You better not confuse the two terms Hyperconverged appliance and cloud storage, as these are not the same. Hyperconverged infrastructure is not cloud computing but it makes cloud computing possible. HCI makes things simpler and efficient for storing data in a smarter manner so that it manages the data well and there is less data loads to handle.
This is the reason why enterprises love to go for HCI. To confuse you more, let me tell you that cloud storage is also something businesses are dying to shift to these days.
What is HCI?
HCI is about taking the internal storage
of various computers and makes it a shared storage. This is done for making virtualization
possible. We must keep in our minds that making the storage virtual is not
cloud computing.
We better call it a cluster with some additional features and capabilities, but still it is not cloud. The main forte of HCI is to make the data storage easier and simpler for the users. It is mainly focused on simplification of the data storage and retrieval process.
In this way it is something which
is better and beyond traditional storage solution but is not exactly cloud
computing either. You may call it as a stepping stone to reach to the castle of
cloud computing on the island of technology. HCI sort of eases your way to
cloud computing by taking the excessive workload and complexity out.
What about Cloud Storage?
Cloud computing on the other hand is more tilted towards the end user’s experiences. It allows the enterprises not just to have their data stored on remote locations but at the same time have complete control, accessibility and experience like their data is there on their premises.
Cloud storage is a solution which
maintains the data in a way that it is backed up at a remote location while
keeping the data highly available over internet, or any other network.
Just a Refresher
So when we start getting confused we must go back to what hyperconverged storage was. HCI makes the internal storage of the computers connected together to make it a shared storage pool and it also takes in the storage pools of computers to make the virtualization possible.
Why there is Confusion between HCI and Cloud
This is mainly why people confuse Hyperconverged storage with cloud storage as the outcomes, or the main functions of both seems the same. HCI simplifies the experience and offers ease of use, same is the case with cloud storage
Conclusion
Hyperconverged infrastructure may have some basic features same as that of cloud storage but it is definitely not cloud storage. It is better to think of hyperconverged infrastructure as a stepping stone to reach the cloud storage.
Keeping the distinction clear may
not be easier but a little effort will do it for you. Once we get the basic
definition and concept clear in our minds, we will be in a good position to
comprehend the two.