Equipment / Dell Technologies / Hyperconvergence
Simplify the infrastructure without closing any doors.
Computing, storage, virtualization, and management all on a single platform.A hyperconverged infrastructure replaces servers, storage systems, and separately managed components with nodes that pool their resources and scale incrementally. With Dell platforms, we design a solution that meets the needs of your applications, your virtualization environment, and your availability goals.
The hardware is similar, but the ecosystems are not
All Dell hyperconverged platforms are based on the same principle: consolidating computing and storage into a distributed infrastructure. What sets them apart is not the performance of the hardware, but rather the software environment, the hypervisor, and how they are managed. That choice has a longer-lasting impact than the hardware itself.
Your internal skills matter just as much as the numbers
A team that has been familiar with an environment for ten years will be faster and more reliable there than on a theoretically better platform. The learning curve is real, and it comes at the cost of operational hours.
A platform is used every day; you only have to buy it once.
Your existing licenses play a role in the decision
Depending on the platform, licenses are counted by processor, core, node, or used capacity. The counting method changes the entire calculation, and it cannot be determined from a data sheet.
The billing method is more important than the listed rate.
Your hosting strategy determines everything else
Keeping certain applications on-premises while using externally hosted management tools does not require the same platform as a fully on-premises environment.
The platform follows the strategy—never the other way around.
Four ecosystems, four consequences
Everyone contributes something and makes assumptions. What each person assumes matters just as much as what they contribute: that’s what will determine whether the platform will still be right for you three years from now.
Full integration with VMware
Dell servers— PowerEdge —paired with v VMware , vSphere, and vSAN. Deployment, monitoring, updates, and lifecycle management are centralized through the VMware environment—this represents the highest level of integration among the four.
This assumes thatyou are already using VMware as your standard, and that you wish to continue doing so.
The Nutanix approach, with its own hypervisor
Nutanix Cloud Platform and the AHV hypervisor on a PowerEdge infrastructure. Nutanix Prism manages virtual machines, distributed storage, and clusters from a single interface.
This requiresa team thatis willing to learn a new environment and a compatibility check of your applications.
The Microsoft ecosystem, in your datacenter
A Dell-validated infrastructure with Azure on-premises. Applications and virtual machines remain in your datacenter or on your premises, while utilizing Microsoft’s management tools and hybrid services Azure.
This requiresa high level of integration with the Microsoft ecosystem and an Azure .
Compute nodes and storage are scaling independently
A high-performance software-defined storage solution that can be integrated with various computing and virtualization environments. Unlike a traditional hyperconverged platform, resources can be pooled or scaled individually at their own pace.
This implies thatrequirements do not evolve uniformly, and that the architecture is somewhat less integrated.
We cover all four areas. That’s what allows us to advise you on your applications, licenses, skills, and strategy—rather than just on what we know how to do. A service provider who only covers one of these areas will always tell you that’s the one you need—and you can verify this by asking for references from all four sides.
Adding up the virtual machines gives an incorrect number
Sizing a hyperconverged platform isn't just a matter of adding up the resources needed for the virtual machines. Three components are added to that total, and the last one is the one you remove —it's also the only one that matters when a failure occurs.
What Your Virtual Machines Need
Actual CPU, memory, and storage usage, measured in your current environment and not based on the declared capacities. This is the starting point, and it's all that a simple calculation takes into account.
Data Replication
A distributed platform stores multiple copies of each piece of data on different nodes: this is what allows it to survive the loss of a disk or a machine. This redundancy takes up actual space.
The space the platform reserves for its own projects
The platform needs space for its own operations: post-incident recovery, load balancing between nodes, snapshots, and updates. Without this buffer, these operations slow down production precisely when it needs it most.
The capacity that must remain available to compensate for the loss of a node
This is the portion we remove from the estimate, because it's like paying for space that's not being used. It's used to keep running elsewhere what the failed node was running.
A platform designed without this component works perfectly until the first failure, at which point it shuts down instead of continuing to operate at reduced capacity. That’s exactly what we came here to buy.
Balance is just as important as the total. The processor, memory, and storage must be aligned with network performance, operations-per-second requirements, and the cluster’s availability policies. An imbalance causes the platform to become overloaded even though some resources still appear to be available—and this is the most common issue we encounter on the platforms we take over.
What is your situation?
Eight starting points. They don’t lead to the same ecosystem or the same licensing budget —and recognizing which one applies to you is the key to success in the first meeting.
Your virtualization platform is too old
It is nearing the end of its support period, or it no longer meets the needs of your current applications.
You're looking into a platform other than your own
Nutanix, the Microsoft ecosystem, or another architecture: the question is what this change entails, without compromising the availability of your services.
Managing servers, storage, and virtualization separately costs you too much
Servers, storage, and virtualization managed separately take up too much time and make every update complicated.
Your platform needs to scale by adding nodes
Your environment must be able to accommodate new workloads by adding nodes or resources, without requiring a redesign of the architecture.
Some of your applications must remain on your premises
Some of it remains on-premises, while other parts use externally hosted services and management tools. The platform must support both.
You operate multiple locations
Branches, industrial sites, or remote locations require a compact, resilient infrastructure that can be managed from a single location.
You host mission-critical applications
Databases, integrated management systems, and business applications require consistent performance and an architecture that can withstand the loss of a node.
You should compare your licensing costs before signing
Technical and economic models differ from one ecosystem to another. This comparison is made before renewal, not after.
Changing ecosystems requires more than just moving machines
Migrating to a hyperconverged platform isn’t just a matter of moving virtual machines to a new cluster. When the target ecosystem changes —from VMware to Nutanix AHV or to Azure Local—application compatibility and conversion methods must be validated beforehand, not discovered along the way.
Map the existing system and the relationships between applications
Virtual machines, hypervisor versions, virtual networks, storage performance, backup mechanisms, and the connections between applications that no one has documented.
Compare Ecosystems Based on Your Data
The four platforms were evaluated based on your applications, licenses, skills, and hosting strategy. The license counting method is detailed for each platform.
The comparison is written out, and it includes the one you're already using.
Size the cluster, including a failure reserve
The four components of system sizing, including the capacity that must remain available. The balance between the processor, memory, storage, and network is verified rather than assumed.
Migrate in stages, then remove the old one
The platform is ready, and the migration is carried out in phases, and the applications are tested to ensure they are functioning properly before the old infrastructure is taken offline.
A node failure is intentionally triggered once before the system goes live. This is the only way to know that the reserve is doing what we paid it to do.
The scope is defined before we begin. This includes what we’ll handle, what you’ll retain, the option to reverse course, and a clearly stated limit. The same engineers will support you from the site survey through commissioning.
What Complements Your Platform
A hyperconverged cluster never comes alone. Here's where to find the rest.
The servers that host these nodes
The four product lines— PowerEdge —and the chain that connects what you measure to what you buy.
View servers StorageData Storage When It Remains Separate
Block, file, and object; six platforms; and what those reduction rates actually mean.
View Storage NetworkThe network on which communication between nodes depends
There are four network levels, and the one removed from the estimate is the only one left once production has stopped.
View the networkAzure Local also serves as the foundation for private artificial intelligence. Foundry Local on Azure Local, still in preview—an enterprise platform or a hybrid architecture: what hyperconvergence enables when data must not leave the premises, on the private artificial intelligence page.
Let's talk about your platform
Please describe your virtual machines and licenses to us
What you're currently running, the environment your team is familiar with, and what you're already paying for licenses. With these three factors, comparing the four ecosystems becomes a calculation rather than a matter of opinion.
What we offer is a meeting with the engineers who will carry out the work. Assessing the workload and comparing ecosystems are part of the scope of work. The preliminary discussion, however, costs nothing and is often enough to determine whether the project is viable.
Renens, Sion, Châtel-Saint-Denis
Microsoft Gold Partner and a Gold Partner Dell Technologies. We implement the four ecosystems— VMware, Nutanix, Microsoft, and PowerFlex—which is what makes our consulting services verifiable.
Renens VD +41 21 806 37 15
Sion VS +41 27 552 00 22
Châtel-Saint-Denis FR +41 26 322 59 05