How Software Defined Data Centers are Built for the Cloud

- Patrick Kerpan, CEO at CohesiveFT, says:

The new concept of the “software defined data center” (SDDC) has ignited the IT industry.  But, what makes it different from a traditional data center? Is a software defined data center just existing physical assets with more virtualized aspects, or is it something revolutionary? Does the software defined data center rely on homogeneous vendors and providers or is it like my physical data center where I can I do what I want?

A software defined data center is an extension of existing physical assets, yet, at its core, a software defined data center frees the application layer from the physical infrastructure layer.

Previous limitations to software defined data centers included physical constraints and a lack of application-layer focus. Enterprises have been wary of sending apps to the cloud without the proper context for integration, governance and security.

Furthermore, industry buzz does not fully explain the potential that software defined data centers offer and it can be a challenge to cut through the hyperbole to understand how the SDDC will take enterprise IT end users on the “quantum leap” some predict.

Core features of a true Software Defined Data Center:

Game Changer: Defined in Software

Customers have asked us: What’s the difference between this and the hardware at the office?  At its core, a software defined data center frees the application layer from the hardware layer. Use software to define the compute, storage and networking needs for your business apps.  Let someone else own the hardware, the guards, the glass, the gas, the batteries, the generators, and the costs of a physical data center.

Multiple physical locations and at multiple service providers

Not only can and will the data centers of the near future reside in multiple physical locations - but also at multiple service providers - with the application for the most part unconcerned with its location.

The key difference between the location-neutral application and the application’s owner is “jurisdictional physicality” - the nuances of law and physics at Layer 0. While business application owners must consider the implications of the laws of physics of a data center, the application itself is free to operate as abstractions on top of any locale and environment.

Unified Data Platform - Above the Infrastructure

A software defined data center is built for the cloud on a unified platform, geared toward modern applications, and ideal for businesses looking to modernize without the costs of a physical overhaul. 

VMware describes the software defined data center as, “a unified data center platform that will help you transform the way you deliver IT with unprecedented automation, flexibility, and efficiency.”

Enterprises can clearly see the benefits of outsourced IT features, either as the SaaS applications they use or IaaS based in the cloud.

SDDCs Allow End Users To Pursue and Deliver ROI One Application at a Time

We don’t see customers migrating whole data centers to the cloud, we see them migrating applications to the cloud. Where an application is the 5, 10, or 50 computer servers that collectively perform a business function, instead of the entire data center.  Using the application as the target allows IT teams to get almost instant ROI upon deployment or migration of their first cloud application.

SDDCs give access, control and visibility for End Users’ business apps

A true software defined data center has the features of:

·   network virtualization;

·   image automation;

·   topology automation; and

·   file system virtualization

Software Define Data Centers (SDDCs) are truly revolutionary and packed with the capabilities enterprises need in the cloud. They free the application layer from the physical infrastructure layer and allow for a wide scope of uses, including deploying, managing, storing, computing and networking myriad business applications in a cloud environment.