Scalent Infrastructure Manager™ (IM) provides a very unique and innovative approach for building a dynamic infrastructure. Scalent IM™ is a 100% software infrastructure provisioning solution for the heterogeneous data center without getting into the data path.

DYNAMIC AND NOT STATIC

Scalent IM enables DYNAMIC server provisioning. Traditional provisioning solutions are static – they automate the installation of the OS and applications on the local hard drive of a server. Once installed, that server cannot change roles without destroying its provisioned image and re-installing a new one. Scalent is DYNAMIC – images are delivered to servers from central storage (SAN, iSCSI, NAS) and any server can boot any image at any time. Scalent IM can retarget server images for optimal capacity management in real time.

OPEN AND NOT PROPRIETARY

Scalent allows you to use industry standard servers, Ethernet switches, Fiber Channel switches, and protocols. Other Dynamic infrastructure solutions require the use of proprietary blade chassis modules that aren’t really switches. Yet others require a gateway sitting in between your servers and your data. Scalent allows you to use the Ethernet and Fiber Channel switches you own, without requiring you to purchase modules or gateways that are not standard.

HIGH PERFORMANCE AND NOT A PERFORMANCE BOTTLENECK

Scalent does not affect the scalability or performance of servers, network, or storage access. Gateway based solutions are in the data path. They typically require you to wire your network and storage access through a system acting as a gateway. The overall latency and throughput of the entire system are restricted by the bandwidth of the gateway. Gateway failures may also render all connected servers without network and storage – not a risk most data centers can afford.

END-TO-END INFRASTRUCTURE PROVISIONING AND NOT JUST SERVER PROVISIONING

When rolling out a business application, server provisioning is just one of the many tasks that needs to be carried out. Provisioning a server image onto a server needs to be augmented with network and storage provisioning that will render the server useful.

As a server gets provisioned, Scalent IM seamlessly executes a variety of tasks in tandem to deliver end-to-end provisioning. During the process of provisioning a server, Scalent IM automatically provisions network connectivity and storage access for the server. This is critical for the server to be fully functional. All of these tasks are executed within the security guidelines established in the data center.