Outperforming hardware in the software-defined data centre

30 Oct 2012

Solving complex problems with code, instead of more components, is the new way for companies to achieve greater data centre efficiency, writes Thomas Kejser, EMEA chief technology officer at flash storage specialist, Fusion-io.

As enterprises seek efficient solutions that enable them to scale to meet the demands of our increasingly connected world, the cost of running a data centre is becoming more and more evident to IT leaders around the world. Going beyond hardware, with software-defined solutions, results in a much more nimble data centre infrastructure, which saves money in capital and operational expenditure and is better able to keep up with the constantly changing demands of the information economy.

While this shift may seem new to some in the enterprise, it’s a transition that has shown its power already on a very familiar platform: the smartphone. Before app-driven smartphones were ubiquitous, we had specialised gadgets for many of the functions a smartphone can deliver today. Camcorders, portable music players, voice recorders, cameras, video game systems, timers and global positioning systems are some of the more common tools that come pre-loaded on our smartphones today, but the list goes far beyond the basics, to include apps for payment systems, heart monitors and even Geiger counters. This consolidation of multiple applications onto a single, powerful flash-based platform is what software-defined storage is about.

As infrastructures continue to be virtualised across the data centre, IT professionals are now adopting software solutions to do the heavy lifting that once required proprietary hardware. This change is not new to computing itself. In fact, Fusion-io Chief Scientist and co-founder of Apple Steve Wozniak saw the benefit of using software to overcome the limitations of hardware back when he designed the first disk drive for Apple computers. He saw that software could help him use fewer components to produce a more affordable and more powerful product and we share this vision at Fusion-io.  

Today, flash memory is leading to software-defined performance in the data centre. With flash solutions designed to be a memory tier for software, enterprises can finally get beyond disk-era architectures and the code that accompanies disk-based solutions. New code written for flash memory architectures delivers lower latency and better performance by finally moving beyond the assumption that data centres are relying on mechanical disks for performance.

This allows a great deal of flexibility in customising solutions to meet the organisation’s needs across virtualisation, big data or cloud computing. It opens up the ability for servers to become multi-purpose, moving between hosting applications or even serving as shared storage when needed.

Beyond performance inside the server, software-defined solutions are evolving in networking as well, showcasing the overall trend towards solving complex problems with code instead of more components. With VMware’s leadership, virtualisation has already proved to enterprises that software can help extend resources far beyond what is possible with hardware alone.

In addition to the capital savings associated with these platforms, software-defined solutions also enable companies to reduce the ecological footprint of their data centre, enabling them to be environmentally responsible while improving performance. Green solutions are not always top of mind for IT teams who cannot afford to make any sacrifices on performance, but given the amount of energy consumed by data centres, it is inspiring to note that speed, cost and ecology all line up on the right side of the equation with these solutions.

As data demands continue to explode across the globe with new connected devices and mobile platforms, software will become the significant differentiator in the data centre. As customers realise the benefits of these platforms designed to deliver unprecedented return on investment, the next wave of breakthrough product innovations will deliver more for less, with fewer components than ever before. The result will be a better experience for consumers, at lower cost to enterprises and to our environment. The only parties that don’t stand to benefit from this transition are those vendors who don’t believe that the software-defined shift is already well underway.

[EXPERT OPINION BIO]

About the author

Thomas Kejser serves as Fusion-io’s EMEA chief technology officer, bringing to the company several years of experience in open source database and systems architecture. He served as principal program manager at Microsoft, where he also founded the SQL Customer Advisory Team to aid customers in the implementation of the SQL Server database. For some years, Kejser also ran Kejser Consulting, where he advised some of Europe’s top IT organisations.