HOW TO GET THE MOST BUSINESS VALUE FROM YOUR CONVERGED AND HYPERCONVERGED INFRASTRUCTURE SYSTEMS

Transcription

1 VALUE GUIDE 2.0 HOW TO GET THE MOST BUSINESS VALUE FROM YOUR CONVERGED AND HYPERCONVERGED INFRASTRUCTURE SYSTEMS An Owner s Manual for Dell EMC VxBlock, Vblock, and VxRack Systems Provided by the Converged Platforms and Solutions Team at Dell EMC Value Guide 2.0

2 Table of Contents INTRODUCTION... 3 OVERVIEW AND QUICK START READ THIS IF YOU ONLY HAVE 5 MINUTES... 3 BUSINESS VALUE REALIZATION... 4 SOURCES OF BUSINESS VALUE... 4 BUSINESS VALUE REALIZATION: MEASURING AND REPORTING... 6 BEST OPERATING PRACTICES TOOL... 6 IMPORTANT HELP: SERVICES TO CONSIDER... 7 SERVICES AND SUPPORT OPTIONS AND BENEFITS... 7 PROFESSIONAL SERVICES OPTIONS... 8 MANAGED SERVICES... 8 TRAINING COURSES... 8 CERTIFIED PROFESSIONAL PROGRAM... 9 GETTING OFF TO A GREAT START THE LOGICAL CONFIGURATION SURVEY (LCS) AND SITE PREPARATION REVIEW DEPLOYMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION (D&I) THE KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER (KT) SESSION UP AND RUNNING: THE WELL-OILED MACHINE DAY-TO-DAY OPERATIONAL PROCESSES YOUR FIRST SUPPORT CALL SYSTEM MANAGEMENT: DELL EMC VISION SOFTWARE DELL EMC VISION MULTI-SYSTEM MANAGEMENT DASHBOARD SOFTWARE RELEASE UPDATE: RELEASE CERTIFICATION MATRIX (RCM) SCALING, WORKLOADS, DATA PROTECTION, & MULTI-SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE SCALING THROUGH EXPANSION OPTIONS AND DELL EMC CONVERGED TECHNOLOGY EXTENSIONS MISSION CRITICAL WORKLOADS INTEGRATED DATA PROTECTION DELL EMC VSCALE ARCHITECTURE: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW HYBRID CLOUD PLATFORMS ENTERPRISE HYBRID CLOUD (EHC), NATIVE HYBRID CLOUD (NHC), CLOUD FOR MICROSOFT AZURE STACK (MHC) REALIZING VALUE THROUGH CHANGES IN PEOPLE, PROCESS, AND ORGANIZATION TIMELINE PRIOR TO PURCHASE ORDER EXECUTE PURCHASE ORDER (DAY 0, T=0) SYSTEM LIVE LIVE+360 (ANNUALLY) PRODUCTION+1 YEAR VALUABLE RESOURCES CONVERGED INDUSTRY CONFERENCES AND EVENTS THE TECHNICAL RESOURCE CENTER (TRC) HANDS-ON CUSTOMER LABS BLOGS SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION Value Guide 2.0

3 INTRODUCTION The converged revolution starts when our customers begin the paradigm shift from managing separate system components to a new holistic operations approach. This new approach involves operating and managing the converged and hyper-converged infrastructure (CI and HCI) as a single entity versus managing compute, storage, and network component resources independently. Ongoing research indicates that customers who follow the practices in this manual spend less time keeping the lights on and spend substantially more time accelerating business innovation and end user satisfaction. Although lowering the total cost of ownership is a large benefit, customers say the business value realized from CI and HCI goes far beyond operations cost reduction. OVERVIEW AND QUICK START Read this if you only have 5 minutes This manual distills the experiences of working with thousands of customers to help new owners to optimize the IT and business value from Dell EMC converged and hyper-converged infrastructure. Block and Rack customers tell us they see great value in getting pre-assembled systems delivered in about 60 days from purchase that are engineered, pre-configured for their workloads and ready for live operations within days of delivery. Customers are also highly satisfied with their Dell EMC one company to call support experience. While highly valued, these benefits don t represent the majority of the potential IT and business value available from Dell EMC converged and hyper-converged infrastructure. Ongoing research is very clear that: Customers who operate their converged and hyper-converged systems the same way they operate their legacy systems never realize the majority of the potential business value available By adopting new approaches to people and process, substantial improvements in the following can be realized: downtime, availability, performance, staff productivity, and business innovation People and process can be improved by taking advantage of training courses and additional services such as having a Dell EMC resident on-site for 3-6 months There are many rewards from a business value realization program: o Developing a baseline of key IT metrics prior to delivery of a new system o Establishing improvement goals o Measuring progress every 6-12 months to assess value realized and to identify areas that need improvement Without this data, customers often greatly understate the actual value realized and also miss important additional sources of potential value All of these topics (and many more) are addressed in this manual. 3 Value Guide 2.0

4 BUSINESS VALUE REALIZATION Sources of Business Value Converged Infrastructure (CI) and Hyper-Converged Infrastructure (HCI) address a variety of operational and strategic challenges by reducing the time and effort required to operate infrastructure and increasing the agility of the organization, while lowering overall costs. Specifically, CI and HCI help to: (1) simplify operations, (2) speed deployment to get infrastructure in use faster, (3) improve availability, (4) gain the ability to easily and quickly add capacity as needed and (5) lower operating expenses. Dell EMC achieves these results through the five pillars of our value delivery system: Engineered Manufactured Managed Supported Sustained Description Leading technologies engineered together as a single converged platform according to strict architectural standards, codified with ongoing firmware and software releases State-of-the-art, ISO- certified manufacturing process for assembling & deploying 100 s of physical and logical components to exacting standards as a single product Software for managing the health and life cycle of each system and multiple systems together as a single pool of resources Single source of support for all systems, with staff cross- trained on all multi-vendor technology components and available 24x7x365 to resolve issues Code releases for all system components (approx. 30) pre-tested and certified for interoperability throughout the product lifecycle Business outcome Eliminates the cost of architecting infrastructure yourself, while lowering the risk of deployment and ongoing operations Faster time-to-value and payback months ahead of the time that it would take you to build your own infrastructure Keeps your data center/hybrid-cloud environment healthy, stable, optimized and secure, while simplifying operations 60+% faster problem resolution and frees you from internal triage nightmares and escalating issues to multiple technology vendors Helps to reduce downtime by 90+%; lowers the cost and risk of upgrading to improve system performance, stability and security Key differentiator Unparalleled expertise that delivers fully productized and integrated systems optimized to support the most demanding mission critical workloads Systems are both physically assembled according to exacting standards and logically configured to meet your needs. Impractical to replicate in a DC, difficult for other vendors No other option provides architecture-aware software unmatched intelligence, automation, risk assessment & visualization for converged and hyperconverged infrastructure Eliminates the seams that exist between silos in organizations and vendor support systems Automated regression and extensive manual testing of release certification matrix (RCM) and lifecycle processes are proven to eliminate IT complexity, reduce costs, and minimize application downtime 4 Value Guide 2.0

5 Across four IDC studies from 2012 to 2017 customers consistently report that modernizing the data center with Dell EMC Converged Infrastructure helps their IT function to both become more strategically important to the business and to deliver strong business outcomes and savings. Key results from the May 2015 IDC study of customers, The Business Value of Vblock Systems: Leveraging Convergence to Drive Business Agility 1, include: Faster infrastructure time to value - On average, Dell EMC converged systems went from purchase order to operational infrastructure in approximately 60 days compared with 140 days if customers procured, received, and completed the physical build of more than 300 parts and the logical build of 30 elements of software and firmware More efficient IT operations - Customers report: a 71% reduction in staff time spent operating storage, compute, network and virtualization due to reduced time to architect and deploy infrastructure; reduced platform complexity; streamlined lifecycle management through the Release Certification Matrix experience (discussed later in this document); fewer infrastructure incidents; and more efficient incident resolution through Dell EMC support Better system availability - Downtime was reduced 96%, on average from 8.0 to 0.3 hours per year and the number of unplanned downtime incidents saw a similar decline, from more than 50 to approximately 5 incidents per year Significant Organizational Benefits - Customers report dramatically more time available to focus on business priorities, and improvements to the application development lifecycle. Through the combination of more stable infrastructure, and reducing the application development lifecycle to 18 weeks from 40, IT delivered 358% more applications and 2.4% higher companywide revenue as a result of the investment in converged infrastructure Standardization The business value from using standardized components is derived from: reducing downtime and performance problems due to component incompatibilities, reducing the complexity of heterogeneous environments, and the cost of staff to fix compatibility related issues. Standardized processes based on Dell EMC s experience with thousands of customers can yield substantial efficiencies and reduced risk versus building processes through trial and error for unique DIY snow flake environments. Of course, each organization s results will depend upon many factors, notably, the starting level of IT maturity and the extent to which the people and process dimensions of IT operations are transformed. What is important: understand categories in which other customers have realized business value and use this information to set goals and expectations for what your organization plans to achieve from your CI or HCI investment. For a more detailed description of the sources of potential value from converged systems, please see the supplement to this manual in the getting started section of technical resource center here Value Guide 2.0

6 Business Value Realization: Measuring and Reporting What is business value realized? Business value realized (BVR) is the economic value from your investment in a new system. Good data is key for determining BVR. It provides a fact-based approach to measure the outcomes and drive process improvement initiatives designed to achieve maximum value from current and future CI/HCI investments. A BVR analysis tells the story of the outcomes and impact of the investment by following the principles of a wellconstructed business case: 1. Identify how the investment has enabled key business objectives and priorities 2. Draw a clear line to IT strategies and priorities 3. Quantify the business value and impact 4. Clearly communicate other metrics and criteria that measure the effect and differentiate the solution from other approaches BVR programs don't have to be heavy on process and time commitment. What is important is to integrate the BVR program into your existing IT organizational habits and ongoing process improvement initiatives. We recommend the following seven-step approach: Determine What to Measure Identify metrics that matter Create Baseline Measure current performance on metrics Set Goals Determine improvement targets for metrics Transform Implement infrastructure and new or changed processes Inspect Results Compare new performance data to baselines and targets Celebrate Success Communicate and acknowledge progress toward goals Identify Improvements Determine and implement additional changes toward achieving goals Why should you conduct a BVR Assessment? The only way to know if you are actually realizing business value is to take measurements before and after you start using your new system. You may be able to replicate success throughout your organization. If your system is not producing as much value as expected, investigate and take actions to remedy the situation. Best Operating Practices Tool This Excel-based tool is designed to help IT management accomplish the following: Evaluate recommended actions and their benefits Track progress in implementing selected best practices The tool allows you to easily opt out of a recommended best practice or add additional value drivers to monitor. Each value driver is expressed in a way that is: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant to driving value, and Time-bound with regard to improving progress. The tool is designed to be used by IT groups without assistance, or Dell EMC can be engaged to assist in identifying and monitoring best practices. Download the tool from the technical resource center here Value Guide 2.0

7 IMPORTANT HELP: SERVICES TO CONSIDER Services and Support Options and Benefits Dell EMC provides multiple support options to match your business needs and preferred support experience. Customers tell us that having one company to call for the support of their entire system is one of the biggest benefits of Dell EMC Converged and Hyper-Converged Infrastructure Systems. Our support experts are trained in all aspects of your system and are able to handle about 90% of support requests independently, enabled by a B2B framework and unified support agreement. When a support expert needs to reach out to a partner, there is seamless communication between our Converged and Hyper Converged support team and our technology partners across Dell EMC, VMware, and Cisco, to quickly identify and resolve issues. Even when support partner resources are engaged to assist, our support team continues to own the issue on a single ticket until it is resolved. Currently for Vblock Systems, VxBlock Systems, and VxRack Systems there are three support levels to choose from: Core, Plus, and Premier. Core Support Core Support is foundational integrated support and comes standard with all Blocks and Racks. It includes: global technical support; access to the web support portal; access to knowledgebase articles; rapid on-site parts delivery and replacement; and, where applicable, advanced automated collection and analysis of diagnostic data across all system components. Plus Support Plus Support is the next level of support services, and delivers an enhanced, higher-touch support experience with account management and proactive engagement to reduce risk. The designated Customer Advocate (CA) provides enhanced strategic advisory services, escalation coordination, monthly service request reviews, and an annual operational review. The CA also coordinates with support engineers for executing technical deliverables, including an annual health check with actions needed to address any issues identified. They will help deliver remote change support when planning any upgrades. Who should consider Plus Support? Having a CA who is partnered with a team of support engineers is like having a personal trainer for your Dell EMC converged and hyper-converged infrastructure you will almost certainly achieve better results than if you went it alone. Premier Support Premier Support adds to Plus Support to provide the most customer-centric, strategic support relationship. The dedicated Customer Advocate works closely with a designated technical resource to provide the highest level of strategic advisory services, including weekly service request reviews and semiannual, proactive health checks and remote change support events ensuring continuous health of the customer s data center environment. Who should consider Premier Support? Organizations whose objective is to actively anticipate and mitigate potential infrastructure problems find great benefit in Premier Support. This support level helps organizations be proactive in environments that are very dynamic (e.g. fast changing demands on compute, storage, and networking) or have rapidly evolving application workloads. 7 Value Guide 2.0

8 Professional Services Options In addition to the Support offerings described above, there are Professional Services offerings that help to optimize value from investments in Block and Rack Systems: Onboarding Services: Provide a specialized Dell EMC technical consultant for 90 days, primarily on-site, to help your organization quickly become productionready with Blocks and Racks and give you a strong comfort level with converged operations. Structured activities and deliverables include System Build Assessment, System Administration, System Architecture, Best Practices (including Run Book), and Extended Knowledge Transfer Resident Services: These are Block/Rack experts who share their knowledge with customer teams during the early days (typically 6 months) of the transition to a converged operating model. Residents help to accelerate value by bringing staff along the learning curve much faster Workload Migration Services: Professional services teams who are expert in migrating your workloads onto your new equipment Release Certification Matrix/Software Upgrade Services: Many customers hire Dell EMC to perform their first unified system software upgrades, which are recommended every 6 months. Through this service, Dell EMC helps train staff with the process of nondisruptive upgrades. Other customers choose to offload software upgrades to Dell EMC on an ongoing basis Run Book Services: Dell EMC Professional Services can create customized run books. (Note: The Administration Guide for your Dell EMC Converged System is available at Organizational Transformation Services: See Section below Realizing Value Through Changes in People, Process, and Organization for information about these services Managed Services For those customers who choose to limit their involvement in hands-on infrastructure management, managed services are a great option. Managed services for Dell EMC converged systems are provided by Virtustream, a Division of Dell Technologies. The Virtustream Managed Services team specializes in helping IT leaders transform their operations and deliver more value to the business in agile, trusted and cost-effective ways. Virtustream offers a full complement of managed services from basic remote monitoring to proactive offerings that include service level agreements and fully customized services. Managed services are available remotely or onsite and either hosted on or off premises and Virtustream will design a solution that fits an individual customer s business requirements. Infrastructure, platform, and application services are designed to deliver faster time-to-value, operational peace of mind, continuous improvement, and operational return on investment. For more, see the supplement 4 to this manual or visit Virtustream s site here 5. Training Courses Why: In order to achieve the full business benefits of converged and hyper-converged infrastructure, it is essential to adopt some new processes, roles, and approaches which are the basis for a transition to managing the system as a unified and optimized single entity (versus managing the storage, compute, and networking components separately, in silos). The training classes listed below will help your team begin this transition. In addition, the classes for VxRack System administration will address the management of software-defined technology. Formal training can help: Increase your agility and ability to accelerate business initiatives Decrease staff turnover and dependence on external resources Mitigate your risk and decrease unplanned downtime Broaden operational knowledge to improve or eliminate functional hand-offs Who: Architects, Data Center Administrators, Network Specialists, Storage Specialists, Compute Specialists, and Software Specialists Value Guide 2.0

9 What: Recommended Block and Rack courses include: Converged Infrastructure Solutions Foundations: Comprehensive introduction to converged and hyperconverged technology, and how they work in the modern data center Vblock/VxBlock Administration and Management: Monitoring, securing, validating, managing and administering Vblock and VxBlock Systems; includes run book creation and multi-tenancy situations Advanced Vblock/VxBlock Administration and Management: Performance and troubleshooting; students are guided through best practice methodologies of these two critical tasks within the Dell EMC converged infrastructure product set VxRack FLEX Administration and Management: Comprehensive overview of VxRack FLEX System components and management interfaces, management of the hyper-converged solution and software defined functionality, and common administrative tasks Managing Vblock and VxBlock Solutions with Vision Intelligent Operations: Vision features and functionality and includes, architecture, data center integration and software development functional areas Where: For complete information regarding training as well as a schedule of available classes, please visit Certified Professional Program Certification training is designed for experienced IT staff who recognize the value of building expertise in the very fast growing converged infrastructure category. This program enables IT professionals to bridge the gap from a domainspecific (storage, compute, networking) focus to a cross-domain focus. Certified Professionals pass exams in architecting, deploying, and operating converged infrastructure systems. The program includes an introductory Converged Infrastructure Associate Certification and these focused tracks: Converged Infrastructure Design Engineer Converged Infrastructure Implementation Engineer Converged Infrastructure Administration Engineer More information here Value Guide 2.0

10 GETTING OFF TO A GREAT START The Logical Configuration Survey (LCS) and Site Preparation Review The Logical Configuration Survey (LCS) collects all critical items, such as naming conventions, IP Address ranges, storage configuration, virtualization configuration, and physical server/chassis layout, which define the configuration of the VxBlock System or VxRack System. The results of the LCS are used to logically configure the engineered system at the Dell EMC manufacturing facility. The LCS is created through a process led by a Dell EMC Project Manager and involves participation between the Dell EMC Project Team, partner team(s) (if applicable), and key customer teams. Once the LCS is finalized and approved by the customer and Dell EMC it is submitted to Dell EMC Manufacturing where the configuration will be used to drive the build process. The completed and approved LCS and Site Survey documents are required major milestones that drive the final Manufacturing and Delivery Dates. Full and active customer participation in completing these documents is essential to ensure the customer s unique configuration and requirements are captured. What to expect: The initial LCS review meeting will be either on-site or remote via WebEx. Regardless of the delivery method, it is imperative to have customer team representatives present with expertise in Compute, Network, Storage, Virtualization, and, if applicable, Applications. On-Site LCS Overview Initial project, architecture, and LCS overview conducted on-site ~4 hours One to two follow-up sessions conducted via WebEx Meeting ~1 hour each Final Quality Assurance Review One to two business days Customer and Dell EMC Final Approval Submission of LCS to Dell EMC Manufacturing Remote LCS Overview Initial architecture and LCS overview via WebEx Meeting ~1.5 hours Two to three follow-up sessions conducted via WebEx Meeting ~1 hour each Final Quality Assurance Review One to two business days Customer and Dell EMC Final Approval Submission of LCS to Dell EMC Manufacturing A collaborative, well-executed LCS is the foundation to getting the most benefit from our leading ISO 9001:2008 certified manufacturing, deployment and implementation processes. A successful LCS is a critical step in preparing for a successful deployment. Site Survey The purpose of the Site Survey document is to identify the site requirements and site readiness for the VxBlock System and/or the VxRack System build, deployment and implementation within the customer s infrastructure. The site survey is leveraged by three teams within Dell EMC Global Services to enable a successful delivery: Manufacturing Production, Shipping and Logistics, and Professional Services Deployment Team. Customer participation in the site survey and ensuring site readiness are critical success factors. Prior to implementation the customer s installation site must have both the required power and the network uplinks to the customer s core. Deployment and Implementation (D&I) Within roughly 60 days after a purchase order is signed, the pre-assembled and pre-configured VxBlock System or VxRack System is delivered to the customer site. Dell EMC offers skilled technical resources to help ensure nondisruptive deployment of VxBlock Systems and VxRack Systems into the data center to accelerate your business value realized. The primary offering is the Deployment & Implementation (D&I) Service where Dell EMC technical consultants engage with customer teams to develop a project plan, including comprehensive risk management and specific project deliverables and tasks. 10 Value Guide 2.0

11 Major service activities for D&I are highlighted below: Develop a VxBlock/VxRack System architecture and integration plan to deliver improved data center reliability, maintainability and performance Define configuration parameters and create a configuration guide Develop test and acceptance plans Review the implementation plan and schedules prior to starting a system deployment to confirm that all equipment is ready for installation Install and power up the system Configure the system, unified network, storage, compute, and management software, including Cisco Unified Computing System Manager, Dell EMC management software, Vision Software, and VMware vsphere Conduct an end-to-end, integrated test of the System to validate connectivity, operations, and functions Test the functionality of the system within the customer environment Conduct the Knowledge Transfer (KT) Session The Knowledge Transfer (KT) Session Dell EMC provides knowledge transfer (KT) as part of the Deployment and Implementation services for Dell EMC VxBlock System and VxRack Systems. These interactive sessions introduce your team to your new converged or hyperconverged system and help you maximize return on investment. All of the knowledge transfer sessions are typically delivered in a single business day. The KT Sessions go better when the correct people are participating, so please be sure to get the right folks on your team to attend/dial in, and feel free to ask questions! The knowledge transfer session for VxBlock Systems is structured to cover the as-built configuration and functionality of the following components, as well as provide a walk-through of the respective component element managers: Management (Dell EMC Vision) Advanced Management Pod (AMP) Network Storage Compute (Cisco UCS) Virtualization (VMware vsphere) Network Virtualization (VMware NSX) The knowledge transfer session for VxRack Systems is structured to cover the as-built configuration and functionality of the following components, as well as provide a walk-through of the respective component element managers: Management (Dell EMC Vision and, ScaleIO GUI) Network Servers Virtualization (VMware vsphere) The KT Session is an overview of the newly delivered system(s), and should not be confused with in-depth training think of it as akin to the run through a car dealer gives you regarding your new vehicle before you leave the lot (e.g. the location of your mirrors, parking brake, gas tank, windshield wiper fluid, and radio). We highly recommend formal training for your team please see Training Available section of this manual for the courses we suggest. Note: The Administration Guide 7 for your Dell EMC System is available at (search by model number) Value Guide 2.0

12 UP AND RUNNING: THE WELL-OILED MACHINE Day-to-Day Operational Processes This is a description of the numerous ways that operating a converged or hyper-converged system is dramatically different than managing legacy systems, based on information provided by Dell EMC customers. Instead of investing weeks or months of staff time in assembly, cabling, and testing, migration to a new converged system can begin within days of system delivery. Because Dell EMC systems are thoroughly engineered, pre-tested, and pre-assembled before they are delivered, there are dramatically fewer incidents throughout the product lifecycle. Instead of having to test each new software patch for compatibility, non-disruptive pre-tested software updates for the entire system are delivered via the Dell EMC Release Certification Matrix. This process includes specific instructions for the sequence of the software updates. Customers advise that pre-certified upgrades remove a significant source of lowlevel incidents. When problems do occur, a single call results in much faster resolution because cross-trained Dell EMC support personnel assume full problem ownership across the entire environment (compute, networking, storage and virtualization). Customers advise that this is a dramatically better and faster experience than calling multiple vendors. Relieved of nearly all of the burdens of managing low level break-fix, converged infrastructure teams turn their attention to the higher level tasks of proactive monitoring and building policy based processes for system administration. Instead of time consuming hand-offs between component-specific engineers to provision a new application or end user, a single cross-trained converged engineer can provision all the necessary system resources in a fraction of the time. This accelerates innovation and time-to-market for new initiatives. A detailed description of operational processes is contained in the Getting Started User Guide located on the technical resource center here 8. Your First Support Call The good news is you have a single number to call and a sole vendor with which to work to resolution. Here are some things to think about and have at the ready to ensure that your support calls are as successful as possible. Dell EMC Customer Support Letter Once your System has been installed, Dell EMC sends support welcome letter(s) describing how to obtain support, how to register for the support portal, and key entitlement information associated with your newly purchased systems. If you need another copy of your customer support welcome letter please call Dell EMC Support: or your local support number which is available at: The Support Portal Your Gateway to Help The support portal will be your starting point to initiate a support request: Note that more than one person from your company can register for the support portal. Please have the following information, from your welcome letter, at the ready to expedite your request and ensure a smooth experience: Customer Account Name, as it appears on the Welcome Letter First and Last name of the requestor Company/site owner name and phone Product and version details and serial number Value Guide 2.0

13 System Management: Dell EMC Vision Software Dell EMC Vision Intelligent Operations is management software that helps you simplify data center operations and assure the health, stability, optimization, and security of your Dell EMC converged systems. Through a single productivity-enhancing dashboard, the software monitors multiple Dell EMC converged systems (Vblock, VxBlock, VxRack FLEX and VxRail), located together or distributed across sites. Currently Vision software displays system and component inventory and health (operational status based on availability), key performance indicators (metrics), Release Certification Matrix (RCM) assessments, security assessments, and security/technical alert assessments for Vblock and VxBlock; inventory and RCM assessments for VxRack FLEX; and inventory for VxRail. The dashboard includes a browser that lets you instantly search for information about specific systems and their components (virtual machines, compute, storage and network) within each system. You can also browse and display information about specific components (e.g., storage arrays, nodes, switches, virtual machines, etc.) across multiple systems, so you monitor and manage their health more efficiently as a single, consumable pool of resources. In addition, Vision software downloads patches from the Dell EMC customer support portal and stages them on your systems to remediate issues. Similarly, as part of the RCM Compliance Management process, Vision software downloads and stages new firmware and hypervisor releases on your systems to simplify the upgrade process. Dell EMC Vision Multi-System Management Dashboard Vision software helps you address everyday issues faster and more proactively by: Telling you when a server or storage device is unhealthy and which workloads and databases are impacted, so you can move them to a healthier location Letting you know when your converged systems need firmware and hypervisor upgrades and enabling the download of new releases certified for interoperability from Dell EMC Customer Support Pinpointing system components that are vulnerable to new security and technical bugs, and downloading patches to fix the problem To learn more, see demo videos here 9, and download the Vision Quick Start Guide 10 from the Dell EMC Technical Resource Center Value Guide 2.0

14 Software Release Update: Release Certification Matrix (RCM) Fixing bugs and adding performance-improving release upgrades to infrastructure has never been easier and as risk-free than with the Release Certification Matrix the suite of interoperable system software and firmware releases certified for use on Dell EMC converged infrastructure systems. Delivered on new systems from the Dell EMC factory and updated by Dell EMC on a consistent schedule the RCM includes hypervisor releases, firmware releases for compute, storage and network components, and monitoring software releases certified for use on Dell EMC engineered systems. Our Quality Assurance Team spends hundreds of hours pre-testing and validating (see chart) interoperability of all new releases including emergency security and technical patches for all components to eliminate the risk of outages induced by otherwise incompatible releases. Converged Infrastructure System Minimum Tests Test Cases Typical Test & Validation Time Small Configuration hours Medium Configuration hours Large Configuration hours Additional Time: 80 hours release planning and validation hours upgrade-to-existing-systems testing Lab systems for testing Release Interoperability Testing Scope and Time Charts Comprehensive RCM testing frees you from the high cost of test equipment and the significant procedures to thoroughly test and certify interoperability of releases. Independent laboratory benchmarks indicate that the Release Certification Matrix, combined with the Dell EMC Vision software for assessing upgrade requirements and for accessing new RCM releases, speeds upgrade processes by a factor of 6 versus traditional, non-converged infrastructure according to independent studies. This enables you to keep infrastructure in a Known Good State for stability and optimized performance. For more information on how Dell EMC Vision software simplifies infrastructure upgrades, visit here Value Guide 2.0

15 SCALING, WORKLOADS, DATA PROTECTION, & MULTI-SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE Scaling through Expansion Options and Dell EMC Converged Technology Extensions Dell EMC believes that risk free growth of your infrastructure is a critically important part of doing business with us. That is why we enable you to scale your infrastructure to meet your changing business requirements simply and efficiently. The first way to scale your VxBlock, Vblock or VxRack System is to simply add expansion options. Expansion options are additional components within the standardized parameters of compute, network and storage guidelines for your existing system. If your current system has not reached its system maximum for compute, network or storage resources you can simply add standard components. On VxBlock and Vblock Systems, you can simply add compute blades or drives/drive array enclosures until you reach the system maximum. Similarly, on VxRack, you can simply add nodes (compute and/or storage) up to the system maximum. With VxBlock and Vblock Systems you can also scale your environment by adding Dell EMC Converged Technology Extensions. Converged Technology Extensions provide an innovative way to expand and enhance your converged infrastructure quickly and easily by adding compute or storage outside of the original system without needing to purchase a net new VxBlock System. For example, say you have a VxBlock System 540 (this comes with XtremIO allflash storage), and your compute resources within your system are not fully utilized. You could add a Converged Technology Extension for Isilon and extend your converged system benefits to include scale out NAS. Converged Technology Extensions are available by simply adding additional Cisco UCS compute resources or storage resources from Dell EMC, including Dell EMC Unity, VMAX, XtremIO, Isilon and VNX storage. Converged Technology Extensions can connect directly to an existing VxBlock or Vblock System. When you are considering an expansion option, or a Converged Technology Extension, reach out to your Dell EMC pre-sales team to see what s best for your environment. Mission Critical Workloads Customers use blocks and racks for a highly diverse set of mission critical workloads. According to the annual Voice of the Customer Survey, customers use their Blocks and Racks for the following workloads and applications: Existing DELL EMC Customer Use Cases Database Private Cloud BC/DR App/Dev/Test Microsoft Suite VDI/End User Computing ERP Big Data & Analytics Certified Workloads Workloads come in different shapes and sizes, ranging from traditional mission critical client/ server applications and databases such as SAP, Oracle and Microsoft to new data analytics and web 2.0 cloud native applications accessible from any device, anywhere, anytime. Dell EMC understands that, to get the most out of your converged systems, it is important to leverage best practices for running mixed workloads to optimize performance, ensure high availability, compliant data protection and data copy management. Dell EMC solution engineering teams support our customers by investing in engineering, validating, and certifying our converged systems and technology for widely adopted workloads. 15 Value Guide 2.0

16 The following table highlights traditional and emerging workloads that Dell EMC supports by validating and documenting best practices. BUSINESS-CRITICAL APPLICATIONS: supporting traditional core business functions including financials, enterprise resources planning (ERP), customer relationship management (CRM), and supply chain management (SCM) and data warehouses. Oracle SAP SQL: on Vblock 740 Solution Guide Oracle SAP SQL: on Vblock 540 Solutions Guide Oracle: Technical Case Study Converged Infrastructure with ScaleIO SAP on Oracle RAC 12c: Business Continuity Solution Guide VMAX AFA SAP on Oracle: Solution Guide Advanced Data Services with XtremIO Oracle: Engineering WP Backup and Recovery with VMAX3 Microsoft SQL Server: Engineering Paper VMAX3 Timefinder SNAPVX DATA ANALYTICS: companies are investing in new in-memory and No-SQL databases. SAP HANA Storage Configuration Best Practices VNX SAP HANA with VMware Solution Guide with Dell EMC Storage MongoDB: Technical Validation with XtremIO Cassandra: Technical WP XtremIO copy data management SAP HANA Storage Configuration Best Practices UNITY SAP HANA Storage Configuration Best Practices XtremIO Splunk: Enterprise running on Vblock540 Solution Guide Splunk: Technical Validation - XtremIO and Isilon scaleout NAS Splunk Enterprise on VxRack FLEX VDI / MOBILITY: enabling access to applications and data from any device, anywhere, any time. Citrix XenDesktop VMware vsphere 6.0 with VxRail Reference Arch Citrix XenDesktop VMware vsphere 6.0 with VxRail Solution Guide VMware Horizon 7 - VMware vsphere 6.0 with VxRail Reference Arch. VMware Horizon 7 - VMware vsphere 6.0 with VxRail Solution Guide The resources listed above are available on DellEMC.com 16 Value Guide 2.0

17 Integrated Data Protection Dell EMC developed the concept of integrated data protection so our customers can achieve precisely the right level of protection for each business application or service level need, at any scale. Available solutions start with cost-effective daily backups, and can range up to zero data loss with zero downtime for mission-critical applications. We fully assemble each data protection system into Dell EMC cabinets and directly connect the data protection components to the converged infrastructure (Vblock, VxBlock, or VxRack Systems) network before the converged system leaves the factory, resulting in the fastest time to value. We re also happy to provide integrated data protection systems and related services for existing Blocks or Racks you already have in your environment. Either way, you receive support for the converged and hyper-converged infrastructure AND the data protection with a single phone call. For more information: Dell EMC Vscale Architecture: What You Need to Know Dell EMC Vscale Architecture extends the Dell EMC engineered system experience throughout your data center and across multiple data centers, enabling you to scale out and share resources among local and distributed converged, hyper-converged and third-party systems with the advantages of automation, orchestration and life-cycle assurance: Providing a standardized, high-performance network fabric Converting islands of converged systems into a highly leveraged pool of resources Serving up shared compute, storage, and data protection resources Allowing third-party legacy systems to integrate with converged system resources The architecture includes: The Dell EMC portfolio of converged infrastructure systems and their associated converged technology extensions A scalable, Cisco network fabric: spine-leaf LAN and/or edge-core-edge SAN Shared compute, storage, and data protection resources directly connected to fabric Defined points of entry between the fabric and enterprise security zones Defined points of connectivity between Vscale network services and legacy, third-party systems to the fabric Software for converged infrastructure health and life cycle management Common automation and orchestration tools Dell EMC Vscale Architecture includes the Vscale Fabric, a pre-engineered spine-leaf LAN and/or edge-core-edge SAN for resource sharing across systems and special-purpose compute, storage, and data protection extensions. Resources can also be accessed across distributed sites. Learn more about Dell EMC Vscale Architecture here collapse=&tab1=0 17 Value Guide 2.0

18 HYBRID CLOUD PLATFORMS Enterprise Hybrid Cloud (EHC), Native Hybrid Cloud (NHC), Cloud for Microsoft Azure Stack (MHC) Dell EMC Hybrid Cloud Platforms built on a foundation of Dell EMC CI and HCI includes integrated software stacks from VMware, Pivotal and Microsoft to support traditional and cloud-native applications. These turnkey on-premises hybrid cloud platforms include full component lifecycle management and one contact support from Dell EMC. Many customers have a multi-cloud strategy and therefore need to choose the cloud that is best suited to their application workloads. With that in mind, Dell EMC invests in hybrid cloud platforms to meet a variety of customer requirements and affinities, allowing them to choose the platform that best meets their business needs. Enterprise Hybrid Cloud offered on VxBlock and VxRack FLEX, is a turnkey infrastructure as a service offering that enables IT to empower users via a self-service catalog for on-demand IT resources. For more information, please visit here 13 Native Hybrid Cloud offered on VxRail, VxRack Flex, and VxRack SDDC is a turnkey developer platform for customers looking for the fastest implementation of Pivotal Cloud Foundry on-premises. It combines self-service cloudnative application development into a single hybrid cloud platform. It empowers developers and deployment teams with an it just works user experience to accelerate time to market, boost productivity, and increase operational efficiency. For more information, please visit here 14 Cloud for Microsoft Azure Stack offered on Dell EMC HCI is a hybrid cloud platform for delivering infrastructure and platform-as-a-service with a consistent Azure experience on-premises and in the public cloud. Embracing a cloudnative model is easy with write once, run anywhere functionality in Azure or Azure Stack for streamlining app development and deployment. Organizations can access, create, and share application services securely in Azure and Azure Stack for both traditional and cloud-native applications. For more information, please visit here REALIZING VALUE THROUGH CHANGES IN PEOPLE, PROCESS, AND ORGANIZATION Why: Ongoing customer research confirms customers who evolve both individual roles and organizational structure achieve the most business value from converged and hyper-converged infrastructure deployments. One primary reason for this is substantially fewer resources are required to manage a CI/HCI system as a holistic entity, versus managing compute, storage and network independently. As a result, some of the staff resources that were previously committed to keeping a legacy system running (keeping the lights on), can instead be devoted to accelerating business innovation and value. What: In legacy environments, storage, compute, and network each have an independent group in which the technology strategy, design, integration and operations exist in silos and perform separately from the other groups. Within a converged architecture these silos blend and coexist, delivering the infrastructure itself as a service in which compute, storage, software and network are bundled. The new roles are more focused on the automation of the services they deliver. Evolution from component focused roles to converged roles Value Guide 2.0

19 The services being provisioned by the converged service center are defined by Service Management incorporating the standards and governance of Enterprise Architecture and Security. The converged environment Service Center is comprised of: A Lead responsible for the team management, demand prioritization, tools strategy, and liaising with the IT Service Management and Operations leads. Converged architects responsible for defining the interface standards, protocols, security / segmentation considerations, blueprints / templates for the IaaS and PaaS components. Converged Automation Engineers who will enable the automatic orchestration of the technical components, ensure the updating of systems of record, leverage the native capabilities for extensibility and elasticity, as well as integrate workflow approvals. Converged Administrators who will ensure that the transition of services to Operations is documented and that there is adequate capacity. How: Creating the new operating model to support the converged culture will require defining and communicating the vision, goals, and objectives relevant to the organization. The next major step is to build the transformation team which will be responsible for: creating the transformation plan, identifying the resources, documenting roles and responsibilities, scheduling training, identifying the migration strategy, and setting the processes for change management. Education and training are key to the success of the transformation to the new environment. The education plan should communicate the concepts of the converged infrastructure and related benefits, and information on the specific technologies in play. Evolving the Org Structure As the transformation takes place, the level of resources needed will shift to support new converged operating processes and roles. Part of the planning of the Transformation Team should include a vision of what the organization structure will look like on Day 1 of the program to the end date of the program. This is, of course, dependent on the degree of legacy and converged workloads to be supported. Time-frames Successful operating model transformations can take place in as little as 3 months for small, relatively simple environments, or as much as a year or longer for larger, more complex enterprises with multiple technologies, lines of business, and staff locations. Tools For information on tool that support holistic system operations, please see the earlier sections that describe Vision system monitoring software and the release certification matrix (RCM) process and services. 19 Value Guide 2.0

20 Organizational Evolution Transformation Services Dell EMC is able to accelerate the operating model transformation through its Transformation Consulting Services. During an 8 to 12 week engagement, we establish the vision, goals, objects, metrics, and KPIs which will drive the success of the program; establish the transition office; define the roles, job descriptions, and training plans; and build the roadmap and execution plan. Larger enterprise customers, who want to build a comprehensive IT as a Service (ITaaS) platform and organization, can employ Dell EMC s Cloud Transformation Services to establish an operating model in which the entire IT services supply and demand chain is incorporated. (See diagram below). Additional information on IT as a Service is included here 15 TIMELINE This is a sample customer timeline with key milestones and considerations to help optimize value. Prior to Purchase Order Work with your Dell EMC varch to design and configure system based on workloads, policies, and growth path (prior to purchase) (Optional) Business Value Assessment (BVA) developed with your Dell EMC account team to create a business case that calculates the value your organization estimates it will receive when you invest in CI/HCI Finalize the design for your workloads Consider TRAINING options o CI Sys Admin Consider changes in roles and organization structure to realize full advantage of converged infrastructure (Consider Dell EMC services to assist with organizational and process transformation) Evaluate Managed Services options Evaluate support level options Evaluate On-Boarding Service Consider Resident Services Consider Migration services Value Guide 2.0