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Converged Infrastructure
A converged infrastructure (CI) alternative is an architecture that was brought to market
around 2010. Converged infrastructure offerings typically offer the same products that
might be selected as part of the BYO alternative, and package them together into a
productized solution. This means that a CI vendor will include computer, storage, and
networking in their offering. Typically, most CI offerings contain products from multiple
vendors and be included as part of a single offering, or a vendor can offer all the layers
of a CI offering from their own product line. Figure 3 illustrates a simple example of a
converged infrastructure alternative.
Figure 3:
Converged Infrastructure
Network
Compute (CPU / Memory)
Hypervisor / Bare Metal
Network
Storage Array
Management
Storage Network (SAN)
Core
Services
A converged infrastructure offering will enable you to purchase familiar products that
have been packaged into a single solution. This can be thought of as a reference
architecture that can be purchased as a product. Depending on the CI product that
is evaluated, the product may or may not offer any additional convergence than if
you purchased the products separately in a BYO alternative.
