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Converged Infrastructure

Converged_infrastructure

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22 views

Converged Infrastructure

Converged_infrastructure

Uploaded by

Anushree Pawanraj
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Converged infrastructure

Converged infrastructure is a way of structuring an information technology (IT) system which groups
multiple components into a single optimized computing package. Components of a converged infrastructure
may include servers, data storage devices, networking equipment and software for IT infrastructure
management, automation and orchestration.

IT organizations use converged infrastructure to centralize the management of IT resources, to consolidate


systems, to increase resource-utilization rates, and to lower costs. Converged infrastructures foster these
objectives by implementing pools of computers, storage and networking resources that can be shared by
multiple applications and managed in a collective manner using policy-driven processes.[1]

IT vendors and IT industry analysts use various terms to describe the concept of a converged infrastructure.
These include "converged system", "unified computing", "fabric-based computing", and "dynamic
infrastructure".

Contents
The evolution of data centers
Benefits of converged infrastructure
Converged infrastructure and cloud computing
See also
References
External links

The evolution of data centers


Historically, to keep pace with the growth of business applications and the terabytes of data they generate, IT
resources were deployed in a silo-like fashion. One set of resources has been devoted to one particular
computing technology, business application or line of business. These resources support a single set of
assumptions and cannot be optimized or reconfigured to support varying usage loads.

The proliferation of IT sprawl in data centers has contributed to rising operations costs, reducing productivity,
and stifling agility and flexibility. Maintenance and operations can consume two-thirds of an organization's
technology budget, according to a 2009 InformationWeek survey of executives in 500 companies with annual
revenue over $250 million.[2] That leaves just a third of the budget for new IT initiatives. This ratio prevents
IT from supporting new business initiatives or responding to real application demands.

A converged infrastructure addresses the problem of siloed architectures and IT sprawl by pooling and sharing
IT resources. Rather than dedicating a set of resources to a particular computing technology, application or line
of business, converged infrastructure creates a pool of virtualized servers, storage and networking capacity that
is shared by multiple applications and lines of business.

Benefits of converged infrastructure


Converged infrastructure provides both technical and business efficiencies, according to industry researchers
and observers.[3] These gains stem in part from the pre-integration of technology components, the pooling of
IT resources and the automation of IT processes. Converged infrastructure further contributes to efficient data
centers by enhancing the ability of cloud computing systems to handle enormous data sets, using only a single
integrated IT management system [4]

Writing in CIO magazine, Forrester Research analyst Robert Whiteley noted that converged infrastructures,
combining server, storage, and networks into a single framework, help to transform the economics [of] running
the datacenter thus accelerating the transition to IP storage to help build infrastructures that are "cloud-
ready".[5] The combination of storage and compute into a single entity is known as converged storage.[6]

Decreased complexity, through the use of pre-integrated hardware with virtualization and automation
management tools, is another important value proposition for converged infrastructure as noted in an IDC
study.[7]

In April 2012, the open source analyst firm Wikibon released the first market forecast for converged
infrastructure,[8] with a projected $402B total available market (TAM) by 2017 of which, nearly 2/3rds of the
infrastructure that supports enterprise applications will be packaged in some type of converged solution by
2017.

InformationWeek[9] highlighted the promise of two long-term advantages of a unified data center
infrastructure:

1. Lower costs as the result of both:

lower capital expenses resulting from higher utilization, less cabling, and fewer
network connections
lower operating costs resulting from reduced labor via automated data center
management and a consolidating storage and network management infrastructure
teams

2. Increased IT agility by:

virtualizing IP and Fibre Channel storage networking


allowing for single console management.

Data centers around the world are reaching limits in power, cooling and space.[10] At the same time, capital
constraints are requiring organizations to rethink data center strategy. Converged infrastructure offers a solution
to these challenges.

Converged infrastructure and cloud computing


Converged infrastructure can serve as an enabling platform for private and public cloud computing services,
including infrastructure as a service (IaaS), platform as a service (PaaS), and software as a service (SaaS)
offerings.

Several characteristics make converged infrastructure well suited to cloud deployments. These include the
ability to pool IT resources, to automate resource provisioning and to scale up and down capacity quickly to
meet the needs of dynamic computing workloads.

See also
Composable disaggregated infrastructure
Hyper-converged infrastructure
Intelligent workload management
Software-defined data center

References
1. Overview of Converged Infrastructure (https://www.sciencelogic.com/product/resources/whitebo
ard-converged-infrastructure-definition)
2. InformationWeek Reports ::Research: 2009 InformationWeek 500 Report (http://analytics.inform
ationweek.com/abstract/83/1191/IT-Business-Strategy/research-2009-informationweek-500-rep
ort.html). Analytics.informationweek.com. Retrieved on 2013-07-26.
3. Mani, Rahul Neel with Donatelli, Dave. "Converged Infrastructure Means Endless
Possibilities," InfoSec Island (https://www.infosecisland.com/messages/about.html), August 5,
2010
4. Cuny, Tim. "Efficient Data Centers Are Built On New Technologies and Strategies" (http://www.
cm-inc.com/CMIWhite/CMIWPDataCenterOptimizationB.pdf) (PDF). www.cm-inc.com/. CMI
(Chouinard & Myhre, Inc.). Retrieved 28 October 2014.
5. Whiteley, Robert. Forrester Research."Your Next IT Budget: 6 Ways to Support Business
Growth," CIO Magazine (http://www.cio.co.ke/Opinion-and-Analysis/your-next-it-budget-6-ways
-to-support-business-growth.html) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20110721082056/htt
p://www.cio.co.ke/Opinion-and-Analysis/your-next-it-budget-6-ways-to-support-business-growt
h.html) 2011-07-21 at the Wayback Machine, July 21, 2010
6. Davis, Jessica. "Pivot3 Offers Converged Storage Platform to Data Protection Market,"
ChannelInsider, September 30, 2010. [1] (http://www.channelinsider.com/c/a/Storage/Pivot3-Off
ers-Converged-Storage-Platform-to-Data-Protection-Market-103383/)
7. Broderick, Katherine and Scaramella, Jed. "Considering All of IT: Converged Infrastructure
Survey Findings," (http://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=223528&sessionId=FA2E73358
2EEFBB8EE861545FF009C7C) IDC, June 2010
8. Converged Infrastructure Takes the Market by Storm - Wikibon (http://wikibon.org/wiki/v/Conver
ged_Infrastructure_Takes_the_Market_by_Storm)
9. Crump, George. "Why 'Unified' Is The Hot New Idea For Data Centers," InformationWeek (htt
p://www.informationweek.com/news/hardware/data_centers/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=21590
0021), March 14, 2009
10. Uptime Institute."Many data centers running out of space this year or next," (http://www.techjour
nalsouth.com/2011/05/many-data-centers-running-out-of-space-this-year-or-next/) Archived (htt
ps://web.archive.org/web/20111207010216/http://www.techjournalsouth.com/2011/05/many-dat
a-centers-running-out-of-space-this-year-or-next/) 2011-12-07 at the Wayback Machine May 23,
2011.

External links
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Converged_infrastructure&oldid=926239501"

This page was last edited on 15 November 2019, at 02:35 (UTC).

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