Cisco HyperFlex Systems HX-Series Overview

Michael HallConsulting Systems Engineer – Cisco Hyperconverged Solutions

Cisco Unified Data CenterChanging the Economics of the Data Center again

Cisco HyperFlex SystemsHX-SeriesProduct Overview

Brian CaronProduct Sales Specialist – Cisco Hyperconverged Solutions

2© 2015 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Cisco Confidential

-It’s about Simplicity, Speed and Scale! -Compute, Storage, Virtualization and Network in Appliance

• Fast Deployment (Minutes not days)• Management and Operation Simplicity (Centralized and Intuitive UI)• Storage Cost efficiency (predictable step-based growth for scaling)

Why Hyperconvergence?


What customers are telling us

CFOs Expect a Cloud Economics On-

Premise

Expectation of pay-as-you-go economics with

scaling on-demand

Moving at the Speed of Business

Consumption of infrastructure adds time,

cost and inefficiency

Operationalizing Speed and Simplicity

Proliferation of solutions creating silos that complicates

operations

APPS


Hyperconvergence

Fast Time to MarketSimplicityFirst Gen HCI


Hyperconvergence

Gaps

Fast Time to MarketSimplicity

New management silos Inefficient scaling and data optimization

Network not included in the system

First Gen HCI


IT is Looking for a Better Answer

Next Gen HCI

Gaps

Fast Time to MarketSimplicity

New management silos Inefficient scaling and data optimization

Limited app performance and workload support

AgileSimplicity

+Integration with

Existing Data Center

Easy Scaling+

Resource Efficiency

Existing Apps+

Next Gen

AdaptableEfficient

First Gen HCI


Cisco HyperFlex Systems



1 Complete HyperconvergenceUnified Compute and Network Infrastructure Wide Array of Rack and Blade Form Factors

Integrated, High Performance

Network Fabric

Automated Management of all

Hardware

Virtualization Aware

Cisco UCS: The Ideal System for Hyperconvergence



1 Complete HyperconvergenceUnified Compute and Network Infrastructure

Cisco HyperFlex

Cisco HX Data Platform

Data Services and Storage Optimization

2 Next Gen Data PlatformDesigned for Distributed Storage



1

3

Complete HyperconvergenceUnified Compute and Network Infrastructure

Part of a Complete Data Center StrategyElastic and Secure at Enterprise Scale

Cisco HyperFlex


Data Services and Storage Optimization

2 Next Gen Data PlatformDesigned for Distributed Storage

Cisco One Enterprise Cloud SuiteCisco ACI

Cisco Security


Solving Key Customer Challenges

CFOs Expect a Cloud Economics On-

Premise

Purchasing model and independent scaling allow to pay as you grow

Moving at the Speed of Business

Deployment of computing,

networking and storage resources in less than 1 hour

Operationalizing Speed and Simplicity

Single management plane for converged and hyperconverged

solutions

APPS


Mainstream Computing Scale Out

UCS M-Series Modular Servers

UCS C3000

Fourth Generation UCS

Part of a Proven Portfolio

HyperFlex Systems

HyperconvergedInfrastructure

Converged Infrastructure

Core Data CenterEdge Cloud

Cisco ONE—Single Infrastructure Management Model

UCS Mini

UCS Manager UCS Director Enterprise Cloud Suite


The first Hyperconverged system to integrate Compute, Storage, and Networking

The Evolution of Infrastructure Architecture

Converged/Integrated Infrastructure

First Generation HyperConverged

Complete HyperConverged

Architecture

Compute (with

hypervisor)+

Storage

DIY networking

----------------------

Big Data and

Analytics

Unified Fabric

Compute Storage

Validated Design

UnifiedFabric

Compute(with

hypervisor)+

Storage

HyperFlex Systems


ENTERPRISE GRADE

Robust Data Integrity and Continuous AvailabilityProactive Auto-supportCustom built file systemInline De-duplication and Inline Compression

MAXIMUM SIMPLICITY

Fast Installation and Configuration100% vCenter based managementRapid VM CloningVM/Folder level Snapshots

ECONOMICAL SCALING

Scale modularlyScale up/down onlineScale Compute and Storage independentlyAnnual Subscription pricing

HX Data Platform Overview


Cisco UCS ServersFabric Interconnects

+ =Cisco HyperFlex Systems


HyperFlex Configurations HX240c + B200M4

Compute NodesHX240c NodesHX220c Nodes

Smallest footprint3-8 Node Cluster

*4 or more nodes recommended

(VDI, ROBO)

Per-Node1x480 GB Cache SSD

6x1.2TB HDDs SD Card/120GB SSD

(Boot/Hyperflex)

Capacity-heavy3-8 Node Cluster

*4 or more nodes recommended

(VSI: IT/Biz Apps, Test/Dev)

Per-Node1x1.6TB Cache SSD11 to 23x1.2TB HDDs

SD Card/120GB Back SSD (Boot/Hyperflex)

Compute-heavy hybrid(Compute bound apps/VDI)

3-8 Node HX240c Cluster

Up to 4 Blades64GB SD Card (Boot)


Primary HyperFlex Use Cases

• Agile provisioning

• Frequent iterations

• Instant cloning and snapshots

Test and Development

• Low upfront costs

• Consistent performance

• Predictable scaling

Virtual Desktop Infrastructure

• Reduce operational complexity

• Adaptive scaling

• Always-on resiliency

Server Virtualization

• Simple deployment

• Centralized management

• No “fly-and-fix” missions

Large RemoteBranch Office


Where HyperFlex Fits

TEST & DEVELOPMEN

T

VIRTUAL DESKTOP

INFRASTRUCTURE

SERVER VIRTUALIZATI

ON

REMOTE OFFICE/BRAN

CH OFFICE

All Virtual Servers: Application, Front-End Web, Infrastructure, Management, Monitoring, Sharepoint, Document

Systems, Print, Small MSSQL/MySQL DBs

✔ ✖Not for latency under 5ms or

highly transactional databasesNo Native File Services such as

NFS, CIFS, iSCSI, BlockScales to ~60TB max at 8 nodes

Small sites with 1-2 servers

Software DevelopmentIC Design Environments

DevOps Driven Environments

“Larger” sites with need for persistence storage (3 nodes min required)

Vmware Horizon ViewCitrix XenDesktop on VMware


HX Data Platform Overview


Hyperconverged Scale Out and Distributed File System

Start With as Few as Three Nodes

HYPERCONVERGED DATA PLATFORM

CONTROLLERVMHYPERVISOR

VM VM VM


VM VM VM


VM VM VM





Hyperconverged Data Platform

Installs in Minutes

Add Servers, One or More at a Time


VM VM VM


VM VM VM


VM VM VM


VM VM VM




VM VM VM




Installs in Minutes


Linearly Scale Compute, Storage

Performance, and Capacity

Distribute and Rebalance Data Across Servers Automatically


VM VM VM


VM VM VM


VM VM VM


VM VM VM




VM VM VM




Installs in Minutes


Linearly Scale Compute, Storage

Performance, and Capacity

Distribute and Rebalance Data Across Servers Automatically

Retire Older Servers


VM VM VM


VM VM VM


VM VM VM


Software Modules Inside a Server

Controller VM Has Direct Access to Drives

VAAI Plugin Offloads Snapshots and Clone Operations

IO Visor Module Presents NFS to ESX and Stripes IO

DATASTORE/VOLUME


VMVMVMVMVM

HDD

HDD

SDD

SDD

IO Visor

VAAI


Independent Scaling of Compute and Capacity

HX Data Platform

CONTROLLERHYPERVISORCONTROLLERHYPERVISOR CONTROLLERHYPERVISOR

VM VMVM VM VMVM VM VMVM



HX Data Platform

Scale Capacity Within Nodes

CONTROLLERHYPERVISORCONTROLLERHYPERVISOR CONTROLLERHYPERVISOR




HX Data Platform

Add NodesScale Capacity Within Nodes

HX Data Platform

CONTROLLERHYPERVISORCONTROLLERHYPERVISOR CONTROLLERHYPERVISOR CONTROLLERHYPERVISOR

VM VMVM VM VMVM VM VMVM VM VMVM



HX Data Platform


HX Data Platform


IOVisorIOVisor

VM VM

Non-HyperFlex Hosts Can Connect to

Storage with IOVisor




Scale Compute

HX Data Platform


HX Data Platform


IOVisorIOVisor

IOVisorIOVisor

IOVisorIOVisor

IOVisorIOVisor

VM VM VM VM

Non-HyperFlex Hosts Can Connect to

Storage with IOVisor



Dynamic Data Distribution

Systems Built on Conventional File Systems Write Locally, Then Replicate, Creating Performance Hotspots

CONTROLLERHYPERVISORHYPERVISOR CONTROLLERHYPERVISOR CONTROLLERHYPERVISOR

VM VMVM VM VMVM VM VMVMVM VMVM

CONTROLLERCONTROLLER


Dynamic Data Distribution• HX Data Platform stripes data across all nodes simultaneously,

leveraging cache across all SSDs for fast writes• Balanced space utilization: no data migration required following

a VM migration

CONTROLLERHYPERVISORHYPERVISOR CONTROLLERHYPERVISOR CONTROLLERHYPERVISOR


HX Data Platform

VM VMVM

CONTROLLER


HYPERVISOR

…and Efficient Capacity and Network Utilization

HYPERVISOR HYPERVISOR

DATASTORE

CONTROLLER CONTROLLER CONTROLLER


HYPERVISOR



VM

DATASTORE



HYPERVISOR



VM

DATASTORE



HYPERVISOR



VMVM

DATASTORE



HYPERVISOR



VM VMVM

DATASTORE



HYPERVISOR



VM VM

1 2 3

VM

DATASTORE


Balanced Space Utilization


HYPERVISOR



VMVM

1 2 3

VM

DATASTORE


Balanced Space Utilization No Data Migration on VM Migration

Less Stress on Network


DATASTORE DATASTORE

Non-Disruptive OperationsCONTROLLER

VMHYPERVISOR

VM VM VM


VM VM VM


VM VM VM


VM VM VM


DATASTORE DATASTORE


VMHYPERVISOR

VM VM VM


VM VM VM


VM VM VM


VM VM VM

File.vmdk EDCBA


DATASTORE DATASTORE

• Stripe blocks of a file across servers


VMHYPERVISOR

VM VM VM


VM VM VM


VM VM VM


VM VM VM

File.vmdk

D1 E1A1 B1 C1

EDCBA


DATASTORE DATASTORE

• Stripe blocks of a file across servers• Replicate one or two additional copies

to other servers


VMHYPERVISOR

VM VM VM


VM VM VM


VM VM VM


VM VM VM

File.vmdk

D1 E1A1 B1 C1

EDCBA


DATASTORE DATASTORE


to other servers


VMHYPERVISOR

VM VM VM


VM VM VM


VM VM VM


VM VM VM

File.vmdk

D1 E1A1 B1 C1B2 A2 A3C2 C3 D2D3 E2E3 B3

EDCBA


DATASTORE


to other servers


VMHYPERVISOR

VM VM VM


VM VM VM


VM VM VM VM VM VM

File.vmdk


EDCBA


DATASTORE


to other servers• Handle entire server or disk failures


VMHYPERVISOR

VM VM VM


VM VM VM


VM VM VM VM VM VM

File.vmdk


EDCBA


DATASTORE




VMHYPERVISOR

VM VM VM


VM VM VM


VM VM VMVM VM VM

File.vmdk

A1 B1 C1B2 A2 A3C2 C3 D2D3 E2E3

EDCBA


DATASTORE



• Restore back to original number of copies


VMHYPERVISOR

VM VM VM


VM VM VM


VM VM VMVM VM VM

File.vmdk

A1 B1 C1B2 A2 A3C2 C3 D2D3 E2E3 D1E1 B3

EDCBA


DATASTORE DATASTORE



• Restore back to original number of copies


VMHYPERVISOR

VM VM VM


VM VM VM


VM VM VM


VM VM VM

File.vmdk


EDCBA


DATASTORE DATASTORE



• Restore back to original number of copies• Rebalance VMs and data post

replacement


VMHYPERVISOR

VM VM VM


VM VM VM


VM VM VM


VM VM VM

File.vmdk


EDCBA


DATASTORE DATASTORE




replacement


VMHYPERVISOR

VM VM VM


VM VM VM


VM VM VM


VM VM VM

File.vmdk


EDCBA


DATASTORE DATASTORE




replacement


VMHYPERVISOR

VM VM VM


VM VM VM


VM VM VM


VM VM VM

File.vmdk


EDCBA


DATASTORE DATASTORE




replacement• Rolling software upgrades


VMHYPERVISOR

VM VM VM


VM VM VM


VM VM VM


VM VM VM

File.vmdk


EDCBA


Continuous Data Optimization

BEFORE

Inline Deduplication

20–30% space savings

Inline Compression

30–50% space savings

No Special HardwareNo Performance Impact

Log-Structured File System Yields More Efficient Data Optimization


Architectural Review

Storage mapped via VM_DIRECT_PATH Fully replicated and protected write log Large cache for faster reads and writes Inline deduplication and compression

Management via vSphere Web client IOVisor for consistent performance and utilization VAAI Integration for offloading of snapshots and

clones

Data always persistent on hard disk Data is protected via multiple copies distributed

throughout the nodes. Data always written thin, deduped and

compressed for maximum capacity


• Extends virtualization management seamlessly

• No switching between management consoles

• View storage alerts/alarms alongside with ESX alerts/alarms

• Command line interface for automation

Management Built for Server Admin100% vCenter-Based Management


• Pointer-Based Writeable Snapshots (Instantaneous Clones)

• VAAI integrated

• VM-level granularity

Native VM Clones for Rapid Provisioning

• Batch creation GUI• Apply unique names • Use customization spec

to apply IP• Powerful tool to rapidly

setup a large set of VMs using just VC (without scripting or View composer); Up to 256 clones in parallel per job

• Golden/Base VM can be a template, powered on or powered off


• Pointer-based snapshots• Space-efficient• Fast creations and deletions

• Fine-grained or coarse-grained• VM-level or VM folder-level

• VAAI-integrated• Quiesced and crash-consistent

• Use vCenter Snapshot Manager• Policy-based

• Schedules, retention period

Fast and Flexible Native Snapshots


vSphere Replication: Built-in ProtectionVM by VM Protection and Recovery

Network compression

Included with the vSphere Platform


vSphere 6.0 VMware vSphere Data Protection

Data protection and disaster recovery for VMs integrated with vSphere

Simple to deploy, easy to manage with the vSphere Web Client

Based on EMC Avamar and utilizes changed block tracking (CBT)

25

VDP VDP

Backup Data Replication


Fast and Easy Installation

Step 0• VMware and HX Data Platform Software installed on servers at

factory before shipping to customer

Step 1• Rack up servers, power on and add to vCenter• Boot installer and enter information in Web GUI• Installer deploys network configuration and creates cluster

• Create Datastore(s)• Start Provisioning VMs

60Minutesor less


Key Competitive AdvantagesCapability Competition Cisco HyperFlex Key Benefit

#1 Network Must buy and configure network

Unified fabric included

Validated network design included. System is truly usable in an hour.

#2 Scaling Must scale compute and storage together

Independently scale compute or storage

Leverage Blades without additional licensingNo over provisioning one resource

#3 Data locality Local to the server Striped across all servers with IOVisor

No performance hotspots. Consistent performance across the cluster

#4 Custom-builtFile System

Open Source File System (EXT4)

Log Structured File System purpose built for distributed systems

Deduplication and compression are always on without performance impact. Zero space clones and snapshots.No specialized cards needed.

#5 Management VMware admins must learn additional tools

100% vCenter based Management

Near-zero learning curve for vCenter Admin

#6 Software and Support High cost for software and support

Subscription based licensing

Lower TCO and barrier to entry

Thank You.

Technology

Cisco HyperFlex Systems HX-Series Overview