With the acceleration of digital transformation, business operations of enterprises rely more and more on infrastructure such as data centers, and "all-weather" business continuity operations are becoming the goal pursued by large and medium-sized enterprises. How to reduce or even eliminate normal and abnormal The impact of downtime on business availability is not only the "top priority" of the enterprise IT construction and operation and maintenance team, but also a task that the decision-makers of the enterprise pay close attention to.
In this context, active-active data centers have gradually become a trend in data center construction. The active-active data center solves the disadvantages of low resource utilization, poor availability, long downtime, and slow data recovery in the single "active-standby" mode of the traditional data center, and is an "indispensable" and important part of the current enterprise data center construction .
It is precisely because of this that Dell Technologies and VMware have joined forces to build a hyper-converged active-active data center based on Dell's hyper-converged VxRail and VMware software-defined data center business continuity solutions. Through the unique hyper-converged cluster cross-site extension capability, It realizes unified orchestration and resource scheduling across active-active data centers for computing, storage, and network, and provides support for active-active deployment of various systems, application software, and middleware. Availability and disaster recovery capabilities have not only become the key cornerstones to ensure business continuity of enterprises, but also become a "new paradigm" for building active-active data centers in the future.
Software-defined "active-active" data center
In fact, for the purpose of disaster recovery for key businesses, avoiding business downtime, and ensuring continuous business availability, domestic enterprises have long begun to build active-active data centers, and relevant national departments have also issued data center disaster recovery levels. Therefore, the concept of "active-active" is no stranger to many enterprises.
In the view of Cao Keyong, VMware solution architect, active-active data centers have "narrow" and "broad" definitions. It is in an active state and can be read and written; while the "generalized" active-active data center refers to the active-active architecture of Web and App in two data centers, but the DB layer can be active/standby mode, read/write Split mode or main/main mode.
After years of development, the current active-active data center in the industry generally refers to two or more data centers, each of which has all the resources required to run production applications independently. At the same time, all application request loads under this architecture will be balanced and dynamically allocated to the two data centers. When one of the data centers fails, the other data center can take over all application requests, and its core construction goal is to ensure "zero data loss".
In this regard, VMware has created a software-defined data center business continuity solution, which is not only independent of the enterprise's hardware equipment, but also independent of applications and operating systems. In other words, enterprises can achieve comprehensive protection through software-defined and fully virtualized infrastructure, which is simple and efficient to build an active-active data center.
Specifically, VMware vSphere in this solution can improve the business continuity of key components of the data center. Among them, in terms of network, vSphere binds network cards and provides network load balancing algorithms to achieve better network load; in terms of storage, vSphere provides storage-native path selection, load balancing and failover mechanisms to achieve multi-path storage; On the other hand, vSphere can also provide vSphere HA (High Avaiability) and vSphere FT (Fault Tolerance) capabilities to further enhance the high availability and fault tolerance rate of enterprise data centers.
Not only that, the VMware vSAN extended cluster capability provided in the solution makes it more convenient and easier for enterprises to build active-active data centers. The so-called stretched cluster is a unique concept of VMware vSAN. It can stretch a common single-site (site) cluster to another site to form a cluster that spans two sites, called a stretched cluster (Stretched Cluster) . Extended clusters have all the HA protection functions of ordinary clusters, can save data copies across sites, and can also implement cross-site disaster recovery solutions at a low cost; and servers located in both sites can be active , so as to realize the active-active data center.
More importantly, traditional disaster recovery solutions and active-active data center solutions require the purchase of expensive hardware and software, and the cost of implementation is high. Often only some large enterprises such as finance and telecommunications will consider it. However, vSAN extension Clusters can be implemented using ordinary x86 servers plus vSphere/vSAN software, which greatly reduces implementation costs and becomes an affordable active-active or disaster recovery data center solution for any enterprise.
In addition, VMware NSX, VMware vSphere, Dell RP4VM, and VMware SRM in the solution can further improve the business continuity of the data center. At the same time, VMware also provides a software-defined data center reference architecture, which can better help enterprises build active-active and multi-active data centers, or create a disaster recovery solution for three centers in two places. The advantage of this reference architecture is that it can be extended through vSAN Cluster + NSX supports intra-city active-active, while SRM can provide intra-city/off-site disaster recovery capabilities. In addition, its active-active architecture does not require a storage gateway, and the operation is simpler, and it can support various production applications and key applications.
Cao Keyong believes that at present, domestic enterprises often consider building disaster recovery or active-active data centers according to their own business needs. Compared with the two, it should be said that each has its own advantages and disadvantages. 0, the response time is at the level of minutes, and supports high-level control and low-level control modes at the same time, but the corresponding construction costs are high, and the ability to destroy large-scale damage is poor; while in the "disaster recovery" mode, the service level is often low, and the RPO is at the minute level , the RTO is at the hour level. In addition, it only supports high-level control mode, when its corresponding construction cost is low, and it can deal with a wide range of disaster events at the same time.
Now, based on the software-defined data center, VMware has created an integrated business continuity solution. Through the advantages of "organic combination, double protection, unified management, and disaster recovery to the cloud" , it not only takes into account efficiency and protection, but also It also allows active-active and disaster recovery to achieve both "fish and bear's paw", which can be said to have gradually become the mainstream direction of high-availability construction of data centers in the future.
Hyper-converged "active-active" data center
It is worth mentioning that in the process of building a hyper-converged active-active data center, it is also inseparable from the support of VMware's "old partner" - Dell's hyper-converged VxRail. As a data center architecture that perfectly couples Dell and VMware ecology, VxRail can also achieve the effect of "doing twice the result with half the effort" in building a hyper-converged active-active data center.
In this regard, Liu Lei, enterprise-level hyper-convergence and cloud computing architect of Dell Technologies Group, said that compared with other hyper-convergence solutions on the market, Dell hyper-convergence VxRail has six advantages:
First, it has a complete ecosystem of Dell and VMware, providing a compact hyper-converged data center solution with complete data center functions;
Second, VxRail fully realizes the "unified management" capability of a single interface for hardware platforms, hyper-converged platforms, and virtualization platforms;
Third, VxRail provides full lifecycle management, enabling automated, safe and convenient software updates;
Fourth, VxRail can provide diversified data protection solutions;
Fifth, the VCF on VxRail customized by both parties can also help enterprises build a secure and stable private cloud and hybrid cloud architecture;
Sixth, as the only hyper-converged architecture jointly developed with VMware, VxRail is also the best basic platform for running the VMware ecosystem, which can realize granular data protection and data security strategies for virtual machines.
Of course, in addition to the "blessing" of VMware's advanced technology, this solution can also provide key support for enterprise business continuity through the capabilities of Dell's hyper-converged VxRail itself. For example, VxRail can provide high feasibility of "six nines"; IDC data also proves that VxRail can reduce downtime by 92% compared with traditional hyper-convergence; quarterly "no downtime" record. In addition, VxRail can also provide various complementary protection levels according to user needs, maximizing the satisfaction of the enterprise's RP0/RTO requirements.
Another example is that VxRail's ability to simplify life cycle management is second to none in the industry . It can provide enterprises with updates in the form of a single software package within 30 days without requiring enterprises to perform any testing, sorting, verification, etc. Simultaneously obtain the latest versions of VxRail and VMware software, allowing enterprises to obtain the latest features and key application updates.
Liu Lei emphasized that building an active-active data center based on Dell's hyper-converged VxRail and VMware software-defined data center business continuity solutions also provides two "unique" capabilities: On the one hand, it can implement cross-data center active-active based on vSAN extended clusters Its unique feature is that it can use virtual machines (VMDKs) as objects to implement "active-active" in at primary or secondary data centers. Virtual machines can realize cross-data center mirroring through synchronous IO, and at the same time, they can be used in different data centers. Do "vMotion" in between, and VxRail nodes can be configured in vSphere DRS or HA cluster; on the other hand, for very important business virtual machines, the solution can also provide virtual machine continuous data protection RP4VM , which is specially designed for virtualization Environment design, and seamless integration with vCenter, not only supports synchronous and asynchronous protection, but also provides local and remote disaster recovery capabilities, and can achieve application "consistency".
It is not difficult to see that based on Dell's hyper-converged VxRail and VMware software-defined data center business continuity solutions, building a hyper-converged active-active data center can provide a better choice for enterprises to ensure business continuity.
Active-Active Data Center Construction "New Paradigm"
On this basis, Dell Technologies also uses "one-stop" services to help enterprises better realize the smooth implementation of active-active data centers. Wang Tao, chief engineer of the solution architecture of the enterprise service team of Dell Technologies Group, said that in order to better promote the implementation of active-active data centers, Dell Technologies provides comprehensive services in "design planning, installation and configuration, delivery, management and maintenance" and other aspects. content.
Among them, in the "design planning" link, Dell Technologies will understand and analyze the customer's application and needs in detail, and then provide a suitable and reasonable active-active architecture solution based on its infrastructure/application architecture; in the "installation and configuration" link, Dell Technologies will configure various parameters according to the best practice, and realize the perfect cooperation between the two sites and even the third site according to the design. At the same time, it cooperates with the active-active architecture to provide the optimal configuration for the load balancing or failover of the application; in the "delivery" link , will not only provide various documents, but also deliver Dell and VMware active-active architecture solutions and corresponding knowledge to end users; and in the "management and maintenance" link, it will also establish a fast connection with users, and do a good job During daily management and maintenance work, it will also assist users to practice the best way to deal with faults and crises.
At present, based on Dell's hyper-converged VxRail and VMware software-defined data center business continuity solutions, hyper-converged active-active data centers have been applied in various industries, and even have best practices in application scenarios such as large cruise ships.
According to Zhong Congjun, enterprise-level hyper-convergence and cloud computing architect of Dell Technologies Group, a large-scale cruise ship IT project, because the cruise ship usually sails on the vast sea, the route involves many countries across the Pacific Ocean. At the same time, the cruise IT center is the key support for the entire cruise business, and the business has unprecedented four key indicators of the architecture, such as "high performance", "high stability", "business continuity guarantee", and "service globalization and timely response". Stringent requirements.
Specifically, this project is used to carry the eight core business systems on cruise ships, including cruise satellite communication system, ship real-time monitoring system VMS, cruise comprehensive service system, cruise mobile application service system - Cruise Link, cruise safety integration system, The customer situation analysis system, the intelligent cabin system, the information integration system of entertainment venues, and their overall infrastructure will be constructed in accordance with the standards of active-active data centers.
Through multiple selections, the customer finally chose Dell's hyper-converged VxRail and VMware software-defined data center business continuity solutions. In particular, the customer's active-active data center was built with the help of VxRail extended clusters, providing a guarantee for its business continuity. Solid "base" capability.
Among them, the VxRail P670F all-in-one machine provided by Dell provides super performance, super 100w IOPS and extremely low latency can ensure the smooth operation of virtual machines including databases and meet the performance requirements of customers; in addition, Dell’s hyper-converged VxRail serves as The world's best-selling hyper-converged all-in-one machine, integrated research and development of software and hardware, and strict testing standards also ensure the extremely high stability of the product and meet customer stability requirements.
At the same time, the native active-active technology provided by Dell VxRail also ensures that all virtual machines have copies in both data centers, and controls the copy distribution of virtual machines through the vSAN SPBM storage policy. The core virtual machines adopt 2+2 Copy distribution, regular virtual machines adopt 1+1 copy distribution, when one data center fails, the virtual machine can be pulled up quickly in another data center, and combined with DP4400 to perform overall backup of the hyper-converged environment, ensuring data security and avoiding extortion Virus attacks fully meet the customer's business continuity requirements. In addition, through the single management interface of VMware vCenter, the unified management of VxRail software and hardware is also realized, which also greatly reduces the complexity of operation and maintenance.
In general, today's data center has not only become the key business support platform of the enterprise, but also the decision-making platform of the enterprise. Therefore, it is very important to ensure the business continuity of the data center. Based on Dell's hyper-converged VxRail and VMware software-defined data center business The continuity solution, the hyper-converged active-active data center created, can provide the greatest guarantee for the high reliability, high availability, high security, and easy operation and maintenance of enterprise business . Best practices and successful cases will also provide enterprises with reference, operable real cases and valuable experience, and truly help more Chinese enterprises achieve "steady and long-term" development.
Shenyao's Science and Technology Observation was founded by a senior technology media person, Shenski, who has 20 years of experience in dissemination of enterprise-level technology content. He has long focused on the observation and thinking of industrial Internet, enterprise digitalization, ICT infrastructure, and automotive technology.
