A software defined data center (SDDC) is a data center where all infrastructure is virtualized and delivered as a service. This approach enables the agility, flexibility and efficiency that businesses need to stay competitive.
The SDDC concept is built on four key pillars:
- virtualization
- automation
- cloud management,
- security.
Virtualization is the foundation of the SDDC and enables IT to pool and abstract physical compute, storage and networking resources to create virtual machines (VMs) and other workloads. This enables IT to deliver new services quickly, while reducing costs and improving utilization.
Automation is used to provision and manage SDDC resources and services. This enables IT to respond quickly to business demands, while reducing errors and improving efficiency.
Cloud management provides a self-service portal for users to provision SDDC resources, as well as the ability to monitor and manage those resources. This enables businesses to be more agile and responsive to changes in their environment.
Security is critical to the SDDC and must be built into all aspects of the SDDC architecture. This includes the use of security policies and procedures, as well as the implementation of security technologies.