New Hybrid Cloud Infrastructure Designs to Support the Changing Compute Landscape

Compute Architectures and Infrastructure Are Undergoing Fundamental Change
For many decades, the fundamental design approaches of compute solutions and infrastructure has not changed, other than to increase performance per unit (square foot, CPU, etc.). However, for the first time, a confluence of factors is driving a complete “re-think” about how compute and digital infrastructure must be designed. These include:

• Hybrid and cloud-native environments
• The complete and seamless integration of compute/storage/network resources in a single fabric that is software defined and automated
• A new generation of workloads built using software tools and technologies that demand unique compute and infrastructure capabilities
• The move from traditional operations to intelligent, automated infrastructure and the emergence of infrastructure as code

In the most elemental ways, this is the first real change from the infrastructure strategies and solutions in more than a decade. As such, organizations need new products that are designed using a blank slate to meet these challenges and deliver value both now and into the future. Simply modifying “what we’ve always done” isn’t a recipe for success.

How to Identify Next-Generation Designs That Empower the Future
We are all aware of these trends that are the catalysts for change, the next question is how to recognize infrastructure that manifests these new strategic imperatives. There are legacy infrastructure offerings that have been enhanced, but at their core, are still not the “net new” solutions that organizations will need to move forward without interruptions or missteps.

To start, modern infrastructure must be designed for the cloud. There are two key criteria for identifying infrastructure designed for the cloud. First, it must be fully managed from the cloud, not linking between discrete on-premises and cloud resources. Native cloud management is the requirement. Second, full workload mobility and ubiquity that is seamless and doesn’t require changes or modifications to apps or how they are run. Fluidity in the hybrid cloud, without interruption is a requirement to meeting the current and future demands from the business.

The next key design element is a focus and commitment to automation. Automated operations that require less time and resources from the operations team is the first step. Automated ops not only simplify processes, but it also brings greater consistency, stability and efficiency. As automated standards are implemented, they can be refined and improved to the point where they are optimized, reducing costs, improving speed and better supporting agility. Automation must be designed “in” to eliminate disruptions and problems, not simply provide better tools to resolve them.

Third, and perhaps the most difficult change for infrastructure vendors, is delivering real flexibility. IT must look for new fabrics that can connect modular resources with much greater agility, allowing better adaptation when workloads are changing. This is particularly important for storage. A high-performance unified fabric simplifies moving data, managing it and optimizing storage traffic.

Cisco UCS X-Series Modular System Meets the Challenges of the Changing Compute Landscape
The Cisco UCS X-Series with Intersight is a modular infrastructure solution that is fully managed from the cloud. It offers tremendous agility and flexibility to meet the needs of modern apps and workloads. This new design improves operational efficiency, provides greater agility and is highly scalable. At its heart, it is a future-ready modular design that delivers both now and in the future.

The key aspects of Cisco UCS X-Series include:

• Powered by 3^rd Gen Intel® Xeon® Scalable Processor to deliver the necessary performance for a wide range of workloads, ensuring that application performance meets both IT and the user’s demands.
• UCS X-Fabric Technology is a single fabric that connects internal nodes (storage, compute, GPU, etc.) seamlessly across infrastructure enabling greater flexibility and more efficient use of resources.
• Full cloud management that enables IT to deploy infrastructure anywhere from the cloud.
• Automated and comprehensive management functionality provided by Intersight—a modular set of services that include all the functionality modern infrastructure demands. This offering provides a single solution for comprehensive management in today’s hybrid cloud reality.
• High levels of component flexibility made possible by UCS X-Fabric technology fabric and Intersight. IT teams will have a wide range of options and choices for the optimal infrastructure to support different workloads.

Key Takeaways
After decades of relative consistency and clarity on future direction, the infrastructure and compute landscapes are changing rapidly and fundamentally. This sea change demands new infrastructure solutions that are designed for this new reality at the outset. “Dressed up” legacy products will not be able to meet these challenges. Cisco UCS X-Series provides what organizations, and the IT teams that support them, will need both now and into the future. Get more details on the Cisco UCS X-Series Modular System