What makes NetApp HCI Unique from Others?
All the key players in the digital storage and cloud industry have made a dive to develop their own Hyper-Converged Infrastructure (HCI) offering. Companies like IBM, Microsoft, EMC and others have come up with innovative HCI architectures which are suited for modern day enterprise needs.
The data intensive nature of the present day business has changed how the industry worked. Enterprises are making a move towards a more simplified form of data management which can be carried out from a single platform. HCI plays an important role by blending storage and computing capabilities in a single scalable system which is controlled by a software centric management interface.
HCI is the new trend in the data and storage market and have already kicked up a storm with 50% growth in the second quarter of 2017. It is currently the fastest growing sector and projected to reach $8 billion by 2020.
NetApp, the storage giant, has stepped into the market with its HCI platform which was announced at the 2017 NetApp Insight conference in Las Vegas. The company touted their offering as the next generation HCI designed to be the first enterprise-scale platform. But can NetApp HCI stand out from rest of the crowd who have already made progress in the field?
Let’s check out if the HCI from NetApp is really unique and the company claims:
What makes NetApp Platform the Next Generation HCI?
Separation of Storage and Computing Nodes
NetApp HCI is said to take the evolution of HCI to the next level. The company has worked on the project for many years and adopted a unique concept of HCI.
They found that the first generation HCI architectures were ideal for small projects and a single workload. But the offerings were lacking when it was applied to next generation data centers. The systems were not able to perform with efficiency when intensive workloads were placed on them.
Enterprises encountered another problem when they tried to scale a single aspect of the HCI: It was difficult to separately scale the storage or computing capabilities through the platform using the same management program.
This made NetApp develop an architecture that decouples the storage and compute nodes. All resources of the computing node CPU are reserved for running applications and are not used for storage. The storage nodes also remain free to deliver data.
The architecture depends on VMware’s hypervisor for its compute capabilities and SolidFire for storage. By separating the computing nodes from storage nodes, NetApp has unveiled an infrastructure for enterprise scale. Enterprises can now scale the storage and compute independently according to demand.
It will save costs for companies, preventing unnecessary expenditure on either computing or storage by scaling whichever is necessary.
NetApp HCI is Perfect for Datacenter Integration
The NetApp infrastructure is suited for datacenters with intensive workloads and performs far better than traditional models. The ability to independently scale the storage and compute nodes also makes it possible to accommodate them on a single 2U chassis. The architecture presents a model which can be expanded as needed and saves datacenters from large investments as it can be incrementally scaled as the business grows.
The NetApp HCI nodes can be scaled up to 100s, according to the company. It will also save additional costs compared to traditional HCI systems as there is no need to purchase extra ESXi licenses to expand storage nodes.
Additionally, it is very easy to scale the system as you just need to hook up the node and carry out a hassle free two step process. The process is non-disruptive and the node is seamlessly integrated into the single storage pool or the ESXi cluster. The same process is applied in case of node failure. The system is engineered with self-healing function which is activated after a node failure. The process involves two steps and assimilates the node back again into the cluster.
This architecture can open up new possibilities for next generation datacenters. Traditional HCI systems need a full refresh of the datacenter and are quite challenging to phase in. The NetApp HCI also is capable of transferring iSCSI storage to third party servers permanently or for phase out by utilizing the inbuilt SAN/NAS switches.
Installation Process and Administration
NetApp HCI can also be distinguished by the ease of installation and management it comes with. The whole process of installation and configuration is carried out by the NetApp Deployment Engine (NDE). The NDE makes the whole HCI cluster VM ready in less than an hour by automating more than 400 installation steps.
The task that remains for the admin is very simple: they just agree to the NetApp and VMware EULAs, set the HCI password, provide IP details for VM networking and storage, and answer a few more questions.
The NDE then proceeds to install SolidFire Element OS for the storage nodes and VMware ESXi for the computing nodes. Then comes the deployment of a new vCenter or it can also be assimilated with a current vCenter. The NetApp HCI management plugins are installed next along with the management VM utilized for management, alerts, and phone. With this the architecture becomes full VM ready within one hour.
NetApp HCI Configuration
With all its uniqueness, the NetApp HCI is presented in the form of a 2U box which accommodates 4 computing or storage nodes. The basic configuration comes with two separate 2U units with one being used for computing and the other for storage. The 2 computing nodes are based on Intel CPU with 32 cores and 512 GB of RAM. The storage nodes have all flash capacity and come with 5.5 to 11 TB space depending on the configuration. The additional nodes can be connected separately depending on requirements and available in large, medium, and small sizes.
NetApp’s HCI puts an end to many of the drawbacks present in the first generation HCI models and adopts a unique approach of the technology.
