Cisco HyperFlex: Next Generation Data Management

Cisco HyperFlex: next-generation data management

Cloud, mobile, analytics and social technologies have revolutionised the way we do business. IT departments now manage an unprecedented amount of data that grows exponentially every day. It's about speed and security: making the best use of data in the least possible time, without compromising privacy.

This means organisations consume IT differently than they used to. Because data is processed faster and volumes are more volatile, the datacenter must mirror this demand. Resources are required immediately, consumed in a modular way, and are typically cloud-native or ready.

It's the only way to stay on top of data, and ahead of the competition.

However, these unpredictable and substantial surges in data volumes can create problems for traditional data center infrastructure. Sure, a business can invest in capacity to ensure it has enough resources to handle activity peaks. But the rest of the time, when things are quieter, these resources sit idle and unused. In a world where IT budgets are shrinking and every asset must be accountable, that just won't work.

So, scalability is invaluable - to ramp resources up as and when needed, then pull them down again when they're not.

Say hello to hyperconvergence

Hyperconvergence is the best way to make this happen as their main objectives are agility and simplicity.

The IDC reports that the Top of FormBottom of FormTop of FormBottom of Formaverage business saves up to 20% in data center running costs after deploying a hyperconverged solution, with no loss of performance.

IDC reports too that Hyperconverged market will grow on a CAGR of 2019 with a TAM of $7.5B globally, and this is just one of the most conservative estimations.

Hyperconverged, is a software-centric architecture that brings compute, storage, virtualization resources together, in one hardware box.

It's typically managed by one single vendor, which eases the pressure on IT managers and simplifies maintenance.

And there's no better vendor to work with than Cisco, that adds the networking to the Hyperconverged infrastructure.

Cisco HyperFlex systems are new flexible, scalable hyperconvergence solutions that unlock your its potential and bring the pay-as-you-grow economics of the cloud to your on-premise infrastructure.

Above all, it gives you greater value from your data.

Why choose Cisco HyperFlex?

Cisco HyperFlex Systems are designed with an end-to-end software-defined infrastructure that eliminates the compromises found in first-generation products. Cisco HyperFlex Systems combine software-defined computing in the form of Cisco Unified Computing System™ (Cisco UCS®) servers, software-defined storage with powerful new Cisco HyperFlex HX Data Platform Software, and software-defined networking (SDN) with the Cisco® unified fabric that integrates smoothly with Cisco Application Centric Infrastructure (Cisco ACI™). The result is a preintegrated cluster that is up and running in an hour or less.

Cisco HyperFlex delivers new levels of speed and efficiency to your data center. Fast and easy to deploy, it can save you up to 80% on data storage capacity and continuously optimise your data.

Enjoy enterprise-class data management throughout your data lifecycle, with improved data protection for distributed storage. HyperFlex enables instant provisioning, cloning and snapshots of your applications. This gives you the freedom to scale your data environment based on your needs - for computing, caching, and capacity.

HyperFlex tightly integrates your CPU capacity and disk storage, by combining solid-state and hard disk drives into one multi-tier data store for high availability and excellent efficiency. Again, this makes your infrastructure almost infinitely scalable, so you can start small and expand as your needs change.

HyperFlex continuously optimises your data, using inline data de-duplication and compression to increase compute capacity without affecting overall performance. It eliminates storage silos so operations run optimally. Meanwhile, node memory, enterprise-class flash memory and persistent storage tiers improve performance and resiliency, and an API-based architecture virtualises data to support cloud-native information.

How does it work?

Incoming data is distributed evenly across nodes in a particular cluster. Each node is striped based on the relevant policies your IT department configures for it.

When an application writes new data, that data is sent to the appropriate node, based on its stripe policy. As a result, data is distributed more efficiently and evenly. This uses less storage space, and ensures better performance.

Thin Provisioning means you only ever need to spend what you need to on data storage. When you need extra space, virtual data containers expand the number of nodes to fit on-demand.

HyperFlex uses metadata-based, zero-copy snapshots to backup data and perform remote replication, giving your business the 'always-on- data availability you depend on while keeping everything secure. Data can be moved offline or restored from snapshots whenever you need it, and you can quickly delete snapshots when required. Virtual desktops and applications can also be provisioned for test and development. Compared to traditional full-copy methods, this saves a lot of time, effort... and money.

Ingram Micro: your perfect Partner for Cisco HyperFlex

Cisco HyperFlex is the best hyperconvergence solution on the market. And the best way to buy it, is through Ingram Micro.

As a dedicated Cisco Partner, we're experts in Cisco technology. We specialise in helping you get the most out of Cisco solutions while unlocking new intelligence to help you stay ahead in your industry. Ingram Micro provides the infrastructure, partner ecosystem and analytics you need to succeed in connecting all your information – whatever and wherever you need it.

To find out more about Cisco HyperFlex and the benefits it brings your business click here.