{"id":10439,"date":"2025-07-01T11:36:07","date_gmt":"2025-07-01T09:36:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/axolserver.com\/hci-cluster-what-it-is-how-it-works-and-why-to-adopt-it-in-your-it-infrastructure\/"},"modified":"2026-08-18T17:20:52","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T15:20:52","slug":"hci-cluster-what-it-is-how-it-works-and-why-to-adopt-it-in-your-it-infrastructure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/axolserver.com\/en\/hci-cluster-what-it-is-how-it-works-and-why-to-adopt-it-in-your-it-infrastructure\/","title":{"rendered":"HCI cluster: what it is, how it works, and why adopt it in your IT infrastructure"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">An HCI cluster (also referred to as <strong>Hyperconverged Infrastructure<\/strong>) is one of the most advanced and reliable solutions today for companies that want to simplify the management of their IT systems, increasing <strong>resilience and scalability<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n<p>On this page, we clearly explain what an HCI cluster is, how it works, the real benefits it offers businesses, and the key aspects to consider before adopting one. All of this is based on the hands-on experience of AXOL Server system engineers working across a variety of IT environments and high-availability infrastructures. <\/p>\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What is an HCI cluster<\/h2>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">An HCI cluster is an IT infrastructure that combines compute, storage, and networking into a single <strong>virtualized system<\/strong> that is scalable and manageable from a centralized console. Unlike traditional infrastructure (based on separate servers, SANs, and switches), <strong>HCI enables clusters<\/strong> where each node contributes to all resources, ensuring business continuity and high performance. <\/p>\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How does an HCI cluster work<strong>?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Each node in the HCI cluster contains CPU, RAM, disks and network cards. The <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/axolserver.com\/en\/proxmox-server-virtualization\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"7471\">Promox virtualization software<\/a><\/strong> combines these resources into a single pool, which can be easily expanded by adding new nodes. In the event of a component failure, the system automatically fails over, redistributing loads without interruption, so that the company can continue its operations with complete peace of mind.  <\/p>\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The concrete benefits of a cluster<\/h2>\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Guaranteed high availability<\/strong>: HCI is designed to withstand hardware or logical failures without noticeable interruptions. Virtual machines remain active even if a node goes down. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Horizontal scalability<\/strong>: just add a node to increase power and space, without having to redesign the entire infrastructure.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Simplified management: an <strong>intuitive web interface<\/strong> allows the IT specialist to control, update and monitor the entire system.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Lower operating costs<\/strong> because efficiency translates into savings: fewer separate components, fewer subscriptions, less complexity.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n<p><\/p>\n<h2>FAQ<\/h2>\n<p> <\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-spacer\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\u00a0<\/div>\n<p> <\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong><em>What\u2019s the difference between an HCI cluster and a traditional cluster?<\/em><\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>HCI combines all IT functions into software-defined nodes, reducing complexity and potential points of failure.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p> <\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong><em>What is the minimum number of nodes required for an HCI cluster?<\/em><\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Typically 3, although more complex hyperconverged systems can also be configured.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p> <\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong><em>Do you need an in-house IT team to manage it?<\/em><\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Not necessarily. AXOL Server provides fully managed solutions with support included. You can learn more on this <a href=\"https:\/\/axolserver.com\/en\/support-plans\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"1359\">page<\/a>.  <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p> <\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong><em>HCI vs. CI: what\u2019s the difference?<\/em><\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>In a CI (Converged Infrastructure), compute, storage, and networking are integrated but still separate components, while in an HCI (Hyperconverged Infrastructure) system, everything is virtualized and centralized on a single software-defined platform.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An HCI cluster (also referred to as Hyperconverged Infrastructure) is one of the most advanced and reliable solutions today for companies that want to simplify the management of their IT systems, increasing resilience and scalability. On this page, we clearly explain what an HCI cluster is, how it works, the real benefits it offers businesses, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":10438,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_nfpndx_meta_title":"HCI cluster: what it is, how it works","_nfpndx_meta_description":"A clear explanation of HCI clusters based on the direct experience of AXOL Server technicians across different IT environments and high-availability setups.","_nfpndx_meta_title_blogname":"1"},"categories":[139],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10439","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cluster-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/axolserver.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10439","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/axolserver.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/axolserver.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/axolserver.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/axolserver.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10439"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/axolserver.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10439\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11979,"href":"https:\/\/axolserver.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10439\/revisions\/11979"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/axolserver.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10438"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/axolserver.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10439"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/axolserver.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10439"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/axolserver.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10439"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}