Spring 2016 © ioFABRIC Inc.

Opinions and first-hand experiences with hyperconverged infrastructures from

SpiceHeads and Green Gals and Guys, to give you more jalapenos for thought.

WHAT SPICEHEADS REALLY THINK ABOUTHYPERCONVERGEDINFRASTRUCTURE

Contents

2 Title of the book What SpiceHeads Really Think about Hyperconvergence 2

3 | The Intro

4 | What Is Hyperconvergence?

6 | PROs & CONs

8 | Hyperconverged: What is the Best Use Case?

10 | In Real Life – Use Case

12 | Must-Have Requirements for Hyperconvergence

15 | Conclusion

3 What SpiceHeads Really Think about HCI

Inthefallof2015,ioFABRICstartedsurveyingSpiceHeadsabouttheirexperienceswithHyperconvergedInfrastructures(HCI),togeton-the-groundinformaHonandopinions.DespitethefactthatHCIisexplodinginpopularity,thereisnotalwaysalotofclarityonwhatitis,howitdifferenHatesfromothersystems,orwhythere’ssomuchhype.

FEARNOMORE

Ithinkhyperconvergenceisgreat,butwilleventuallygettakenoverbymegaconvergenceandultraconvergence.

I'mwaiHngformegahyperultraconvergencebeforeIbitethebullet.

+Coryrobertson

The Intro

Thisebookisheretohelpyougetthedirtonthisnew(ish)technology,andfigureoutifandwhenit’srightforyourbusiness…alongwithprovidingsomeR-ratedopinionsfrom

otherITProslikeyou.Giveitalook,takewhatyoucanfromit,andpassonyourownknowledge–‘cause,youknow,that’swhatthiscommunityisallabout.

Sowhatishyperconvergence?

Hyperconvergence(HC)canbeachievedinanumberofdifferentways,butconsensusagreesthatitistheconvergenceofcompute,storage,andnetworkononenodethatispresentedtoandmanagedbythehypervisor.Itisanaturalfollow-uptoconvergedinfrastructures,whichhavecompute,storage,andnetworkonthesamenode.+MikefromScaleCompuCngnotes:

1. Hyperisnotahyperbolicextensionofconvergedinfrastructure.Itwasn'tmeanttoimply"super/mega/hella"convergedinfrastructure.

2. Hyperconvergedinfrastructureiswherethehypervisorisdirectlyintegratedwiththestorageandcomputeresources,notviaaVSA,butdirectlyinterfacingwiththeresources.

SpiceHead+Shnladddefinesitas:Hyperconvergenceis,tome,takingenterprisedatastorage(SAN)andcompuHngresources(virtualizaHonhosts),packingthemintoasingle-nodeform-factor,andthenscalingoutbypoolingacrossmulHplenodes.It'ssimilartothecomputeclustersofold,butwithmoreintelligentmanagementandstandardized,guaranteed-compaHblehardware.

4

What Is Hyperconvergence?

WhenIthinkofHCI,IthinkofintegraHonandaLOTof

markeHng.+Perry(MicroAge)

Buzzhypewordhelptosellgoodol’NoSANthing.+KOOLER(Starwind)

What SpiceHeads Really Think about Hyperconvergence

5

+Melanie(Pivot3)Tome,hyperconvergencedrivesdownthecostandcomplexityoflegacyITarchitecture,simplifyingthedatacenterbyessenHallytakinganx86commodityserverandcombiningstorage,network,andcomputeontothesameappliance.+Sharon(DataCore)Achievinga'stateofhyperconvergence'meansthatyouhaveusedasofwarelayertointegrateyourcompute,storage,networking,andvirtualizaHonresourceswithinacommodityx86hardwareboxthatissupportedbyasinglevendor.+Aaron(Springpath)Hyperconvergenceisaboutturningstandardindustryserversintoasinglepoolofcomputeandstorageresources.YoutaketheCPU,memory,HDD,andSSDresourcesintheseserversandaddasofwarelayerrunningonthemforallocaHngandmanagingtheresources–effecHvelycreaHngasingle,cost-effecHve,andscalablecluster.

HyperconvergencetakesallthebenefitsofservervirtualizaHonandextendsitforbothcomputeANDstorage.

Vendors will differ on their definitions – a bit – to highlight product strengths and differentiators

What SpiceHeads Really Think about Hyperconvergence

Ex estis as aligenda con rernam ant volorem iur? Fugia du- ciis dolla cuscipsam quas sequae nis alicit litas nobitat emquat volore, invelique nobit latur molorrum ellam eatum quidit, que sit excea et pra accabo. Et aut mos dolore estor atur?

6

PROs & CONsEverystoragesoluHonhasprosandcons.Whatarethebestreasonsto

useHCI,andwhatarereasonstoconsiderothersoluHons?

PROs+KOOLER(Starwind)Simplicity.CAPEXandOPEXsavings.+StorageNinjaSimplifiedmanagement,simplifiedscalingofdatacenterinfrastructure,avoidingforklifupgrades,avoidingproprietaryhardwarelockin.+Robert762AsasmallerenvironmentthatlikestohaveEnterpriseequipmentandprocesses,we'vehadourfairshareofproblemswith"bigplayer"soluHons.Westartedoutwithpowerfulhosts,SAN,abackupsoluHon,andexpensivelicensecosts.Thatwassixyearsago.

Insteadofprocuringnewhosts(3ofthem)plussuitablestorage,thenecessarylicensing,andthenfilngitalltogether,webought3ScaleHC3nodes,plusanextraoneforgoodluck,anddroppeditallintoaracktoreplacetheoldgear.UnitrendslooksaferourbackupsanditreplacedanotherVMwarehostandDASunit.

Sonowanyonecan"manage"theScalecluster-createVMswithacouplemouseclicks,cloneaVM,editorsnapshotVMs.ItissomuchsimplertolookaferthanVMwareforthenon-technical(managers,etc.)staff.

What SpiceHeads Really Think about Hyperconvergence

7

CONs+KOOLER(Starwind)Poorscalabilitywithnon-virtualizaHon(typical)workloads.NowaytoguaranteeQoS.+StorageNinjaAsymmetricscalingofdatawithcompute(ifyougrowPB'sofcolddata,thatisapoorusecaseforHCI).+hutchingspIfsomeonegavemefreemoneythenI'dlovearackofSimplivityorNutanix.

Backintherealworld(forme),we'reprenystorageheavy,andcertainlythelastHmeIlookedintoit,Iwouldhavebeenpayingaround$100Kfor2hoststhatwouldgivemejustabouttheamountofstorageIneeded–andI'dhavebeenrelyingonthededupetogetmethere.ThemomentIneededtoaddanotherTBofstorage,I'dneedtospend$40-50KagainonanothernodetobuycomputeIdidn'tneedandhavingtolicenseit,versusdroppinganother4TBdriveinmySANshelf.

Incertainenvironmentsit'saperfectfit,butitdoesseemtoassumeyouscalelinearlyandthatyourvirtualenvironmentissocomplexthataddingandmanagingathirdorfourthhostissomekindofmassivedeal.

What SpiceHeads Really Think about Hyperconvergence

8

+Robert762

OurmoHvaHontousehyperconvergencewastoconsolidateourvirtualenvironmentintoanewandsimplertechnology.Wewere(andsHllare)along-HmeuserofVMware,butthemajorityofourproducHonvirtualenvironmentisnowrunonScaleCompuHng.

We'vefounditislessexpensivetooperate,requiresnocerHficaHonsorspecialtraining–orevenbooklearning–tobeaproficientuseraferspendinglessthanfiveminutesattheconsole.

Havingahyperconvergedenvironmenthasenabledustosetandforgetourvirtualenvironment.

Hyperconverged:What Is the Best Use Case?

Not every storage solution is right for every environment – so what are some of the best use cases for HCI?

1.ConsolidaHngserversanddatacenter

2.Modernizingtechnologysmoothly

3.DeployingnewHer-1applicaHons

4.PerformingtesHngdevelopment

Top Contenders:

+Thomas(Nutanix)

IwouldaddROBO(RemoteOffice/BranchOffice)asastrongusecaseforhyperconvergence.

TheabilitytomanagemulHpleclustersindifferentlocaHonsfromasingleconsole,todeploya"datacenterinabox"withtheexactsizingrequirementsandbite-sizescalabilityforremotelocaHons,todeployinunderanhour-theseareallreasonswhycustomersuseNutanixandotherHCIsoluHonsforremotelocaHonsandbranchoffices.

What SpiceHeads Really Think about Hyperconvergence

9 What SpiceHeads Really Think about HCI

+StorageNinja

AninteresHngusecaseI’mseeingforHCI(orsofware-definedstorageingeneral)isinplaceswhereservicingequipmentishell(e.g.submarines,ships,oilplasorms,manufacturingplantsinthemiddleofnowhere).

I'vealsohaddiscussionsaroundthesefaciliHesthathaveterribleWANconnecHonsbutwantN+2redundancy,oreventheabilitytorun"mini"stretchclusterswherenodesarescaneredaboutthefacility,incasehalfofitblowsup/catchesonfire(chemicalplantslovethis).

TopusecasesI'veseeninthefield:

1.VDIwasbornforSDS/HCI.IfyoudeployVMwareHorizonViewspecificallyonanythingthatisn'tSDS/HCI,youarejustwasHngmoneyandrackspace.

2.Tier1apps.NoteveryoneneedsanExadata,andwhenyoucanrunamilliontransacHonsperminutepernode(andgelngfasterwithNVMe),alotofpeople'simportantappsarequitehappytodeployonHCI.

3.Test/dev.Sadly,alotofpeopleenduppulngtheirTier1andtest/devonthesameSANbecauseofcostreasons.ForthemoreconservaHveshopsrunningmassiveSAPclusters,it’snotalwayspracHcaltobuyanotherG1000orvBlock.ThrowinginafewappliancesrunningthesamehypervisorastheirmassiveCIdeploymentcansavealotHmeandmoneyonprovidingaseparateinfrastructure.

4.WebhosCngfarms.Whenyou’rerunningabigtomcatclusterthatscalesatexactlythesameraHoofCPUtomemorytostorage,it’sano-brainiertogetasystemthatcanscaleeverythingintoinfinitytogether.

10

IhaverecentlytakenovertheITforasmallcompanyinLondon.

OneofthefirstareasIalwaysliketoaddressatanewcompanyistointroducetheconceptofRTO/RPO,and,onceestablished,howwethengoaboutachievingtheseRTO/RPOs.

Thisiswherethingscaneasilygetoutofhand.Ihaveadepartmenttorunandlimitedresources.Idon'thaveHmetowetnursesystemssotheyplaynicely,nordoIhavetheHmetoplayhockeywithsuppliers.

Ineedtoproduceproposalsthatareaccurateandtothepoint.ThepricingneedstobeclearandthesoluHonhastobeanactualsoluHon–nothalfasoluHonorneedsanother£20ktomakeitthesoluHonitwassupposedtobeatthestart.

Sostartstheprocess:

Ispeaktothehardwarevendor,whodoesn'treallywanttoanswermyquesHonsbutinsteadwantstovisitmetogainabenerunderstandingofusasacompany.Why?AllIaskedwashowmuchisanMD3800iwith24TBofrawcapacity.Canyoutellmeasuitable10GBswitchtousewithit,andwhatNICyouwouldrecommendtoputinmyR720hosttowork?It’sallyourkit;youmustknowthisstuff.

Howlongthisprocessisgoingtotakeisanyone'sguess.AndwilltheinformaHontheyfinallysendtomeactuallyaddressthequesHonsIhaveasked?

Onthesofwaresideitsnotsobad...

(con%nued…)

In Real Life – Use CaseSpiceHead+ColinKentshareshisexperiencesofdeployingahyperconvergedinfrastructureinoneofhisITenvironments.

What SpiceHeads Really Think about Hyperconvergence

11

VMwareandVeeambothpublishtheirpricesonlinesoIcaneasilyseewhatit’sgoingtocostwithouthavingtospeaktoanyresellers,butIneedtoconsiderthatthisisjustthefirststepinmeeHngbusinessdemands.Ineedtokeepaneyeonthelonggame,whichwillincludefulldisasterrecovery.

Inthiscase,atthesameHmeasIwasresearching,IalsomanagedhalfadayattheIPExpo,whereIpickedupvariousdifferentflyers,includingseveralaboutHC.ThisledmetothinkingitmightbebenertogodowntheHCrouteasopposedtodevelopingourcurrentinfrastructure.

IreachedouttoSimpliVity,Nutanix,andScaleandexplainedmyrequirements.SimpliVityseemedanythingbutsimpleand,despitespeakingto2+people,IsHlldon'thaveeitheraproposedsoluHonorideasofcost.

Nutanixmademespeakto4+differentpeoplebeforetheycamebackwithanunrealisHcprice.(Ofthe4people,onechapcalledGrantwasatopblokeandwediscussedarangeoftopics,sofairplaytohim.)

WithScaleontheotherhand,IspoketoonechapcalledSimon.Hetoldmeexactlywhattheirproductdoesandhowmuchitcosts.AnyquesHonsIhadwererespondedtoinaswifandaccuratefashion.

Sonowmyproposalisgoingtoread:

OpCon2

TakeupSimononhisverykindoffertoplaywithasetofloandevices.

KnowexactlywhatI'mgoingtogetandhowitworksbeforeparHngwithapenny.

OpCon1

BuylotsofhardwarefromDell

BuysofwarefromVmware

BuysofwarefromVeeam

SpendalotofHmeandtomakesureeachpartisworkingwitheachotherpart.

Addacertainamountoffudgeintomyfigurestoaccommodateforsomethingonevendordoesn’tlikeabouttheother,whichisgoingtocostmeanotherfewthousand.

FormanagersofSME's,HChasthepotenHaltomeetmanyofthebusinessrequirementswhilstatthesameHmeremovingmuchofthecomplexityofdealingwithdifferentvendorsandtechnologies.

IfyouhaveahugedatacenterandtheresourcesforaSANspecialist,capacityplanner,andVMwareguru,thenallthisHCmightseemalinlesimplisHc.

What SpiceHeads Really Think about Hyperconvergence

12

+hutchingsp

Cost.

Idon'twanttosuggestthatI'monlyinterestedinthecheapestsoluHonasthat'snottrue,buteveryHmeI'velookedatHCIsoluHonsforESXi,they'vesimplycostatruckloadmorethantradiHonalstorage+computecost.

Idon'tbelieveatSMEscalethatadmincostsaresignificantenoughtodelivertheROIthatallHCIvendorsclaim.

SoessenHallyyou'repayingapremiumfor,whatexactly?

GivemeapileofcashandI'lltakeallIcangetonatechnicallevel.

+BrendanPitstopNZ

Idon'tthinkitiscost.Itisprobablybenerdescribedasvalue.Iampayinghugeamountsmore-whatfor,whereistheaddedvalue?

Costisnotactuallythefactor,itisthevalueoftheproduct.

+KOOLER(StartWind)

ClassicpitchhereisthatyousaveonOPEXbythrowing$$$onCAPEX."Paymoneytosavemoney."Nottrue!HiringanMSPtotakecareofaclassicinstallshavesofftonsofdollarsthatareotherwisespentonmaintenance.

Must-Have Requirements for Hyperconvergence

HyperconvergedisposiHonedasalego-blockapproachtoaddingstoragecapacityandperformance,butwhatbusinessortechnicalrequirementsareSpiceHeadsdeterminingtheirpurchasingon?

What SpiceHeads Really Think about Hyperconvergence

13

+StorageNinja

ThevoodoomaththatcomesoutofsomeoftheOPEXcalculaHonsishilarious.HDS(whoactuallyhasa”storageeconomist"onstaff?)wasoneofthebeneronesatbreakingdownthecosts,arHculaHngthem,providinggoodinformaHononhowtoassignthem,andthenencouragingyoutoactuallyscoreandmeasurethemyourself(aferrankingthekeyones).

Ithinka"winning"HCIstrategyshouldinvolvetheabilitytocosteffecHvelyleveragethecrazyfastfallingpricesofstorage(seriously,flashhasinsomeendurance/productfamilybandsbeencutby40to100%yearoveryear.It’sinsanity,andweareintheearlydaysof3DNANDsHll).I'vebeenlivingatconferencesrecentlyandthestuffIhearthe”bigfoundry"guyssayabouttheirroadmapsisinsane.Wearegoingtobeseeing16/24TB2.5''drivesinsuchashortHme.

Lastly–oncost–istheabilitytoleveragenewflashinterconnectsanddevices.Sofware-definedsoluHonshaveanadvantageinthattheycanmovealotfasterbyleveragingthenewinterfacesandtechnologies(likeNVMe).

FromioFABRIC’sITBudgetTrendsSurvey,November2015.hFp://bit.ly/23bne5W

Soit’sclearthatcostisabigplayer.OurITBudgetSurveyfromNovember2015showedITPro’sconcernsforthisaswell–and+StorageNinjasharessomegoodthoughtsonstrategiesaroundthis.

What SpiceHeads Really Think about Hyperconvergence

+Robert762

WhenourVMwarelicensing(Enterprise)wasupforrenewal,ourDellSANwasbeyondend-of-lifewithnosupport,andourhostswerereadyforlife-cycling,weknewweweregoingtohavetospendsomemoneytoreplaceourgear.

IgotaquotefromDelltocoveralloftheabove,andthenScaleCompuHngcametoourSpiceCorpsmeetupand,aferseeingalivedemo,Iwasinterested.Comparingthetwoquotes,Iwasgelngmorehorsepoweracrosstheboardforlessmoney.NottomenHonnoworriesaboutmaintainingorpayingfortheVMwareinfrastructure-theScaleCompuHngsystemisdead-easyforanyonewithoutanyvirtualizaHonexperiencetocreateanewVMandhaveitsetupinnoHme.

AsBrendansaidabove-it'salsoaboutvalue. �WiththeHCsoluHon,thereisvalueintermsofnolearningcurve,lesshardwarespecificconcerns,asinglevendorPOCforanyissues,centralbrowser-basedmanagement,andeasyscalabilityifrequired.Wecouldhavemanagedwith3nodesforour35ishVM's,butaddingthefourthnodewasgoodinsuranceforfuturegrowth.

10 What SpiceHeads Really Think about Hyperconvergence

Asyou’veseen,HyperconvergencehasaroletoplayformanyenvironmentswherethetechnologyneedsmodernizingorconsolidaHng,yourHer-1applicaHonneeds

morelove,oryouwanttoreallyisolateyourtest/devenvironment.WehopethisebookhelpsyouwithyourconsideraHonswhenconsideringHCI.

ThankstothesegreatSpiceHeadsfortheir

input,andformakingthisebookpossible!

+Coryrobertson+Perry(MicroAge)+KOOLER(Starwind)

+MikefromScaleCompuHng+Shnladd+Melanie(Pivot3)+Sharon(DataCore)

+Aaron(Springpath)+StorageNinja+Robert762

+hutchingsp+Thomas(Nutanix)+ColinKent+BrendanPitstopNZ

© ioFABRIC Inc. 2016

Conclusion