Next-Generation Data Center Is ...
Leveraging the virtualized data center to achieve operational
efficiency and elastic scaling and to support self-service, rapid
deployment, and the ability to cloud burst.
Capable of handling big data across the networking, computing,
and storage infrastructure. The trend is for users to retain
more data for longer periods—often unstructured—and some
applications, including medical, engineering, and financial, present
significant challenges to data center services.
Able to optimize performance through simplification. Rather
than continuing to add storage and server ports, innovative
new technology can be put in place to intelligently manage and
simplify your IT environment.
Able to build trust and compliance into cloud implementations
at the basic hardware level. Trusted server pools protect the
most sensitive workloads and provide data from system integrity
checks for use by dashboards for audit purposes.
Next-Generation Data Center Isn’t …
A set of technologies that replace virtualization. Combining
virtualized servers with innovative networking, storage, security,
and power-management technologies gives you a foundation
for achieving the benefits of cloud computing, including reduced
operational costs, flexibility, elasticity, and scalability.
A way to address all pain points in the data center. Usage
models for networking and storage capacity, security, and power
management are just the beginning of the conversation about
innovative new technologies that simplify the data center
environment and support cloud computing.
A prescriptive, step-by-step set of technologies to deploy in a
specific order or configuration. By thinking through the cloud-
usage models that make the most sense for your organization,
you can plan how to best prepare your data center for the cloud.
Based on proprietary systems with closed interfaces that
don’t integrate with other solutions and also include high
switching costs.
Based on an open and interoperable approach, the next-generation
data center provides the right infrastructure for your cloud. It
enables you to simplify deployments and increase IT efficiencies.
And while networking and storage bottlenecks may be at the
heart of the challenges that next-generation data centers address,
issues such as power management and security represent other
very real problems.
Our recommendations are based on our experience working with IT
managers, cloud providers, and security and power-management
solution vendors—as well as the experience of our own Intel
IT in building and deploying cloud technology. In addition, our
recommendations align with solutions and guidelines that
industry-leading OEMs and ISVs have been publishing on the
Intel® Cloud Builders3 program site. Our Intel Cloud Builders
program continues to yield in-depth guidance that you can use,
including reference architectures, education, and a forum for
discussion of technical issues.
The purpose of this guide is to introduce you to data center
technologies that address challenges of networking, storage,
security, and power management. We will walk you through a series
of suggestions and recommendations for the best way to evaluate
and implement these technologies in your data center.
3 Intel Cloud Builders is a cross-industry initiative to help enterprises, telecommunications companies, and service providers build, enhance, and operate secure cloud infrastructures.