IT is now seeing a radically sophisticated upgrade with winning technology such as the Cloud, Internet of Things, Virtualization, Big Data, Cloud Computing and Mobility. And to keep up with these fascinating new technologies, one needs to drop a few old school methods and pick up on the ones that stick.

A traditional Data Center consisted of purely physical and hardware servers. This type of server was also referred to as ‘siloes’ and their sole duty was to run one single application. Its purpose was determined by how much data it could store and handle on its own.

The Cause

Data Centers needed a dedicated physical space. The more space it occupied, the more it could do. If you needed more storage from your servers, you would need to physically expand your Data Center. In terms of both space and hardware, this would indefinitely cost you a mighty heavy penny.

To beat this issue of straining your wallet for more physical space and hardware, the idea of a Software Defined Data Center (SDDC) was born. This solution would not only result in saved physical space and costs, but it would also improve your Data Center’s performance whilst letting you preserve your old legacy systems.

The Science

Virtualization separates the available hardware infrastructure into separate ‘virtual machines’ - now your SDDC can take on a lot more tasks including computing and networking operations. SDDC is controlled by software and can be fully-automated if you so wish; configuring your hardware is simplified and maintained through existing software systems. 

Abstraction is the key here, abstracting deployment, configuration and operation from the Hardware is what makes your Data Center software-defined. Serve applications from multiple Data Centers by abstracting the Application Layer from the physical hardware.

A basic SDDC would have three main virtualized system resources that makes it what it is.

• Server Virtualization – Use your servers’ ability to their best potential. Spare yourself from managing a surplus amount of physical servers and easily utilize and share resources. Also rejoice in the fact that you can expand your server whenever you require without having to invest in more hardware and space.
   

• Network Virtualization – Split your available network bandwidth to create independent channels. Take control of user network usage and assign each channel to any specific server or device connected to your network. Combining networking resources can give you greater control in managing network traffic over various channels.
   

• Storage Virtualization – Create a single storage device that centrally controls all the stored data by pooling in data from different network storage. A central command lets you access all available information from within other storage devices without any hassle. 

The Effect

Witness all new levels of staff productivity, application speed, centralized control and infrastructure utilization. Workload can be automated and made easy to manage while infrastructure can be scaled to your preference. Increased application agility along with Real-time software updates means you can also account for all your resources.

Use the savings you made from shifting from a traditional Data Center and invest in new technology. Integrating all these rising new technology into your business will really boost your chances in this digital age of corporate competition. SDDC is a perfect fit for your cloud computing environment.

The only major drawback however is disguised within another benefit. Virtualization means you can keep your trusty legacy systems but the problem arises when these old systems can no longer gel with the latest software programs. This issue can be remedied. Develop a software that acts as a bridge between your new, always improving software and your old yet very capable hardware.

Another issue could be having to improve your IT security. This doesn’t really seem like much of a drawback. Cybersecurity is necessary in our tech-savvy world - a safe and secure security system never seems like a bad idea. Especially considering how cyber threats keeps evolving as technology keeps improving, it is important to be prepared.

The Inevitability

If you have not adopted a Software Defined Data Center yet, that’s totally fine. Maybe you haven’t found the right reason to switch yet. But take a look around, software is rapidly gaining an upper hand. With the latest tech gaining popularity and physical space becoming parse and expensive – it is only a matter of time.

Eventually you too will make the shift. Unless of course you’re one of those folks who believe in the AI apocalypse, then by all means stick to Hardware - they can still get the job done. A few snags are worth it to avoid a dystopian future right?

Footnotes

All infographics retrieved from The Evolution of the Data Center to Software Defined.