Module 3: Data Center Environment

Upon completion of this module, you should be able to:

• Describe the building blocks of a data center
• Describe compute system, its components, and its types
• Describe compute virtualization, application virtualization, and
desktop virtualization
• Provide an overview of storage and connectivity in a data center
• Provide an overview of software-defined data center

Module 3: Data Center Environment ‹#›

© Copyright 2015 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved.
 Lesson 1: Data Center Infrastructure
Building Blocks
This lesson covers the following topics:
• Layers of a data center infrastructure
• Components and functions of each layer
• Cross-layer functions in a data center
• Best-of-breed vs. converged infrastructure

Module 3: Data Center Environment ‹#›

© Copyright 2015 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved.
Data Center Infrastructure
APPLICATIONS
Cloud Extensibility
Business Third Platform CLOUD
Internal Applications
Applications Applications

DATA CENTER INFRASTRUCTURE

MANAGEMENT SERVICES BUSINESS SECURITY
CONTINUITY
Self-Service Portal Service Catalog

Orchestration
ORCHESTRATION
Software

SOFTWARE-DEFINED INFRASTRUCTURE

Software-Defined Software-Defined Software-Defined Fault Tolerance

Compute Storage Network Mechanisms

VIRTUAL INFRASTRUCTURE

Virtual Compute Virtual Storage Virtual Network Backup & Archive Security Mechanisms

PHYSICAL INFRASTRUCTURE (BEST-OF-BREED/CONVERGED)

Storage Operation
Governance, Risk
Management Compute Storage Network Replication
and Compliance

Module 3: Data Center Environment ‹#›

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Data Center Infrastructure
Physical Infrastructure

• Foundation layer of the data center infrastructure

• Physical components:
– Compute systems, storage, and network devices
• Require operating systems, system software, and protocols for their
functions

• Executes the requests generated by the virtual and software-

defined layers

Module 3: Data Center Environment ‹#›

© Copyright 2015 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved.
Data Center Infrastructure
Virtual Infrastructure

• Virtualization abstracts physical resources and creates virtual

resources
• Virtual components:
– Virtual compute, virtual storage, and virtual network
• Created from physical resource pools using virtualization software

• Benefits of virtualization:
– Resource consolidation and multitenant environment
– Improved resource utilization and increased ROI
– Flexible resource provisioning and rapid elasticity

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Data Center Infrastructure
Software-defined Infrastructure
• Deployed either on virtual layer or on physical layer

• All infrastructure components are virtualized and aggregated into pools

– Underlying resources are abstracted from applications
– Enables ITaaS

• Centralized, automated, and policy-driven management and delivery of

heterogeneous resources

• Components:
– Software-defined compute
– Software-defined storage
– Software-defined network

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Data Center Infrastructure
Orchestration

• Component:
– Orchestration software

• Provides workflows for executing automated tasks

• Interacts with various components across layers and functions
to invoke provisioning tasks

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Data Center Infrastructure
Services

• Delivers IT resources as services to users

– Enables users to achieve desired business results
– Users have no liabilities associated with owning the resources

• Components:
– Service catalog
– Self-service portal

• Functions of service layer:

– Stores service information in service catalog and presents them to the
users
– Enables users to access services via a self-service portal

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Data Center Infrastructure
Business Continuity

• Enables ensuring the availability of services in line with SLA

• Supports all the layers to provide uninterrupted services
• Includes adoption of measures to mitigate the impact of
downtime
Measure Description

• Business impact analysis

Proactive
• Risk assessment
• Technology solutions deployment (backup and replication)

• Disaster recovery
Reactive
• Disaster restart

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Data Center Infrastructure
Security
• Supports all the layers to provide secure services

• Specifies the adoption of:

– Administrative mechanisms
• Security and personnel policies
• Standard procedures to direct safe execution of operations
– Technical mechanisms
• Firewall
• Intrusion detection and prevention systems
• Antivirus

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Data Center Infrastructure
Management

• Enables storage infrastructure configuration and capacity

provisioning
• Enables problem resolution
• Enables capacity and availability management
• Enables compliance conformance
• Enables monitoring services

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Best-of-breed Vs. Converged Infrastructure

Best-of-breed infrastructure Converged infrastructure

• Integrating different best-of- • Integrates all hardware and
breed components from multiple software components into a
vendors single package

• Prevents vendor lock-in • Offers a preconfigured and

optimized self-contained unit
• Enables repurposing the
existing infrastructure • Facilitates faster acquisition
components and deployment

© Copyright 2015 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. Module 3: Data Center Environment ‹#›
 Lesson 1: Summary
During this lesson the following topics were covered:
• Layers of a data center infrastructure
• Components and functions of each layer
• Cross-layer functions of a data center
• Best-of-breed vs. converged infrastructure

© Copyright 2015 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. Module 3: Data Center Environment ‹#›
 Lesson 2: Compute System
This lesson covers the following topics:
• Physical and logical components of a compute system
• Types of compute systems

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What is a Compute System?
• A computing platform (hardware and system software) that
runs applications
– Physical components include processor, memory, internal storage,
and I/O devices
– Logical components include OS, device drivers, file system, and
logical volume manager

© Copyright 2015 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. Module 3: Data Center Environment ‹#›
Physical Components of a Compute System

Processor An IC that executes software programs by performing arithmetical,

logical, and input/output operations

Random-Access Memory Volatile data storage that contains the programs for execution and the
data used by the processor

Read-Only Memory Semiconductor memory containing boot, power management, and

other device-specific firmware

Motherboard A PCB that holds the processor, RAM, ROM, network and I/O ports,
and other integrated components, such as GPU and NIC

Chipset A collection of microchips on a motherboard to manage specific

functions, such as processor access to RAM and to peripheral ports

Secondary Storage A persistent storage device such as HDD or SSD

Module 3: Data Center Environment ‹#›

© Copyright 2015 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved.
Logical Components of a Compute System
• Operating system
• Virtual memory
• Logical volume manager
• File system

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Logical Components of a Compute System
Operating System
User Applications

Operating System

User Interface
GUI Command Line

System Calls (APIs)

Services
Program Memory Resource I/O File System
Networking Security
Execution Management Management Operations Management

Compute System Hardware

Module 3: Data Center Environment ‹#›

© Copyright 2015 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved.
Logical Components of a Compute System
Virtual Memory
Address Translation

Unavailable

Unavailable

Physical Memory

Virtual Memory

Storage Drive

Module 3: Data Center Environment ‹#›

© Copyright 2015 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved.
Logical Components of a Compute System
Logical Volume Manager (LVM)
Physical Volumes
• Creates and controls compute level
logical storage
– Provides a logical view of physical
storage
– Logical data blocks are mapped to
physical data blocks
Volume Group
• Physical volumes form a volume group
– LVM manages volume groups as a
single entity

• Logical volumes are created from a Logical Logical Logical

Volume Volume Volume
volume group

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Logical Components of a Compute System
LVM Example: Partitioning and Concatenation

Compute Systems

Logical Volume(s)

Physical Volume(s)

Partitioning Concatenation

Module 3: Data Center Environment ‹#›

© Copyright 2015 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved.
Logical Components of a Compute System
File System

• File is a collection of related records stored as a single named unit in

contiguous logical address space

• A file system controls and manages the storage and retrieval of files
– Enables users to perform various operations on files
– Groups and organizes files in a hierarchical structure

• File system may be broadly classified as:

– Disk-based file system
– Network-based file system
– Virtual file system

© Copyright 2015 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. Module 3: Data Center Environment ‹#›
Logical Components of a Compute System
File System (Cont’d)
File System Blocks

Files File System

User
1 2 3
s
Create/Manag Reside Mapped to
e in

Disk Sectors Disk Physical Extents LVM Logical Extents

6 5 4

Mapped to Mapped to Mapped to

Module 3: Data Center Environment ‹#›

© Copyright 2015 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved.
Types of Compute Systems
Tower Compute System Rack-mounted Compute System Blade Compute System

Module 3: Data Center Environment ‹#›

© Copyright 2015 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved.
 Lesson 2: Summary
During this lesson the following topics were covered:
• Physical and logical components of a compute system
• Types of compute systems

© Copyright 2015 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. Module 3: Data Center Environment ‹#›
 Lesson 3: Compute, Application, and
Desktop Virtualization
This lesson covers the following topics:
• Compute virtualization, hypervisor, and virtual machine
• Application virtualization and its techniques
• Desktop virtualization and its techniques

Module 3: Data Center Environment ‹#›

© Copyright 2015 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved.
What is Compute Virtualization?

Compute Virtualization
The technique of abstracting the physical compute hardware from the
operating system and applications enabling multiple operating systems to
run concurrently on a single or clustered physical compute system(s).

Compute Virtualization
(Hypervisor)
D
Pool of Physical Compute Capacity
e
c (x86 Hardware)
o
u
p
l CPU NIC Memory Hard Disk
e
d Module 3: Data Center Environment ‹#›
© Copyright 2015 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved.
Need for Compute Virtualization

Compute Virtualization
(Hypervisor)

Pool of Physical Compute Capacity

x86 Hardware (x86 Hardware)

Before Virtualization After Virtualization

• IT silos and underutilized resources • Server consolidation and improved resource

• Inflexible and expensive utilization

• Management inefficiencies • Flexible infrastructure at lower costs

• Risk of downtime • Increased management efficiency

• Increased availability and improved business
continuity

© Copyright 2015 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. Module 3: Data Center Environment ‹#›
What is Hypervisor?

Hypervisor
Software that provides a virtualization layer for abstracting compute system
hardware, and enables the creation of multiple virtual machines.

• Two key components:

– Hypervisor kernel
• Provides functionality similar to an OS kernel
• Presents resource requests to physical hardware
VMM VMM
– Virtual machine manager (VMM)
Hypervisor Kernel
• Each VM is assigned a VMM
• Abstracts physical hardware and presents to VM
Compute System

• Two types of hypervisor: bare-metal and hosted

© Copyright 2015 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. Module 3: Data Center Environment ‹#›
What is Virtual Machine?

Virtual Machine (VM)

A logical compute system with virtual hardware on which a supported guest
OS and its applications run.

• Created by a hypervisor installed on a physical compute system

• Comprises virtual hardware, such as virtual processor, virtual
storage, and virtual network resources
– Appears as a physical compute system to the guest OS
– Hypervisor maps the virtual hardware to the physical hardware

• VMs on a compute system are isolated from each other

© Copyright 2015 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. Module 3: Data Center Environment ‹#›
VM Hardware
USB Controller
Serial/Parallel
Ports Floppy/Optical Drives
and Controllers

Storage Drive
Mous
e

Graphic Card
Keyboard

RAM
HBAs

NIC
Processor SCSI/IDE s
Controllers

© Copyright 2015 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. Module 3: Data Center Environment ‹#›
VM Files
• From a hypervisor’s perspective, a VM is a discrete set of files
such as:
Configuration file • Stores information, such as VM name, BIOS information,
guest OS type, memory size

Virtual disk file

• Stores the contents of the VM's disk drive

Memory state file • Stores the memory contents of a VM in a suspended

state

Snapshot file
• Stores the VM settings and virtual disk of a VM

Log file • Keeps a log of the VM’s activity and is used in

troubleshooting

© Copyright 2015 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. Module 3: Data Center Environment ‹#›
What is Application Virtualization?

Application Virtualization
The technique of decoupling an application from the underlying computing
platform (OS and hardware) to enable the application to be used on a
compute system without installation.

• Application is either delivered from a remote compute system, or encapsulated

in a virtualized container

• Application virtualization benefits:

– Simplified application deployment and management
– Eliminate OS modifications
– Resolve application conflicts and compatibility issues
– Flexibility of application access

© Copyright 2015 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. Module 3: Data Center Environment ‹#›
Application Virtualization Techniques
• Application encapsulation
– Application is converted into a standalone, self-contained executable package
– Application packages may run directly from local drive, USB, or optical disc

• Application presentation
– Application is hosted and executes remotely, and the application’s UI data is
transmitted to client
– Locally-installed agent on the client manages the exchange of UI information with
user’s remote application session

• Application streaming
– Application-specific data is transmitted in portions to clients for local execution
– Requires locally-installed agent, client software, or web browser plugin

© Copyright 2015 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. Module 3: Data Center Environment ‹#›
Application Virtualization Techniques
• Application encapsulation
– Application is converted into a standalone, self-contained executable package
– Application packages may run directly from local drive, USB, or optical disc

• Application presentation
– Application is hosted and executes remotely, and the application’s UI data is
transmitted to client
– Locally-installed agent on the client manages the exchange of UI information with
user’s remote application session

• Application streaming
– Application-specific data is transmitted in portions to clients for local execution
– Requires locally-installed agent, client software, or web browser plugin

© Copyright 2015 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. Module 3: Data Center Environment ‹#›
What is Desktop Virtualization?

Desktop Virtualization
Technology that decouples the OS, applications, and user state from a
physical compute system to create a virtual desktop environment that can
be accessed from any client device.

• Desktops are hosted and managed centrally

• Desktop virtualization benefits:
– Simplified desktop infrastructure management
– Improved data protection and compliance
– Flexibility of access

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Desktop Virtualization Techniques
Remote Desktop Services Virtual Desktop Infrastructure

LAN/WAN LAN/WAN

Connection Broker
Session Session Session

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Desktop Virtualization Techniques
Remote Desktop Services Virtual Desktop Infrastructure

LAN/WAN LAN/WAN

Connection Broker
Session Session Session

© Copyright 2015 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. Module 3: Data Center Environment ‹#›
 Lesson 3: Summary
During this lesson the following topics were covered:
• Compute virtualization
• Application virtualization and its methods
• Desktop virtualization and its techniques

© Copyright 2015 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. Module 3: Data Center Environment ‹#›
 Lesson 4: Storage and Connectivity
This lesson covers the following topics:
• Evolution of storage architecture
• Types of storage devices
• Compute-to-compute and compute-to-storage connectivity
• Storage connectivity protocols

© Copyright 2015 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. Module 3: Data Center Environment ‹#›
Evolution of Storage Architecture
Server-centric Storage Architecture
Storage Devices

Sales Server

Storage Devices

C
l
LAN/WAN
i
e Finance Server
n
Storage Devices
t
s

R&D Server

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Evolution of Storage Architecture (Cont’d)
Information-centric Storage Architecture

Sales Server

C
Storage
l
LAN/WAN Area
i Network
e Finance Server
n
t Storage Devices
s

R&D Server

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Types of Storage Devices

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Overview of Storage Virtualization
• Abstracts physical storage resources to create virtual storage
resources:
– Virtual volumes
– Virtual disk files
– Virtual storage systems

• Storage virtualization software can be:

– Built into the operating environment of a storage system
– Installed on an independent compute system
– Built into a hypervisor

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Introduction to Connectivity
• Communication paths between IT infrastructure components for
information exchange and resource sharing
• Types of connectivity:
– Compute-to-compute connectivity
– Compute-to-storage connectivity

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Compute-to-compute Connectivity

Compute Systems
Clients

Ethernet IP Router Ethernet

Switch Switch

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Compute-to-storage Connectivity
• Enabled through physical
components and interface protocols
• Physical connectivity components:
Host Bus Cable
– Host bus adapter, port, and cable Adapter Storag
e

• Protocols define formats for

communication between devices Ports

– Popular storage interface protocols

are IDE/ATA, SCSI, and FC

• Storage may be connected directly or

over a SAN
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Storage Connectivity Protocols
Protocol Description

IDE/ATA • Popular interface used to connect hard disks and optical drives
• The Ultra DMA/133 version of ATA supports a throughput of 133 MB/s

Serial ATA • Serial version of the IDE/ATA specification typically used for internal connectivity
• Provides data transfer rate up to 16 Gb/s (standard 3.2)

SCSI • Popular standard for compute-to-storage connectivity

• Supports up to 16 devices on a single bus
• Ultra-640 version provides data transfer speed up to 640 MB/s

SAS • Point-to-point serial protocol replacing parallel SCSI

• Supports data transfer rate up to 12 Gb/s (SAS 3.0)

FC • Widely-used protocol for high speed compute-to-storage communication

• Provides a serial data transmission that operates over copper wire and/or optical
fiber
• Latest version of the FC interface ‘16FC’ allows transmission of data up to 16 Gb/s

IP • Existing IP-based network leveraged for storage communication

• Examples: iSCSI and FCIP protocols
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Overview of Network Virtualization
• Abstracts physical network resources to create virtual network
resources:
– Virtual switch
– Virtual LAN
– Virtual SAN

• Network virtualization software can be:

– Built into the operating environment of a network device
– Installed on an independent compute system
– Built into a hypervisor

© Copyright 2015 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. Module 3: Data Center Environment ‹#›
 Lesson 4: Summary
During this lesson the following topics were covered:
• Evolution of storage architecture
• Types of storage devices
• Compute-to-compute and compute-to-storage connectivity
• Storage connectivity protocols

© Copyright 2015 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. Module 3: Data Center Environment ‹#›
 Module 3: Summary
Key points covered in this module:
• The building blocks of a data center
• Compute system, its components, and its types
• Compute virtualization, application virtualization, and
desktop virtualization
• Overview of storage and connectivity in a data center
• Overview of software-defined data center

© Copyright 2015 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. Module 3: Data Center Environment ‹#›