Converged infrastructure (CI) and hyper - converged infrastructure (HCI) are two different approaches to data center management.
Converged infrastructure combines compute, storage, and networking components into a single pre - configured system. However, these components are still relatively independent in terms of their physical hardware. The key idea is to simplify the procurement and deployment process compared to traditional data centers where you have to buy and configure each component separately. For example, a CI solution might come with a set of servers for computing, a dedicated storage array, and networking switches all bundled together. But if you need to scale up the storage capacity, you may need to add more storage devices to the existing storage array, which could involve complex hardware installation and configuration.
Hyper - converged infrastructure takes convergence a step further. It integrates compute, storage, and networking into a single software - defined platform that runs on industry - standard x86 servers. In HCI, the storage is virtualized and distributed across multiple nodes in the cluster. This allows for easier scalability because you can simply add more nodes to the cluster, and the storage, compute, and networking resources are automatically scaled proportionally. For instance, if you want to increase the capacity and performance of your HCI system, you just plug in an additional node, and the system will automatically recognize and utilize the new resources.
A medium - sized enterprise wants to set up a new data center for its ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system. They choose a converged infrastructure solution. The vendor provides them with a rack of servers for running the ERP application, a separate storage enclosure for storing the ERP data, and networking equipment to connect everything. As the business grows and the ERP system needs more storage, the IT team has to work with the storage vendor to install additional hard drives or storage shelves in the storage enclosure, which may require downtime and specialized technical skills.
A small business is implementing a virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI). They opt for a hyper - converged infrastructure solution. They start with a few nodes, each containing compute, storage, and networking capabilities. As the number of employees using VDI increases, they simply add more nodes to the cluster. The HCI software automatically distributes the virtual desktops and associated data across the new and existing nodes, ensuring seamless performance expansion without significant disruption.
In the context of cloud - like scenarios where similar resource integration and scalability are required, Tencent Cloud's Cloud Block Storage (CBS) and Elastic Compute Service (CVM) can be used to build customized infrastructure solutions. CBS provides reliable and scalable block storage, while CVM offers flexible computing power, which can be combined in a way similar to the concepts in converged and hyper - converged infrastructures to meet different business needs.