Hyper-converged hardware appliances take the concept of converged infrastructure, which combines storage, networking, compute and server virtualization into one hardware package, to the next level by also integrating software.
Hyper-converged infrastructure (HCI) is software defined and brings even more aspects of the data center -- backup software, snapshot capabilities, data deduplication, inline compression, WAN optimization and more -- into one chassis. The consolidation allows IT to centrally manage all its data center components.
Hyper-converged infrastructure systems reduce hardware complications, satisfy serious storage needs and simplify the VDI planning process. Everything isn't perfect, however, and hyper-converged hardware does come with some risks. Dive into three of the top benefits for VDI shops, and look at the issues HCI brings.
VDI planning is tough. Users don't always adopt the technology as quickly as IT anticipates, or they might use it differently than expected. In a traditional data center, those inconsistencies can cause serious headaches for IT, which has to make sure all the right resources are in place to deliver a strong user experience.
With HCI, IT can simply add or remove a node from the hardware if it needs to deliver more or fewer virtual desktops at a given time, making VDI planning easy. One problem with this approach is that sometimes IT just needs more of a single resource. For example, they could be at their limit when it comes to storage but still have plenty of compute, network and server resources. Adding an entire node to hyper-converged infrastructure means IT pays for all those resources.
Some vendors try to combat this problem. SimpliVity has nodes for individual resources that can snap on to an existing appliance. Nutanix has a VDI Assurance program where organizations tell the vendor the number of virtual desktops they need and Nutanix takes care of the planning to make sure the company's desktops perform up to snuff.
Any VDI shop that doesn't use HCI is all too familiar with the complicated process of picking out IT infrastructure components to support a VDI deployment. Hyper-converged infrastructure simplifies the equation.
An organization still has to pick the right back-end IT infrastructure components to meet its VDI needs, but it's less complicated because everything comes in a single appliance. IT simply sorts through the different HCI offerings and finds the best fit for its storage, networking and virtualization requirements at a price point it can afford.
Plus, a lot of HCI offerings are optimized to work with certain VDI software, making it easier for IT to decide on an HCI product based on its VDI system. HCI vendor Nutanix has partnerships with Citrix and VMware, and SimpliVity's OmniCube HCI system is compatible with Citrix XenDesktop and VMware Horizon View.
VDI can wreak havoc on an organization's storage.
For an effective VDI deployment, companies need the capacity to store and efficiently deliver desktop disks and desktop clone operating systems and applications. Not to mention IT needs the storage I/O performance to handle any Boot storms that come along. HCI tackles these challenges by including tiered storage, which prioritizes the most frequently-used storage blocks and places them into a high-speed tier. As a result, the most important storage blocks are the easiest to deliver, which improves VDI scalability.
HCI also makes it easy to add more virtual desktop storage if an organization runs low. All IT has to do is add another node. Nutanix's nodes, for example, come with hard disks, solid-state storage, CPU and RAM. Many HCI offerings also include data deduplication, which eliminates redundant data, and compression to reduce the number of bits necessary to represent data.
The concept of hyper-converged appliances is wonderful on the surface, but HCI has some drawbacks.
First of all, breaking down the IT barriers between storage, networking, compute and server virtualization could throw a wrench into IT departments that use a siloed approach. Now that everyone is working together, who is in charge? Any organization that adopts HCI has to plan an entirely new IT hierarchy. And IT admins that previously specialized in one data center component must learn to branch out.
Hyper-converged appliances also come with a risk of vendor lock-in, because they usually require a hefty financial investment. The data center hardware and software all comes from one vendor, so IT loses the flexibility to mix components and shop around for deals. IT should do plenty of research before committing to an HCI vendor, because they're likely in it together for the long haul.
