[[chapter_hyper_converged_infrastructure]]
Hyper-converged Infrastructure
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{pve} is a virtualization platform that tightly integrates compute,
storage and networking resources, manages highly available clusters,
backup/restore as well as disaster recovery. All components are
software-defined and compatible with one another.

Therefore it is possible to administrate them like a single system via
the centralized web management interface. These capabilities make
{pve} an ideal choice to deploy and manage an open source
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyper-converged_infrastructure[hyper-converged infrastructure].

Benefits of a Hyper-Converged Infrastructure (HCI) with {pve}
-------------------------------------------------------------

A hyper-converged infrastructure is especially useful for deployments
in which a high infrastructure demand meets a low administration
budget, for distributed setups such as remote and branch office
environments or for virtual private and public clouds.

HCI provides the following advantages:

- Scalability: seamless expansion of compute, network and storage
  devices (i.e. scale up servers and storage quickly and independently
  from each other).

- Low cost: {pve} is open source and integrates all components you
  need such as compute, storage, networking, backup, and management
  center. It can replace an expensive compute/storage infrastructure.

- Data protection and efficiency: services such as backup and disaster
  recovery are integrated.

- Simplicity: easy configuration and centralized administration.

- Open Source: No vendor lock-in.


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See Also
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* xref:chapter_pveceph[pveceph - Manage Ceph Services on Proxmox VE Nodes]

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