2022-02-24T06:03:00Z

Hyper-Converged Infrastructure vs "classic" IT system: what are the main differences?

Hi peers,

What are the main differences between the classic IT system and Hyper-Converged Infrastructure?

EB
Director of Community at PeerSpot (formerly IT Central Station)
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2 Answers
Real User
2022-03-03T07:31:23Z
Mar 3, 2022

A hyper converged system and converged system both are alike to a considerable extent in terms of density of hardware resources logically. 


The core difference is software definition. In a hyper converged system there is a management interface that acts as manager if managers to which every element management report - be it network, server, storage or virtualization platform. This manager of managers brings in orchestration, provisioning, automation, processes, monitoring mechanisms, reporting, snapshot backups etc... in a single pane of glass making it a very lucrative cloud in a box kind of option. This is software defined everything kind of stuff.


Another key difference is storage - in HCI you get a software defined storage which is generally a Soft SAN - a blob/object storage. Some HCI solution run absolutely on RAIN and some of them run combination of RAIN & RAID from storage and data redundancy perspective . RAIN architecture for soft SAN needs 3 nodes to workout a redundant soft SAN while RAIN & RAID architecture combined for soft SAN can work with 2 Storage nodes even. That's how HCI is different from CI.


You can even run a combination of soft storage and Traditional storage in most of the HCI solutions and almost every HCI vendor supports it. Such kind of solutions are required in case the application is having the need for very high write IOPS at very low latencies <1 ms.   


Its not that HCI is better or CI is better actually the Application type, workload type, Data volume and No. of VMs are some key scenarios that should be considered while designing an Enterprise landscape. Not every Application is designed to perform on HCI but almost all workload types can be run on CI.


HCI is great for latest born on cloud scenarios and generalized VM workloads while CI can be an overkill in terms of cost for setting such a greenfield setup due to higher cost.

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Shibu Babuchandran - PeerSpot reviewer
Regional Manager/ Service Delivery Manager at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
Real User
ExpertModerator
2022-02-27T07:42:57Z
Feb 27, 2022

Hi @Danielaramyo @Effort Moyo@reviewer1136580@Ehsan-Zaidi, ​


Please share your opinion with our community. 


Thanks!

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Related Questions
EZ
User at gobernación de cundinamarca
May 4, 2023
Hello community,  I am currently researching Hyper-Converged solutions. Which solution performs better: Nutanix Cloud Infrastructure or VMware vSAN? Which solution do you prefer and why? Thank you for your help.
2 out of 4 answers
Yves Sandfort - PeerSpot reviewer
CEO & Majority Shareholder at Comdivision Consulting GmbH
May 2, 2023
In the early days, Nutanix had the better solution, by now especially when you use a vSphere hypervisor I would go with vSAN for better integration and with ReadyNodes no complex config anymore. Also, I had several customers who complained that Nutanix got very expensive on the first renewal vs. massive initial discounts, however, I can't judge if that is true.
QJ
Enterprise Solutions Specialist - System Engineer at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees
May 2, 2023
Both can get you the performance you might want, however, you should also consider what else you get with the solution. For Nutanix, you're stuck on Acropolis if you start with that. It would be best to run either VMware or Hyper-V on top of that so migration isn't a gym show, plus the renewal cost will be very high. vSAN is a fine option, just ensure it is designed well with enough nodes to tolerate any amount of disk failure. Both options have their unique value but the most important thing is the data. You'll need data protection solutions like Veeam, Nakivo, or Zerto.  For an all-in-one high-performance solution with built-in data protection consider HPE SimpliVity with VMware. You'll also likely buy fewer nodes than the others with SimpliVity.
SV
Principal Engineer at QNAP Systems, Inc.
Sep 3, 2023
Hello community,  I am a Principal Engineer at a large tech company. I am currently researching HCI tools. Which tool performs better: Nutanix HCI or VMware VxRail? Which tool has better scalability? Thank you for your help.
See 2 answers
Farhan Parkar - PeerSpot reviewer
Product Consultant (Presales) at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
Jan 16, 2023
Hi Suresh, In order to answer your question it is better to understand your requirement. Nutanix HCI supports all major hardware vendors, and hypervisors like VMware, Hyper-V, and native Nutanix AHV) and has award-winning post-sales support. Now VxRail is a Dell product offering based on PowerEdge servers running VMware only with VMware vSAN. It is limited to Dell hardware and a single hypervisor VMware. Moving forward as Vmware is no more part of Dell and has been part of Broadcom no one is sure what will be next. Other than that, there are key differentiators to make decisions and that's where Nutanix shines, you can DM me if you need one to one explanation. Farhan Parkar
MA
User at dublin holdings LLC
Sep 3, 2023
Mercedes vs BMW.... seriously, let's get a little more specific as to the use case. For Clarity, VXRail is NOT VMWare (albeit is is using VMWare software stack, VXRail is Dell and proprietary to Dell)... VMWare makes a similar HCI-capable package and you can use hardware other than Dell. I'd suggest looking a tad deeper into the needs of the business before asking such a generic question. Is there already an existing install of either Nutanix, VMWare, Symplivity, or another possible Open Source project? Exactly what are we attempting to build the infrastructure to/for? What kind of public cloud compatibility (if any) is needed? BC/DR requirements (RTP & RPO)..Answer a few of those and you'll quickly realize that this conversation is much deeper than brand. Make Sense?
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