Differences and advantages between hyper-converged infrastructure and x86 converged architecture

First of all, we must figure out what a hyper-converged architecture is.

Hyperconverged infrastructure ("HCI" for short) means that there are not only resources and technologies such as computing, network, storage and server virtualization in the same group of unit devices, but also elements such as backup software, snapshot technology, deduplication and online data compression. Multiple groups of unit devices can be aggregated through the network to realize modular seamless horizontal expansion and form a unified resource pool.

Secondly, the concept of hyper-fusion contains three elements.

Use general hardware, especially x86 servers, so that if there is an IT platform with proprietary hardware, it is not hyper-converged;

Software definition, that is, IT service is realized by software running on x86 server, such as: distributed storage software realizes data storage service;

All IT services should be under the same platform and belong to the same software stack.

Third, what is a converged architecture solution?

Converged infrastructure is the integration of multiple information technology (IT) components to form a single optimized computing solution. The components of converged infrastructure solutions include servers, data storage devices, network devices and IT infrastructure management, automation and business process software. It can be understood as system integration. The expansion of the converged system can only expand the computing or storage nodes, and there is no direct interdependence between them.

In the market, storage devices, servers and network switches are all delivered in one cabinet (for example, VCE Vblock).

Finally, what is the difference between hyper-converged architecture and converged architecture?

Converged architecture and hyper-converged architecture are not the same thing at all. The former emphasizes that the software and hardware are pre-configured and verified well, and the overall delivery, calculation or storage are independent of each other. Hyper-converged architecture emphasizes the integration of virtual computing platform and storage, forms a storage pool with the hard disks in each server, and provides IT infrastructure such as computing, network, security and storage needed by data centers in the form of virtualization.