Data Center & Servers

Hyperconverged Infrastructure (HCI)

Compute, storage and virtualization in the same nodes; add a node when you need more. Built for 1–3 person IT teams with no SAN specialist.

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What we usually find on site

A three-tier stack (servers, SAN, storage switches) needs someone who understands all three. Most Lao IT teams are 1–3 people looking after everything from printers to the firewall. When the SAN misbehaves, they wait for an engineer from Bangkok.

What is HCI?

HCI pools the CPU, RAM and disks of every node using software-defined storage. Data is written as multiple copies on different nodes, so when one node goes dark the VMs keep running. Need more? Add a node.

Platforms we deploy

Nutanix (AOS with AHV or ESXi): managed through Prism, the easiest of the group
Proxmox VE + Ceph: open source, good on a tight budget if your team is ready to learn Linux
Microsoft Azure Local (formerly Azure Stack HCI): for Microsoft-centric organizations
Dell, HPE and Lenovo hardware validated for each platform

Read this before you buy

Start at 3 nodes with redundant 10/25GbE, because every write is copied across nodes. Ignore the raw capacity on the quote. With 2 copies you get roughly half; Ceph defaults to 3 copies, which leaves about a third. You also need free space reserved for rebuilding after a node failure.

Tell us how many VMs you run and your total data in TB, and we will work out node count and real usable capacity.

What it does

Scale-out growth

Add nodes to grow compute and storage together without downtime.

Single console

VMs, storage and hardware health in one console.

Built-in data protection

Cross-node copies, snapshots and replication to a DR site.

Rolling upgrades

Upgrade firmware and software one node at a time while VMs stay up.

Smaller footprint

No separate SAN, fewer rack units and a smaller UPS.

Hypervisor choice

AHV, Proxmox, Hyper-V or ESXi to match team skills and licensing.

Design and rollout

1
Measure current workloads and forecast 3–5 years of growth.
2
Choose the platform and set node count, disk layout and replication factor.
3
Deploy paired 10/25GbE switches with dedicated storage VLANs.
4
Build the cluster, then physically pull a node to test failover and rebuild.
5
Migrate VMs, configure backup and UPS integration.

Where it fits

A construction firm with a 1–2 person IT team supporting ERP and large drawing files.
A private hospital whose HIS must stay up around the clock.
A government agency wanting a compact server room that can grow.
Remote sites (mines, dams) running 2–3 node HCI replicating to Vientiane.

Typical system sizes

Edge / Branch

Fits: Remote site, 5–20 VMs

2–3 nodes with witness
Replication to head office
Remote management

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Core

Fits: Head office, 20–100 VMs

3–4 all-flash nodes
Paired 25GbE switches
Migration and team training

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Multi-site

Fits: Multiple sites with DR

Primary and DR clusters
Failover runbook
MA and monitoring contract

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Brands we supply & install

Nutanix Proxmox Microsoft VMware by Broadcom Dell Technologies Hewlett Packard Enterprise Lenovo Veeam H3C

All brand names and trademarks belong to their respective owners. Mention does not imply official partnership unless explicitly stated. Products are sourced through legitimate distribution channels.

FAQ

HCI or servers plus SAN?

For small teams HCI is easier to live with. A separate SAN still makes sense when storage grows far faster than compute (video, scanned archives) or a database needs the lowest possible latency.

Can we run just 2 nodes?

For a branch, yes, with a witness elsewhere. Be aware that while one node is down your data has a single copy until it is repaired. Three or more nodes is safer.

How much usable capacity do we get?

With 2 copies (RF2) usable space is about half of raw; with 3 copies (the Ceph default) about a third. Then subtract rebuild headroom. Erasure coding helps on larger clusters.

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