EMC goes full Star Trek, flops out Vblock-based Federation SDDC Edition

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EMC has birthed another converged system called the Federation SDDC Edition. Star Trek rules in the cloud, okay. This is based on Vblocks with public cloud links.

SDDC stands for software-defined data centre. EMC is calling this its Enterprise Hybrid Cloud - we'll acronymise it to EHC - and so it is: think Vblock Plus.

EMC says it integrates hardware, software and services from EMC and VMware to unite the strengths of private and public cloud. It uses custom-engineered design templates that offer pre-determined service levels of infrastructure for different applications.

In fact EHC is a VBlock box or partner-built VSPEX-defined box which has added ViPR and comes in three sizes: 500 virtual machine (VM) support, 5,000 VMs and 10,000 VMs. It also takes 28 days from order receipt to delivery. This cloud sort of coasts along, although EMC's professional services could shorten the the needed.

This is odd. VCE was meant to simplify and speed up the ordering and deployment of a server/storage/networking/system software set of products by converging them, with VSPEX doing the same but giving partners, and customers, more latitude in component choice.

Now we have EMC pouring another layer of convergence on top of VCE. Why not just produce expanded Vblocks instead of these EHC-branded but Vblock-based (and VSPEX-based) systems?

EHC interoperates with VMware's vCloud SIR, Azure, AWS and also CSP clouds using EMC kit. That's the hybrid public-private cloud part of this announcement.

Customers can stick extra modules on to EHC provide PaaS platform provisioning, app self-service, big data platform provisioning, a public cloud broker, automated backup and DR, continuous availability and dynamic network provisioning. Here EMC services gets a look in.

EHC comes with pre-defined services. There is a cloud advisory service for example, to check out the suitability of your intended workload for the EHC. Another one is an IT Transformation Workshop. Don't think of this as a "buy more EMC kit to keep up with my competitors" ... but if that should happen, your EMC sales rep won't argue.

EMC calls EHC an engineered system, meaning the bits have been integrated by EMC so it's as good as a single product and not just a quick and dirty bundling effort. Well yes, obviously but, again, why not call this just another Vblock, one with public cloud links?

Microsoft and OpenStack EHC editions are coming next year. That means we're getting Vblocks running OpenStack or a Windows software stack. Will they replace the VMware software currently used? Interesting question.

EMC formally says that, by offering the EMC Enterprise Hybrid Cloud Solution with Microsoft and OpenStack, it will extend the same value and benefits to those solutions that are being delivered in the EMC Enterprise Hybrid Cloud Federation SDDC Edition with VMware.

So, no, no VMware in the Microsoft and OpenStack EHCs. ®

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