After NetApp on May 5. July a brand new hyper converged system on the basis of Solidfire has announced today was presented the well-known converged system FlexPod on the basis of SolidFire. But let’s start from the beginning…
What is ever FlexPod?
FlexPod is a converged system by NetApp and Cisco. And are you now smarter? No?
After all, what is a converged system at all?
An overall system of storage, servers and network components is called convergent system (converged system), being mutually certified and accepted the hardware by all the manufacturers concerned. In most cases, can I order a convergent system as an article and me need not care what switches, which storage and which servers are installed there. This is of course a great advantage, because thereby I escape the danger to have any incompatibilities between components. Another advantage is of course that I have only one point of contact (single point of contact – SPOC) for such a convergent system and me not by a hotline to the next must be moving, if there even is a problem. You buy a convergent system, so you will receive support for all components of a manufacturer.
And what is the difference between converged and Hyperconverged?
I explain it so simple, as it is:
- Converged system:
- You stand in your data center, look on the rack and can point the finger at the individual components. “There is the switch, there is the storage and the servers are there”
- Usually you have surfaces for the administration of storage, servers or switches management
- Hyper converged system:
- You stand in your data center, look on the rack and says: “because everything in it, storage, network and server is somehow in this box”
- The most HyperConverged providers, offer you a “single pane of glass” so a single interface through which you can the entire HCI administration. Storage administration in this sense there usually no longer exists. You simply clicks “Wants to have more memory for my VMWARE farm” and the storage is provisioned in the background for you.
Now back to the topic!
The converged infrastructure by NetApp with Cisco is FlexPod. NetApp are so far included FAS or AFF systems as storage, Cisco switches and Cisco UCS server for the compute power. Today, NetApp has announced the FlexPod on basis of NetApp SolidFire and calls the whole FlexPodSF
And what is it now so great?
With a FlexPod on the basis of SolidFire, you will get the above benefits of a converged system with the benefits of NetApp SolidFire a cast.
- Guaranteed performance for your workloads
- Nearly zero-touch storage (click and run)
- Integration in NetApps DataFabric