The prefab approach to data centers isn't new. For years, CIOs have had various options for buying readymade modules or detailed blueprints to help them quickly add new resources to their IT infrastructures. The IT-in-a-box solution has offered answers to some vexing problems. For starters, it integrated the latest and greatest server, storage and networking technologies for optimum performance. Moreover, it did so fast enough to suit the needs of end users.
Unfortunately, some eyebrow-raising tradeoffs were also part of the deal: little flexibility in choosing the brand and model of individual components, limited system scalability and few designs to accommodate small environments. But that's all changing. A number of the players in the converged infrastructure market now provide solutions that not only give IT managers more choice, flexibility and scalability, but also take the prepackaged concept a step further.