Hitachi Inspire Series
WHITE PAPER
Journey to the
Software Defined
Data Centre
DATA DRIVEN GLOBAL VISION CLOUD PLATFORM STRATEGIC CONVER
ION POWERFUL RELEVANT PERFORMANCE SOLUTION CLOUD UNIFIED
VIRTUAL BIG DATA SOLUTION ROI FLEXIBLE CONSOLIDATE ACCELERATI
Software has always been a key enabler for data centre
intricate application development
transformation. This transformation is now accelerating as
cycles, it is no surprise that IT
enterprises are beginning to realise how a ubiquitous software
organisations spend 23.3% of
strategy helps to develop capable and sustainable human capital in
their organisations and also reduces their acquisition costs over the
longer term. The mandate for software acquisition is currently being
led by cloud-based services, data analytics, mobility, and social
media. This trend is fueling debates around what the next
generation data centre will look like, and what will be the pivotal
characteristics and guiding principles that will allow enterprises to
staff time and resources on
pre-system deployment issues,
according to IDC.
Data Centre as a Utility
The objective of a Software
Defined Data Centre (SDDC) is to
overcome the abovementioned
move towards establishing a Software Defined Data Centre
challenges. By adopting and
(SDDC).
accepting the data centre as a
utility, IT managers are able to
Obstacles in the Evolving
Data Centre
have also caused CIOs to rethink
shift gears to focus on service
how to provision predictable,
levels, while CIOs are able to
CIOs today face a myriad of
reliable, and repeatable IT
accelerate their delivery of
information management
services without compromising
business outcomes. This ‘utility’ is
challenges. Variable application
the bottom line. IT managers
enabled and defined through
workloads are created throughout
continue to struggle with
software. However, such an
the data lifecycle, putting
interoperability issues, which are
approach does not mean that an
pressure on IT managers to not
now more amplified than ever
infrastructure overhaul is in the
just deploy and maintain a
before. As IT infrastructures
cards. A careful evaluation of the
‘scale-right’ infrastructure, but
become more fragmented and
enterprise’s current IT
also to deliver the right
complex, performance
investments will determine if it
service-level agreements (SLAs)
bottlenecks and management
already has the building blocks in
to their business users. The
silos are an inevitable reality in
place to make the SDDC
changing mix and types of data
today’s data centres. Faced with
transformation a reality.
Pivotal Characteristics of a
SDDC
Through the use of orchestration
defined by their business
software, IT resources can be
objectives, solution and
Abstraction is a key attribute for
scaled up or down, while
application requirements, and
any data centre today and is
maintaining the necessary
service levels. CIOs need to then
enabled through virtualisation
application policies and profiles.
apply IT governance principles
software that is either installed in
on the SLAs to ensure
compute platforms or enabled as
Automation through software
accountability and compliance
a hardware accelerated engine.
should not exist in isolation. It must
while satisfying business
Abstraction serves not only to
also be extensible in order to
outcomes.
mask complexities and eliminate
integrate with hypervisors and
silos in the data centre, but also
other management software for
to pave the way for asset
unified management of
consolidation, unification of
infrastructure silos. Such
different data types and
extensible management will help
workloads, and infrastructure
support an agile and responsive
convergence of servers, storage,
mobility solution for business users
and networks.
that delivers anywhere, any-device
computing.
Abstraction without automation
will cripple the utility nature of
When organisations get the
SDDC. Automation must allow for
abstraction, automation and
the provisioning of physical and
extensible characteristics right, a
virtual IT resources on a
services-driven mindset kicks in
self-service, on-demand and
almost instantly. The SDDC journey
pay-per-use basis, in order to
eventually leads to a private,
fulfill the promise of a
hybrid, or public cloud business
cloud-based data centre.
model where all services are
Abstracted
Automated
The Hitachi Data Systems
SDDC Strategy
Hitachi Data Systems focuses on
delivering the right business
outcomes for enterprises through
an integrated technology strategy
– Infrastructure, Content and
Information. The foundation for
this strategy revolves around the
Infrastructure Cloud where
virtualisation, mobility, unified
management, and
infrastructure-on-demand
solutions are enabled for
organisations.
Service-Driven
Extensible
Virtualised
DC resources
configured to service
levels
Complexities masked
across server, storage,
network
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Software layer
automates execution
Compliant with service
policies and profiles
Agile environment
expansion
Mobile, portable
Services defined by
Business objectives
Solution/application
Information needs
Delivery model based
on service definition
Private, hybrid, public
INFORMATION
AUTOMATION
ORCHESTRATION &
UNIFIED MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE
INFRASTRUCTURE
HDS is a pioneer in storage
production and increase
virtualisation that delivers the
operational efficiencies. SDDC
abstraction and flexibility
improves the organisation’s time to
characteristics identified for
market and competitive
Software-Defined Storage (SDS)
advantage. Hitachi Unified
for all data types and workloads.
Compute Platform (UCP) delivers
Software intelligence in storage
state-of-the-art convergence,
logic can be initiated and
orchestration, and extensibility to
automated by events or policies
manage infrastructure silos, and
that are defined by applications
offers a simple, scalable, and
or hypervisors, such as VMware,
integrated solution. Hitachi UCP
which offloads server functions to
Director orchestration software, in
the storage system through the
conjunction with Hitachi SDS, was
VAAI and VASA APIs in order to
built to deliver services-driven
be more efficient in supporting
automation for data provisioning,
virtual machines. This approach
retention and protection, capacity
requires more intelligence in the
and performance optimisation, and
storage to support such APIs and
availability and reliability controls.
to provide visibility through the
The automation of such services
respective hypervisor
will help to reduce OPEX and
management software.
CAPEX, and will increase the
return on IT assets including
Two of the biggest reasons why
storage, server, network, people,
an organisation would want to
and environment.
adopt SDDC are the abilities to
significantly reduce time to
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CONTENT
Guiding Principles
It is envisioned that by 2015, 50%
of the IT market will archive to the
cloud and by 2017, 50% will
move towards a converged
infrastructure, setting the stage
for a pervasive SDDC. Cloud
service providers, such as
Amazon Web Services (AWS),
and open-source communities,
such as Openstack, are fueling
this transformation. Organisations
that embrace the 4 pivotal
characteristics (Abstraction,
Automation, Extensible, and
Services-driven) for a SDDC
strategy will be able to achieve
the desired results, but that is just
the beginning. A ubiquitous
implementation, fueled by
incessant innovation, will
determine the sustainability of
that strategy and will accelerate
an organisation’s competitive
advantage. Constant
collaboration and integration of
The SDDC approach will spur IT
capabilities. What is critical,
the SDDC deployment with
managers to adapt and rethink
however, is that as IT
existing and new business
their deployment strategies and
organisations embark on a SDDC
requirements, such as global
service level definitions. The good
journey beyond SDS and into the
namespace, metadata search
news is that organisations do not
infrastructure cloud, vendors
and big data analytics, will ensure
necessarily need to start from
must be prepared to guide them
an organisation’s long-term
scratch in procuring their IT assets
through this transformation.
growth and market differentiation.
as most infrastructure vendors
Hitachi Data Systems is ready to
already have software-defined
help.
Saravanan Krishnan is the Director for Platforms & Solutions Business in
Hitachi Data Systems for the Asia Pacific region. In his leadership, Saravanan
plays a pivotal role in driving the business focused on Infrastructure, Data
Management and Converged Solutions.
Saravanan Krishnan
Director,
Platforms & Solutions
Business,
Asia Pacific
Hitachi Data Systems
Saravanan was formerly from HP Software and Solutions Group where he was
instrumental in driving sales engagements through his Asia Pacific and Japan
team to exceed revenue and margin goals, introduce innovative service
offerings, and uphold customer satisfaction. He was also accountable for
developing strategic partnerships with key technology vendors to expand the
services portfolio across the region. Before joining HP, he was with Sun
Microsystems where he successfully led the Asia South Storage solutions
team. In his last role in StorageTek, he was in charge of Business
Development for emerging technologies as well.
Saravanan comes with more than 17 years of IT experience in companies
including IBM and CSC, and has held diverse functional positions in delivery,
consulting, sales and business development. He is also the current Chairman
for the Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA), South Asia.
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Notice: This document is for informational purposes only, and does not set forth any warranty, expressed or implied, concerning any equipment or service offered or to be offered
by Hitachi Data Systems Corporation.
© Hitachi Data Systems Corporation 2013. All Rights Reserved.
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