HPE sharpen’s SimpliVity edge backup

HPE has enabled updated its SimpliVity HCI operating system to protect data better and provision storage to containerised apps.

SimpliVity 4.1.0 can backup to the public cloud with Cloud Volumes Backup and integrates more deeply with the StoreOnce deduplicating target backup appliance.

The SimpliVity hyperconverged systems are positioned as one-box, do-it-all, remote office and branch office IT systems. They are pitched at distributed enterprises such as fixed site bricks and mortar retail businesses, and mobile site ones like oil and gas drillers and racing car teams. These traditional ROBO locations are now characterised as “Edge computing” but they are still classic ROBO IT operations.

The SimpliVity hardware – for example, a 1RU ProLIant DL325 server – is installed in the remote/branch sites. It is mounted in a rack, two cables are for power and networking are connected, and then switched on.

HPE DL325 1 RU server

Software is installed using VMware’s vCentre in the main data centre. Apps are installed as virtual machines in the same way.

Virtual machine backups are run at the remote site, with policies set centrally, and the data is sent to an HPE StoreOnce appliance in the data centre or to HPE’s Cloud Volumes Backup in a public cloud.

A Kubernetes CSI plug-in to the SimpliVity OS means that containerised apps can be pushed to the remote sites and use persistent volume storage in the SimpliVity HCI box. Their data is protected in the same way as VM data.

Pivot3 and Scale Computing also position their HCI systems as Edge computing boxes. HPE’s own dHCI (disaggregated HCI) Nimble systems are marketed as data centre systems, not edge systems. Dell EMC supplies its VxRail systems for both edge and data centre use.

HPE SimpliVity 4.1.0 is available worldwide at no additional charge for customers with valid support contracts. All new features and capabilities announced are supported with VMware vSphere 7.0. HPE Cloud Volumes Backup support is available in the Americas, Europe and Asia.