Data Center Infrastructure (DCI) is usually a term that is thrown around in discussion by the administrators of any data center. However, in its most simple form, DCI is simply the set of resources that are used to store the data for long periods of time.
Each data center is generally independent of the other, with each having its own DCI setup. So, before we go any further, let us understand what exactly DCI is.
A DCI is a virtualized multi-core computing and storage engine running on a single central processing unit. The system gathers together all the different components of the system into one central pool and uses its computing resources to store and process your data and to do some magic known as analytics.
The basic idea of a DCI is that it provides a common means of storing and sharing the vast amount of data that make up the data center. The data center itself is comprised of a very large number of computers as well as special software that manages the information and makes it available to the others.
To ensure that all data is available for the others, there are several standards that are implemented by the data center architecture itself. These standards are primarily designed to protect the data itself as well as the rest of the applications and data.
Most data centers today operate using several different types of DCI configurations. It is not a requirement for the DCI to run on the same type of hardware as the rest of the system and must also fit the specific needs of the environment.
A common DCI configuration will include the following:
Compute Engine: The compute engine runs all the applications that are used by the data center. It is typically a Linux operating system, as it can effectively distribute the workload across all the different systems, which results in a much more efficient overall system.
Nodes: These are essentially the computers that run the DCI and coordinate the other systems. There are essentially two types of nodes:
Software Nodes: These are virtual machines that run on top of the OS and act as the heart of the DCI. Software nodes must be highly optimized for the type of DCI they will be running because it can dramatically impact the performance and stability of the data center.
Cache Nodes: Cache Nodes is the virtual machines that act as the brains of the DCI. In essence, they act as additional processors to the compute nodes, improving their performance while maintaining the speed of the other node.
