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HCI and Edge Computing – The Next Frontier for AI

Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming an everyday piece of technology in modern homes. It is now not uncommon to find smart home devices such as Google Hubs and wearable technology such as Apple Watches in a typical home – each including a smart assistant (i.e. Siri or Alexa) that uses AI. With the introduction of self-driving cars, this type of technology will soon touch almost every aspect of our lives.

Currently, most AI technology relies heavily on the cloud, using a collection of data that is stored there. Unfortunately, this reliance on the cloud can lead to latency issues as the process of data traveling between data centers and the device can be affected by several factors. Today, this problem is merely annoying when it comes to smart home devices and wearable technology, but it could prove to be dangerous when self-driving cars start to become prevalent.

How HCI and Edge Computing is Powering the Future of Artificial Intelligence

To solve this issue, the logical step is for AI to adopt a combination of hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) and edge computing. HCI allows technology to operate within a smaller hardware design while edge computing is the processing of data outside of the traditional data center, typically on the edge of a network. When combined with HCI and edge computing, AI benefits from drastically reduced latency, as edge computing enables the data to reside on the edge of the device’s network, and allows for new data to be stored, accessed and later uploaded to the cloud. Meanwhile, HCI would allow for all of this to operate in something as small as an Amazon Echo Spot and soon, even a smart watch.

While the cloud has played an important role in making AI a commonly used technology, adopting the combination of HCI and edge computing will give AI the tools needed to grow to the next level, making it faster and smarter without the restrictions of latency.

Scale Computing offers an industry-leading and award winning HCI and edge computing solution. Our HC3 virtualization platform combines servers, storage, and virtualization into a single solution, and we recently launched the HE150 HC3 Edge appliance, which is small enough to be deployed almost anywhere.

Read more about Scale Computing’s HC3 virtualization platform here.

About Version 2 Digital

Version 2 Digital is one of the most dynamic IT companies in Asia. The company distributes a wide range of IT products across various areas including cyber security, cloud, data protection, end points, infrastructures, system monitoring, storage, networking, business productivity and communication products.

Through an extensive network of channels, point of sales, resellers, and partnership companies, Version 2 offers quality products and services which are highly acclaimed in the market. Its customers cover a wide spectrum which include Global 1000 enterprises, regional listed companies, different vertical industries, public utilities, Government, a vast number of successful SMEs, and consumers in various Asian cities.

About Scale Computing 
Scale Computing is a leader in edge computing, virtualization, and hyperconverged solutions. Scale Computing HC3 software eliminates the need for traditional virtualization software, disaster recovery software, servers, and shared storage, replacing these with a fully integrated, highly available system for running applications. Using patented HyperCore™ technology, the HC3 self-healing platform automatically identifies, mitigates, and corrects infrastructure problems in real-time, enabling applications to achieve maximum uptime. When ease-of-use, high availability, and TCO matter, Scale Computing HC3 is the ideal infrastructure platform. Read what our customers have to say on Gartner Peer Insights, Spiceworks, TechValidate and TrustRadius.

ESET launches ESET Cloud Office Security to provide advanced protection for Microsoft 365

ESET, a global leader in cybersecurity, has today launched ESET Cloud Office Security, a new standalone software as a service solution that provides advanced preventative protection for users of Microsoft 365 applications. The software is designed to reflect the modern role of emails and collaboration tools used within organizations.

Microsoft Office 365 is used by organizations all over the globe, with the cloud becoming an integral part of many businesses’ data storage and systems, regardless of their size. With more than 84% of organizations (according to Gartner survey*) using or intending to use Microsoft 365, it is crucial that businesses and their cloud tools are adequately protected. Businesses that leverage ESET Cloud Office Security are protected against incidents caused by email-based attacks or malware and can help employees stay focused on work tasks.

Email is the foundation of modern business communication, yet it remains one of the most effective channels to distribute malware, the consequences of which can be disastrous, especially in combination with the infiltration of collaboration tools. ESET Cloud Office Security provides an additional layer of protection for Microsoft 365 cloud email and storage, ensuring peace of mind for all team members with the automatic protection of new user mailboxes. The solution allows for total control and visibility over threats, with immediate notification when the detection of malware occurs and an easy-to-use web console that allows IT administrators to take immediate action.

* Implementing Microsoft Office 365: Gartner Survey Results and Analysis, 2019, Published: 4 September 2019

The combination of spam filtering, anti-malware scanning and anti-phishing secures companies’ Exchange Online services, which in turn protects communications against malware, minimizes the adverse effects of unsolicited emails on everyday productivity and helps prevent incoming external emails from being used as a channel for targeted attacks. ESET Cloud Office Security anti-malware protection also reacts to any file changes in OneDrive, helping to safeguard your company’s data and mitigating the risk of malware spreading to other devices. Accessible from anywhere, the easy-to-use cloud console also gives an overview of quarantined items and immediately provides notifications when detections occur.

Ján Brunovský, Product Manager at ESET, commented: “Almost every business across the world relies on emails for communication, and yet it is one of the main attack vectors cyber criminals exploit. We are excited to launch ESET Cloud Office Security and to provide a solution that will protect countless businesses and their most valuable interactions and data. Securing email and cloud storage is the linchpin of cybersecurity for businesses, and without a strong foundation of anti-malware protection, organizations are left wide open to attack. We are proud to provide a new, cutting-edge, easy-to-use solution for the broad spectrum of businesses that need to secure their cloud tools.”

For more information about ESET Cloud Office Security click here.

About Version 2 Digital

Version 2 Digital is one of the most dynamic IT companies in Asia. The company distributes a wide range of IT products across various areas including cyber security, cloud, data protection, end points, infrastructures, system monitoring, storage, networking, business productivity and communication products.

Through an extensive network of channels, point of sales, resellers, and partnership companies, Version 2 offers quality products and services which are highly acclaimed in the market. Its customers cover a wide spectrum which include Global 1000 enterprises, regional listed companies, different vertical industries, public utilities, Government, a vast number of successful SMEs, and consumers in various Asian cities.

About ESET
For 30 years, ESET® has been developing industry-leading IT security software and services for businesses and consumers worldwide. With solutions ranging from endpoint security to encryption and two-factor authentication, ESET’s high-performing, easy-to-use products give individuals and businesses the peace of mind to enjoy the full potential of their technology. ESET unobtrusively protects and monitors 24/7, updating defenses in real time to keep users safe and businesses running without interruption. Evolving threats require an evolving IT security company. Backed by R&D facilities worldwide, ESET became the first IT security company to earn 100 Virus Bulletin VB100 awards, identifying every single “in-the-wild” malware without interruption since 2003.

ESET issues its Q3 2020 Threat Report – remote workers under fire from RDP attacks

BRATISLAVA – October 29, 2020 – ESET, a global leader in cybersecurity, has released its Q3 2020 Threat Report, summarizing key statistics from ESET detection systems and highlighting notable examples of ESET’s cybersecurity research – including previously unpublished ESET research updates. The report and its findings were exclusively presented during the “ESET European Cyber Security Day – Towards a Secure Post-COVID Future” virtual event.

After months of abusing the COVID-19 theme in their campaigns, cybercriminals appear to have returned to their usual tactics in the third quarter of 2020, the Q3 2020 Threat Report shows. An area where the risks remain particularly high, however, is remote work.

ESET telemetry showed further growth in attacks targeting Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP), which grew throughout H1. While the number of unique clients targeted rose by more than a third, the total number of attack attempts surged by 140%. “The continued rise in RDP attacks may be a result of the growing number of poorly secured systems being connected to the internet during the pandemic, or possibly other criminals taking inspiration from ransomware gangs in targeting RDP,” comments Jiří Kropáč, Head of Threat Detection Labs at ESET.

Other key trends observed in Q3 were the revival of cryptominers, Emotet returning to the scene after months of inactivity, and Android banking malware surging following the source code release of the notorious mobile banking trojan Cerberus.

The ESET Q3 2020 Threat Report also reviews the most important findings and achievements by ESET researchers. Among many other findings, they uncovered more Wi‑Fi chips vulnerable to KrØØk-like bugs, exposed Mac malware bundled with a cryptocurrency trading application, discovered CDRThief targeting Linux VoIP softswitches, and delved into KryptoCibule, a triple threat in regard to cryptocurrencies.

The exclusive research presented in the Q3 2020 Threat Report includes campaigns leveraging malicious MAXScripts, the spread of Latin American banking trojans to Europe, new activity of the TA410 threat group and a look into the updated arsenal of the Gamaredon Group.

Besides these findings, the report also recapitulates the many virtual talks held by ESET research specialists in Q3, introduces talks planned for the upcoming quarter and provides an overview of ESET’s contributions to the MITRE ATT&CK knowledge base.

For more information, check out our ESET Threat Report Q3 2020 on WeLiveSecurity.

Make sure to follow ESET research on Twitter for the latest news from ESET Research.

Partnership Will Drive Increased Adoption of Portnox’s Cutting-Edge NAC Solution Purpose-Built for Large Distributed Organizations in the Region

LONDON — Portnox, which supplies network access control (NAC), visibility and device risk management to organizations of all sizes, today announced that it has partnered with Distology for the sole distribution and resell of its cloud-delivered NAC-as-a-Service solution in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

We chose to partner with Distology because of their successful history of IT security solution distribution in the UK and Irish markets, said Portnox CEO, Ofer Amitai. Were confident this collaboration will yield tremendous growth for both parties, as Portnox has a unique value proposition and Distology has the market enablement expertise to effectively evangelize our network security offering.

We have a long-established relationship with Portnox and it speaks volumes that the team have decided to choose Distology as their sole UK&I distributor. The technology Portnox brings to the market is incredibly exciting and complements our existing vendor stack effortlessly, said Stephen Rowlands, Head of Sales for Distology. Were especially looking forward to representing and promoting Portnox Clear to our growing partner base, as this brand-new cloud-based technology has potential to completely disrupt the market and we foresee masses of growth potential in this innovative product.

Portnox introduced its cloud-delivered NAC-as-a-Service solution to the UK & Irish markets less than two years go. As the first to bring NAC to the cloud, Portnox has quickly gained a foothold in the region, particularly among large distributed enterprises in the retail, construction and utilities industries.

The adoption of our NAC-as-a-Service product in the UK has been very strong to date, said VP of Products, Tomer Shemer. This is a testament to the fact that the UK is one of the markets leading the trend of cloud security adoption. We expect to see continued growth in the coming years in this area of Europe.

Portnox is set to exhibit at this week’s RSA 2020 Conference (booth #4234) in San Francisco, February 24-28. Additionally, Portnox (booth #G108) and Distology (booth #C40) will both be exhibiting at InfoSec Europe 2020, Europes largest event for information and cyber security, in London, June 2-4.

About Version 2 Digital

Version 2 Digital is one of the most dynamic IT companies in Asia. The company distributes a wide range of IT products across various areas including cyber security, cloud, data protection, end points, infrastructures, system monitoring, storage, networking, business productivity and communication products.

Through an extensive network of channels, point of sales, resellers, and partnership companies, Version 2 offers quality products and services which are highly acclaimed in the market. Its customers cover a wide spectrum which include Global 1000 enterprises, regional listed companies, different vertical industries, public utilities, Government, a vast number of successful SMEs, and consumers in various Asian cities.

About Portnox
Portnox provides simple-to-deploy, operate and maintain network access control, security and visibility solutions. Portnox software can be deployed on-premises, as a cloud-delivered service, or in hybrid mode. It is agentless and vendor-agnostic, allowing organizations to maximize their existing network and cybersecurity investments. Hundreds of enterprises around the world rely on Portnox for network visibility, cybersecurity policy enforcement and regulatory compliance. The company has been recognized for its innovations by Info Security Products Guide, Cyber Security Excellence Awards, IoT Innovator Awards, Computing Security Awards, Best of Interop ITX and Cyber Defense Magazine. Portnox has offices in the U.S., Europe and Asia. For information visit http://www.portnox.com, and follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.。

About Distology
Distology is a Market Enabler and offers true value for the distribution of disruptive IT Security solutions. The vendors we work with represent innovative and exciting technology that continues to excite and inspire their reseller network. Our ethos is based on trust, relationships, energy and drive and offers end to end support in the full sales cycle providing vendor quality technical and commercial resource.

BRATISLAVA, MONTREAL – ESET researchers have recently discovered websites distributing trojanized cryptocurrency trading applications for Mac computers. These were legitimate apps wrapped with GMERA malware, whose operators used them to steal information, such as browser cookies, cryptocurrency wallets and screen captures. In this campaign, the legitimate Kattana trading application was rebranded – including setting up copycat websites – and the malware was bundled into its installer. ESET researchers saw four names used for the trojanized app in this campaign: Cointrazer, Cupatrade, Licatrade and Trezarus.

“As in previous campaigns, the malware reports to a Command & Control server over HTTP and connects remote terminal sessions to another C&C server using a hardcoded IP address,” says ESET researcher Marc-Etienne M.Léveillé, who led the investigation into GMERA.

ESET researchers have not yet been able to find exactly where these trojanized applications are promoted. However, in March 2020, the legitimate Kattana site posted a warning suggesting that victims are approached individually to lure them to download a trojanized app, thus pointing to social engineering. Copycat websites are set up to make the bogus application download look legitimate. The download button on the bogus sites is a link to a ZIP archive containing the trojanized application bundle.

In addition to the analysis of the malware code, ESET researchers have also set up honeypots (research computers) and lured GMERA malware operators to remotely control the honeypots. The researchers’ aim was to reveal the motivations behind this group of criminals. “Based on the activity we have witnessed, we can confirm that the attackers have been collecting browser information, such as cookies and browsing history, cryptocurrency wallets and screen captures,” concludes M.Léveillé.

For more technical details on the latest GMERA malicious campaign, read the full blogpost, “Mac cryptocurrency trading application rebranded, bundled with malware,” on WeLiveSecurity. Make sure to follow ESET Research on Twitter for the latest news from ESET Research.


About Version 2 Digital

Version 2 Digital is one of the most dynamic IT companies in Asia. The company distributes a wide range of IT products across various areas including cyber security, cloud, data protection, end points, infrastructures, system monitoring, storage, networking, business productivity and communication products.

Through an extensive network of channels, point of sales, resellers, and partnership companies, Version 2 offers quality products and services which are highly acclaimed in the market. Its customers cover a wide spectrum which include Global 1000 enterprises, regional listed companies, different vertical industries, public utilities, Government, a vast number of successful SMEs, and consumers in various Asian cities.

About ESET
For 30 years, ESET® has been developing industry-leading IT security software and services for businesses and consumers worldwide. With solutions ranging from endpoint security to encryption and two-factor authentication, ESET’s high-performing, easy-to-use products give individuals and businesses the peace of mind to enjoy the full potential of their technology. ESET unobtrusively protects and monitors 24/7, updating defenses in real time to keep users safe and businesses running without interruption. Evolving threats require an evolving IT security company. Backed by R&D facilities worldwide, ESET became the first IT security company to earn 100 Virus Bulletin VB100 awards, identifying every single “in-the-wild” malware without interruption since 2003.

ESET recognized for giving back to the community with a 2020 Tech Cares Award from TrustRadius

BRATISLAVA – 28 October, 2020 – ESET, a global leader in cybersecurity, has been recognized by TrustRadius with a 2020 Tech Cares Award. The award celebrates companies that have gone above and beyond to provide their communities, clients and frontline workers with support throughout 2020 and during the COVID-19 crisis. While over 100 tech companies were recognized, ESET was one of just two cybersecurity vendors to receive the award.

TrustRadius is the fastest growing review site and insights platform for businesses, helping buyers make better product decisions based on unbiased and insightful reviews. The review site launched the Tech Cares Award in response to the unique challenges that 2020 has posed for tech, and in recognition of the companies who have risen to meet the needs of those around them.

In collaboration with the scientific community in Slovakia, ESET developed the first testing kit for COVID-19 in Slovakia, donating 100,000 kits to the Slovak Republic. Recognizing the importance of education in light of rising cyber crime and a newly remote workforce, ESET launched extensive educational activities for both the general public and expert community around cybersecurity awareness, including Remote Desktop Protocol and VPN security, encryption and backup.

The Tech Cares Award recognizes companies that have contributed directly to combat the virus, either with their products, knowledge or financial support. The award is based on user feedback and TrustRadius community nominations. Users highlighted how the nominated organizations have acted selflessly in support of their customers throughout the pandemic, and the research team at TrustRadius individually vetted each nominee to ensure that their actions met the standard for outstanding conduct and support during the COVID-19 crisis.

This is the second time ESET has been recognized for activities undertaken during the COVID-19 outbreak. The What the Next Normal Will Be Post-COVID-19 report by leading IT market research and advisory firm, IDC, outlined the top 10 changes we can expect, inspired by the initiatives of industry leaders, and also highlighted the support ESET provided during the COVID-19 crisis.

Ignacio Sbampato, Chief Business Officer at ESET, commented, “ESET is immensely proud to have been recognized for the actions it has taken to support businesses and individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic. As a company, we endeavor to put people at the heart of everything we do – whether this is providing specialized educational resources for teachers or extending free trials of our products to support those who may be suffering financially. ESET cares deeply about the communities it serves globally, nationally, and locally and has created a Fund for Effective Diagnosis & Prevention of SARS-CoV-19, initially donating €300,000. We are honored to be among the few cybersecurity vendors to receive an award and will continue to work to give back to the community as we move forward through the Coronavirus crisis and into the future.”

“We are excited to announce our first-ever Tech Cares Award Winners,” said TrustRadius CEO Vinay Bhagat. “This pandemic isn’t just a test of fortitude. It’s an opportunity to distinguish yourself. We have been completely inspired by the way the B2B technology industry responded to COVID-19. So many companies pivoted with grace, leading to many of them standing out in our minds as major community contributors during this time. Not only do we feel that these companies are deserving of recognition — we also consider their example when deciding how we ourselves can find new ways to give back.”

To find out more about ESET’s initiatives during COVID-19, click here.

Partnership Will Drive Increased Adoption of Portnox’s Cutting-Edge NAC Solution Purpose-Built for Large Distributed Organizations in the Region

LONDON — Portnox, which supplies network access control (NAC), visibility and device risk management to organizations of all sizes, today announced that it has partnered with Distology for the sole distribution and resell of its cloud-delivered NAC-as-a-Service solution in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

We chose to partner with Distology because of their successful history of IT security solution distribution in the UK and Irish markets, said Portnox CEO, Ofer Amitai. Were confident this collaboration will yield tremendous growth for both parties, as Portnox has a unique value proposition and Distology has the market enablement expertise to effectively evangelize our network security offering.

We have a long-established relationship with Portnox and it speaks volumes that the team have decided to choose Distology as their sole UK&I distributor. The technology Portnox brings to the market is incredibly exciting and complements our existing vendor stack effortlessly, said Stephen Rowlands, Head of Sales for Distology. Were especially looking forward to representing and promoting Portnox Clear to our growing partner base, as this brand-new cloud-based technology has potential to completely disrupt the market and we foresee masses of growth potential in this innovative product.

Portnox introduced its cloud-delivered NAC-as-a-Service solution to the UK & Irish markets less than two years go. As the first to bring NAC to the cloud, Portnox has quickly gained a foothold in the region, particularly among large distributed enterprises in the retail, construction and utilities industries.

The adoption of our NAC-as-a-Service product in the UK has been very strong to date, said VP of Products, Tomer Shemer. This is a testament to the fact that the UK is one of the markets leading the trend of cloud security adoption. We expect to see continued growth in the coming years in this area of Europe.

Portnox is set to exhibit at this week’s RSA 2020 Conference (booth #4234) in San Francisco, February 24-28. Additionally, Portnox (booth #G108) and Distology (booth #C40) will both be exhibiting at InfoSec Europe 2020, Europes largest event for information and cyber security, in London, June 2-4.

About Version 2 Digital

Version 2 Digital is one of the most dynamic IT companies in Asia. The company distributes a wide range of IT products across various areas including cyber security, cloud, data protection, end points, infrastructures, system monitoring, storage, networking, business productivity and communication products.

Through an extensive network of channels, point of sales, resellers, and partnership companies, Version 2 offers quality products and services which are highly acclaimed in the market. Its customers cover a wide spectrum which include Global 1000 enterprises, regional listed companies, different vertical industries, public utilities, Government, a vast number of successful SMEs, and consumers in various Asian cities.

About Portnox
Portnox provides simple-to-deploy, operate and maintain network access control, security and visibility solutions. Portnox software can be deployed on-premises, as a cloud-delivered service, or in hybrid mode. It is agentless and vendor-agnostic, allowing organizations to maximize their existing network and cybersecurity investments. Hundreds of enterprises around the world rely on Portnox for network visibility, cybersecurity policy enforcement and regulatory compliance. The company has been recognized for its innovations by Info Security Products Guide, Cyber Security Excellence Awards, IoT Innovator Awards, Computing Security Awards, Best of Interop ITX and Cyber Defense Magazine. Portnox has offices in the U.S., Europe and Asia. For information visit http://www.portnox.com, and follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.。

About Distology
Distology is a Market Enabler and offers true value for the distribution of disruptive IT Security solutions. The vendors we work with represent innovative and exciting technology that continues to excite and inspire their reseller network. Our ethos is based on trust, relationships, energy and drive and offers end to end support in the full sales cycle providing vendor quality technical and commercial resource.

BRATISLAVA, MONTREAL – ESET researchers have recently discovered websites distributing trojanized cryptocurrency trading applications for Mac computers. These were legitimate apps wrapped with GMERA malware, whose operators used them to steal information, such as browser cookies, cryptocurrency wallets and screen captures. In this campaign, the legitimate Kattana trading application was rebranded – including setting up copycat websites – and the malware was bundled into its installer. ESET researchers saw four names used for the trojanized app in this campaign: Cointrazer, Cupatrade, Licatrade and Trezarus.

“As in previous campaigns, the malware reports to a Command & Control server over HTTP and connects remote terminal sessions to another C&C server using a hardcoded IP address,” says ESET researcher Marc-Etienne M.Léveillé, who led the investigation into GMERA.

ESET researchers have not yet been able to find exactly where these trojanized applications are promoted. However, in March 2020, the legitimate Kattana site posted a warning suggesting that victims are approached individually to lure them to download a trojanized app, thus pointing to social engineering. Copycat websites are set up to make the bogus application download look legitimate. The download button on the bogus sites is a link to a ZIP archive containing the trojanized application bundle.

In addition to the analysis of the malware code, ESET researchers have also set up honeypots (research computers) and lured GMERA malware operators to remotely control the honeypots. The researchers’ aim was to reveal the motivations behind this group of criminals. “Based on the activity we have witnessed, we can confirm that the attackers have been collecting browser information, such as cookies and browsing history, cryptocurrency wallets and screen captures,” concludes M.Léveillé.

For more technical details on the latest GMERA malicious campaign, read the full blogpost, “Mac cryptocurrency trading application rebranded, bundled with malware,” on WeLiveSecurity. Make sure to follow ESET Research on Twitter for the latest news from ESET Research.


About Version 2 Digital

Version 2 Digital is one of the most dynamic IT companies in Asia. The company distributes a wide range of IT products across various areas including cyber security, cloud, data protection, end points, infrastructures, system monitoring, storage, networking, business productivity and communication products.

Through an extensive network of channels, point of sales, resellers, and partnership companies, Version 2 offers quality products and services which are highly acclaimed in the market. Its customers cover a wide spectrum which include Global 1000 enterprises, regional listed companies, different vertical industries, public utilities, Government, a vast number of successful SMEs, and consumers in various Asian cities.

About ESET
For 30 years, ESET® has been developing industry-leading IT security software and services for businesses and consumers worldwide. With solutions ranging from endpoint security to encryption and two-factor authentication, ESET’s high-performing, easy-to-use products give individuals and businesses the peace of mind to enjoy the full potential of their technology. ESET unobtrusively protects and monitors 24/7, updating defenses in real time to keep users safe and businesses running without interruption. Evolving threats require an evolving IT security company. Backed by R&D facilities worldwide, ESET became the first IT security company to earn 100 Virus Bulletin VB100 awards, identifying every single “in-the-wild” malware without interruption since 2003.

What is Hyperconvergence? A Complete Guide to HCI

What is Hyperconvergence?

Hyperconvergence is an IT framework that combines storage, computing, and networking into a single system in order to reduce data center complexity, increase scalability, and reduce total cost of ownership (TCO). Gartner defines HCI as:

A category of scale-out software-integrated infrastructure that applies a modular approach to compute, network and storage on standard hardware, leveraging distributed, horizontal building blocks under unified management. HCI vendors either build their own appliances using common, off-the-shelf infrastructure (hardware, virtualization, operating system), or they engage with system vendors that package the HCI vendor’s software stack as an appliance. Alternatively, HCI vendors sell their software directly to end users, through resellers and integrators, for use as part of a reference architecture, or on an HCI-as-a-service basis, either on-premises or in a public cloud.

Virtualization, the Precursor to Converged Infrastructure and HCI

Before HCI and converged infrastructure, virtualized infrastructure was organized into what we now call a 3-2-1 architecture (see image below). This consists of virtual machines (VMs) running on 3 or more clustered host servers connected by 2 network switches and backed by 1 or more shared storage appliances (SAN/NAS).

When virtualization first arrived in the market, the physical server model was dominating IT infrastructure. As a software solution, virtualization required the existing physical servers as well as shared storage technologies like SAN and NAS to survive and thrive.

The 3-2-1 architecture was the result of combining these existing hardware components into clusters. Unfortunately, these hardware components were never designed for virtualization and were typically from different vendors.

The Rise of Converged Infrastructure

To tackle the complexity of the 3-2-1 architecture, the idea of converged infrastructure was to combine some of the different component layers into a single “system” and SKU, most often combining servers and storage. Sold as one solution, the hardware and software components were pre-tested together to avoid incompatibility issues and speed up deployment time.

The next stage in converged infrastructure was combining and integrating the different components into a single appliance. It wasn’t difficult to add more compute resources to a storage appliance in order to run virtual machines, and that’s what some vendor solutions offered.

The problem with converged infrastructure solutions is that they generally mimic the same storage architectures as the 3-2-1. These clustered, converged storage and compute solutions relied on virtual storage appliances (VSAs) running as VMs to manage storage in a similar way that shared SAN and NAS controllers functioned.

What is Hyperconverged Infrastructure (HCI)?

Hyperconverged infrastructure or HCI is a converged infrastructure solution that natively includes the hypervisor for virtualization.

Software running on each server node distributes all operating functions across the cluster for superior performance and resilience. You can learn more about why we recommend 3 nodes minimum per cluster in our recent blog.

Components of Hyperconverged Infrastructure

Although there are some software-only solutions that call themselves HCI, appliance-based HCI hardware solutions offer additional benefits. An HCI appliance can include server compute resources, the storage, preferably the hypervisor, and often disaster recovery and backup features. HCI is sometimes referred to as a “datacenter in a box” because, after the initial cabling and minimal networking configuration, it has all of the features and functionality of the traditional 3-2-1 virtualization architecture.

The Benefits of HCI

There are a variety of benefits of hyperconvergence including:

  1. Utilizing a single vendor that provide servers, storage, and the hypervisor makes it easier to support, update, patch and manage, resulting in cost savings in both time and training from IT resources and budget.
  2. Eliminate inefficient storage protocols, files systems, and VSAs by utilizing a native hypervisor and embedding the storage directly within it.
  3. Increase efficiency and performance by designing the hypervisor and storage to directly interact.
  4. Improve management efficiency by having the hypervisor included natively in the solution.

Questions to Ask When Evaluating HCI Vendors

  • Does the solution provide a native hypervisor or does it require an additional purchase of hypervisor licensing and support?
  • Does the solution offer hypervisor-embedded storage or does it use virtual storage appliances (VSAs)?
  • Can the solution combine and scale with dissimilar appliance models and configurations?
  • Does the solution offer native backup and disaster recovery capabilities?
  • Does the solution integrate with cloud computing? As the IT industry continues to evolve, HCI is the next logical

If you’ve like to learn more about hyperconvergence and HCI, check out our new whitepaperHyperconverged Infrastructure: A Brief Introduction.

About Version 2 Digital

Version 2 Digital is one of the most dynamic IT companies in Asia. The company distributes a wide range of IT products across various areas including cyber security, cloud, data protection, end points, infrastructures, system monitoring, storage, networking, business productivity and communication products.

Through an extensive network of channels, point of sales, resellers, and partnership companies, Version 2 offers quality products and services which are highly acclaimed in the market. Its customers cover a wide spectrum which include Global 1000 enterprises, regional listed companies, different vertical industries, public utilities, Government, a vast number of successful SMEs, and consumers in various Asian cities.

About Scale Computing 
Scale Computing is a leader in edge computing, virtualization, and hyperconverged solutions. Scale Computing HC3 software eliminates the need for traditional virtualization software, disaster recovery software, servers, and shared storage, replacing these with a fully integrated, highly available system for running applications. Using patented HyperCore™ technology, the HC3 self-healing platform automatically identifies, mitigates, and corrects infrastructure problems in real-time, enabling applications to achieve maximum uptime. When ease-of-use, high availability, and TCO matter, Scale Computing HC3 is the ideal infrastructure platform. Read what our customers have to say on Gartner Peer Insights, Spiceworks, TechValidate and TrustRadius.