This is Part 3 of a three-part post based on my understanding of the basics of the definition of the software-defined datacenter as HP sees it, and as espoused by Helen Tang, HP Converged Infrastructure Worldwide Solution Lead in this blog post here.
Part 1 was about the basics of what HP sees the SDDC as, and in Part 2 were my thoughts on her list of requirements for the SDDC journey.
In the article by Helen Tang on the HP Converged Infrastructure blog, she delves into what HP is doing in order to make software-defined bear fruit with HP products. She says,
Not that I’m tooting my own horn here (and I have every reason to do so), but HP provides some very compelling offerings in each of these areas. For example:
Very true.
Before it was ‘cool’, and a long time before the market leader in networking heard of it, HP had been evangelizing software-defined. If I remember correctly, I first heard of HP’s Converged Infrastructure initiatives back in 2010.
With every iteration, HP OneView gains more functionality. This is a product that I believe has legs. At this time though, I do not have enough information on it to determine if it is suitable enough to manage software-defined assets in a heterogeneous hardware environment.
The point of this introduction to SDDC is that the vision of SDDC is exciting, it’s real, but it’s not fully baked just yet (regardless of what you might hear from other vendors). You need to have the right source delivery model (traditional IT infrastructure - networks, servers, storage, management - and Cloud solutions) ... but it also requires the ‘right shaped’ organization (people, process, governance, operations) ... and the ‘right size’ in terms of facilities, buildings, power and cooling, etc. These are all areas HP has been, and is, investing in to bring the SDDC promise to life.
As you can see from the above, software-defined is not something HP woke up to last night, and decided to get on the bandwagon with.
In fact, my first interaction with HP with regards to software-defined was at the 2009 HP Tech Forum. Branded “Converged Infrastructure”, HP at the time told us of future need for a highly-dynamic, and needs-aware series of computing devices that would the only route that would satisfy rapidly-evolving datacenters.
I must confess to all that at the time, the briefings seemed somewhat esoteric to me.
However, over the years, the HP Converged Infrastructure vision has been clarified, and diced into simple chunks.
From servers to networking to storage to management, HP has in that interregnum imbued all of their infrastructure products with their Converged Infrastructure DNA.
For example:
i) In servers: HP Proliant servers are the global leaders in x86 servers, and for good reason: with every iteration, Proliants get better, more reliable, the built-in management suite gains more functionality, no doubt due to the telemetry reported by the embedded ‘Sea of Sensors’ in every Proliant.
ii) In storage: HP 3PAR. HP IBRIX. HP LeftHand. Need I say more? One of the things I like about HP is the fact that when the company sees an available superstar that could fill a hole in their offerings, they initiate a purchase for it. In storage, HP has quietly put together a portfolio that covers all aspects of data storage from high-availability to cold storage, using tapes.*
iii) In networking: HP beefed up by purchasing 3Com. Now, NP Networking is taking market share, and achieving great design win, such as the complete conversion by DreamWorks Animation Studios to HP Networking devices.
From my perch, HP has been very proactive in trying to not only anticipate the direction the market is going, but also in putting together a very comprehensive portfolio that not only works together, but is also engineered to work just as well in a heterogeneous, multi-vendor hardware/software environment.
Apart from HP being very strategic to my firm and our clients, HP was the first company I know of to articulate a coherent software-defined roadmap that has remained relevant by being dynamic and evolving as things change, new business needs arise, and new functionalities for a software defined world are created.
I like that.
For it shows that they might be the vendor that helps me future-proof my datacenter.
* I forget the current product names of the HP storage technologies listed above.
Comment here or email me at sddc0514@absolutevista.com.
The source article is While Software-Defined holds the promise of changing everything – you need to do your homework, and is on HP’s Converged Infrastructure Blog
The AbsolutelyWindows Software-Defined Series
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