HyperConvergence DataCenters and Virtualization- Leveraging your commodity hardware

We all know this. And vmWare is fantastic tech. So is Virtual Box (and the newer Hyper-Box). I think HyperV and vCenter are uber-cool too, them and their "extensible vSwitching" tech. But how do you make all this cool tech even BETTER? That's what DC-Managers want to know. (So do CFO's)

Many of us WORK with virtualization tech daily. And how do I present a legitimate piece of break-through tech, without sounding like I am being PAID to benefit from it? I just came out of today's webinar hosted by Atlantis computing. I have a related article elsewhere here on hubpages, expounding on some of the Desktop Virtualization (VDI) work that Chetan Venkatesh is doing in Atlantis. He claims that VDI is his "baby" and he's been focusing on that for the last 5 or more years. Using open source in ACTUAL, (Global Scope!) enterprise applications of technology.

When he takes a break from Yak shaving, and while resting his weary arm, he sometimes gives us a "heads up" on what's coming. What HE, and his company are doing, is exciting. They are actually revolutionizing storage. Now I know that hubpages editing is rather sensitive on the topics surrounding sales of data center hardware, but I SWEAR!!!! this is NO Sales pitch!- I just want to break the story FIRST!

Holy cow, this is just a HOT HOT topic! (Are Yaks "Holy"?)

This technology impacts EVERYTHING! For instance, Right now, I am in the finishing stages of creating a very basic training course for intro level techs, or junior admins. This course will be labeled something akin to vmWare VCA-VDC Level 1 ("plus")... why Plus?

It HAS to be. Data Centers are "cross discipline" and "cross-vender", ... aren't they? Yes, yes they ARE.

I had intuitively "noticed" and "felt" a change in the wind for a number of months, I am NO uber-techhie, I do not think I am the hottest smartest or fastest member of the technical elite, but I DO love technology and science or engineering in general. Got my own beginnings in electronics manufacturing and specifically, Symbol Technologies spread-spectrum radio-LAN technology.

I built their units. Tested them. Installed them... (back in the day when Novell Networking was hot) yes, StvRich has PERSONALLY soldered on 386sx and dx chips... BY HAND!

So I've seen some changes in the infrastructure since 1993.

And I DO Love the topics of virtualization. (Not so much the Yak-shaving parts)

For the last 6 years, various aspects of these newer technical applications have been in production (out of testing). It has been verified. Atlantis has approximately 25 peta-bytes of data that is under their care, using specialized aspects of data handling and movement. They have found ways (via software and software management) to improve efficiencies within Data Centers ...dramatically.

Nowadays, in Information Technology, there is a general movement towards "Software Defined" processes and systems. This all is intimately tied into the entire; Virtualization, Simulation/Emulation, Software Encapsulation and Hardware Abstraction stuff, that's been the general tendency of both software and hardware development.

I.T. is maturing very well. And is evolving RAPIDLY.

We have created "Layers" of software encapsulation and abstraction that separates the actual bits and bytes ...the "ons" and "offs" of the bits and bytes, of the actual pieces of silicon, that harbors our all-important financial data, industrial control processes, or video games and family pictures / movies. And now? All of us are moving towards storing even those family pics on a "cloud" somewhere. And yes, Atlantis, vmWare, Cisco, Microsoft, and many many MORE players, are ALL "converging" or, another big word is "unifying", in the Data Center.

But Atlantis's tech, is unique here. Why? Because it will affect them ALL. ALL of them.

With Atlantis's release of their latest technologies, there is (absolutely) a new layer of more highly evolved Software Defining Management of already extant, Data Center Hardware, that is able to step in and "Unify" or "Converge" many current processes and technologies, that actually, to date, have leaned upon INCREASING hardware densities (inefficiently) in order to provide needed redundancy, disaster protection. The expenses of our Data Centers are (literally) just burgeoning like crazy, and we NEED a "10-fold" increase in efficiencies right about now. And.. HERE is that "blessing". This is the "Bump" we've needed for about the last 5 or 7 years, cranking up our efficiencies.

Don't get me wrong, the technologies in existence are GOOD technology. ALL of them. But in all honesty, this is a vast increase in efficiency. In other words, this area of endeavor is "Evolving". The inherent inefficiencies, are being "discovered" by virtue of our continual analysis and utilization, and our utter dependence upon it all...

It MUST get better. And now, it IS.

And Mr. Venkatesh's group is ferreting out those inefficiencies, and ratcheting up performance a whole LOT. Sometimes as much as 90 percent. There is nothing like this available till now. And I DO believe that vmWare is going to be the recipient of a lot of this brain-work.

In reality? ALL the big names of Software and Hardware will benefit, all areas of virtualization are going to benefit from this. Take a look at the graphic above here. It covers ALL general operating systems or hypervisors currently in use.

The Graphic immediately below, shows the increase of SAN-efficiency that can be had when storage meta-data is actually capitalized upon to de-duplicate data storage

BUT, the neatest thing about Atlantis's new technology is that it actually LEVERAGES your hardware NO MATTER what type of hardware you do have. USX will unify whatever kind of heterogeneous Hodge-podge you are "stuck" with, and it will probably IMPROVE your Data Center situation.

You can have old JBOD's (just a bunch of disks) an actual fiber channel SAN. Perhaps several Departmental NAS's. It's all unified and well managed through this new defining and managing software. There are white papers available, videos to download, webinars live or recorded, that will detail this further. But from what I see, nobody else is doing this.

Venkatesh's group has been busy. And, I see a couple of nude Yaks running around the grounds so... keep watching for more developments.

This is good tech.