduces TCO by 30% due to the absence of scattered storage facilities with excessive allocation of resources, scaling “on demand” and investments as it grows. VxRail is a ready-made solution, based on which you can deploy both small data centers and large enough configurations. But for large-scale installations, there is another convergent solution, the rack-level - VxRack. Let us consider in more detail what it is.
VxRack - hyperconvergence at rack level
Ready-made infrastructure "turnkey" VxRack is a wardrobe with switching and a set of hyper-convergent nodes for specific tasks. If VxRail is positioned as a solution for small or remote data centers and mid-level tasks, then VxRack is an enterprise-class product for data centers, where one cluster contains hundreds of nodes. Such a system provides more opportunities in terms of scalability and efficiency.
The VxRack rack contains from 6 to 48 server nodes (three are used for management), up to 24 drives in each. The networking of nodes and racks uses Cisco Nexus 3000 and 9000 series rack switches.
One of the key points is a ready-made network infrastructure. If for several dozens of servers it is rather simple to build it, then when the IT infrastructure grows from 50 to 500 servers, this is already a difficult task. VxRack's ready-made network infrastructure design ensures no network performance problems when scaling.
The VxRack 1000 is a hyper-convergent system with an integrated rack factory optimized to increase operational efficiency and reduce transaction costs. This software-defined solution can support different types of workloads.
Features of the rack-mount solution VxRack - high performance at any scale, simple horizontal scaling to a multitude of nodes, elimination of isolated storage points in the IT infrastructure.
In fact, the VxRack 1000 is a whole product line. Rack-mount convergent VxRack systems are offered in two versions.
| System | Intended use |
| VxRack Flex | Heterogeneous general purpose system |
| VxRack SDDC | VMware Scalable Environment |
Let us consider in more detail what they are.
VxRack Flex System
VxRack Flex uses Dell EMC ScaleIO software that virtualizes storage connected directly to the server. This system can serve as the basis for IaaS services and is capable of supporting corporate and modern applications in a wide range of scenarios.
The VxRack Flex system is scaled to 1,000 nodes or more, allows you to use different hypervisors, to create a heterogeneous infrastructure. VxRack Flex nodes are Dell EMC PowerEdge R630 or R730xd servers with flash storage or hybrid storage — up to 38.4 and up to 46 TB per node, respectively. The intended use of such systems is virtualized workloads, high-performance computing, and file management.
ScaleIO software combines existing storage capacity into a single array. Each node runs a software agent, through which the node acts as a data source. The software agent also emulates the iSCSI driver. As a result, a virtual device is created in which the storage resources of all nodes are collected into a single data storage array with block access.
VxRack FLEX nodes
- More than 20 types: 1U1N, 2U1N, 2U4N with different combinations of processors, memory and drives
- Virtualization: vSphere, Hyper-V, KVM (RHEL). You can use any other options for hypervisors and OS in bare-metal mode ...
- SDS: ScaleIO
- SDN: Missing or NSX
- management and orchestration: VxRack Manager and VCE Vision.
- Scaling: up to 1000 nodes
- Purpose: VxRack System 1000 with nodes VxRack FLEX is a highly scalable system that supports SDS and various virtualization mechanisms.
VxRack SDDC and VxRack Neutrino Systems
VxRack SDDC is based on VMware Cloud Foundation software with automated deployment and management tools.
VxRack SDDC nodes
- One type: 1U1N
- Virtualization: vSphere only
- SDS: VSAN
- SDN: NSX
- Management and orchestration: VMware SDDC Manager (lower level) and VCE Vision, as well as vRealize Operations and NSX. OpenStack solutions and containers integrated with VMware are supported.
- Scaling: up to 256 nodes
- Purpose: VxRack System 1000 with VxRack SDDC nodes can be used to deploy VMware environments and build software-defined data centers (SDDC). This is a larger software and hardware complex than the VxRail Appliance.
Management in SDDC Manager.
Vblock - building blocks for data centers
Vblock Converged Infrastructure is an evolutionary approach to data center development. Vblock blocks also include network infrastructure. High-speed network allows you to move the load between nodes. With 64 nodes, the data network would become overly complex and inefficient, so the network infrastructure in Vblock is already integrated into the system. This makes scaling much easier.
Block convergent systems also exist in three versions:
| System | Specifications |
| Vblock 300 based on Dell EMC Unity | Optimized capacity |
| Vblock 500 based on Dell EMC XtremIO | Scaled storage with data deduplication on flash memory |
| Vblock 700 based on Dell EMC VMAX | Efficiency, automation, fault tolerance for demanding and critical applications |
Vblock configurations.
Vblock is designed as a single product. Dell EMC adheres to a multi-year plan for its development, optimization and integration. The engineering team brings together architects, data center operations experts, software developers, and application specialists. Vblock is an established engineering cycle with support for quality standards, a well-thought-out system architecture and configuration, integration / compatibility matrixes and a single delivery model.
Vblock is managed and maintained as a single product.
It takes only 48 hours to start up the system. The Vblock system has integrated data protection functions and offers guarantees for delivery and implementation. According to statistics, more than 90% of requests are resolved without escalation. Provides direct access for support engineers to vendor resources, regular software updates and recommendations.
Vblock Features
Vblock is a fully integrated platform for building a converged data center infrastructure designed to simplify the deployment of a private cloud. Preconfigured Vblock systems combine network infrastructure for data transfer and storage, computing resources, virtualization technologies, storage infrastructure, management tools, and also additional equipment for organizing racks, cable connections, and power supply. To manage the various components of a Vblock, you can use a software package called VCE Vision Intelligent Operations.
Like VxRack, Vblock is a whole set of configurations, but this system, unlike VxRack with ScaleIO software, has no restrictions on combining nodes. In one system, you can combine both flash and hybrid nodes, you can create a multi-level storage system with levels of different performance. Thus, Vblock allows you to build a more flexible configuration.
VCE Vision software can be integrated with VMware vCenter: VMware administrators will use the familiar vCenter interface as the main management tool.
VxBlock and Vblock systems use Dell EMC, Cisco, VMware and other vendors. All their elements are preconfigured and tested: the system is a single, efficiently managed solution. VxBlock and Vblock allow you to create modern data centers, built entirely on flash arrays. You can use the Dell EMC Unity, XtremIO, and VMAX storage options for this. The state of the systems is monitored by VCE Vision software. It manages compute nodes, network, storage systems and virtualization components as a single pool of resources, automates security management. The VCE Vscale architecture simplifies horizontal and vertical scaling of the data center. Thanks to the Dell EMC Fabric network factory with the scalable spine-leaf architecture, you can connect a large number of systems and modular components to the network, creating a single pool of resources.
Several VxBlock and Vblock converged systems are offered: 200th series for SMB and Dell EMC VNX5200 storage-based branches, 300th series with Dell EMC Unity and Dell EMC VNX storage options — flexible and scalable solutions for virtualized data centers, 500th Dell EMC XtremIO Flash Array Series, which can be combined with the Dell EMC Isilon, as well as the 700 Series with the industry's highest performance, scalability, and availability features based on Dell EMC VMAX hybrid or flash arrays.
Convergent infrastructure based on VxRail and Vblock is a turnkey solution.
Convergent solutions emerged in response to the market demand for the rapid deployment of the computing infrastructure with the increasing complexity of integrating its component components (servers, storage systems, network equipment). If the market of traditional infrastructure IT solutions in the world practically does not grow, then the market of convergent systems has grown almost four times over the past five years. Organizations choose convergent solutions when they want to abandon the problems of “self-assembly” when building a data center, so that they do not have to buy, assemble and maintain individual components from different sources. In the case of a converged infrastructure, the supplier provides everything from the installation and launch of the solution to the technical support of both hardware and software components that are part of it. In essence, this is a new model for the supply and operation of any IT infrastructure as a single system, contributing to the digital transformation of organizations.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/320764/
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