Big Switch Networks Expand Their Reach, Now with HCI Integration

Big Switch Networks, the Santa Clara–based software-defined networking company, has just released a new version of the Big Cloud Fabric product. Big Cloud Fabric, a software-defined networking product that has been on the market for over four years, is heavily integrated into VMware. For the uninitiated, its core pitch is that with its product, you …

Data Locality Is Impacted by vMotion

This is the third article in a series about data locality in hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI). In the first article, I discussed basic math around storage network IO and the effect of data locality on the storage network load. In the second, I examined the impact of HCI configurations with more than two copies of data. I’ll wrap up …

Simplification by Policy

In previous articles, I suggested that hyperconverged is just a step on a path to simpler IT infrastructure. I also explored how some of the simplification might work. Today, I’d like to explore some of the areas of infrastructure that are ripe for simplification. Some of these areas are already being addressed by some vendors, …

Hyperconvergence and OS

In the good old days (rose-tinted spectacles required), there was only one operating system in the stack. It took care of device drivers and file IO. There were many flavours of OS, depending on the period, from UNIX and Windows to OS/2 and MacOS, and many, many others. Over time, the selection of operating systems in the data center reduced …

Will 2016 Be the Year of VDI — Sorry, EUC?

Who or what is EUC? In an industry plagued by TLAs (three-letter acronyms), EUC, or end-user computing, is the new nomenclature for VDI, or virtual desktop infrastructure. This is not just the emperor’s new clothes, but a redefinition of the paradigm of adopting a more inclusive view of the software, hardware, and processes that shore up …