Features

Features

• Enterprise technology trends for 2021 shaped by COVID-19

  Explore IT infrastructure and storage-related software, hardware and services that will likely be embraced in the coming year, and how the pandemic has influenced their use.  Continue Reading

• Top hyper-converged systems and composable infrastructure of 2020

  Dell EMC, Scale Computing and SmartX win praise for multifaceted, edge-friendly and high-performance applications, respectively, to lead the way in the hyper-convergence category.  Continue Reading

• IaC tools comparison shows benefits of automated deployments

  Learn how these infrastructure as code tools can help streamline application development and deployment by reducing many of the headaches associated with manual processes.  Continue Reading

• NFV systems converge virtual network services at the edge

  Explore functions, products and use cases that illustrate how NFV and edge computing trends combine SD-WAN endpoints and other network services on single pieces of hardware.  Continue Reading

• The state of data center convergence: Past, present and future

  Discover if CI, HCI, dHCI or composable technology is right for your environment and workloads, and how the converged data center continues to evolve.  Continue Reading

• Hyper-converged edge infrastructure targets carriers, ROBOs

  Hyper-converged systems provide a way to locally process IoT data and deliver streaming content at the network's edge while maintaining service and application performance.  Continue Reading

• Composable, an IoT infrastructure paradigm with potential

  Composable infrastructure can stand up and down virtual servers depending on the varying needs of workloads. Learn why composability is a good for IoT.  Continue Reading

• Infrastructure for machine learning, AI requirements, examples

  AI, machine and deep learning infrastructure has component and configuration requirements. See what hardware you need and how it goes together in an HCI or high-density system.  Continue Reading

• Bare-metal container clusters: Infrastructure for next-gen apps

  Learn the requirements, designs and software stacks used to build bare-metal clusters for containers using dedicated 1-2U HCI hardware instead of existing virtual machine servers.  Continue Reading

• Composable benefits from infrastructure-as-code techniques

  Learn why composable infrastructure is an effective infrastructure as code delivery model and can serve as a foundation for orchestrating and automating IT resource provisioning.  Continue Reading

• VMware vs. Nutanix on HPE GreenLake: Comparing approaches

  See how Synergy composable infrastructure with VMware Cloud Foundation and ProLiant DX on Nutanix Enterprise Cloud take different approaches to HPE GreenLake pay-per-use IT.  Continue Reading

• 10 top hyper-converged infrastructure vendors and products

  Determining which hyper-converged infrastructure platform is right for your organization should include analyzing your workloads and assessing technology from top HCI vendors.  Continue Reading

• 5 hyper-converged infrastructure trends analysts predict for 2023

  What's next for hyper-converged infrastructure? We've asked industry analysts and consultants to shed some light on the technology's medium-term prospects.  Continue Reading

• What is HPE GreenLake and how does it work?

  GreenLake allows users to pay only for the IT resources they use. Find out how it works for HCI, composable infrastructure and other purposes, its benefits and potential drawbacks.  Continue Reading

• The ins and outs of Google Cloud Anthos on NetApp HCI

  Combining NetApp HCI with Anthos from Google enables enterprises to more easily implement and maintain a hybrid cloud infrastructure that supports modern applications and more.  Continue Reading

• Understanding VMware Cloud Foundation components, features

  VMware Cloud Foundation enables users to implement an integrated software-defined data center. Version 4 represents a major architectural upgrade integrating Kubernetes in vSphere.  Continue Reading

• 6 converged infrastructure vendors' product options compared

  Converged infrastructure systems help reduce hardware deployment risks by providing a preconfigured software stack, which greatly reduces the risk of configuration errors.  Continue Reading

• VxRail vs. Nutanix: HCI heavyweights square off

  Learn how leading hyper-converged infrastructure systems from Dell EMC and Nutanix stack up in this in-depth comparison.  Continue Reading

• Dell EMC vs. NetApp: Comparing converged infrastructure systems

  The Dell EMC VxBlock and NetApp FlexPod converged infrastructure platforms can help IT reduce the complexities of implementing and maintaining data center systems.  Continue Reading

• How to mold HCI appliances to workload requirements

  Ensure the hyper-converged infrastructure appliance you choose matches your workload requirements -- and not the other way around -- to maximize the benefits of hyper-convergence.  Continue Reading

• HCI bolsters COVID-19 work-from-home infrastructure

  Redirecting hyper-converged systems or reusing older hardware can help organizations support a sudden influx of many more remote workers. Discover the challenges you might face.  Continue Reading

• Two-pronged approach to scaling remote work infrastructure

  Hastily supporting large numbers of workers who all of a sudden find themselves at home requires quick thinking on the part of IT. Just as important is what you do afterward.  Continue Reading

• HPE Primera storage makes Synergy, Composable Rack more intelligent

  See how intelligent all-flash Primera storage with InfoSight predictive analytics brings a more cloud-like resilient, agile, scalable experience to HPE composable infrastructures.  Continue Reading

• Open Compute Project influence, open source hardware gain momentum

  With open source hardware more feasible than ever, catch up on how Open Compute Project consortium uses open source to develop more efficient server and infrastructure designs.  Continue Reading

• Hyper-converged use cases beyond VM stacks: A hardware guide

  Explore best hyper-converged appliance and cluster configurations for containers, machine/deep learning, streaming analytics and specific products supporting each of these workloads.  Continue Reading

• What is AI-defined infrastructure, and does it work?

  Software-driven hyper-converged, composable infrastructures and incorporation of AI technologies into compute and storage has brought more intelligence to enterprise IT than ever.  Continue Reading

• Disaggregated hyper-converged infrastructure vs. traditional HCI

  A technical examination of what the pending demise of hyper-converged infrastructure 1.0 and rise of hyper-convergence 2.0 means for planning, buying, deployment and management.  Continue Reading

• Best hyper-converged systems win Products of the Year 2019

  Datrium, Western Digital and HiveIO win praise for ground-breaking products that led the way in a year of hyper-converged and composable infrastructure evolution and change.  Continue Reading

• Hyper-converged data center vendors innovate, evolve products

  Review notable hyper-converged, HCI 2.0 and composable disaggregated product news to gain insight into data center convergence technology as you make infrastructure decisions.  Continue Reading

• Hyper-converged and composable architectures transform IT

  Hyper-convergence and up-and-coming HCI 2.0 and composable infrastructure can help you achieve your IT and business goals. See why, how and where their strengths and weaknesses lie.  Continue Reading

• Get to know Dell EMC hyper-converged infrastructure products

  Gain insight into Dell EMC's hyper-converged portfolio, including VxRail and XC Series appliances, VxRack System Flex plus vSAN, VxFlex and Microsoft Storage Spaces Direct Ready Nodes.  Continue Reading

• Why hyper-converged edge computing is coming into vogue

  Hyper-convergence helps enterprises better provision applications at the network edge and more efficiently process enormous amounts of data generated by IoT devices and smart sensors.  Continue Reading

• Features distinguish leading composable infrastructure systems

  Before selecting a composable architecture, compare the different platforms' processing power, latency rates, supported IOPS, size and type of memory.  Continue Reading

• How vSAN hyper-converged infrastructure software works

  Delve into important aspects of VMware vSAN to help clarify its features and how it works to see if the hyper-converged infrastructure software is right for your organization.  Continue Reading

• Get to know Nutanix hyper-converged infrastructure products in-depth

  Nutanix products are major players in the hyper-convergence market. As a pioneer, Nutanix introduced one of the first HCIs and has modified and expanded its offerings ever since.  Continue Reading

• Everything you need to know about composable infrastructure

  Composability abstracts resources as services that can be dynamically composed and recomposed for specific applications. Learn about its many advantages, and why it isn't for everyone.  Continue Reading

• Essential VxRail appliance hyper-converged questions answered

  Find out what you need to know as you investigate if Dell EMC VxRail HCI with vSAN hyper-converged software meets the needs of your organization's workloads and use cases.  Continue Reading

• What enterprises look for with converged data center projects

  Learn about the state of the convergence market and what enterprises require for CI and HCI projects, the workloads they intend to run and which vendors are highest on their buying lists.  Continue Reading

• How to address HCI's resource provisioning challenges

  Provisioning in hyper-convergence is often imbalanced. Integrating more powerful, higher-capacity nodes with HCI software or taking a more hybrid approach can help.  Continue Reading

• Products to go: Composable infrastructure vendors and products glossary

  Part two of a two-part series on composable infrastructure describes vendors that put composable concepts into practice to deliver more agile IT environments for modern business.  Continue Reading

• Composable architecture extends the reach of disaggregation

  In composable architecture, IT components are broken apart and reassembled for specific applications. They can provide more flexibility than converged or hyper-converged systems.  Continue Reading

• Words to go: Composable disaggregated infrastructure glossary

  Dig into these terms to get a sense of composable infrastructure and what its disaggregated server capabilities can bring to your IT environment and application workloads.  Continue Reading

• Docker Containers as a Service deployment simplified on HPE Synergy

  Reference Configuration guides the deployment of the complete Docker-based Containers-as-a-Service platform on HPE Synergy composable infrastructure to simplify container use.  Continue Reading

• Why composable infrastructure goes hand in hand with private cloud

  Some companies are opting out of SAN upgrades or costly converged systems in favor of composable architecture to build servers and storage on the fly. But will the concept take off?  Continue Reading

• Essential hyper-converged cloud questions answered

  Hyper-convergence can help make taking a cloud or multi-cloud approach to your architecture easier to implement, manage and scale. Read on to find out how and why.  Continue Reading

• The hyper-converged network benefits from commingling HCI, SDN

  Merging software-defined networking with hyper-converged infrastructure platforms should simplify and ease the deployment, scaling and management of hyper-converged networks.  Continue Reading

• 10 top tips to maximize hyper-converged infrastructure benefits

  The most-read hyper-converged tips of the past year represent a range of best practices for procuring and implementing HCI as all or part of your overall data center architecture.  Continue Reading

• Hyper-converged infrastructure vendors adapt to AI workloads

  Hyper-converged infrastructure evolves to accommodate the increasing demands of resource-hungry AI workloads. AI, in turn, promises to improve management of HCI and non-HCI resources.  Continue Reading

• HPE SimpliVity hyper-converged FAQs get answered

  When HPE bought SimpliVity in 2017, it raised questions about the two company's HCI products, even though they were existing partners. We answer some of those questions.  Continue Reading

• Is hyper-convergence infrastructure becoming stratified?

  As more options for converged or hyper-converged IT types come to market, organizations may find themselves siloed into an option by size.  Continue Reading

• Pivot3 HCI: 7 things you should know

  Where did Pivot3 first target its hyper-converged storage systems, and where is it focused today? Find out answers to these and other frequently asked questions.  Continue Reading

• 7 hyper-converged secondary storage questions answered

  Combining HCI and the use cases of secondary storage, such as data recovery and archiving, was a challenge, but a few companies took up that task and launched a new market.  Continue Reading

• Examples of hypervisors and how they're supported in HCI products

  Hypervisor support in hyper-converged infrastructure has evolved over time. Find out how as we assess the past and current place of individual hypervisors in these architectures.  Continue Reading

• Hyper-converged product comparison: What leading HCI vendors offer

  Before you purchase a hyper-converged infrastructure system, use the criteria and factors examined here to evaluate 10 leading HCI products.  Continue Reading

• Answers to NetApp FlexPod commonly asked questions

  Wondering which version of FlexPod is ideal for your situation? In this FAQ, find out the answer to this, as well as other common NetApp and Cisco FlexPod questions.  Continue Reading

• Hyper-converged products offer big benefits to IT environments

  Hyper-converged technology offers benefits such as scalability to help reduce the storage footprint, and enables organizations to pick the hardware and configuration to best suit their needs.  Continue Reading

• Nutanix hyper-converged Flows into multi-cloud and more

  With the introduction of Flow, Beam and Era, Nutanix has made a clear statement that it's aiming for a comprehensive Nutanix enterprise cloud OS.  Continue Reading

• Composable infrastructure platform FAQs get answers

  While the goal of hyper-converged infrastructure and composable infrastructure are much the same, the way they achieve that objective of on-demand IT infrastructure differs.  Continue Reading

• Your Red Hat Hyperconverged Infrastructure questions answered

  Red Hat HCI is software only, based on open source applications and is aimed for IT operations that want to use existing hardware in a DIY implementation.  Continue Reading

• Find out answers for FAQs about Nutanix AHV and Acropolis

  Check out these answers to some of the frequently asked questions about Nutanix's Acropolis and AHV core hyper-converged infrastructure software products.  Continue Reading

• Hyper-converged software: Eight things you need to know

  What are some commonly asked questions about the choice to build a DIY software-only HCI platform? Below are FAQs about the benefits, drawbacks and option of buying HCI software.  Continue Reading

• Make the most of the hyper-converged cloud

  Hyper-converged infrastructures are similar to public cloud platforms in the way they use virtualization of resources. That makes them obvious partners in an IT architecture.  Continue Reading

• Hyper-converged computing and VDI fit together well ... mostly

  The flexibility and ease of use of hyper-convergence fit the needs of VDI, but you should also consider other benefits and drawbacks of HCI in a VDI platform.  Continue Reading

• The hyper-converged network becoming more common in HCI

  Virtualizing the network in a hyper-converged system has been the toughest part, but there are products on the market that achieve some of that function.  Continue Reading

• IT infrastructure planning key for converged, hyper-converged platforms

  Whether you're planning to deploy CI or HCI, infrastructure planning is critical to the project's success. Without proper planning, you could end up with poor performance.  Continue Reading

• Hypervisor software and your hyper-converged infrastructure

  The hypervisor layer in HCI is becoming an expected feature, but it is important to know what role it plays and how it can affect the rest of the components.  Continue Reading

• Hyper-converged benefits and concerns for storage

  There is a lot of information out there on hyper-converged storage, and it can be difficult to get down to basics. Here are five common questions about hyper-convergence, answered.  Continue Reading

• IT pros like simplicity, savings of hyper-converged products

  Capacity, scalability, ease of use and pricing push enterprises toward hyper-converged platforms to meet their compute, networking and storage needs.  Continue Reading

• Hyper-converged computing benefits outweighed CI for one manufacturer

  One multinational manufacturer chose hyper-converged platforms to complement its existing CI implementation as a way to reduce overhead and simplify its IT structure.  Continue Reading

• Ready for hyper-converged infrastructure appliances?

  The storage piece of the HCI market is complex and confusing. Know the most important features to consider as you evaluate your options.  Continue Reading

• The age of data center convergence gives storage a boost

  Convergence takes the emphasis from complexity and expense of enterprise-class storage by making it simple, agile and reducing total cost of ownership.  Continue Reading

• Hyper-converged technology lock-in: Good, bad or indifferent?

  There are downsides to the technology lock-in that comes with implementing hyper-converged infrastructure, but getting all your products from one vendor isn't necessarily a negative.  Continue Reading

• Should you go all-in on hyper-convergence technology?

  Hyper-converged storage reduces TCO, simplifies installs and is poised and ready for the software-defined data center.  Continue Reading

• DataCore Hyper-converged Virtual SAN (PSP5 Update)

  DataCore's Hyper-converged Virtual SAN update wins bronze award for server-based storage in 2016 Storage Products of the Year competition.  Continue Reading

• Examining the HyperGrid HCI appliance family

  With the family of HCI appliances from HyperGrid, organizations receive modular hyper-converged storage and computing either on premises or in the cloud.  Continue Reading

• Maxta Inc. hyper-converged appliances offer configuration flexibility

  With partnerships and integrations with the likes of Dell, Quanta and others, Maxta offers customers the flexibility to configure hyper-converged appliances to fit their needs.  Continue Reading

• Explore the OmniCube hyper-converged infrastructure appliance family

  SimpliVity's OmniCube products offer SMBs and enterprises alike hyper-converged appliances that work for remote offices, high-performance environments and cloud providers.  Continue Reading

• HPE ConvergedSystem offers one-size-fits-all hyper-converged storage

  Organizations small and large can utilize the ConvergedSystem group of products from HPE to establish a hyper-converged infrastructure that fits their business needs.  Continue Reading

• Scale Computing HC3 hyper-converged appliances offer ease of use

  Designed to install in less than an hour, the HC3 line of hyper-converged systems from Scale Computing offers SMBs and enterprises alike seamless integration.  Continue Reading

• Nutanix Acropolis HCI software runs any app at scale

  Nutanix's Acropolis works at a user's desired scale and features a self-healing function that allows the software to continue to operate in the event of a failure.  Continue Reading

• Pivot3 HCI software: Simplicity is the name of the game

  IT expert Ed Tittel offers product details on Pivot3's vSTAC OS hyper-converged software and shares how it can help enterprises implement hyper-converged storage.  Continue Reading

• VMware hyper-converged software options offer users customization

  With the VCE VxRail appliance, VSAN Ready Nodes and VMware Cloud Foundation, VMware provides customers with a variety of hyper-converged product options.  Continue Reading

• Stratoscale Symphony hyper-converged software offers cloud build

  Symphony has a hypervisor-agnostic build and navigable nature that makes it a good match for any large company in search of hyper-converged software.  Continue Reading

• How to find the right HCI appliance

  Choosing a hyper-converged appliance can be a difficult road to travel. Expert Ed Tittel provides the road map for selecting the right hyper-converged tool for your business.  Continue Reading

• Software-defined architecture gets complex in a hyper-converged world

  Although vendors often invoke software-defined technology in their marketing lingo, enterprises often have a steep learning curve during practical implementation.  Continue Reading

• Assess hyper-converged infrastructures based on feature capabilities

  Hyper-converged systems offer a wide array of configurations, features and compatibility. Evaluate these technology areas to help narrow your product options.  Continue Reading

• How to choose hyper-converged storage vendors: Eight questions to ask

  Buying into hyper-converged technology? Storage expert Ed Tittel delves into the important questions to consider so you can make the best selection for your environment.  Continue Reading

• Hyper-converged platforms: Making the business case

  Learn the benefits of hyper-converged technology, including scalability, ease of management and cost savings that can be greater than those from cloud deployments.  Continue Reading

• Defining the hyper-converged infrastructure appliance

  Expert contributor Ed Tittel explores hyper-converged appliances and explains why they're being adopted so enthusiastically in businesses of all sizes.  Continue Reading

• Converged vs. hyper-converged options: Starting the search

  Analyst George Crump outlines the benefits and drawbacks of converged and hyper-converged architectures to help first-time buyers select the most effective system.  Continue Reading

• How the hyper-converged appliance market has exploded

  The hyper-converged appliance market has exploded thanks to their fast deployment and easy management that overcome their limitations.  Continue Reading

• Hyper-converged market grows, but is still young

  As vendors address perceived hyper-convergence market flaws such as capacity, performance and vendor lock-in, enterprise users have more choices than ever.  Continue Reading

• The evolution of hyper-converged architectures

  Hyper-converged architectures are still relatively new to many IT professionals, but origins of the technology can be traced back to the early days of storage virtualization.  Continue Reading

• Hyper-converged infrastructure systems deliver storage in a bundle

  A hyper-converged infrastructure product includes storage, servers and networking all in neat little nodes -- but some assembly may be required.  Continue Reading

• Gridstore Inc. HyperConverged Appliance

  Gridstore HyperConverged Appliance evolved from a Windows-only storage system to a hyper-converged box with servers included.  Continue Reading

• Scale Computing Inc. HC4000

  Scale Computing's hyper-converged storage is built on the KVM hypervisor; new features include non-disruptive upgrades and thin cloning of VMs.  Continue Reading

• VMware Virtual SAN 5.5

  VMware's Virtual SAN shares the bronze medal with Scality's Ring 5.0 in the 2014 Products of the Year storage system software category.  Continue Reading

• FlexPod vs. Vblock: How the integrated IT stacks stack up

  EMC and NetApp partner with Cisco and VMware for their integrated storage stacks, but the management, support and sales strategies are different.  Continue Reading