Hyperconverged Infrastructure Data Centers: Demystifying HCI

Improve Manageability, Flexibility, Scalability, and Control with Hyperconverged Infrastructure

Hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) combines storage, compute, and networking in one unified system, managed locally or from the cloud. With HCI, you can leverage the cloud’s simplicity, flexibility, and scalability without losing control or compromising your ability to scale.
In Hyperconverged Infrastructure Data Centers, best-selling author Sam Halabi demystifies HCI technology, outlines its use cases, and compares solutions from a vendor-neutral perspective. He guides you through evaluation, planning, implementation, and management, helping you decide where HCI makes sense, and how to migrate legacy data centers without disrupting production systems.

The author brings together all the HCI knowledge technical professionals and IT managers need, whether their background is in storage, compute, virtualization, switching/routing, automation, or public cloud platforms. He explores leading solutions including the Cisco HyperFlex platform, VMware vSAN, Nutanix Enterprise Cloud, Cisco Application-Centric Infrastructure (ACI), VMware’s NSX, the open source OpenStack and Open vSwitch (OVS) / Open Virtual Network (OVN), and Cisco CloudCenter for multicloud management.

As you explore discussions of automation, policy management, and other key HCI capabilities, you’ll discover powerful new opportunities to improve control, security, agility, and performance.

• Understand and overcome key limits of traditional data center designs
• Discover improvements made possible by advances in compute, bus interconnect, virtualization, and software-defined storage
• Simplify rollouts, management, and integration with converged infrastructure (CI) based on the Cisco Unified Computing System (UCS)
• Explore HCI functionality, advanced capabilities, and benefits
• Evaluate key HCI applications, including DevOps, virtual desktops, ROBO, edge computing, Tier 1 enterprise applications, backup, and disaster recovery
• Simplify application deployment and policy setting by implementing a new model for provisioning, deployment, and management
• Plan, integrate, deploy, provision, manage, and optimize the Cisco HyperFlex hyperconverged infrastructure platform
• Assess alternatives such as VMware vSAN, Nutanix, open source OpenStack, and OVS/OVN, and compare architectural differences with HyperFlex
• Compare Cisco ACI (Application- Centric Infrastructure) and VMware NSX approaches to network automation, policies, and security

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Table of Contents

Introduction     xxiv
PART I:  BASICS OF DATA CENTER NETWORKING AND STORAGE     1
Chapter 1  Data Networks: Existing Designs     3
Information Technology Equipment of a Data Center     4
    Network Equipment     4
    Networking Services     4
Multitier Data Networking Architecture     6
    Logical Server Grouping     8
Challenges of Existing Designs     9
    Oversubscription Between the Tiers     9
    Large Flat L2 Networks with Stretched VLANs     10
    Traffic Hopping Between Tiers, Inducing Latency     11
    Complexity of Mechanisms Used for IPv4 Address Scarcity     12
    Flooding of Broadcast, Unknown Unicast, and Multicast (BUM) Traffic     15
    Loop Prevention Via Spanning Tree     16
    Firewall Overload     17
Chapter 2  Storage Networks: Existing Designs     19
The Storage View of Multitier Designs     20
Types of Disk Drives     21
    Hard Disk Drives     22
    Solid-State Drives     23
Disk Performance     23
    Throughput or Transfer Speed     24
    Access Time     24
    Latency and IOPS     24
RAID     26
    RAID 0     26
    RAID 1     26
    RAID 1+0     26
    RAID 0+1     27
    RAID 5     28
    RAID 6     29
Storage Controllers     30
Logical Unit Numbers     31
Logical Volume Manager     33
Block-, File-, and Object-Level Storage     35
    Block-Level Storage     35
    File-Level Storage     35
    Object-Based Storage     36
Storage-to-Server Connectivity     37
    Direct-Attached Storage (DAS)     38
    Network-Attached Storage     39
    Storage Area Networks     40
    iSCSI SANs     46
    Fibre Channel over Ethernet SANs     49
Storage Efficiency Technologies     50
    Thin Provisioning     50
    Snapshots     51
    Cloning     55
    Replication     55
    Deduplication     55
    Data Compression     58
    Disk Encryption     59
    Storage Tiering     59
    Caching Storage Arrays     60

PART II:  EVOLUTION IN HOST HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE     63
Chapter 3  Host Hardware Evolution     65
Advancements in Compute     65
    x86 Standard Architecture     66
    Single-, Multi-, and Many-Cores CPUs     66
    Physical Cores Versus Virtual Cores Versus Logical Cores     67
    Virtual CPU     68
Evolution in Host Bus Interconnect     70
    Non-Volatile Memory Express     71
Emergence of Flash-Based Products     72
    Enhancement in Flash Technology     73
    New Breed of Storage Arrays Falls Short     73
Chapter 4  Server Virtualization     77
The Virtualization Layer     78
    Type 1 Hypervisor     79
    Type 2 Hypervisor     80
    Docker Containers     80
Datastores     82
    Virtual Machine Creation     84
Virtualization Services     86
    Clusters of Servers or Nodes     86
    VM Migration     87
    High Availability     88
    Fault Tolerance     89
    Compute Load Balancing     89
    Storage Migration     90
    Storage Load Balancing     90
    Provisioning and Management     90
Virtual Switching     90
Chapter 5  Software-Defined Storage     95
SDS Objectives     96
Preserving the Legacy and Offering New Features     97
vSphere APIs for Storage Awareness (VASA) and VVols     99
    Creating More Granular Volumes with VVols     100
    Learning Storage Array Capabilities Through VASA     102
    Integration with Storage Policy-Based Management     103

PART III:  HYPERCONVERGED INFRASTRUCTURE     105
Chapter 6  Converged Infrastructure     107
Cisco UCS–The First Step in Convergence     108
The Converged Systems     112
    Pros of Converged Systems     114
    Converged Systems Cons     114
Chapter 7  HCI Functionality     117
Distributed DAS Architecture     118
    Distributed Controllers     119
    Scale-Out Architecture     120
    HCI Performance     120
    Resiliency Against Hardware Failures via Replication     121
    File Systems     122
    Change in the Provisioning Model     124
    Hardware Acceleration     125
    Networking Integration     125
Advanced Data Storage Functionality     127
    Deduplication and Compression     128
    Erasure Coding     128
    Replication and Backup for Disaster Recovery     129
    HCI Security     130
    HCI Provisioning, Management, and Monitoring     131
Chapter 8  HCI Business Benefits and Use Cases     135
HCI Business Benefits     136
    Fast Deployment     136
    Easier-to-Scale Infrastructure     136
    Enhanced IT Operational Model     137
    Easier System Management     138
    Public Cloud Agility in a Private Cloud     138
    Higher Availability at Lower Costs     139
    Low-Entry Cost Structure     139
    Reduced Total Cost of Ownership     140
HCI Use Cases     140
    Server Virtualization     140
    DevOps     141
    Virtual Desktop Infrastructure     141
    Remote Office Business Office (ROBO)     144
    Edge Computing     146
    Tier-1 Enterprise Class Applications     146
    Data Protection and Disaster Recovery     148

PART IV:  CISCO HYPERFLEX     151
Chapter 9  Cisco HyperFlex     153
HyperFlex Physical Components     154
    Cisco HyperFlex Hybrid Nodes     156
    Cisco HyperFlex All-Flash Nodes     156
    Cisco HyperFlex Edge Nodes     157
    Cisco HyperFlex Compute-Only Nodes     157
    Cisco UCS 6200 and 6300 Fabric Interconnect     158
    Cisco C220/C240 M4/M5 Rack Servers     158
    Cisco VIC MLOM Interface Card     159
    Cisco UCS 5108 Blade Chassis     159
HyperFlex Performance Benchmarks     160
Integration with UCS     162
    Logical Network Design     162
    Service Templates and Profiles     164
    vNIC Templates     166
    HyperFlex Integration with External Storage     167
Cisco’s HX Data Platform     168
    HX Data Platform Controller     169
    HyperFlex in VMware ESXi Environment     170
    HyperFlex in Hyper-V Environment     171
    Docker Containers Support and Volume Driver     172
    HyperFlex Data Distribution     174
    Details of Read and Write Operations     181
Advanced Data Services     187
    Deduplication and Compression     187
    Snapshots     188
    Cloning     189
    Asynchronous Native Replication for DR with Remote Clusters     189
    Synchronous Native Replication for DR with Stretched Clusters     190
    Integration with Third-Party Backup Tools     191
    HyperFlex Security     192
Chapter 10  Deploying, Provisioning, and Managing HyperFlex     197
Installation Phase     197
HyperFlex Workload Profiler     199
HyperFlex Sizer     199
Management Provisioning and Monitoring     199
    Cisco HyperFlex Connect HTML5 Management     200
    VMware vSphere Management Plug-In     203
    Cisco Intersight     204
Chapter 11  HyperFlex Workload Optimization and Efficiency     211
Enterprise Workload Issues     211
HyperFlex with Cisco Tetration     212
    Data Collection     214
    Tetration Analytics Cluster     214
    Open Access     215
    Using the Data     215
Cisco Workload Optimizer     216
Cisco AppDynamics     217

PART V:  ALTERNATIVE HCI IMPLEMENTATIONS     221
Chapter 12  VMware vSAN     223
vSAN Physical Components     224
vSAN Hyperconvergence Software     225
    The Object File System     226
    vSAN Datastore     228
    vSAN Storage Policies     228
    Caching     232
    I/O Operation Details     232
vSAN Advanced Functionality     233
    Data Integrity     234
    Data Encryption     234
    Deduplication and Compression     235
    Erasure Coding     236
    Snapshots     236
    Cloning     236
    vSAN Replication for Disaster Recovery via Stretched Clusters     238
    vSAN Backup for Disaster Recovery     241
Integration with Legacy SAN and NAS     243
    vSAN iSCSI Target     243
    vSAN and VVols     243
    SMB and NFS Support     244
Persistent Storage for Containers     244
vSAN Management     244
    Graphical Interfaces     244
    Ease of Installation     245
    Cloud-Connected Health Checks     245
    Performance Diagnostics     245
    VMware Update Manager     245
    vSAN vRealize Operations and Log Insight     245
Thoughts on vSAN Versus HyperFlex     246
    Hardware Comparison     247
    Scaling Up     247
    vSAN In-Kernel Versus Controller-Based Solutions     248
    Distributed Versus Not-So-Distributed File System     249
    One-to-One Versus Many-to-Many Rebuild     250
    Implementations of Compute-Only Nodes     250
    Advanced Data Services     251
    Management Software     252
    Networking     252
Chapter 13  Nutanix Enterprise Cloud Platform     255
Nutanix Enterprise Cloud Platform     256
ECP Hyperconvergence Software     257
    Distributed Storage Fabric     257
    Nutanix Cluster Components     258
    Physical Drive Breakdown     260
I/O Path     261
    Write I/O     261
    Read I/O     262
Data Protection     262
    Metadata     263
    Availability Domains     263
    Data Path Resiliency     264
Nutanix Advanced Functionality     264
    Deduplication     264
    Data Compression     265
    Erasure Coding     266
    Disk Balancing     266
    Storage Tiering     267
Snapshots and Clones     268
    Shadow Clones     269
    Era Database Services     269
    Backup and Restore, Replication, and Disaster Recovery     270
Metro Availability: Stretch Clustering     271
Data At Rest Encryption     272
Nutanix Acropolis Block Services     272
Nutanix Acropolis File Services     273
Support for Hyper-V     274
Docker Containers     275
Provisioning, Managing, and Monitoring     275
    Infrastructure Management     276
    Operational Insight     277
    Nutanix Tools     278
    Calm Orchestration Tool     278
The Nutanix Competitive Landscape     279
    Hardware Comparison     280
    Distributed Architecture     281
    Log-Structured Versus Write-in-Place File System     282
    Data Tiering     282
    Deduplication     283
    Data Locality     285
Chapter 14  Open Source–Compute and Storage     289
OpenStack     290
Nova     294
Cinder Block Storage     296
Swift     297
    Proxy Server     298
Ceph     300

PART VI:  HYPERCONVERGED NETWORKING     305
Chapter 15  Software-Defined Networking and Open Source     307
The SDN Background     308
The Overlay and Microsegmentation Edge     309
    Host-Based Networking     310
    Switch-Based Networking     312
The Switching Fabric     313
The Underlay Network     315
The Overlay Network     315
Microsegmentation in the Data Center     319
Networking Open Source Initiatives     320
    Neutron     320
    OVS Architecture     322
OVN–The Open Source SDN     324
    Open vSwitch     325
    OVN     326
State of Vendors with Open Source     331
Chapter 16  VMware NSX     335
Setting and Enforcing Policies in NSX     336
    Security Groups     336
    Security Policy     337
    Policy Enforcement     338
The NSX Manager and Controller Cluster     339
    NSX Manager     339
    The NSX Controller Cluster     340
Enhancements for vDS     341
Flooding Avoidance     342
NSX L2 Switching and L3 Routing     343
    NSX L2 Switching     343
    NSX IP Routing     343
Handling of Multidestination Traffic     346
Chapter 17  Application-Centric Infrastructure     351
Cisco Application-Centric Infrastructure     352
ACI Microsegmentation Constructs     353
    The Endpoint Groups     353
    Application Network Profile     355
    Service Graphs     358
    ACI Tetration Model     360
Cisco Application Policy Infrastructure Controller     360
ACI Domains     362
    Virtual Machine Manager Domain     362
    Physical and External Domains     364
The ACI Fabric Switching and Routing Constructs     365
    Tenant     366
    VRF     366
    Bridge Domain     366
    EPG     366
Virtual and Physical Connectivity to the ACI Fabric     367
    Virtual Connectivity to the Fabric     367
    Physical Connectivity to the Fabric     368
The ACI Switching and Routing Terminology     369
The ACI Underlay Network     371
    Handling External Routes     372
    ACI Fabric Load Balancing     373
The ACI Overlay and VXLAN     373
    The VXLAN Instance ID     376
    L2 Switching in the Overlay     378
    L3 Switching/Routing in the Overlay     380
Multicast in the Overlay Versus Multicast in the Underlay     383
ACI Multi-PoD     383
ACI Multi-Site     384
ACI Anywhere     386
High-Level Comparison Between ACI and NSX     386
    Policy Setting     387
    Policy Enforcement     388
    Performance Requirement for VXLAN     388
    Control Plane     389
    Performance of Data Forwarding     390
    Automation and Visibility in the Fabric     390
    Networking Learning Curve     391

PART VII:  PUBLIC, PRIVATE, HYBRID, AND MULTICLOUD     393
Chapter 18  The Public Cloud     395
The Cloud Services     395
    Infrastructure as a Service     396
    Platform as a Service     397
    Software as a Service     397
Amazon Web Services     398
    AWS Global Infrastructure with Regions and Availability Zones     399
    Networking     401
    Storage     404
Launching Multitier Applications in AWS     409
    Compute Instances     409
    Amazon Machine Images     410
    Security Groups     410
    Identity and Access Management     411
    Launching an EC2 Instance     412
    Cloud Monitoring     416
Cloud Automation     416
    Infrastructure as a Code     417
    Software Development Kits     420
Chapter 19  The Private Cloud     423
What Is a Private Cloud?     423
    Convergence and Hyperconvergence     425
    Automation and Orchestration     425
Cisco UCS Director     427
    UCS Director Policies     427
    Virtual Data Center     429
    Orchestration Concepts     430
    Catalogs     431
Integration Between UCSD and HyperFlex     431
    UCSD Interfaces     433
    APIs and Infrastructure as a Code     434
Chapter 20  Hybrid Cloud and Multicloud     439
Why Hybrid Cloud?     440
Why Multicloud?     442
Cisco CloudCenter     446
Looking Ahead     450
Glossary     451
Index     475

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