What is hyperconvergence and why is it a winning IT model
The term hyperconvergence refers to the option to concentrate various virtual aspects (including resources such as calculation, memorisation, networking and virtualisation) within a single management software architecture, by installing everything onto a single piece of hardware, known as an appliance.
Virtualisation is the basis of hyperconvergence
Just about everyone is familiar with how a domestic computer operates: there is the hardware (the physical element consisting of electronic components) and the software (the operating system and the programs which allow the pc to carry out its functions).
Servers may be described as the equivalent of a PC (but on a larger scale) and are used by companies for the management of important data. It often happens however, that the quantity of data to be managed exceeds the capacity of the single server, making it necessary to add other physical servers in order to guarantee system stability.
Adopting this solution however, would soon lead to problems of space. In fact, to house the necessary software, special rooms would be required, complete with the appropriate cooling systems. Virtualisation is a solution which enables suchs problem to be avoided.
The above-mentioned process allows the functions of the various servers (known as virtual machines) to be carried out on a single, very powerful piece of hardware. Hyperconvergence is based on an advanced system of virtualisation, characterised by the fact that it allows management costs to be reduced thanks to increased efficiency.
How hyperconvergence is developed
Thanks to the new software, which is more ‘intelligent’ than that used in IT in the past, it has become possible to entrust the management of various aspects of the IT infrastructure to a single application.
Among the distinctive features that make it innovative are:
- A user interface which is notably simpler and more intuitive;
- The option to entrust it to an external provider.
Management via cloud is in fact one of the main advantages of hyperconvergence, together with its flexibility and scalability. If, for example, a greater calculation capacity was required, it would be possible to add one or more nodes to the system, in order to increase its performance.
The difference between convergence and hyperconvergence
The two terms indicate similar functionalities which, however, are contrasted by a distinct evolution when it comes to hyperconvergence. Even though both IT interfaces are designed to unite the most important datacentre functionalities within a single piece of hardware, hyperconvergence is much more versatile.
In fact, as well as integrating aspects of hardware, software and storage, it is able to manage the deduplication of data (fundamental for rendering calculation processes cleaner and faster), compression and, if required, geographical replication.
All this is managed by a single software (easy to understand and use), which has the task of setting the values of the various components of the IT infrastructure according to the clients’ requirements. This gave rise to the definition software-designed datacentre.
Advantages of hyperconvergency
The aspects that make the choice of hyperconvergence a winning solution for business management are:
- Centralised management (via a single interface) of all virtual environments with a corresponding reduction in more complex operations;
- Extreme simplification of purchasing, distribution and support of data;
- Opportunity to expand the functionalities, by adding new ones and improving existing ones.
Another advantage is the considerable financial savings, which are a direct result of the reduced amount of hardware needed for the construction of an efficient datacentre. With hyperconvergence in fact, it is no longer be necessary to use external silos for data memorisation, since this service is already included in the appliance itself.
Translated by Joanne Beckwith
