Difference between Distributed Hyperconvergence and Metro Cluster Hyperconvergence.

Distributed hyperconvergence and Metro Cluster hyperconvergence: which one to choose for your business?

In the modern IT infrastructure landscape, hyperconvergence has become a key technology for companies looking to optimize resources, increase reliability and reduce operating costs. However, there are several possible implementations. In particular, it is important to distinguish between distributed hyperconvergence and Metro Cluster hyperconvergence, two solutions with very different approaches and purposes.

In this article we analyze the characteristics of both, highlighting why Metro Cluster hyperconvergence is often superior, especially in mission-critical settings.

What is distributed hyperconvergence?

Distributed hyperconvergence is a type of infrastructure in which storage, compute and networking are integrated within each node. All nodes work collaboratively to provide virtualized services, providing some level of redundancy and scalability. Resources are shared among nodes and can be centrally managed through a hypervisor or orchestration system.

Strengths of distributed hyperconvergence:

• Horizontal scalability: new nodes can be added to increase available resources.
• Management efficiency: one platform manages the entire IT stack.
• Reduction in hardware complexity.

However, the distribution of data among nodes can create vulnerabilities in the event of simultaneous failures or network malfunctions. In addition, the recovery time after a disaster can be significant.

What is Metro Cluster hyperconvergence?

MetroCluster hyperconvergence is a configuration designed to ensure absolute business continuity even in scenarios of total failure of one of the two sites. In a Metro Cluster infrastructure, resources are duplicated between two separate data centers (including geographically) and data is replicated synchronously between sites. This means that any changes made in real time on one node are immediately replicated to the other.

Synchronous replication is often achieved through high-speed connections (such as 40GbE) to minimize latency and ensure high performance.

Why is Metro Cluster hyperconvergence better?

When it comes to mission-critical environments, where outage is not an option, Metro Cluster hyperconvergence is the most reliable solution. Here are the main reasons why:

• Guaranteed high availability: in the event of disaster or failure of one site, the other takes over automatically without loss of data.
• Synchronous replication: unlike asynchronous replication, MetroCluster ensures that the data are identical and updated in real time at both sites.
• Automatic Failover: the system detects problems and automatically activates the secondary site, without the need for human intervention.
• No service interruption: the end user does not perceive any slowdown or blocking of applications.
• Enhanced security for sensitive data: ideal for sectors such as finance, healthcare, public administration and industry.

In addition, systems such as OpenStor 2910 offer ready-to-use MetroCluster configurations that are fully compatible with VMware ESXi and Open-E JovianDSS environments, optimized for synchronous mirroring and automatic failover.

When to choose the Metro Cluster solution?

If your company operates in an industry where even a few minutes of downtime can mean financial or reputational losses, the answer is clear: MetroCluster hyperconvergence is the right choice. It is especially recommended when:

• You have to manage business-critical applications
• An RTO/RPO close to zero is required
• IT infrastructure supports operations across multiple locations
• Data protection is a top priority

Conclusions

Although distributed hyperconvergence may be suitable for generic scenarios or test and development environments, onlyMetro Cluster hyperconvergence guarantees true business continuity in the event of unforeseen events or disasters. The choice depends on your company’s strategic goals, but if your goal is maximum reliability, zero data loss and consistent performance, investing in a MetroCluster solution is the safest and most forward-looking decision.