aDesk Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)

Solving Data Backup Challenges with VSS Backup Data is the lifeblood of any business, and protecting it from loss, corruption, or disaster is crucial for ensuring business continuity and competitiveness. However, traditional backup solutions like tape drives, external hard drives, and cloud storage often face challenges such as high cost, low efficiency, complex management, and inconsistent data quality. How can you overcome these challenges and achieve reliable and secure data protection for your data center and cloud computing? In this blog post, we will introduce Sangfor HCI 6.9.0, the latest version of our hyper-converged infrastructure product. It offers high performance, reliability, security, and easy operability for your data center and cloud computing needs. We will focus on the reliability features of Sangfor HCI 6.9.0, especially on its support for VSS backup, which was not available in previous versions. We will also provide several use cases in which Sangfor HCI 6.9.0 helps to protect your data. What is VSS Backup? VSS backup is a technology that allows you to create consistent snapshots of your data without interrupting your applications. VSS stands for Volume Shadow Copy Service or Volume Snapshot Service, which is a Windows service that coordinates the actions of applications, writers, requestors, and providers to create shadow copies of volumes or files at a specific point in time. Figure: Architecture diagram of Volume Shadow Copy Service (Source: Microsoft) VSS Service: A built-in feature in Windows that ensures the other VSS components can communicate with each other properly and work together. VSS Requester: This is the backup software that requests the creation, import, and deletion of shadow copies. The backup applications in Widows are the Windows Server Backup utility and the System Center Data Protection Manager. VSS Writer: This component ensures a consistent data set is available for backup. It is often included with applications like SQL Server and Exchange Server and with the OS for Windows components like Registry. VSS Provider: This component creates and maintains shadow copies. It can be software or hardware. The Windows operating system comes with a VSS provider that uses copy-on-write. The Advantages of VSS Backup VSS backup is important because it offers a more robust way to protect data from accidental loss, corruption, or disaster. You can use VSS backup to restore your data to the original location or move them to a new one. You can also use the backup files to perform data mining, disk-to-disk backups, as well as fast recovery. However, not all backup solutions support VSS backup. Some backup solutions only support file-level backup or block-level backup, which may cause data inconsistency or application errors when restoring the data. In general, VSS Backup offers several advantages over other backup solutions. Let’s explore these. Real-Time Backup vs Scheduled Backup: VSS captures and creates snapshots in real time while the system is online. In contrast, traditional backup methods often require scheduling backups during off-hours to minimize impact on system performance. Consistent State Backup vs Inconsistent Backup: Unlike basic file copy methods or simple disk cloning, VSS ensures that all files, even those open or in use, are backed up in a consistent state. Basic file copy methods often cannot backup files that are in use, leading to potential inconsistencies in the backup data. For example, if you backup a database file while it is being updated by an application, the backup file may contain incomplete or corrupted data that cannot be restored properly. Disk Space Efficiency vs Full Backups: VSS backups usually take up less disk space because they can be incremental or differential, storing only changes since the last backup. Traditional full backups, on the other hand, take a complete snapshot of all data, consuming more storage space. Easier Restoration vs Tape Backup: Restoring from VSS is often quicker and simpler than from tape backups. Tape backups usually require sequential reading, which takes longer, especially if the data you need is at the end of the tape. Application-Specific Backup vs General-Purpose Backup: While VSS can integrate with specific applications for more reliable backups, many traditional backup methods treat all files the same, regardless of whether they belong to a complex application like a database or are just simple text files. Multiple Backup Sources vs Single Backup Source: VSS allows for both local and network-based backup, offering more flexibility. Some older backup technologies might only support local backups or might require additional hardware or software to support network-based backups. VVS Backup in Sangfor HCI Sangfor HCI 6.9.0 supports VSS backup for both Windows virtual machines (support for Linux VMs is on the way), which means you can create consistent snapshots of your VMs without affecting their normal operation. You can also use Sangfor HCI 6.9.0 to back up your VMs to local storage, remote storage, or cloud storage, and restore them quickly and easily when needed. Other Reliability Features of Sangfor HCI 6.9.0 In addition to VSS backup, Sangfor HCI 6.9.0 offers other reliability features that enhance your data protection and availability. These include: Network health check: This feature detects network latency and packet loss at the data link layer and promptly alerts the administrator of any potential problems. RAID controller health check: This feature isolates and repairs RAID controller failures to prevent any impact on the cluster’s reliability and performance. Network attack protection: Sangfor HCI provides a built-in Cloud Security Center for administrators to configure network attack protection policies for the virtual network, providing seven-layer protection for cloud applications. Virtual patch protection: The cloud security center also provides an intrusion prevention system (IPS) to protect VMs and block vulnerability attack traffic. Cross-cluster live migration: This feature allows you to migrate VMs from different versions of Sangfor HCI clusters without downtime or data loss. iSCSI HA for a two-node cluster with witness deployment: A physical terminal is used as a witness node to prevent cluster split-brain and improve reliability for small-scale scenarios. These features make Sangfor HCI 6.9.0 a reliable and secure solution for your business needs. What are the Use Cases of Sangfor HCI 6.9.0? Sangfor HCI 6.9.0 caters to a wide range of digital transformation use cases across industries, including data center consolidation, mission-critical application hosting, hybrid cloud, virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI), remote office/branch office (ROBO), and disaster recovery (DR). Conclusion Sangfor HCI 6.9.0 is by far the most reliable version to date, offering features like VSS snapshot and backup, cross-cluster live migration between different versions, as well as health checks for the network and RAID controller. These enhancements improve both the reliability and availability of businesses using Sangfor HCI. If you are interested in learning more about Sangfor HCI 6.9.0 or want to try it out for yourself, please visit www.sangfor.com or contact us. We will be happy to assist you with any questions or inquiries you may have.   Contact Us for Business Inquiry

“Do More with Less” “Do more with less” is an often-used phrase for IT teams globally. It encapsulates the challenging and growing expectations of IT. Today’s IT departments are charged with not only “keeping the lights on” to ensure daily operations run quickly, efficiently, and without disruption, but also dealing with large-scale digital transformation happening all at once. In essence, to keep everything up and running while enabling dramatic change—and to do it all on a flat or declining budget! Therefore, organizations that try to do more with less often look to the Cloud to address this situation. It has become a common assumption that adopting cloud computing will automatically translate to reduced costs, but the reality can be a different story. In fact, without the right cloud provider, the true costs of cloud computing can add up fast and become a costly affair. How should you choose the best cloud provider for your business? And are hyperscale clouds like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), and IBM Cloud actually good investments for your operations in the mid to long term? In this article, we shall explore the key components that will help you evaluate options to achieve the objectives of consuming different types of cloud technology and whether it is cost-effective to suit your needs. What is a Hyperscaler? Hyperscalers are large-scale cloud service providers (CSP) that offer massive computing resources, typically in the form of an elastic cloud platform. This term comes from hyperscale computing, where "hyperscale" refers to the ability of a distributed computing environment to rapidly scale in size and computing power. Whereas private cloud hosting offers a single-tenant platform that runs on dedicated infrastructure, hyperscalers offer highly scalable and elastic public cloud services available on demand. Organizations use them to deploy and manage large-scale applications and services. Hyperscalers’ main offerings revolve around infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), platform-as-a-service (PaaS), and software-as-a-service (SaaS). Each of these three has different attributes that serve different client needs. For example, SaaS solutions with a high level of abstraction are better suited for companies and industries where IT infrastructure is less critical. Instead, they require a distributed access cloud model for easy and cost-effective application utilization in a landscape that is not restricted by geographical limitations. Difference between Hyperscale Cloud and Data Centers As the term implies, a hyperscale cloud is all about achieving massive scale in cloud computing. Since hyperscalers provide computing and storage resources at an enterprise level, they achieve great economies of scale and provide custom engineering to significantly outperform traditional data centers. A data center based on hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) is more focused on simplifying IT, following a rigid node-based architecture that streamlines administration but reduces flexibility. A hyperscale public cloud environment, on the other hand, is directly concerned with the user experience, using advanced automation and orchestration to compose the underlying cloud infrastructure. Another benefit of hyperscale clouds is their ability to scale both horizontally and vertically to provide high levels of performance, throughput, and redundancy to enable fault tolerance and high availability. They are significantly larger than typical enterprise data centers. For example, most hyperscale data centers can accommodate over 5,000 servers in a facility with less than 10,000 square feet of space. Some can even house hundreds of thousands of servers! How Do Hyperscalers Operate? Nearly half of the world’s hyperscale data centers are located in the U.S. The largest facilities belong to cloud providers like Microsoft, Amazon, Google, IBM, and Meta. According to a piece of global research,  there were at least 700 hyperscale data centers in 2021. The global hyperscale computing market size was valued at USD 56.83 billion in 2022 and is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 23.9% from 2023 to 2030. The increased demand for cloud computing services is driving the market growth of hyperscalers. Typically, hyperscalers manage the physical infrastructure located in a large data center, while cloud tenants leverage hyperscaler cloud resources to customize a virtualized computing infrastructure. Major hyperscalers specifically construct their offerings to meet the needs of enterprises seeking digital transformation. A case in point is the proliferation of the Internet of Things (IoT) as part of digitalization, which is making connectivity and computing technologies more diverse. As a result, IoT is gaining traction amongst hyperscalers and telcos, who are beginning to invest in building IoT platforms. An IoT platform helps bring IoT solutions to the market faster and streamlines the deployment process. Essentially, hyperscalers have taken this computing method and applied it to data centers and the cloud to accommodate fluctuating and diverse demands. The Costs of Hyperscale Cloud Hyperscalers commonly claim that they will dramatically reduce the total cost of ownership (TCO). That can be true – if your organization is able to fully evacuate the data center and has the skill set to right-size its public cloud utilization, at the start and on an ongoing basis. Even then, however, the return on investment is slow. A recent global study found that in a typical migration to a large public cloud provider, ROI was -171% after three years and only turned positive after seven years. For many companies, seven years is simply too long. Other statistics include: A recent business survey of enterprises found that 82% of respondents said that the big three hyperscalers should reduce their charges. 81% responded that hyperscalers always market the perception that they are “cheap,” when in fact, they are not. 68% replied that the perception and messaging of hyperscale cloud as being cheaper is highly misleading. 80% of customers reported repatriating workloads from public cloud environments. On average, respondents expected to move 50% of their public cloud applications to hosted private or on-premises locations over the next two years. The complexity of managing an increasingly disaggregated application portfolio across multiple landing zones is driving a sharper focus on TCO and performance for discrete elements. The advent of new, more mature private cloud solutions presents hyperscale cloud customers with the capability to migrate workload components back (or near) on-premises. While this is not expected to slow down the growth of public cloud adoption, new service innovations mean that a significant proportion of customers will leverage private cloud options to modernize their large non-cloud applications and will continue to reassess the suitability of public cloud for those applications. The need to develop/deploy complex hybrid cloud services is a game changer. Today, these are deployed by technically adept organizations where the moving/rebalancing of applications is minimized through automation and orchestration on hybrid cloud (with the use of hyperconvergence) that allows interdependent applications to run across multiple landing zones. The exponential growth of data being generated, processed, and stored on public cloud platforms is another contributing factor to the increasing costs. As businesses accumulate more data, including vast amounts of data for machine learning and big data analytics, they face higher storage costs and, in some cases, increased data egress fees. Egress fees are charges associated with transferring data out of a public cloud environment, and these fees can become substantial, especially for data-intensive applications or businesses with significant data transfer needs. Indeed, egress fees are commonly cited as incredibly difficult to predict and can result in vendor lock-in for many. Many businesses may continue to pay exorbitant prices for storage, out of fear of not knowing how costly an egress charge would be. Conclusion Hyperscale cloud pricing models are often complex and difficult to navigate. Many providers offer multiple service tiers with varying levels of resources and features, making it challenging for organizations to accurately predict and manage their cloud costs. Like any technology decision, choosing the right cloud should involve comparing features, capabilities, and metrics across providers. When reducing costs is one of your primary drivers, though, your decision-making process should reflect that objective. Introducing an economic framework can help you set realistic expectations for both cost and performance. This framework will provide an objective platform to assess the value of an IT investment, cloud or not. It’s designed to help you go beyond simply trusting a technology provider’s promise to lower your costs by uncovering precisely how they intend to do so, effectively reducing your overall IT costs. The key metrics should also be to realize value more quickly, with less complexity and at a lower cost by transitioning from a “Cloud First” to a “Cloud Smart” Strategy.

The processing of data has always been a rapidly developing aspect of computing. Modern organizations – and devices - need faster results and more efficient processing power as they deal with bigger and more complex tasks. However, the progress we make in technology can only be applauded if it’s done sustainably. These devices and innovations are of no use if the planet we ravage to create them is destroyed. Sustainability is a huge issue in the creation of technology and it’s not difficult to see why. As we improve our digital footprint, we leave behind a much uglier carbon footprint filled with infrastructure costs, energy usage, and e-waste. How can edge computing be used to improve sustainability? Let's explore. What Is Edge Computing? Edge computing is essentially what its name suggests – it’s computing that is done at the edge of a network. This means that some of the processing of data is done locally on the device close by to reduce any latency. These edge platforms are physically closer to user devices – or where the data is generated - to make connections faster and take some of the workload off the cloud. This helps to make applications faster, connections more secure, and the latency more reliable. The age of cloud computing has helped us access processing power from across any geographical distance. This has revolutionized the computing industry and made data accessible in real-time, from anywhere. However, while using the cloud is fast and reliable, for certain applications, that’s simply not fast enough. Consider a nuclear plant with servers in another country. Using data analysis, the machinery will stop operations if it detects something is off track. However, if the machinery relies on data analysis from servers that are not physically close by, there can be latency issues. This can affect the transmission of the relevant data in time to stop the machinery before a disaster. At places with a slower internet speed, latency issues can also affect the retrieval of basic data on mobile phones or laptops which can impact workloads, online classes, and more. Cloud computing can run into issues with bandwidth usage and security. Relying on faster connections, most companies have shifted to what is known as edge computing to resolve these issues. Now that we know how edge computing improves efficiency in most industries, we can focus on how can edge computing be used to improve sustainability. The Value of Sustainability Sustainability in technology is concerned with the evolution of technology in a way that does not impact the environment. As we make these great leaps in the industry, we have to note the value of digital sustainability. Infrastructure, hardware production, and energy costs are all alarmingly high triggers for global warming and pollution. Sustainable computing involves several elements, including: Reducing e-wastage. Using sustainable hardware and designs. Creating technology that helps the environment. Virtualization of resources to reduce infrastructure. Using distributed or remote workforces. Lowering the e-wastage and reducing our carbon footprint goes a long way to achieving a sustainable future. The Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) framework regulations are also key to maintaining sustainable compliance for organizations. These regulatory frameworks help companies stay within the margins to ensure safe and renewable digital expansion.  Sangfor HCI Saves Energy for a Green Environment According to Sangfor’s research, the virtualization done by Sangfor Hyperconverged Infrastructure (HCI) saves space required by the servers and saves up to 70% of the energy consumed by the traditional servers at the data centers. Technology is now also pivoting towards sustainable practices with virtualized infrastructure. Cloud computing is already a major step toward digital sustainability in that matter. Statista also noted that the global green technology and sustainability market is forecast to peak at almost US$ 62 billion in 2030. In this Green Cloud Computing blog article, we mentioned that the International Energy Agency predicts that data centers currently account for 1% of global electricity usage, and by 2025, they are projected to consume 1/5 of the world’s power supply. The primary energy consumption in data centers is attributed to server operation and cooling requirements. However, adopting cloud computing strategies and incorporating green initiatives can help reduce the carbon footprint caused by data centers. How Can Edge Computing Be Used to Improve Sustainability? Edge computing makes real-time analysis and processes data locally for immediate results. By doing this, edge computing also reduces expenses, cuts down on energy consumption, and minimizes waste. An example of this could be within the manufacturing industry where sensors on a machine can locally process data to stop operations if necessary. This immediate reaction time from edge computing reduces operational costs, and energy consumption, and prevents a waste of resources. Edge computing improves efficiency and agility which reduces overheads and expenditure. This snowballs and reduces the impact that operations have on the environment. By taking workloads off the cloud, edge computing also lowers bandwidth expenses. A few other ways that edge computing can be seen as sustainable include: Effective Data Security – By distributing the storage and processing of data along the network’s edge, the edge computing model also improves data safety. This reduces the operational and environmental consequences of data breaches. Real-Time Monitoring – With real-time analysis and monitoring, the transfer of data across multiple networks becomes unnecessary. Decisions can be made locally and energy consumption can be reduced. Supporting Remote Work – Edge computing also allows critical business operations to take place regardless of internet connectivity or location. This ensures business continuity, reduces operational costs, and enables the use of a sustainable remote working environment. Efficient Resource Usage – Using computers on the edge of the network reduces the operational demand on centralized servers which lowers resource consumption. Additionally, this model also reduces the transfer of unnecessary data. Edge computing is a wonderful framework that enables the sustainable use of technology while still enhancing user experience and efficiency. Sangfor Technologies offers world-class cloud computing and cybersecurity measures that are sustainable and innovative. For more information on how Sangfor can revolutionize your approach to IT infrastructure and data security, visit www.sangfor.com.   Contact Us for Business Inquiry

A Strong Performer with a 100% "Willingness to Recommend" Score among 25 Overall Reviews Sangfor Technologies (hereafter referred to as Sangfor), a global leader in AI-enabled and integrated cybersecurity and cloud computing, proudly announced its recognition in the latest edition of Gartner Peer Insight "Voice of the Customer" for Full-Stack Hyperconverged Infrastructure Software¹ (hereafter referred to as VoC for Full-Stack HCI Software). This marks the fourth consecutive year that Sangfor has been recognized in this publication (formerly known as Gartner Voice of the Customer: Hyperconverged Infrastructure Software), having also been included in 2020, 2021, and 2022. It is notable to us that Sangfor received the distinction of "Strong Performer" in the Voice of the Customer quadrants and received a 100% "Willingness to Recommend" among 25 overall reviews. We believe that these recognitions affirm the exceptional capabilities of our HCI solution and the first-class user experience enjoyed by our customers. What is Gartner Voice of the Customer? For readers who are unfamiliar with this Gartner publication, "Voice of the Customer is a document that synthesizes Gartner Peer Insights' reviews into insights for IT decision makers¹."   Gartner Peer Insights is "a crowdsourced enterprise review platform that relies on dynamic data¹." Gartner states that "Key to maintaining the integrity of the site is our ongoing moderation and validation of those reviews. Reviews are examined before publishing to the site and periodically, post publishing¹." Sangfor's Highlights in VoC for Full-Stack HCI Software In addition to being recognized as a "Strong Performer" and receiving a 100% "Willingness to Recommend" score, up to Sep. 20, Sangfor HCI received an Overall Rating of 4.8 out of 5 among 94 overall reviews, earning 4.8 for both the “Product Capabilities” and “Service & Support” categories. Among the reviewers, 56% hail from enterprises with revenues ranging from 50M-1B USD and 16% from enterprises with 1B-10B USD in revenue. 28% of reviewers are affiliated with the public sector, government, or education. In terms of industries, 20% of reviewers are from the healthcare sector, 16% are from the finance and government sectors, and 12% are from the education sector. We believe that these figures collectively demonstrate our capacity and versatility to serve a wide range of organizations, spanning from SMEs to large corporations, from the private sector to the public sector, and across an array of industries. Sangfor is also the only "Strong Performer" in the Voice of the Customer for Full-Stack HCI Software Asia/Pacific, a distinction we believe reinforces our local expertise and the exceptional local support services we provide in this region. A Glimpse into Sangfor HCI Reviews on Gartner Peer Insights Customers from various industries and of varying organization sizes have kindly shared their opinions and experiences with Sangfor HCI. Let's delve into several reviews of Sangfor HCI on Gartner Peer Insights that fall within the 18-month submission period for the Gartner VoC for Full-Stack HCI Software, ending 30 June 2023. In one review titled "Best HCI When It Comes To Recoverability, Reliability, Security And Productivity," the Division Head of IT of a Finance industry customer scored Sangfor HCI 5/5 for each category (Product Capabilities, Integration & Deployment, Service & Support, and Evaluation & Contracting) and left the following comment: I'm a user of traditional setup where we have several host and using enterprise storage, the performance is acceptable since it is using SSD's. But maintenance is quite challenging because I need someone who will manage the server, the storage, the SAN switch and the hypervisor. With HCI the management is so easy and you don't need different Engineers to manage the infrastructure. I can say that performance of our Systems have improved so much...we have this one system wherein 1 query takes more or less 30minutes, but when we migrated to HCI query is now only 1minute. In another review, the Manager of IT Services of a telecommunications industry customer with revenues exceeding 30B USD also scored full marks for each category and said this about Sangfor HCI: The HCI Server run stably since it online. With it powerful feature, I can run my business system without any problem. The Head of the IT Department of a finance industry customer wrote a review titled "Creating New Server Very Easy And Excellent Quality Support Team" and made the following comment:  Simple to maintain all the VM and Excellent GUI, software-defined IT infrastructure make the product more effective and efficient, Performance better than old system. And which makes me most happy is…. if we have any technical issue, the Technical Engineer are ready to support with quality of excellent skill to be delivered even though it’s not in office hours. To read the entirety of reviews, explore the Sangfor HCI webpage on Gartner Peer Insights, available here. Sangfor would like to extend its heartfelt thanks to all customers for their unwavering support. Your positive experiences and success stories serve as the catalysts behind our continuous innovation and pursuit of excellence to Make Your Digital Transformation Simpler and Secure. Discover Sangfor HCI Sangfor Hyperconverged Infrastructure (HCI), powered by cutting-edge virtualization technology, seamlessly integrates compute, storage, networking, security, and management into a unified software stack. Whether running on Sangfor's unified aServer appliance or commercially available x86 servers, Sangfor HCI offers an agile, simple, resilient, and scalable software-defined data center. It optimizes performance and reliability, streamlines operations and maintenance, and significantly reduces data center footprint. Sangfor HCI caters to a wide range of digital transformation use cases across industries, including mission-critical application hosting, hybrid cloud, virtual desktop infrastructure, remote office/branch office, distributed storage, continuous data protection (CDP), and disaster recovery. Sangfor was also named as a Representative Vendor in the Gartner Market Guide for Full-Stack Hyperconverged Infrastructure Software². Visit the Sangfor HCI webpage to learn more about its full range of features, advantages, customer success stories, testimonials, and more!   Contact Us for Business Inquiry   Sources: 1. Gartner Inc., Voice of the Customer for Full-Stack Hyperconverged Infrastructure Software, By Peer Contributors, Published September 18, 2023 2. Gartner Inc., Market Guide for Full-Stack Hyperconverged Infrastructure Software, By Jeffrey Hewitt et al., Published March 14, 2023 Disclaimer: GARTNER and PEER INSIGHTS are trademarks and service marks of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates and are used herein with permission. Gartner Peer Insights content consists of the opinions of individual end users based on their own experiences with the vendors listed on the platform, should not be construed as statements of fact, nor do they represent the views of Gartner or its affiliates. Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in this content nor makes any warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this content, about its accuracy or completeness, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

Hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) is a popular choice for modernizing data centers and supporting mission-critical enterprise applications. However, HCI also brings new challenges for data security and compliance, especially when it comes to managing encryption keys across multiple platforms and environments. In this post, we will introduce how Sangfor HCI and Thales CipherTrust KMS work together to provide a secure and compliant solution for key management on HCI. Compliance Challenges for Key Management on HCI HCI simplifies the deployment and management of compute, storage, and network resources by consolidating them into a single platform. However, this also means that the encryption keys that protect the data stored on HCI need to be managed in a centralized and consistent way. Some of the compliance challenges for key management on HCI include: Ensuring that encryption keys are stored securely and separately from the data they protect, to prevent unauthorized access or tampering. Implementing policies and controls to govern the life cycle of encryption keys, such as creation, rotation, revocation, backup, and recovery. Supporting multiple encryption standards and algorithms, such as AES, RSA, ECC, and KMIP, to meet the requirements of different applications and regulations. Integrating with various cloud services and platforms, such as AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, VMware, and Kubernetes, to enable seamless encryption and key management across hybrid environments. Auditing and reporting on the usage and status of encryption keys, to demonstrate compliance with internal and external policies and regulations. Thales CipherTrust KMS: A Trusted Solution for Encryption Key Management Thales CipherTrust KMS is a comprehensive solution for encryption key management that addresses the compliance challenges for key management on HCI. Thales CipherTrust KMS offers the following benefits: It provides a centralized platform for managing encryption keys across multiple platforms and environments, including HCI, cloud, virtualization, containers, databases, applications, and devices. It supports various encryption standards and algorithms, such as AES, RSA, ECC, and KMIP, to enable interoperability and compatibility with different encryption products and services. It enables separation of duties between data owners and key custodians, by securely storing encryption keys in a dedicated hardware security module (HSM) or in the cloud. It automates key lifecycle management processes, such as creation, rotation, revocation, backup, and recovery, based on predefined policies and schedules. It integrates with various cloud services and platforms, such as AWS KMS, Azure Key Vault, Google Cloud KMS, VMware vSphere, Kubernetes, etc., to enable consistent encryption and key management across hybrid environments. It provides audit trails and reports on the usage and status of encryption keys, to facilitate compliance monitoring and reporting. Sangfor HCI: A Leading Platform for Hyperconverged Infrastructure Sangfor HCI is a leading hyperconverged infrastructure platform that provides a one-stop solution for cloud computing and data center transformation. Sangfor HCI offers the following benefits: It simplifies the deployment and management of compute, storage, security, and network resources by consolidating them into a single platform that can be easily scaled out according to business needs. It enhances the performance and reliability of applications by leveraging advanced technologies such as NVMe SSDs, RDMA, etc. It reduces the total cost of ownership (TCO) by optimizing resource utilization and eliminating unnecessary hardware purchases and maintenance costs. It supports various types of workloads and applications, such as virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI), database (DB), artificial intelligence (AI), etc., by providing flexible configuration options and tailored solutions. It enables seamless integration with Sangfor Managed Cloud Service (MCS) to enable hybrid cloud scenarios such as cloud bursting, disaster recovery, backup, etc. How Sangfor HCI and Thales CipherTrust KMS Work Together Sangfor HCI and Thales CipherTrust KMS work together to provide a secure and compliant solution for key management on HCI. The integration between Sangfor HCI and Thales CipherTrust KMS enables the following capabilities: Encryption of data at rest on Sangfor HCI using AES-256 algorithm with XTS mode. Encryption of data in transit between Sangfor HCI nodes using TLS 1.2 protocol with AES-256 algorithm with GCM mode. Centralized management of encryption keys on Thales CipherTrust KMS using KMIP protocol. Secure storage of encryption keys on Thales CipherTrust KMS using HSM or cloud service. Automated key lifecycle management on Thales CipherTrust KMS using policies and schedules. Seamless integration with cloud services and platforms using Thales CipherTrust KMS connectors and APIs. Use Cases for CipherTrust KMS on Sangfor HCI There are many use cases for CipherTrust on HCI, such as: Protecting sensitive data from unauthorized access or theft, such as personal information, financial records, intellectual property, etc. Meeting compliance requirements for data security and privacy, such as GDPR, PCI DSS, HIPAA, etc. Enabling secure data migration and replication across different platforms and environments, such as HCI, cloud, virtualization, containers, etc. Supporting disaster recovery and backup scenarios by ensuring data availability and integrity in case of system failure or outage. Enhancing data governance and auditability by tracking and reporting on the usage and status of encryption keys. Conclusion Sangfor HCI and Thales CipherTrust KMS provide a secure and compliant solution for key management on HCI. By integrating Sangfor HCI and Thales CipherTrust KMS, organizations can benefit from the simplicity, performance, scalability, and cost-effectiveness of HCI, while ensuring the security, compliance, interoperability, and automation of encryption key management. To learn more about Sangfor HCI and Thales CipherTrust KMS, please visit  https://cpl.thalesgroup.com/partners/sangfor-technologies-inc  or contact our sales representatives.   Contact Us for Business Inquiry

A Four-Time Sample Vendor for Hyperconvergence We are delighted to announce that Sangfor has been named as a Sample Vendor in the Hype Cycle for Infrastructure Strategy¹. This rounds off a quartet of recognitions as a Sample Vendor for Hyperconvergence in 2023 Gartner Hype Cycles, in addition to being recognized as a Representative Vendor in the Gartner Market Guide for Full-Stack Hyperconverged Infrastructure Software², which we believe is underscoring our commitment to delivering cutting-edge infrastructure solutions. In our previous announcements, we have delved into various aspects of Hyperconvergence and its significance. We refreshed our understanding of Hyperconvergence and shared Gartner forecast on data center sustainability in the Hype Cycle for Compute, 2023³. We presented the drivers of Hyperconvergence from the Hype Cycle for Data Center Infrastructure Technologies, 2023⁴, and explored how Sangfor HCI matches up with these drivers. We highlighted the role of Hyperconvergence in data storage and security and provided insights into Software-Defined Storage from the Hype Cycle for Storage and Data Protection Technologies 2023⁵. The Hype Cycle for Infrastructure Strategy describes the 31 most hyped infrastructure innovations. We believe that it offers a valuable opportunity to examine the two primary cloud computing models: Public Cloud, referred to as "Cloud Computing" in the Hype Cycle, and Private Cloud Computing. Cloud Computing Cloud Computing is one of six technologies in the Hype Cycle with the highest Transformational benefit rating. According to Gartner, a technology rated as Transformation "Enables new ways of doing business across industries that will result in major shifts in industry dynamics." Specifically, the Hype Cycle identifies "The primary potential benefits of cloud computing are cost savings, efficiency, agility, speed and innovation." Gartner recommends that organizations "Focus primary attention on public cloud with other approaches (private, distributed, sovereign) as secondary considerations." However, it also advises to "Beware of adopting cloud for the wrong reasons; it can lead to disastrous results." Thus, we believe the careful consideration of the right cloud model is paramount. Private Cloud Computing Private Cloud Computing receives a Moderate benefit rating and, like Cloud Computing, appears in the "Plateau of Productivity." We identify a contrast between Cloud Computing and Private Cloud Computing in the Hype Cycle, stating that "Cloud services offer many benefits, but isolation may also be required for security or regulatory reasons. Private cloud offers complete isolation, while providing the convenience and ease of use of cloud services." However, Gartner acknowledges that "Building a custom private cloud can be very costly and complex. Moreover, most deployments that are called ‘private cloud’ actually do not have cloud characteristics." This is where we believe Hyperconvergence plays a crucial role in mitigating the challenges and maximizing the value of Private Cloud Computing. Hyperconvergence According to the Gartner Hype Cycle, "Hyperconvergence combines storage, computing and networking into a single system that reduces data center complexity and increases scalability. Multiple servers can be clustered together to create pools of shared compute and storage resources (or nodes), designed for convenient consumption. Delivery models include physical and virtual appliances, reference architectures, as a service or public cloud." Based on these characteristics and more, we believe that Hyperconvergence, via Hyperconverged Infrastructure (HCI), provides an effective solution to the cost, complexity, and cloud capability issues associated with Private Cloud Computing mentioned above. Addressing Cloud Computing Capability Issues: High Scalability: Hyperconverged systems are designed to be easily scalable by adding HCI nodes to existing clusters. As resource requirements grow, administrators can expand the infrastructure without major disruptions, ensuring the private cloud adapts to changing demands. Increased Resource Utilization: Utilizing virtualization technologies, HCI pools resources across the cluster, leading to efficient resource allocation and improved overall performance. Dynamic allocation and reallocation of resources optimize resource usage based on workload demands. High Availability and Resilience: Hyperconverged systems incorporate redundancy and high availability mechanisms, ensuring automatic failover to healthy nodes in the event of hardware failures, thus enhancing the reliability of the private cloud infrastructure. Addressing Complexity and Cost Issues: Simplified Deployment and Automation: HCI enables rapid and simplified private cloud deployments through pre-integrated and standardized configurations. They also provide management software that automates routine tasks and streamlines setup, reducing delays and human errors. Simplified Infrastructure Management: HCI consolidates compute, storage, and networking resources into a single platform, reducing hardware management complexities. Administrators can efficiently control and allocate resources to different workloads through a unified interface. Cost Efficiency: Despite higher upfront costs, HCI leads to cost savings over time due to resource consolidation and lower data center footprint, management overhead, and energy consumption. In conclusion, we believe our recognition as a Sample Vendor in multiple Gartner Hype Cycles reaffirms our dedication to providing innovative solutions in the field of Hyperconvergence. By leveraging the power of Sangfor HCI, businesses can achieve streamlined, scalable, and cost-effective private cloud environments, propelling them toward a more efficient and sustainable future. Discover Sangfor Hyper-Converged Infrastructure (HCI) Sangfor HCI, powered by cutting-edge virtualization technology, seamlessly integrates compute, storage, networking, security, and management into a unified software stack. Whether running on Sangfor's unified aServer appliance or commercially available x86 servers, Sangfor HCI offers an agile, simple, resilient, and scalable software-defined data center. It optimizes performance and reliability, streamlines operations and maintenance, and significantly reduces data center footprint. Sangfor HCI caters to a wide range of digital transformation use cases across industries, including mission-critical application hosting, hybrid cloud, virtual desktop infrastructure, remote office/branch office, distributed storage, continuous data protection (CDP), and disaster recovery. Visit the Sangfor HCI webpage to learn more about its full range of features, advantages, customer success stories, testimonials, and more! Contact Us for Business Inquiry   Sources Gartner, Inc., Hype Cycle for Infrastructure Strategy, 2023, By Philip Dawson, Nathan Hill, Published July 25, 2023 Gartner, Inc., Market Guide for Full-Stack Hyperconverged Infrastructure Software, By Jeffrey Hewitt et al., Published March 14, 2023 Gartner, Inc., Hype Cycle for Compute, 2023, By Tony Harvey, Jason Donham, Published July 10, 2023 Gartner, Inc., Hype Cycle for Data Center Infrastructure Technologies, 2023, By Henrique Cecci, Philip Dawson, Published July 13, 2023 Gartner, Inc., Hype Cycle for Storage and Data Protection Technologies, 2023, By Julia Palmer, Published July 13, 2023 Disclaimer GARTNER is a registered trademark and service mark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally, and HYPE CYCLE is a registered trademark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates and are used herein with permission. All rights reserved. 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