Software seizes power – Computable

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It was in the past, mainly driven by hardware. In the hardware layer was simply placed the intelligence and the software needed but ensure that it was compatible with the hardware chains of an IT infrastructure. That time has now passed. King Hardware has been hit on age and toppled from his throne by Emperor Software

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The transition from hardware to software-driven IT-driven it is a logical consequence of the accelerating adoption of the cloud. Driven software, also called software defined in the coming years will end up in the top ten buzzwords. After this cloud is a hype to be. A logical consequence, since both are indisputably linked. Without the flexibility of software you never come naturally to these beautiful clouds.

In recent years, we see that the ownership has moved from IT to the business. Organizations innovate grown so fast that it can maintain this but difficult. It is driven to maintain the infrastructure at the lowest possible cost. The business has its focus on compliance and time-to-market approach. Where the business is shifting to an IT-as-a-service (ITaaS) model, it has to do with development of new roles where automation, orchestration, service levels and on-demand become more important. Time for a change. Time for Software

What is it exactly

In a software defined data center (sddc) is the entire infrastructure is based on software. But what does this mean exactly? Software Defined ensures that all hardware and technology from one central management and control layer is transparent, can be customized and managed. Everything is a logical whole.

It does to software defined not matter where you get from your hardware. This course provides additional flexibility and ensures that the well-known hardware vendor lock-in ‘is disappearing. However, we must not forget that our data finally lands on hardware. In a sense, we have a platform here where we simply create pursue a different discussion about hardware

What is already all software defined

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For over a decade we virtualize datacenter servers. Server virtualization is a software layer, the hypervisor, placed between the physical server and operating system. This aims to improve the efficiency, flexibility, and the management of the server resources. Until recently, virtualization confined to servers. Meanwhile includes network and storage virtualization to the software layer. These layers together form the software defined data center (sddc)

Software Defined Storage

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Storage virtualization makes it possible to move virtual machines to different geographic locations with little or no interruption. If a problem occurs in one location, these virtual machines can fully automatically or moved by a storage administrator. Software defined storage (SDS) has the potential to bring the availability to another level by being ever more resistant to failures or disasters.

Today, storage virtualization has become a new standard within data center environments. Storage on commodity servers, which is approached from one logical management stack. Or software defined storage in which a virtualization layer on the existing storage infrastructure is applied. So that the management of traditional storage silos decreases and potential migration issues are not addressed, as the “storage boxes” with little to no effort can be replaced.

Software defined networking

Network virtualization has been available for many years. With virtual LANs (VLANs) workloads are segmented by business unit, application type, data sensitivity and performance characteristics. Network management was always complex and often not flexible and dynamic enough.

Software defined networking (SDN) brings virtualization layer over all physical servers. Here again, as with all software defined storage acting as one logical entity. This allows you to stick together and network ports bandwidth quickly and flexibly scale up or down. Migrations are so much easier because you intelligence frontier in the software layer rather than in the hardware layer

From ‘die-hard’ softie and to what now

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What will the future bring? It is always difficult to estimate. Unfortunately, we can not see into the future and we have only films over a glass sphere. We expect Software Defined to play an increasing role. This is mostly driven by the adoption of the cloud. More and more companies want to see the characteristics of cloud in their own IT environment.

Flexibility, scalability, insight, and cost dynamics are becoming increasingly important for organizations. But how do you do this now well? You can do this in a ‘big bang’ scenario. Ideal for new (application) environments. Also applies a phased approach well. Choose where, how and on what scale you start has occasionally also its advantages. It must especially innovate!

Roy Mikes, senior partner systems engineer at EMC

(This contribution is written in collaboration with Computable expert Ruud Mulder)

Who is Roy Mikes

Roy Mikes has since 2014 worked at EMC and has more than fifteen years of extensive knowledge and experience in IT with a focus on virtualization, storage and cloud architectures. From his role as senior partner systems engineer his focus on Technical Sales Enablement and he is responsible for pre-sales activities and go-to-market strategies within the channel. Mikes strives for the most loyal and self-EMC Partner SE community in the industry.