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Ensuring Compliance in IaaS: Addressing Regulatory Requirements in Cloud

Dnyanada Wani | May 3, 2023 | 392 views | Read Time : 06:23 min

Ensuring Compliance in IaaS: Addressing Regulatory
Stay ahead of the curve and navigate the complex landscape of regulatory obligations to safeguard data in cloud. Explores the challenges of maintaining compliance and strategies for risk mitigation.

Contents
1. Introduction
2. 3 Essential Regulatory Requirements
3. Challenges in Ensuring Compliance in Infrastructure as a Service in Cloud Computing 4. Strategies for Addressing Compliance Challenges in IaaS
5. Conclusion


1. Introduction


Ensuring Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) compliance in security is crucial for organizations to meet regulatory requirements and avoid potential legal and financial consequences. However, several challenges must be addressed before and after migration to the cloud. This article provides an overview of the regulatory requirements in cloud computing, explores the challenges faced in ensuring compliance in IaaS, a cloud implementation service and provides strategies for addressing these challenges to ensure a successful cloud migration.


2. 3 Essential Regulatory Requirements


When adopting cloud infrastructure as a service, organizations must comply with regulatory requirements before, during, and after migration to the cloud. This ensures avoiding the challenges, firms may face later and suggest solutions if they do so.


2.1 Before migration:


Organizations must identify the relevant regulations that apply to their industry and geographic location. This includes: Data Protection Laws, Industry-Specific Regulations, and International Laws.


2.2. During migration:


Organizations must ensure that they meet regulatory requirements while transferring data and applications to the cloud. This involves: Ensuring proper access management, data encryption, and data residency requirements.


2.3. After migration:


Organizations must continue to meet regulatory requirements through ongoing monitoring and reporting. This includes: Regularly reviewing and updating security measures, ensuring proper data protection, and complying with audit and reporting requirements.


3. Challenges in Ensuring Compliance in Infrastructureas a Service in Cloud Computing


3.1. Shared Responsibility Model


The lack of control over the infrastructure in IaaS cloud computing is caused by the shared responsibility model of IaaS, where the cloud service provider is responsible for the IaaS security while the customer is responsible for securing the data and applications they store and run in the cloud. According to a survey, 22.8% of respondents cited the lack of control over infrastructure as a top concern for cloud security. (Source: Cloud Security Alliance)


3.2. Data Breach


Data breaches have serious consequences for businesses, including legal and financial penalties, damage to their reputation, and the loss of customer trust. The location of data and the regulations governing its storage and processing create challenges for businesses operating in multiple jurisdictions. The global average total cost of a data breach increased by USD 0.11 million to USD 4.35 million in 2022, the highest it's been in the history of this report. The increase from USD 4.24 million in the 2021 report to USD 4.35 million in the 2022 report represents a 2.6% increase. (Source: IBM)


3.3. Access Mismanagement


Insider threats, where authorized users abuse their access privileges, can be a significant challenge for access management in IaaS. This includes the intentional or accidental misuse of credentials or non-protected infrastructure and the theft or loss of devices containing sensitive data. The 2020 data breach investigations report found that over 80% of data breaches were caused by compromised credentials or human error, highlighting the importance of effective access management. (Source: Verizon)


3.4. Audit and Monitoring Challenges


Large volumes of alerts overwhelm security teams, leading to fatigue and missed alerts, which result in non-compliance or security incidents going unnoticed. Limited resources may also make it challenging to effectively monitor and audit infrastructure as a service cloud environment, including the implementation and maintenance of monitoring tools.


4. Strategies for Addressing Compliance Challenges in IaaS


4.1. Risk Management and Assessment


Risk Assessment and Management includes conducting a risk assessment, including assessing risks related to data security, access controls, and regulatory compliance. It also involves implementing risk mitigation measures to address identified risks, like additional security measures or access controls such as encryption or multi-factor authentication.


4.2. Encryption and Collaboration with Cloud Service Providers


Encryption can be implemented at the application, database, or file system level, depending on the specific needs of the business. In addition, businesses should establish clear service level agreements with their cloud service provider related to data protection. This includes requirements for data security, access controls, and backup and recovery processes.


4.3. Contractual Agreements


The agreement should also establish audit and compliance requirements, including regular assessments of access management controls and policies. Using contractual agreements, organizations help ensure that they are clearly defined and that the cloud service provider is held accountable for implementing effective access management controls and policies.


4.4. Compliance Monitoring and Reporting


Monitoring and Reporting involves setting up automated monitoring and reporting mechanisms that track compliance with relevant regulations and standards and generate reports. They should also leverage technologies such as intrusion detection and prevention systems, security information and event management (SIEM) tools, and log analysis tools to collect, analyze, and report on security events in real time.


5. Conclusion


In accordance with the increasing prevalence of data breaches and the growing complexity of regulatory requirements, maintaining a secure and compliant cloud environment will be crucial for businesses to build trust with customers and avoid legal and financial risks. Addressing these requirements, the cloud helps companies maintain data privacy, avoid legal risks, and build customer trust. Organizations create a secure and compliant cloud environment that meets their needs by overcoming challenges and implementing best practices, working closely with cloud service providers. Ultimately, by prioritizing compliance and investing in the necessary resources and expertise, businesses can navigate these challenges and unlock the full potential of the cloud with confidence.

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Mastering Infrastructure: Hyperconvergence Courses and Certifications

Article | July 11, 2022

Unlock Courses and HCI certifications focused on hyperconvergence providing individuals with the knowledge and skills necessary to design, deploy, and manage these advanced infrastructure solutions. Hyperconvergence has become essential for professionals and beginners seeking to stay ahead in their careers and grow in infstructure sector. Hyperconvergence courses and certifications offer valuable opportunities to enhance knowledge and skills in this transformative technology. In this article, explore the significance of hyperconvergence courses and certifications, and how they enable professionals to become experts in designing, implementing, and managing hyperconverged infrastructure solutions. 1. Cloud Infrastructure and Services Version 4.0 (DCA-CIS) The Dell Technologies Proven Professional Cloud Infrastructure and Services Associate (DCA-CIS) certification is an associate level certification designed to provide participants with a comprehensive understanding of the technologies, processes, and mechanisms required to build cloud infrastructure. By following a cloud computing reference model, participants can make informed decisions when building cloud infrastructure and prepare for advanced topics in cloud solutions. The certification involves completing the recommended training and passing the DEA-2TT4 exam. Exam retake policies are in place, and exam security measures ensure the integrity and validity of certifications. Candidates receive provisional exam score reports immediately, with final scores available in their CertTracker accounts after a statistical analysis. This certification equips professionals with the necessary expertise to excel in cloud infrastructure and services. 2. DCS-SA: Systems Administrator, VxRail The Specialist – Systems Administrator, VxRail Version 2.0 (DCS-SA) certification focuses on individuals wanting to validate their expertise in effectively administering VxRail systems. VxRail clusters provide hyper-converged solutions that simplify IT operations and reduce business operational costs. This HCI certification introduces participants to the VxRail product, including its hardware and software components within a VxRail cluster. Key topics covered include cluster management, provisioning, monitoring, expansion, REST API usage, and standard maintenance activities. To attain this certification, individuals must acquire a prescribed Associate Level Certification, complete recommended training options, and pass the DES-6332 exam. This certification empowers professionals to administer VxRail systems and optimize data center operations efficiently. 3. Certified and Supported SAP HANA Hardware One among HCI certification courses, the Certified and Supported SAP HANA Hardware program provides a directory of hardware options powered by SAP HANA, accelerating implementation processes. The directory includes certified appliances, enterprise storage solutions, IaaS platforms, Hyper-Converged Infrastructure (HCI) Solutions, supported intel systems, and supported power systems. These hardware options have undergone testing by hardware partners in collaboration with SAP LinuxLab and are supported for SAP HANA certification. Valid certifications are required at purchase, and support is provided until the end of maintenance. SAP SE delivers the directory for informational purposes, and improvements or corrections may be made at their discretion. 4. Google Cloud Fundamentals: Core Infrastructure Google Cloud Fundamentals: Core Infrastructure is a comprehensive course introducing essential concepts and terminology for working with Google Cloud. It provides an overview of Google Cloud's computing and storage services and resource as well as policy management tools. Through videos and hands-on labs, learners will gain the knowledge and skills to interact with Google Cloud services, choose and deploy applications using App Engine, Google Kubernetes Engine, and Compute Engine, and utilize various storage options such as cloud storage, Cloud SQL, Cloud Bigtable, and Firestore. This beginner-level course is part of multiple specialization and professional certificate programs, including networking in Google Cloud and developing applications with Google Cloud. Upon completion, learners will receive a shareable certificate. The course is offered by Google Cloud, a trusted provider of innovative cloud technologies designed for security, reliability, and scalability. 5. Infrastructure and Application Modernization with Google Cloud The ‘Modernizing Legacy Systems and Infrastructure with Google Cloud’ course addresses the challenges faced by businesses with outdated IT infrastructure and explores how cloud technology can enable modernization. It covers various computing options available in the cloud and their benefits, as well as application modernization and API management. The course highlights Google Cloud solutions like Compute Engine, App Engine, and Apigee that assist in system development and management. By completing this beginner-level course, learners will understand the benefits of infrastructure and app modernization using cloud technology, the distinctions between virtual machines, containers, and Kubernetes, and how Google Cloud solutions support app modernization and simplify API management. The course is offered by Google Cloud, a leading provider of cloud technologies designed for security, reliability, and scalability. Upon completion, learners will receive a shareable certificate. 6. Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Foundations One of the HCI certification courses, the ‘OCI Foundations Course’ is designed to prepare learners for the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Foundations Associate Certification. The course provides an introduction to the OCI platform and covers core topics such as compute, storage, networking, identity, databases, and security. By completing this course, learners will gain knowledge and skills in architecting solutions, understanding autonomous database concepts, and working with networking and observability tools. The course is offered by Oracle, a leading provider of integrated application suites and secure cloud infrastructure. Learners will have access to flexible deadlines and will receive a shareable certificate upon completion. Oracle's partnership with Coursera aims to increase accessibility to cloud skills training and empower individuals and enterprises to gain expertise in Oracle Cloud solutions. 7. Designing Cisco Data Center Infrastructure (DCID) The 'Designing Cisco Data Center Infrastructure (DCID) v7.0' training is designed to help learners master the design and deployment options for Cisco data center solutions. The course covers various aspects of data center infrastructure, including network, compute, virtualization, storage area networks, automation, and security. Participants will learn design practices for Cisco Unified Computing System, network management technologies, and various Cisco data center solutions. The training provides both theoretical content and design-oriented case studies through activities. By completing this training, learners can earn 40 Continuing Education credits and prepare for the 300-610 Designing Cisco Data Center Infrastructure (DCID) exam. This certification equips professionals with the knowledge and skills necessary to design scalable and reliable data center environments using Cisco technologies, making them eligible for professional-level job roles in enterprise-class data centers. Prerequisites for this training include foundational knowledge in data center networking, storage, virtualization, and Cisco UCS. Final Thoughts Mastering infrastructure in the realm of hyperconvergence is essential for IT professionals seeking to excel in their careers and drive successful deployments. Courses and HCI certifications focused on hyperconvergence provide individuals with the knowledge and skills necessary to design, deploy, and manage these infrastructure modernization solutions. By acquiring these credentials, professionals can validate their expertise, stay up-to-date with industry best practices, and position themselves as valuable assets in the rapidly evolving landscape of IT infrastructure. These courses and certifications offer IT professionals the opportunity to master the intricacies of this transformative infrastructure approach. By investing in these educational resources, individuals can enhance their skill set, broaden their career prospects, and contribute to the successful implementation and management of hyperconverged infrastructure solutions.

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Hyper-Converged Infrastructure, Application Infrastructure

Top Books to Consider for Adoption of Hyper-Converged Infrastructure

Article | July 19, 2023

Discover the list of best hyperconverged infrastructure books and gain knowledge on the latest advancements in HCI and process design & explore areas for HCI improvements in the infrastructure domain. This comprehensive guide presents a curated selection of top books to consider for adopting Hyper-Converged Infrastructure (HCI) in IT infrastructure. Organizations increasingly recognize HCI as a transformative solution that streamlines data center management, enhances scalability, and optimizes resource utilization. To navigate this technology effectively, businesses must equip themselves with the proper knowledge and insights from authoritative sources. The carefully compiled list of books featured here offers valuable information, providing IT professionals and decision-makers with a solid foundation to make informed choices and successfully implement HCI within their IT infrastructure. 1. Hyperconverged Infrastructure Data Centers: Demystifying HCI Author: Sam Halabi Hyperconverged Infrastructure Data Centers: Demystifying HCI is a highly informative and authoritative guide that provides a clear understanding of Hyperconverged Infrastructure technology. Written for technical professionals and IT managers, the book offers a vendor-neutral perspective on HCI, covering its use cases and comparing leading hyperconvergence solutions in the market. Halabi effectively explains HCI's benefits, combining storage, computing, and networking into a single system, offering simplicity, scalability, and flexibility without sacrificing control. The book explores computing, virtualization, and software-defined storage advancements, highlighting the improvements they bring to data center designs. The author guides readers through the HCI lifecycle, including evaluation, planning, implementation, and management. The book also delves into HCI applications such as DevOps, virtual desktops, and disaster recovery, presenting a new application deployment and management model. 2. Hyperconverged Infrastructure: A Complete Guide Author: The Art of Service - Hyperconverged Infrastructure Publishing This book is a valuable resource for individuals and organizations seeking to understand and leverage the potential of hyperconverged infrastructure. This guide takes a question-based approach, empowering readers to uncover challenges and develop effective solutions. The guide provides a comprehensive self-assessment tool covering seven core HCI maturity levels. With updated case-based questions, readers can diagnose their HCI projects, initiatives, organizations, and processes based on accepted diagnostic standards and practices. It helps readers identify areas where HCI improvements can be made and provides a clear picture of the attention those areas require, enabling them to lead their organizations effectively and address what truly matters. It empowers readers to make their HCI investments work better by guiding them through asking the right questions and seeking innovative perspectives. 3. Hyperconverged Infrastructure: Practical Tools for Self-Assessment Author: Gerardus Blokdyk The book is a valuable resource for individuals in diverse business roles seeking to optimize their Hyperconverged infrastructure investments. This comprehensive guide emphasizes the integration of HCI with other business initiatives and the monitoring of HCI activities' effectiveness. The guide emphasizes the use of HCI data and information to support organizational decision-making and foster innovation. One of the strengths of this guide lies in its focus on leveraging HCI data and information for organizational decision-making and innovation. The self-assessment tool helps identify areas for improvement, with case-based questions organized into seven core areas of process design. Nevertheless, this guide equips readers with the necessary tools and insights to maximize the value of HCI investments, align with business objectives, and foster a culture of continuous improvement and innovation. 4. Hyper-converged Infrastructure Standard Requirements Author: Gerardus Blokdyk This book offers individuals various business roles considering or exploring hyper-converged infrastructure implementation. This comprehensive guide emphasizes the importance of asking the right questions and understanding the challenges and hyperconvergence solutions related to HCI. It provides a set of organized case-based questions, enabling readers to diagnose their HCI projects and identify areas for improvement. The self-assessment tool helps organizations implement evidence-based best practices and integrate the latest advancements in HCI and process design. With the Hyper-Converged Infrastructure Scorecard, readers can gain a clear understanding of the areas that require attention and prioritize their efforts accordingly. The digital components accompanying the book provide additional resources to support organizations in their HCI journey. 5. The Gorilla Guide to Hyperconverged Infrastructure Implementation Strategies Author: Scott D. Lowe The Gorilla Guide to Hyperconverged Infrastructure Implementation Strategies is a book designed for strategic planners seeking innovative segmentation methods. This book offers individuals various business roles exploring HCI implementation. It starts with the architecture of hyper-converged architecture, followed by Exploring the Intersection of Software-Defined Networking and HCI. It delved into addressing the pain points and storage performance in HCI, with relevant use cases for practical examples. It covers data-center consolidation, test and development environments, and HCI economics, for its impact on the IT budget. It helps organizations implement evidence-based best practices and integrate the latest advancements in HCI and process design. 6. The 2022 Report on Hyper-Converged Infrastructure: World Market Segmentation by City Author: Prof Philip M. Parker The '2022 Report on Hyper-Converged Infrastructure: World Market Segmentation by City' is a book designed for global strategic planners seeking innovative segmentation methods. This report covers over 2,000 cities across 200 countries, providing insights into the estimated market size (latent demand) of hyper-converged infrastructure in each significant city worldwide. The report ranks these cities based on their market size relative to their respective countries, geographic regions, and global market. The sales of hyper-converged infrastructure encompass a wide range of products, including hypervisors such as VMware, KVM, and Hyper-V, used for various purposes like virtual desktop infrastructure, server virtualization, data protection, and cloud solutions. Prominent companies in the industry, including VMware, Nutanix, Maxta, and others are covered in the report. The information presented is gathered from public sources, including news, press releases, and industry players, and is reported in U.S. dollars without adjusting for inflation. 7. The 2020-2025 World Outlook for Hyper-Converged Infrastructure Author: Prof Philip M. Parker The World Outlook for Hyper-Converged Infrastructure study comprehensively analyzes the global market across more than 190 countries. It offers estimates of the latent demand, or potential industry earnings (P.I.E.), for each country, expressed in millions of U.S. dollars. The report also presents the country's share as a percentage of the region and the global market, enabling readers to assess its relative position. The study generates latent demand estimates using econometric models that project economic dynamics within and between countries. While it does not delve into specific market players or product details, it takes a strategic, long-term perspective, disregarding short-term cyclical fluctuations and focusing on aggregated trends. A multi-stage methodology, often taught in graduate business courses on international strategic planning, was employed to formulate these estimates. Wrap-up The adoption of Hyper-Converged Infrastructure represents a significant opportunity for businesses to revolutionize their IT infrastructure, improve operational efficiency, and unlock new levels of agility and scalability. The books recommended in this listicle serve as indispensable resources for IT professionals and decision-makers seeking to embark on an HCI journey. By investing in the knowledge imparted by these authoritative texts, you empower yourself and your organization to leverage the full potential of HCI and stay at the forefront of technological advancements. Remember, success in adopting HCI lies not only in the technology itself but also in the understanding and expertise gained through continuous learning and exploration.

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Leading HCI System Integrators and Consultants for Enhanced User Experience

Article | July 11, 2023

The expertise of leading HCI firms shape the future of IT operations. This Hyperconverged Infrastructure companies list, will provide Hyperconverged solutions for growth and better services. In IT infrastructure, organizations constantly seek ways to streamline operations, improve efficiency, and enhance user experience. HCI is a game-changing solution combining storage, computing, and networking into a single, integrated system. To leverage the full potential of HCI and ensure enhanced user experience, leading HCI system integrators and consultants have become invaluable partners for businesses across various sectors. In this listicle, delve into the role of leading HCI system integrators and consultants in enhancing user experience, the key contributions, and the significance of the services of the top hyperconverged infrastructure companies. 1. Precision Computer Services Precision Computer Services (PCS) is a trusted provider of practical and proven technology solutions for businesses. With over 30 years of experience, PCS helps clients overcome complex IT challenges and achieve their strategic goals. It offers expertise in data center upgrades when businesses struggle to manage workloads, need automation and orchestration for virtual infrastructure, aims to reduce physical data center footprint or require guidance on RPO and RTO strategies. PCS differentiates itself by automating processes, ensuring information accessibility and security, specializing in hybrid cloud models, and allowing client teams to focus on business growth while PCS handles complex IT work. It offers converged and hyperconverged infrastructure, reliable servers, data storage and protection, public and private cloud services, data classification, and backup and disaster recovery solutions. 2. IPDS IPDS empowers businesses to modernize their IT infrastructure, facilitate efficient cloud operations, and capitalize on the capabilities of the modern workforce, by combining cutting-edge technologies with highly skilled engineering talent. The company's website serves to showcase its expertise and offerings. It specializes in Hyper-Converged Infrastructure and Converged Infrastructure solutions. These innovative technologies have become the standard in the IT landscape, enabling organizations to benefit from the advancements in the software-defined data center realm. With seamless connectivity to cloud providers, HCI allows businesses to establish hybrid cloud environments. By leveraging industry-leading technologies and harnessing the potential of a modern workforce, IPDS enables clients to stay at the forefront of innovation and achieve their strategic objectives. 3. Climb Channel Solutions Climb Channel Solutions, a subsidiary of Climb Global Solutions, Inc, is a leading global specialty technology distributor specializing in emerging and business-critical technologies. One of the critical solutions offered by Climb is Hyper-Converged Infrastructure, which combines computing resources, storage, and networking to minimize compatibility issues and reduce the total cost of ownership for businesses. Its HCI solution vendors provide software-defined storage, networking, virtualization, and disaster recovery solutions, enabling organizations to optimize their infrastructure and achieve high availability. With a global presence and a customer base that spans thousands of partners worldwide, Climb Channel Solutions has established itself as a trusted distribution partner. 4. Nexenta by DDN DDN provides optimized high-performance computing (HPC) storage solutions for research and innovation. By offering scalable and efficient HPC storage solutions, DDN empowers businesses to streamline their data pipelines and achieve enhanced performance at scale. DDN's extensive experience in supporting advanced computing environments enables them to accelerate application performance, reduce operational costs, accommodate data growth, and deliver services through centralized data management. Their solutions, such as EXAScaler, provide efficient building blocks that match storage performance and scalability requirements while reducing administration overhead and complexity. With features like data placement optimization, encryption, and secure multi-tenancy, DDN ensures rock-solid security and efficient storage management. With real-time partnership and Lustre open-source support, DDN enables organizations to access subject matter expertise and effectively manage their entire HPC data lifecycle. 5. StorMagic SvSAN is a highly efficient and cost-effective hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) solution designed specifically for manufacturing. To ensure maximum uptime and eliminate single points of failure, SvSAN enables manufacturers of all sizes to run applications smoothly and maintain productivity. By deploying just two x86 servers at each location, manufacturers can leverage SvSAN's virtual SAN capabilities to minimize planned and unplanned downtime. This solution provides 100% uptime, making it an ideal choice for factories and offices where operational continuity is critical. Converging compute and storage into a lightweight commodity server footprint eliminates physical SANs, resulting in significant cost savings. StorMagic, as a company, is committed to solving edge data challenges. Their storage and HCI security products, including SvSAN and SvKMS (encryption key manager), cater to organizations with diverse site requirements. 6. Fabulix Fabulix, a Hyperconverged Infrastructure Platform, offers a comprehensive solution for autonomous infrastructure, empowering organizations to break free from the complexities of legacy IT and monolithic data centers. It is an easily deployable and infinitely scalable hyperconverged infrastructure platform that combines compute, storage, network, and virtualization resources into a single, streamlined system. By integrating software and hardware, Fabulix creates or extends private cloud and hybrid environments within local data centers, providing organizations with the benefits of autonomous infrastructure and facilitating the transition from legacy operations to cloud outcomes. Its networking capabilities automate workload deployments without requiring configuration changes on physical networks. Fabulix is designed to be an affordable alternative for infrastructure requirements. It provides integrated protection for data and applications through features like shielded VMs, network micro-segmentation, and native encryption. 7. VZURE Solutions VZURE Solutions empowers organizations to efficiently integrate and manage their converged or hyperconverged infrastructures. By leveraging their services, businesses can experience a range of benefits, including lower operating costs by consolidating storage and network management infrastructure teams, reduced labor costs through automated data center management, increased utilization, streamlined cabling, and fewer network connections to drive costs down, and enhanced agility through virtualized storage networking and centralized management. As a Cisco Preferred Solution Partner, VZURE offers a comprehensive suite of consultation, training, and support services for various aspects of cloud computing, networking, storage, and more. They provide the necessary expertise and resources to help businesses build, support, and manage efficient converged or hyperconverged infrastructures. Final thoughts The significance of leading Hyperconverged Infrastructure system integrators and consultants in enhancing user experience cannot be overstated in today's technology-driven world. With their expertise in designing and implementing optimized HCI solutions, these companies enable businesses to leverage the power of integrated storage, computing, and networking, resulting in streamlined operations, improved performance, and enhanced user satisfaction. Their deep understanding of HCI technologies and ability to align solutions with specific business requirements helps organizations achieve seamless and efficient IT infrastructure, ultimately leading to enhanced user experiences. As the demand for scalable and flexible infrastructure solutions continues to grow, the expertise of HCI platforms, leading HCI system integrators and consultants will play a crucial role in shaping the future of IT operations and ensuring that user experience remains at the forefront of technological advancements.

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Hyper-Converged Infrastructure, Windows Systems and Network

Choosing the Right Tools for Hyper-Converged Management and Orchestration

Article | July 11, 2023

Streamlining operations and maximizing efficiency: Choose the right tools for managing and orchestrating hyper-converged infrastructure to unlock its full potential with Hyperconverged solutions. Managing and orchestrating hyper-converged infrastructure (HCI) is critical to modern IT operations. With the growing adoption of HCI solutions, choosing the right tools for management and orchestration is essential for organizations to optimize their infrastructure and ensure seamless operations. In this article, we will delve into the factors to consider when selecting Hyper-Converged tools for management and orchestration and explore some of the top options available in the market. 1. Symcloud Orchestrator The Symcloud platform is a webscale solution designed for metal-service automation and orchestration in telecommunications. It enables the automation and management of various network components, including RAN (Radio Access Network), packet core, and MEC (Multi-Access Edge Computing). With Symcloud, businesses can centrally manage large numbers of CNF (Cloud-Native Function) and VNF (Virtual Network function) capable Kubernetes clusters on a single Kubernetes platform. The platform allows for rapid deployment of the entire solution stack in minutes, supporting edge, far edge, and core data centers. Symcloud provides advanced monitoring, planning, and healing capabilities, enabling users to view hardware, software, services, and connectivity dependencies. The architecture of Symcloud Orchestrator combines app-aware storage, virtual networking, and application workflow automation on Kubernetes. Symcloud Storage provides advanced storage and data management capabilities for Kubernetes distributions, seamlessly integrating with native administrative tooling. Symcloud Platform is a Kubernetes infrastructure that supports containers and virtual machines, offering superior performance, features, and flexibility. 2. Morpheus Morpheus Data is a comprehensive hybrid cloud management platform that empowers enterprises to manage and modernize their applications while reducing costs and improving efficiency. With Morpheus, businesses can quickly enable on-premises private clouds, centralize access to public clouds, and orchestrate changes with advanced features like cost analytics, governance policies, and automation. It provides a unified view of virtual machines, clouds, containers, and applications in a single location, regardless of the private or public cloud environment. Morpheus offers responsive support from an expert team and features an extensible design. It helps centralize platforms, create private clouds, manage public clouds, and streamline Kubernetes deployments. This tool also enables compliance assurance through simplified authentication, access controls, policies, and security management. By automating application lifecycles, running workflows, and simplifying day-to-day operations, Morpheus helps modernize applications. The platform optimizes cloud costs by inventorying existing resources, right-sizing them, tracking cloud spending, and providing centralized visibility. 3. The Kubernetes Database-as-a-Service Platform Portworx Data Services is a Kubernetes Database-as-a-Service (DBaaS) platform that offers a single solution for deploying, operating, and managing various data services without being locked into a specific vendor. It simplifies heterogeneous databases' deployment and day-to-day operations, eliminating the need for specialized expertise. With one click, organizations can deploy enterprise-grade data services with built-in capabilities like backup, restore, high availability, data recovery, security, capacity management, and migration. The platform supports a broad catalog of data services, including SQL Server, MySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Redis, Elasticsearch, Cassandra, Couchbase, Kafka, Consul, RabbitMQ, and ZooKeeper. Portworx Data Services provides a consistent DBaaS experience on any infrastructure, whether on-premises or in the cloud, enabling seamless migration based on evolving business requirements. 4. DCImanager DCImanager- a platform for managing multivendor IT infrastructure is a comprehensive platform for providing a unified interface to oversee and control all equipment types, including racks, servers, network devices, PDUs, and virtual networks. It is suitable for servers and data centers of any size, including distributed environments. DCImanager eliminates the need for additional tools and associated maintenance costs, allowing users to work seamlessly with equipment from popular vendors. With DCImanager, users can efficiently manage servers remotely, automate maintenance tasks, monitor power consumption, configure network settings, track inventory, visualize racks, and receive timely notifications. With over 16 years of experience, DCImanager is a reliable solution trusted by thousands of companies worldwide, backed by professional support. 5. EasyDCIM EasyDCIM, a cloud-like bare metal server provisioning is a comprehensive and hassle-free data center administration solution that offers an all-in-one platform for managing daily tasks without requiring multiple software tools. It provides mobility, allowing remote management of data centers from any location and device. The system is highly expandable and customizable, allowing users to tailor the functionality to their needs. EasyDCIM excels in automated bare metal and dedicated server provisioning, streamlining the process from ordering to service delivery. It features a standalone system with a fully customizable admin control panel and user portal. The platform includes advanced data center asset lifecycle tracking, automated OS installation, network auto-discovering, and integration with billing solutions. EasyDCIM's modular architecture enables the easy extension and modification of system components. 6. Puppet Puppet-Infrastructure automation and compliance at enterprise scale offers an automation solution that allows businesses to manage and automate complex workflows using reusable blocks of self-healing infrastructure as code. With model-driven and task-based configuration management, organizations can quickly deploy infrastructure to meet their evolving needs at any scale. By automating the entire infrastructure lifecycle, Puppet increases operational efficiency, eliminates silos, reduces response time, and streamlines change management. Puppet's automated policy enforcement ensures continuous compliance and a secure posture, enabling the identification, reporting, and resolution of errors while enforcing the desired state across the infrastructure. Leveraging the vibrant Puppet community, users can benefit from pre-built content and workflows, accelerating their deployment. With deep DevOps and enterprise experience, Puppet is a trusted advisor, assisting the largest enterprise customers in rethinking and redefining their IT management practices. 7. Foreman Foreman is a robust lifecycle management tool designed for system administrators to manage physical and virtual servers efficiently. With Foreman, tasks can be automated, applications can be deployed quickly, and server management becomes proactive. It supports a wide range of providers, enabling hybrid cloud management. The tool includes features such as external node classification, Puppet and Salt configuration monitoring, and comprehensive host monitoring. Its CLI, Hammer, offers easy access to API calls for streamlined data center management. With RBAC and LDAP integration, audits, and a pluggable architecture, Foreman provides a powerful solution for server provisioning, configuration management, and monitoring. Conclusion HCI choosing the right tools for management and orchestration is paramount for organizations seeking to optimize their operations and achieve greater efficiency. Businesses can make informed decisions and select tools that align with their specific needs by considering factors such as scalability, automation capabilities, integration, and vendor support. Whether leveraging vendor-provided solutions or opting for third-party tools, the key is ensuring that the chosen tools enable effective management and orchestration of the HCI environment, allowing organizations to unlock the full potential of their infrastructure and drive business success. As HCI continues to gain prominence, selecting the appropriate Hyper-Converged tools for management and orchestration becomes crucial for organizations aiming to streamline operations and maximize the benefits of their infrastructure investment. By carefully evaluating the available options, considering key factors, and aligning with business requirements, organizations can make informed decisions that optimize their HCI environment and enable them to adapt to the evolving needs of their digital infrastructure.

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Storage Management

Data Center as a Service Is the Way of the Future

Article | July 11, 2022

Unlock Courses and HCI certifications focused on hyperconvergence providing individuals with the knowledge and skills necessary to design, deploy, and manage these advanced infrastructure solutions. Hyperconvergence has become essential for professionals and beginners seeking to stay ahead in their careers and grow in infstructure sector. Hyperconvergence courses and certifications offer valuable opportunities to enhance knowledge and skills in this transformative technology. In this article, explore the significance of hyperconvergence courses and certifications, and how they enable professionals to become experts in designing, implementing, and managing hyperconverged infrastructure solutions. 1. Cloud Infrastructure and Services Version 4.0 (DCA-CIS) The Dell Technologies Proven Professional Cloud Infrastructure and Services Associate (DCA-CIS) certification is an associate level certification designed to provide participants with a comprehensive understanding of the technologies, processes, and mechanisms required to build cloud infrastructure. By following a cloud computing reference model, participants can make informed decisions when building cloud infrastructure and prepare for advanced topics in cloud solutions. The certification involves completing the recommended training and passing the DEA-2TT4 exam. Exam retake policies are in place, and exam security measures ensure the integrity and validity of certifications. Candidates receive provisional exam score reports immediately, with final scores available in their CertTracker accounts after a statistical analysis. This certification equips professionals with the necessary expertise to excel in cloud infrastructure and services. 2. DCS-SA: Systems Administrator, VxRail The Specialist – Systems Administrator, VxRail Version 2.0 (DCS-SA) certification focuses on individuals wanting to validate their expertise in effectively administering VxRail systems. VxRail clusters provide hyper-converged solutions that simplify IT operations and reduce business operational costs. This HCI certification introduces participants to the VxRail product, including its hardware and software components within a VxRail cluster. Key topics covered include cluster management, provisioning, monitoring, expansion, REST API usage, and standard maintenance activities. To attain this certification, individuals must acquire a prescribed Associate Level Certification, complete recommended training options, and pass the DES-6332 exam. This certification empowers professionals to administer VxRail systems and optimize data center operations efficiently. 3. Certified and Supported SAP HANA Hardware One among HCI certification courses, the Certified and Supported SAP HANA Hardware program provides a directory of hardware options powered by SAP HANA, accelerating implementation processes. The directory includes certified appliances, enterprise storage solutions, IaaS platforms, Hyper-Converged Infrastructure (HCI) Solutions, supported intel systems, and supported power systems. These hardware options have undergone testing by hardware partners in collaboration with SAP LinuxLab and are supported for SAP HANA certification. Valid certifications are required at purchase, and support is provided until the end of maintenance. SAP SE delivers the directory for informational purposes, and improvements or corrections may be made at their discretion. 4. Google Cloud Fundamentals: Core Infrastructure Google Cloud Fundamentals: Core Infrastructure is a comprehensive course introducing essential concepts and terminology for working with Google Cloud. It provides an overview of Google Cloud's computing and storage services and resource as well as policy management tools. Through videos and hands-on labs, learners will gain the knowledge and skills to interact with Google Cloud services, choose and deploy applications using App Engine, Google Kubernetes Engine, and Compute Engine, and utilize various storage options such as cloud storage, Cloud SQL, Cloud Bigtable, and Firestore. This beginner-level course is part of multiple specialization and professional certificate programs, including networking in Google Cloud and developing applications with Google Cloud. Upon completion, learners will receive a shareable certificate. The course is offered by Google Cloud, a trusted provider of innovative cloud technologies designed for security, reliability, and scalability. 5. Infrastructure and Application Modernization with Google Cloud The ‘Modernizing Legacy Systems and Infrastructure with Google Cloud’ course addresses the challenges faced by businesses with outdated IT infrastructure and explores how cloud technology can enable modernization. It covers various computing options available in the cloud and their benefits, as well as application modernization and API management. The course highlights Google Cloud solutions like Compute Engine, App Engine, and Apigee that assist in system development and management. By completing this beginner-level course, learners will understand the benefits of infrastructure and app modernization using cloud technology, the distinctions between virtual machines, containers, and Kubernetes, and how Google Cloud solutions support app modernization and simplify API management. The course is offered by Google Cloud, a leading provider of cloud technologies designed for security, reliability, and scalability. Upon completion, learners will receive a shareable certificate. 6. Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Foundations One of the HCI certification courses, the ‘OCI Foundations Course’ is designed to prepare learners for the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Foundations Associate Certification. The course provides an introduction to the OCI platform and covers core topics such as compute, storage, networking, identity, databases, and security. By completing this course, learners will gain knowledge and skills in architecting solutions, understanding autonomous database concepts, and working with networking and observability tools. The course is offered by Oracle, a leading provider of integrated application suites and secure cloud infrastructure. Learners will have access to flexible deadlines and will receive a shareable certificate upon completion. Oracle's partnership with Coursera aims to increase accessibility to cloud skills training and empower individuals and enterprises to gain expertise in Oracle Cloud solutions. 7. Designing Cisco Data Center Infrastructure (DCID) The 'Designing Cisco Data Center Infrastructure (DCID) v7.0' training is designed to help learners master the design and deployment options for Cisco data center solutions. The course covers various aspects of data center infrastructure, including network, compute, virtualization, storage area networks, automation, and security. Participants will learn design practices for Cisco Unified Computing System, network management technologies, and various Cisco data center solutions. The training provides both theoretical content and design-oriented case studies through activities. By completing this training, learners can earn 40 Continuing Education credits and prepare for the 300-610 Designing Cisco Data Center Infrastructure (DCID) exam. This certification equips professionals with the knowledge and skills necessary to design scalable and reliable data center environments using Cisco technologies, making them eligible for professional-level job roles in enterprise-class data centers. Prerequisites for this training include foundational knowledge in data center networking, storage, virtualization, and Cisco UCS. Final Thoughts Mastering infrastructure in the realm of hyperconvergence is essential for IT professionals seeking to excel in their careers and drive successful deployments. Courses and HCI certifications focused on hyperconvergence provide individuals with the knowledge and skills necessary to design, deploy, and manage these infrastructure modernization solutions. By acquiring these credentials, professionals can validate their expertise, stay up-to-date with industry best practices, and position themselves as valuable assets in the rapidly evolving landscape of IT infrastructure. These courses and certifications offer IT professionals the opportunity to master the intricacies of this transformative infrastructure approach. By investing in these educational resources, individuals can enhance their skill set, broaden their career prospects, and contribute to the successful implementation and management of hyperconverged infrastructure solutions.

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Hyper-Converged Infrastructure, Application Infrastructure

Designing an Advanced Data Center for Hyper-Converged Infrastructure

Article | July 19, 2023

Discover the list of best hyperconverged infrastructure books and gain knowledge on the latest advancements in HCI and process design & explore areas for HCI improvements in the infrastructure domain. This comprehensive guide presents a curated selection of top books to consider for adopting Hyper-Converged Infrastructure (HCI) in IT infrastructure. Organizations increasingly recognize HCI as a transformative solution that streamlines data center management, enhances scalability, and optimizes resource utilization. To navigate this technology effectively, businesses must equip themselves with the proper knowledge and insights from authoritative sources. The carefully compiled list of books featured here offers valuable information, providing IT professionals and decision-makers with a solid foundation to make informed choices and successfully implement HCI within their IT infrastructure. 1. Hyperconverged Infrastructure Data Centers: Demystifying HCI Author: Sam Halabi Hyperconverged Infrastructure Data Centers: Demystifying HCI is a highly informative and authoritative guide that provides a clear understanding of Hyperconverged Infrastructure technology. Written for technical professionals and IT managers, the book offers a vendor-neutral perspective on HCI, covering its use cases and comparing leading hyperconvergence solutions in the market. Halabi effectively explains HCI's benefits, combining storage, computing, and networking into a single system, offering simplicity, scalability, and flexibility without sacrificing control. The book explores computing, virtualization, and software-defined storage advancements, highlighting the improvements they bring to data center designs. The author guides readers through the HCI lifecycle, including evaluation, planning, implementation, and management. The book also delves into HCI applications such as DevOps, virtual desktops, and disaster recovery, presenting a new application deployment and management model. 2. Hyperconverged Infrastructure: A Complete Guide Author: The Art of Service - Hyperconverged Infrastructure Publishing This book is a valuable resource for individuals and organizations seeking to understand and leverage the potential of hyperconverged infrastructure. This guide takes a question-based approach, empowering readers to uncover challenges and develop effective solutions. The guide provides a comprehensive self-assessment tool covering seven core HCI maturity levels. With updated case-based questions, readers can diagnose their HCI projects, initiatives, organizations, and processes based on accepted diagnostic standards and practices. It helps readers identify areas where HCI improvements can be made and provides a clear picture of the attention those areas require, enabling them to lead their organizations effectively and address what truly matters. It empowers readers to make their HCI investments work better by guiding them through asking the right questions and seeking innovative perspectives. 3. Hyperconverged Infrastructure: Practical Tools for Self-Assessment Author: Gerardus Blokdyk The book is a valuable resource for individuals in diverse business roles seeking to optimize their Hyperconverged infrastructure investments. This comprehensive guide emphasizes the integration of HCI with other business initiatives and the monitoring of HCI activities' effectiveness. The guide emphasizes the use of HCI data and information to support organizational decision-making and foster innovation. One of the strengths of this guide lies in its focus on leveraging HCI data and information for organizational decision-making and innovation. The self-assessment tool helps identify areas for improvement, with case-based questions organized into seven core areas of process design. Nevertheless, this guide equips readers with the necessary tools and insights to maximize the value of HCI investments, align with business objectives, and foster a culture of continuous improvement and innovation. 4. Hyper-converged Infrastructure Standard Requirements Author: Gerardus Blokdyk This book offers individuals various business roles considering or exploring hyper-converged infrastructure implementation. This comprehensive guide emphasizes the importance of asking the right questions and understanding the challenges and hyperconvergence solutions related to HCI. It provides a set of organized case-based questions, enabling readers to diagnose their HCI projects and identify areas for improvement. The self-assessment tool helps organizations implement evidence-based best practices and integrate the latest advancements in HCI and process design. With the Hyper-Converged Infrastructure Scorecard, readers can gain a clear understanding of the areas that require attention and prioritize their efforts accordingly. The digital components accompanying the book provide additional resources to support organizations in their HCI journey. 5. The Gorilla Guide to Hyperconverged Infrastructure Implementation Strategies Author: Scott D. Lowe The Gorilla Guide to Hyperconverged Infrastructure Implementation Strategies is a book designed for strategic planners seeking innovative segmentation methods. This book offers individuals various business roles exploring HCI implementation. It starts with the architecture of hyper-converged architecture, followed by Exploring the Intersection of Software-Defined Networking and HCI. It delved into addressing the pain points and storage performance in HCI, with relevant use cases for practical examples. It covers data-center consolidation, test and development environments, and HCI economics, for its impact on the IT budget. It helps organizations implement evidence-based best practices and integrate the latest advancements in HCI and process design. 6. The 2022 Report on Hyper-Converged Infrastructure: World Market Segmentation by City Author: Prof Philip M. Parker The '2022 Report on Hyper-Converged Infrastructure: World Market Segmentation by City' is a book designed for global strategic planners seeking innovative segmentation methods. This report covers over 2,000 cities across 200 countries, providing insights into the estimated market size (latent demand) of hyper-converged infrastructure in each significant city worldwide. The report ranks these cities based on their market size relative to their respective countries, geographic regions, and global market. The sales of hyper-converged infrastructure encompass a wide range of products, including hypervisors such as VMware, KVM, and Hyper-V, used for various purposes like virtual desktop infrastructure, server virtualization, data protection, and cloud solutions. Prominent companies in the industry, including VMware, Nutanix, Maxta, and others are covered in the report. The information presented is gathered from public sources, including news, press releases, and industry players, and is reported in U.S. dollars without adjusting for inflation. 7. The 2020-2025 World Outlook for Hyper-Converged Infrastructure Author: Prof Philip M. Parker The World Outlook for Hyper-Converged Infrastructure study comprehensively analyzes the global market across more than 190 countries. It offers estimates of the latent demand, or potential industry earnings (P.I.E.), for each country, expressed in millions of U.S. dollars. The report also presents the country's share as a percentage of the region and the global market, enabling readers to assess its relative position. The study generates latent demand estimates using econometric models that project economic dynamics within and between countries. While it does not delve into specific market players or product details, it takes a strategic, long-term perspective, disregarding short-term cyclical fluctuations and focusing on aggregated trends. A multi-stage methodology, often taught in graduate business courses on international strategic planning, was employed to formulate these estimates. Wrap-up The adoption of Hyper-Converged Infrastructure represents a significant opportunity for businesses to revolutionize their IT infrastructure, improve operational efficiency, and unlock new levels of agility and scalability. The books recommended in this listicle serve as indispensable resources for IT professionals and decision-makers seeking to embark on an HCI journey. By investing in the knowledge imparted by these authoritative texts, you empower yourself and your organization to leverage the full potential of HCI and stay at the forefront of technological advancements. Remember, success in adopting HCI lies not only in the technology itself but also in the understanding and expertise gained through continuous learning and exploration.

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Hyper-Converged Infrastructure, Windows Systems and Network

Choosing the Right Tools for Hyper-Converged Management and Orchestration

Article | July 11, 2023

The expertise of leading HCI firms shape the future of IT operations. This Hyperconverged Infrastructure companies list, will provide Hyperconverged solutions for growth and better services. In IT infrastructure, organizations constantly seek ways to streamline operations, improve efficiency, and enhance user experience. HCI is a game-changing solution combining storage, computing, and networking into a single, integrated system. To leverage the full potential of HCI and ensure enhanced user experience, leading HCI system integrators and consultants have become invaluable partners for businesses across various sectors. In this listicle, delve into the role of leading HCI system integrators and consultants in enhancing user experience, the key contributions, and the significance of the services of the top hyperconverged infrastructure companies. 1. Precision Computer Services Precision Computer Services (PCS) is a trusted provider of practical and proven technology solutions for businesses. With over 30 years of experience, PCS helps clients overcome complex IT challenges and achieve their strategic goals. It offers expertise in data center upgrades when businesses struggle to manage workloads, need automation and orchestration for virtual infrastructure, aims to reduce physical data center footprint or require guidance on RPO and RTO strategies. PCS differentiates itself by automating processes, ensuring information accessibility and security, specializing in hybrid cloud models, and allowing client teams to focus on business growth while PCS handles complex IT work. It offers converged and hyperconverged infrastructure, reliable servers, data storage and protection, public and private cloud services, data classification, and backup and disaster recovery solutions. 2. IPDS IPDS empowers businesses to modernize their IT infrastructure, facilitate efficient cloud operations, and capitalize on the capabilities of the modern workforce, by combining cutting-edge technologies with highly skilled engineering talent. The company's website serves to showcase its expertise and offerings. It specializes in Hyper-Converged Infrastructure and Converged Infrastructure solutions. These innovative technologies have become the standard in the IT landscape, enabling organizations to benefit from the advancements in the software-defined data center realm. With seamless connectivity to cloud providers, HCI allows businesses to establish hybrid cloud environments. By leveraging industry-leading technologies and harnessing the potential of a modern workforce, IPDS enables clients to stay at the forefront of innovation and achieve their strategic objectives. 3. Climb Channel Solutions Climb Channel Solutions, a subsidiary of Climb Global Solutions, Inc, is a leading global specialty technology distributor specializing in emerging and business-critical technologies. One of the critical solutions offered by Climb is Hyper-Converged Infrastructure, which combines computing resources, storage, and networking to minimize compatibility issues and reduce the total cost of ownership for businesses. Its HCI solution vendors provide software-defined storage, networking, virtualization, and disaster recovery solutions, enabling organizations to optimize their infrastructure and achieve high availability. With a global presence and a customer base that spans thousands of partners worldwide, Climb Channel Solutions has established itself as a trusted distribution partner. 4. Nexenta by DDN DDN provides optimized high-performance computing (HPC) storage solutions for research and innovation. By offering scalable and efficient HPC storage solutions, DDN empowers businesses to streamline their data pipelines and achieve enhanced performance at scale. DDN's extensive experience in supporting advanced computing environments enables them to accelerate application performance, reduce operational costs, accommodate data growth, and deliver services through centralized data management. Their solutions, such as EXAScaler, provide efficient building blocks that match storage performance and scalability requirements while reducing administration overhead and complexity. With features like data placement optimization, encryption, and secure multi-tenancy, DDN ensures rock-solid security and efficient storage management. With real-time partnership and Lustre open-source support, DDN enables organizations to access subject matter expertise and effectively manage their entire HPC data lifecycle. 5. StorMagic SvSAN is a highly efficient and cost-effective hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) solution designed specifically for manufacturing. To ensure maximum uptime and eliminate single points of failure, SvSAN enables manufacturers of all sizes to run applications smoothly and maintain productivity. By deploying just two x86 servers at each location, manufacturers can leverage SvSAN's virtual SAN capabilities to minimize planned and unplanned downtime. This solution provides 100% uptime, making it an ideal choice for factories and offices where operational continuity is critical. Converging compute and storage into a lightweight commodity server footprint eliminates physical SANs, resulting in significant cost savings. StorMagic, as a company, is committed to solving edge data challenges. Their storage and HCI security products, including SvSAN and SvKMS (encryption key manager), cater to organizations with diverse site requirements. 6. Fabulix Fabulix, a Hyperconverged Infrastructure Platform, offers a comprehensive solution for autonomous infrastructure, empowering organizations to break free from the complexities of legacy IT and monolithic data centers. It is an easily deployable and infinitely scalable hyperconverged infrastructure platform that combines compute, storage, network, and virtualization resources into a single, streamlined system. By integrating software and hardware, Fabulix creates or extends private cloud and hybrid environments within local data centers, providing organizations with the benefits of autonomous infrastructure and facilitating the transition from legacy operations to cloud outcomes. Its networking capabilities automate workload deployments without requiring configuration changes on physical networks. Fabulix is designed to be an affordable alternative for infrastructure requirements. It provides integrated protection for data and applications through features like shielded VMs, network micro-segmentation, and native encryption. 7. VZURE Solutions VZURE Solutions empowers organizations to efficiently integrate and manage their converged or hyperconverged infrastructures. By leveraging their services, businesses can experience a range of benefits, including lower operating costs by consolidating storage and network management infrastructure teams, reduced labor costs through automated data center management, increased utilization, streamlined cabling, and fewer network connections to drive costs down, and enhanced agility through virtualized storage networking and centralized management. As a Cisco Preferred Solution Partner, VZURE offers a comprehensive suite of consultation, training, and support services for various aspects of cloud computing, networking, storage, and more. They provide the necessary expertise and resources to help businesses build, support, and manage efficient converged or hyperconverged infrastructures. Final thoughts The significance of leading Hyperconverged Infrastructure system integrators and consultants in enhancing user experience cannot be overstated in today's technology-driven world. With their expertise in designing and implementing optimized HCI solutions, these companies enable businesses to leverage the power of integrated storage, computing, and networking, resulting in streamlined operations, improved performance, and enhanced user satisfaction. Their deep understanding of HCI technologies and ability to align solutions with specific business requirements helps organizations achieve seamless and efficient IT infrastructure, ultimately leading to enhanced user experiences. As the demand for scalable and flexible infrastructure solutions continues to grow, the expertise of HCI platforms, leading HCI system integrators and consultants will play a crucial role in shaping the future of IT operations and ensuring that user experience remains at the forefront of technological advancements.

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Hyper-Converged Infrastructure, Windows Systems and Network

Choosing the Right Tools for Hyper-Converged Management and Orchestration

Article | July 11, 2023

Streamlining operations and maximizing efficiency: Choose the right tools for managing and orchestrating hyper-converged infrastructure to unlock its full potential with Hyperconverged solutions. Managing and orchestrating hyper-converged infrastructure (HCI) is critical to modern IT operations. With the growing adoption of HCI solutions, choosing the right tools for management and orchestration is essential for organizations to optimize their infrastructure and ensure seamless operations. In this article, we will delve into the factors to consider when selecting Hyper-Converged tools for management and orchestration and explore some of the top options available in the market. 1. Symcloud Orchestrator The Symcloud platform is a webscale solution designed for metal-service automation and orchestration in telecommunications. It enables the automation and management of various network components, including RAN (Radio Access Network), packet core, and MEC (Multi-Access Edge Computing). With Symcloud, businesses can centrally manage large numbers of CNF (Cloud-Native Function) and VNF (Virtual Network function) capable Kubernetes clusters on a single Kubernetes platform. The platform allows for rapid deployment of the entire solution stack in minutes, supporting edge, far edge, and core data centers. Symcloud provides advanced monitoring, planning, and healing capabilities, enabling users to view hardware, software, services, and connectivity dependencies. The architecture of Symcloud Orchestrator combines app-aware storage, virtual networking, and application workflow automation on Kubernetes. Symcloud Storage provides advanced storage and data management capabilities for Kubernetes distributions, seamlessly integrating with native administrative tooling. Symcloud Platform is a Kubernetes infrastructure that supports containers and virtual machines, offering superior performance, features, and flexibility. 2. Morpheus Morpheus Data is a comprehensive hybrid cloud management platform that empowers enterprises to manage and modernize their applications while reducing costs and improving efficiency. With Morpheus, businesses can quickly enable on-premises private clouds, centralize access to public clouds, and orchestrate changes with advanced features like cost analytics, governance policies, and automation. It provides a unified view of virtual machines, clouds, containers, and applications in a single location, regardless of the private or public cloud environment. Morpheus offers responsive support from an expert team and features an extensible design. It helps centralize platforms, create private clouds, manage public clouds, and streamline Kubernetes deployments. This tool also enables compliance assurance through simplified authentication, access controls, policies, and security management. By automating application lifecycles, running workflows, and simplifying day-to-day operations, Morpheus helps modernize applications. The platform optimizes cloud costs by inventorying existing resources, right-sizing them, tracking cloud spending, and providing centralized visibility. 3. The Kubernetes Database-as-a-Service Platform Portworx Data Services is a Kubernetes Database-as-a-Service (DBaaS) platform that offers a single solution for deploying, operating, and managing various data services without being locked into a specific vendor. It simplifies heterogeneous databases' deployment and day-to-day operations, eliminating the need for specialized expertise. With one click, organizations can deploy enterprise-grade data services with built-in capabilities like backup, restore, high availability, data recovery, security, capacity management, and migration. The platform supports a broad catalog of data services, including SQL Server, MySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Redis, Elasticsearch, Cassandra, Couchbase, Kafka, Consul, RabbitMQ, and ZooKeeper. Portworx Data Services provides a consistent DBaaS experience on any infrastructure, whether on-premises or in the cloud, enabling seamless migration based on evolving business requirements. 4. DCImanager DCImanager- a platform for managing multivendor IT infrastructure is a comprehensive platform for providing a unified interface to oversee and control all equipment types, including racks, servers, network devices, PDUs, and virtual networks. It is suitable for servers and data centers of any size, including distributed environments. DCImanager eliminates the need for additional tools and associated maintenance costs, allowing users to work seamlessly with equipment from popular vendors. With DCImanager, users can efficiently manage servers remotely, automate maintenance tasks, monitor power consumption, configure network settings, track inventory, visualize racks, and receive timely notifications. With over 16 years of experience, DCImanager is a reliable solution trusted by thousands of companies worldwide, backed by professional support. 5. EasyDCIM EasyDCIM, a cloud-like bare metal server provisioning is a comprehensive and hassle-free data center administration solution that offers an all-in-one platform for managing daily tasks without requiring multiple software tools. It provides mobility, allowing remote management of data centers from any location and device. The system is highly expandable and customizable, allowing users to tailor the functionality to their needs. EasyDCIM excels in automated bare metal and dedicated server provisioning, streamlining the process from ordering to service delivery. It features a standalone system with a fully customizable admin control panel and user portal. The platform includes advanced data center asset lifecycle tracking, automated OS installation, network auto-discovering, and integration with billing solutions. EasyDCIM's modular architecture enables the easy extension and modification of system components. 6. Puppet Puppet-Infrastructure automation and compliance at enterprise scale offers an automation solution that allows businesses to manage and automate complex workflows using reusable blocks of self-healing infrastructure as code. With model-driven and task-based configuration management, organizations can quickly deploy infrastructure to meet their evolving needs at any scale. By automating the entire infrastructure lifecycle, Puppet increases operational efficiency, eliminates silos, reduces response time, and streamlines change management. Puppet's automated policy enforcement ensures continuous compliance and a secure posture, enabling the identification, reporting, and resolution of errors while enforcing the desired state across the infrastructure. Leveraging the vibrant Puppet community, users can benefit from pre-built content and workflows, accelerating their deployment. With deep DevOps and enterprise experience, Puppet is a trusted advisor, assisting the largest enterprise customers in rethinking and redefining their IT management practices. 7. Foreman Foreman is a robust lifecycle management tool designed for system administrators to manage physical and virtual servers efficiently. With Foreman, tasks can be automated, applications can be deployed quickly, and server management becomes proactive. It supports a wide range of providers, enabling hybrid cloud management. The tool includes features such as external node classification, Puppet and Salt configuration monitoring, and comprehensive host monitoring. Its CLI, Hammer, offers easy access to API calls for streamlined data center management. With RBAC and LDAP integration, audits, and a pluggable architecture, Foreman provides a powerful solution for server provisioning, configuration management, and monitoring. Conclusion HCI choosing the right tools for management and orchestration is paramount for organizations seeking to optimize their operations and achieve greater efficiency. Businesses can make informed decisions and select tools that align with their specific needs by considering factors such as scalability, automation capabilities, integration, and vendor support. Whether leveraging vendor-provided solutions or opting for third-party tools, the key is ensuring that the chosen tools enable effective management and orchestration of the HCI environment, allowing organizations to unlock the full potential of their infrastructure and drive business success. As HCI continues to gain prominence, selecting the appropriate Hyper-Converged tools for management and orchestration becomes crucial for organizations aiming to streamline operations and maximize the benefits of their infrastructure investment. By carefully evaluating the available options, considering key factors, and aligning with business requirements, organizations can make informed decisions that optimize their HCI environment and enable them to adapt to the evolving needs of their digital infrastructure.

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Astera Labs First to Break Through the Memory Wall with Industry’s Highest Performance CXL Memory Controllers

Business Wire | September 21, 2023

Astera Labs, the global leader in semiconductor-based connectivity solutions for AI infrastructure, today announced that its Leo Memory Connectivity Platform enables data center servers with unprecedented performance for memory intensive workloads. Leo is the industry’s first Compute Express Link™ (CXL™) memory controller that increases total server memory bandwidth by 50% while also decreasing latency by 25% when integrated with the forthcoming 5th Gen Intel® Xeon® Scalable Processor. Through new hardware-based interleaving of CXL-attached and CPU native memory, Astera Labs and Intel eliminate any application-level software changes to augment server memory resources via CXL. Existing applications can effortlessly “plug-and-play” to take advantage of the highest possible memory bandwidth and capacity in the system. “The growth of computing cores and performance has historically outpaced memory throughput advancements, resulting in degraded server performance efficiency over time,” said Sanjay Gajendra, COO of Astera Labs. “This performance scaling challenge has led to the infamous ‘memory wall,’ and thanks to our collaboration with Intel, our Leo Memory Connectivity Platform breaks through this barrier by delivering on the promise of PCIe 5.0 and CXL memory.” Data center infrastructure scaling limitations due to the memory wall are none more evident than in AI servers where memory bandwidth and capacity bottlenecks result in inefficient processor utilization. The CXL innovations delivered by Astera Labs and Intel directly address these bottlenecks and lay the foundation for cloud, hybrid-cloud and enterprise data centers to maximize accelerated computing performance. Extending leadership of PCIe® 5.0 and CXL 2.0 solutions Astera Labs has a history of delivering industry-first solutions that are critical to advancing the PCIe and CXL ecosystems. In addition to memory performance advancements with Leo, Astera Labs is also driving interoperability leadership with its Aries PCIe 5.0 / CXL 2.0 Smart Retimers on state-of-the-art Intel server platforms. As the most widely deployed and proven PCIe/CXL retimer family in the industry, Aries features a low-latency CXL mode that complements Leo to form the most robust CXL memory connectivity solution. “We applaud Astera Labs for their contributions to the CXL ecosystem and are delighted to extend our ongoing collaboration. We believe Memory Connectivity Platforms containing innovations from companies like Astera Labs will help deliver enhanced performance on next generation Intel Xeon processors, and accelerate a myriad of memory intensive workloads,” said Zane Ball, Corporate Vice President and General Manager, Data Center Platform Engineering and Architecture Group, Intel. Visit Astera Labs at Intel Innovation! Astera Labs will showcase Leo and Aries together with Intel’s latest Xeon® Scalable processors at Booth #210, September 19-20 at the San Jose Convention Center. Talk to Astera Labs’ experts to learn more about industry benchmarks and how to optimize PCIe/CXL memory solutions in data center architectures to deliver optimized performance for applications ranging from AI, real time analytics, genomics and modeling. About Astera Labs Astera Labs, Inc. is a global leader in semiconductor-based connectivity solutions purpose-built to unleash the full potential of intelligent data infrastructure at cloud-scale. Its class-defining, first-to-market products based on PCIe, CXL, and Ethernet technologies deliver critical connectivity in accelerated computing platforms optimized for AI applications.

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Belden Launches New Solutions to Boost Uptime and Improve Network Connectivity

Business Wire | August 31, 2023

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Application Infrastructure, Storage Management

Casepoint Announces Launch of DataSite, New Cloud-Based Data Storage Solution

prnewswire | August 22, 2023

Casepoint — the industry leader in legal discovery technology for litigation, investigations, and compliance — today announced the official launch of DataSite, a cloud-based data storage and staging solution. DataSite enables corporations, law firms, and government agencies to move data seamlessly between the Casepoint Platform and DataSite, forming a secure, scalable, and cost-effective alternative to on-premises data storage solutions. Within DataSite, users can upload and download large amounts of structured and unstructured data in its native format, organize and stage that data, conduct searches, and even store, preserve, and manage "golden copies" of data. Users can easily store data they might need in the future but do not necessarily need to access regularly. When litigation, investigations, or regulatory response needs arise, they can move that data back to the Casepoint Platform at the touch of a button. DataSite also features flexible scalability, meaning users only pay for additional storage if they need it. Whereas, on-premises data storage systems such as server farms typically have predetermined limits on storage capacity but often charge users for full capacity, regardless of their actual needs. "Data proliferation isn't going anywhere, so it's critical for organizations of all types to have scalable solutions," said Vishal Rajpara, Chief Technology Officer at Casepoint. "As more organizations move to the cloud, they need a secure environment in which to stage and store data on their network that allows them to scale up or down according to their particular needs. DataSite is the next phase in the evolution of delivering a comprehensive cloud-based solution to our clients." Another benefit of the DataSite is that it enables faster data transfers to the Casepoint Platform since the data already exists within the Casepoint ecosystem — further reducing time and ultimately costs to the organization. Since the data never leaves that ecosystem, it is also more secure for the client. "For security purposes, DataSite brings all of that data under the umbrella of Casepoint's rigorous security program and protocols so everything is protected between the data source and the Casepoint Platform," said Amit Dungarani, Vice President of Partnership and Strategic Initiatives at Casepoint. "We can document a full record of our clients' data and expand on the concept of matter management like never before. This is a game-changer." About Casepoint Casepoint is the legal technology platform of choice for corporations, government agencies, and law firms to meet their complex eDiscovery, investigations, and compliance needs. Powered by cutting-edge AI and advanced analytics, Casepoint helps teams cut through large volumes of data to quickly identify insightful and actionable information. Casepoint's secure and scalable cloud-based platform is designed to help organizations take control of their data and processes to maximize efficiency, mitigate risk, and lower overall legal spend. Casepoint's easy-to-use and intuitive interface provides legal hold, cloud collections, powerful data processing, advanced analytics, artificial intelligence, review, and production.

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Data Storage

Astera Labs First to Break Through the Memory Wall with Industry’s Highest Performance CXL Memory Controllers

Business Wire | September 21, 2023

Astera Labs, the global leader in semiconductor-based connectivity solutions for AI infrastructure, today announced that its Leo Memory Connectivity Platform enables data center servers with unprecedented performance for memory intensive workloads. Leo is the industry’s first Compute Express Link™ (CXL™) memory controller that increases total server memory bandwidth by 50% while also decreasing latency by 25% when integrated with the forthcoming 5th Gen Intel® Xeon® Scalable Processor. Through new hardware-based interleaving of CXL-attached and CPU native memory, Astera Labs and Intel eliminate any application-level software changes to augment server memory resources via CXL. Existing applications can effortlessly “plug-and-play” to take advantage of the highest possible memory bandwidth and capacity in the system. “The growth of computing cores and performance has historically outpaced memory throughput advancements, resulting in degraded server performance efficiency over time,” said Sanjay Gajendra, COO of Astera Labs. “This performance scaling challenge has led to the infamous ‘memory wall,’ and thanks to our collaboration with Intel, our Leo Memory Connectivity Platform breaks through this barrier by delivering on the promise of PCIe 5.0 and CXL memory.” Data center infrastructure scaling limitations due to the memory wall are none more evident than in AI servers where memory bandwidth and capacity bottlenecks result in inefficient processor utilization. The CXL innovations delivered by Astera Labs and Intel directly address these bottlenecks and lay the foundation for cloud, hybrid-cloud and enterprise data centers to maximize accelerated computing performance. Extending leadership of PCIe® 5.0 and CXL 2.0 solutions Astera Labs has a history of delivering industry-first solutions that are critical to advancing the PCIe and CXL ecosystems. In addition to memory performance advancements with Leo, Astera Labs is also driving interoperability leadership with its Aries PCIe 5.0 / CXL 2.0 Smart Retimers on state-of-the-art Intel server platforms. As the most widely deployed and proven PCIe/CXL retimer family in the industry, Aries features a low-latency CXL mode that complements Leo to form the most robust CXL memory connectivity solution. “We applaud Astera Labs for their contributions to the CXL ecosystem and are delighted to extend our ongoing collaboration. We believe Memory Connectivity Platforms containing innovations from companies like Astera Labs will help deliver enhanced performance on next generation Intel Xeon processors, and accelerate a myriad of memory intensive workloads,” said Zane Ball, Corporate Vice President and General Manager, Data Center Platform Engineering and Architecture Group, Intel. Visit Astera Labs at Intel Innovation! Astera Labs will showcase Leo and Aries together with Intel’s latest Xeon® Scalable processors at Booth #210, September 19-20 at the San Jose Convention Center. Talk to Astera Labs’ experts to learn more about industry benchmarks and how to optimize PCIe/CXL memory solutions in data center architectures to deliver optimized performance for applications ranging from AI, real time analytics, genomics and modeling. About Astera Labs Astera Labs, Inc. is a global leader in semiconductor-based connectivity solutions purpose-built to unleash the full potential of intelligent data infrastructure at cloud-scale. Its class-defining, first-to-market products based on PCIe, CXL, and Ethernet technologies deliver critical connectivity in accelerated computing platforms optimized for AI applications.

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Application Storage, Data Storage

Belden Launches New Solutions to Boost Uptime and Improve Network Connectivity

Business Wire | August 31, 2023

Belden Inc. (NYSE: BDC), a leading global supplier of network infrastructure and digitization solutions, announces four new products and updates that are designed to maintain connectivity in rugged environments and ensure uptime. Data Acquisition & Transmission Belden OptiTuff Connectivity and Cable Managementoptions support new field-termination connectivity for OptiTuff Mini Fiber Cables. Through the creation of new systems and improvements to the transition points, connectors and patch panels in Belden’s existing FiberExpress(FX) line, installers can now benefit from OptiTuff’s fast, easy installation plus compatibility with the popular FX Fusion Splice-On Connector and FX ECX Patch Panel System. The newLumberg Automation M12 Circular Connector Automotive Lineis designed to withstand harsh environments, thanks to new PUR construction, which prevents damage caused by welding sparks, crushing, and shearing. The connectors promote safety and application output by maintaining optimal machine uptime. Data Orchestration & Management Belden PROVIZE Network Planning, Commissioning and Management Suite updatessimplify MRP configuration for redundant ring topologies to prevent network disruptions. In addition, enhanced integration lets users shift between PROVIZE Planner and Explorer easily. User interface enhancements also improve both products. The newLumberg Automation LioN-X Digital I/O Modulesoffer cost-effective flexibility and fast configuration, data transfer, and data security for automation applications using digital sensors and actuators. The modules offer integration in PLC and cloud environments, making them a fit for almost all industrial applications. About Belden Belden Inc. delivers the infrastructure that makes the digital journey simpler, smarter and secure. We’re moving beyond connectivity—from what we make to what we make possible through a performance-driven portfolio, forward-thinking expertise and purpose-built solutions. With a legacy of quality and reliability spanning 120-plus years, we have a strong foundation to continue building the future. We are headquartered in St. Louis and have manufacturing capabilities in North America, Europe, Asia and Africa.

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Application Infrastructure, Storage Management

Casepoint Announces Launch of DataSite, New Cloud-Based Data Storage Solution

prnewswire | August 22, 2023

Casepoint — the industry leader in legal discovery technology for litigation, investigations, and compliance — today announced the official launch of DataSite, a cloud-based data storage and staging solution. DataSite enables corporations, law firms, and government agencies to move data seamlessly between the Casepoint Platform and DataSite, forming a secure, scalable, and cost-effective alternative to on-premises data storage solutions. Within DataSite, users can upload and download large amounts of structured and unstructured data in its native format, organize and stage that data, conduct searches, and even store, preserve, and manage "golden copies" of data. Users can easily store data they might need in the future but do not necessarily need to access regularly. When litigation, investigations, or regulatory response needs arise, they can move that data back to the Casepoint Platform at the touch of a button. DataSite also features flexible scalability, meaning users only pay for additional storage if they need it. Whereas, on-premises data storage systems such as server farms typically have predetermined limits on storage capacity but often charge users for full capacity, regardless of their actual needs. "Data proliferation isn't going anywhere, so it's critical for organizations of all types to have scalable solutions," said Vishal Rajpara, Chief Technology Officer at Casepoint. "As more organizations move to the cloud, they need a secure environment in which to stage and store data on their network that allows them to scale up or down according to their particular needs. DataSite is the next phase in the evolution of delivering a comprehensive cloud-based solution to our clients." Another benefit of the DataSite is that it enables faster data transfers to the Casepoint Platform since the data already exists within the Casepoint ecosystem — further reducing time and ultimately costs to the organization. Since the data never leaves that ecosystem, it is also more secure for the client. "For security purposes, DataSite brings all of that data under the umbrella of Casepoint's rigorous security program and protocols so everything is protected between the data source and the Casepoint Platform," said Amit Dungarani, Vice President of Partnership and Strategic Initiatives at Casepoint. "We can document a full record of our clients' data and expand on the concept of matter management like never before. This is a game-changer." About Casepoint Casepoint is the legal technology platform of choice for corporations, government agencies, and law firms to meet their complex eDiscovery, investigations, and compliance needs. Powered by cutting-edge AI and advanced analytics, Casepoint helps teams cut through large volumes of data to quickly identify insightful and actionable information. Casepoint's secure and scalable cloud-based platform is designed to help organizations take control of their data and processes to maximize efficiency, mitigate risk, and lower overall legal spend. Casepoint's easy-to-use and intuitive interface provides legal hold, cloud collections, powerful data processing, advanced analytics, artificial intelligence, review, and production.

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