LocalData

Compute, storage, networking...all-scaling out. It's the applications man!

Heavily adopted in HPC, partly adopted in primary storage. Hyperconverged is an example of scaleout eating primary storage.

Compute farms / HPC already strive for scale-out.

HPC, Networking

@steve_pao agree for strive to be scale out. Not all do

compute, storage, backup, and HCI

but from a mindshare perspective, I'd argue people ask about/see the need for scaleout already in Networking, Primary Storage, and Compute Farms/HPC. It's on the adoption/mindshare curve for Backup.

Diaster Recovery is interesting as it's a combo of backup/storage/networking/etc.

I disagree about HPC, unless we're talking about Spark and similar architectures. Batch HPC is anything but scale out when we include network and storage.

block storage hasn't really happened save a few exceptions

In #publiccloud you presume that scale out is happening. I don't think any public cloud provider isn't using scale out tech under the covers in order to provide elasticity.

administrators don't have to interact with scale out components, just need to understand there are a "fleet" of resources that can scale out as needed

Not totally clear on the question. Do you mean full-on strawman legacy vs. "modern?"

Depends on from whose perspective.

In the #datacenter you still often have to consciously choose between scale out and non-scale out architectures weighing their pros and cons.

Show me a public cloud that is "scale-out" in terms of logical namespace. Cloud is bag of bolts that still need software to interconnect it.

this is the argument for leveraging native cloud services vs. traditional

I don't know that scale out is any different in the private datacenter than the public cloud, other than some one else is managing the infrastructure

In the data center we use it run our business and in public cloud it is their business. Completely different focus on the word "scale"

In the spirit of people, process, technology, the technology has to support different people & process.

#datacenter systems should be designed with public cloud principles in mind. Otherwise they're boat-anchors.

where often non-scale out products can be cheaper on a short term basis as their design cost has long been amortized. Think Networker sold for 99% off at times.

In the #datacenter, it's still your job to scale it. The #publiccloud does it as a business

In the @IgneousIO view, we evangelize the need to deliver on-premises infrastructure as-a-Service and have strictly separated our data plane from our management plane.

@fdmts 95% of apps running in data centers today don't require infinite scale. Why spend the money to shoot for an impossible dream?

achieving the scale and elasticity offered by most public cloud providers in the DC often requires underlying scale-out infrastructure, issue is having hw resources at the ready without over spending

As a developer today, you can make assumptions that the #publiccloud you are using can scale as you need it. You generally can't make that assumption in the #datacenter.

@johna_white Infinite scale isn't necessarily required, but the scaling increments may be very different - particularly as you deal with fault domains.

would also say that scaleout in #publiccloud is often designed/tested to scale far further with more automation than in the #datacenter . Just a matter of economics...

@johna_white Infinite scalability isn't necessarily the goal of cloud adoption. For me, it's agility and the potential to move / re-use systems.

Most people don't need the ability to massively scale but ask a a developer if he prefers always having resources available when they need or for as long or short as they need it or if they prefer requesting resources from IT and waiting...

Scale out ;)

serverless

I'll be on an #OpeningActs panel before #vmworld on this topic https://blog.vmunder...

@stu Awesome - will see you there...

global namespaces

containers, microservices, serverless

Distributed identity.

serverless AI for IoT and deep machine learning :-)

hybrid cloud

Software-defined infrastructure

Blockchain

@andriven An example of blockchain going far beyond normal tech applications. https://www.google.c...

vote your fav from above list to tally the most legit buzzword

Significant engineering + QA investment.

Have to understand what the end-user is looking to "scale" There's trade-offs, nothing is free

Fundamentals, and a system architecture clear and clean enough that the whole team can understand it.

Anticipating and removing all logical limitations and/or bottlenecks in your design

Lots of cloud instances on which to test your scale-out design. Can't afford to strap together than much hardware in a data center.

@patrickrogersca I would build on this to say - an engineering culture that embraces finding the next bottleneck as a win.

Scale-out generally requires loosely-coupled, distributed architectures.

Often a custom file system, metadata/catalog work, locking mechanisms, some ACID characteristics, easy growth, masterless architecture, etc.

followup question what is the mix of hardware vs software? thoughs color commentary?

@fdmts #agree

this is why I'm skeptical by default if I see an existing product or company start to claim scale-out. Really doing is major under the covers work.

98% software

patience and emphasis rock solid internode communication, write plans, etc. before going after checkbox features that customers want to talk about

IMO, it should be all software for it to be successful. The hardware should be irrelevant.

tangent comment: #blockchain cyptocurrencies are showing both decentralized & distributed models to be very interesting.. thoughts

I'd call scale-out an interesting inflection point where products with older "design centers" will be overtaken overall by products that are built with scale out in their "design center".

I think that it starts with the software architecture - the algorithms - and that the architecture imposes constraints on the hardware. As Rickover said, "The devil is in the details, but so is salvation."

I'm not throwing shade on older products but overhauling an existing product to make it scale-out is HARD. Not impossible but seriously hard.

Agree. Blockchain potential goes way beyond cryptocurrency!

love @jhughes comment 98% software that makes HW vendors 2%ers :-)

Heavily, heavily software. You can't move fast enough with ASIC and/or hardware design to adapt.

@johna_white Disagree. Hardware is where the bytes live. I've seen too many designed that assume that a cow is a unit sphere filled with milk.

Oh God, Blockchain came up. Everybody DRINK.

@fdmts if #bitcoin drink twice

@fdmts Here you go then. Scale out = An innovative, game changing, and leading solution that leverages actionable synergies across unique, optimized paradigm shifts to deliver bottom line results that you can double click on.

@fdmts Yeah I think you are missing my point. I shouldn't have to buy specialty hardware to make a scale-out solution work. Commodity stuff all day.

Everyone now wins buzzword bingo. ;)

At the compute and storage layer, it's mostly software. You can build some massive scale out systems using standard white boxes. For networking, there are benefits to using custom ASICS to minimize latencies.

@fdmts Drinking is in order. Cryptocurrency is a distributed transaction model, not a distributed infrastructure model. 😀

Software has to assume there will always be hardware limitations. The challenge is living within the confines of the hardware units.

@johna_white Fair enough. I've seen good solutions tip over when the sales team agreed to try to run them on my legacy hardware.

So if a vendor tries to sell you on custom gear for scale out storage, run the other way. :)

@steve_pao We could use the BitCoin chain for file level locking. 10 minute lags FTW.