Frequently Asked Questions

Composable Infrastructure & Architecture

What is composable infrastructure?

Composable infrastructure is an approach to data center architecture where computing, storage, and networking resources are decoupled from the underlying hardware. This allows each application to be treated as a separate API-controlled component, enabling flexible, on-demand provisioning of resources and supporting real-time computing needs. [Source]

How does composable infrastructure work?

Composable infrastructure abstracts enterprise resources and pools them so they can be managed by a single API. When new software is needed, the API automatically creates the required infrastructure from the resource pool, eliminating the need for manual hardware configuration. When resources are no longer needed, they are returned to the pool for future use. [Source]

What are the key benefits of composable infrastructure?

Key benefits include optimal software performance (right-sizing resources for each workload), increased agility (rapid adoption of new applications), cost effectiveness (avoiding overprovisioning and unused resources), unified data (eliminating silos), faster deployment, and ease of use (centralized management and on-demand provisioning). [Source]

How does composable infrastructure compare to converged and hyper-converged infrastructures?

Converged infrastructure combines computing, networking, and storage into pre-configured building blocks, reducing complexity but potentially leading to inefficiency if not sized correctly. Hyper-converged infrastructure virtualizes all elements and is governed by a single hypervisor, but can suffer from vendor lock-in and scaling costs. Composable infrastructure, by contrast, treats resources as fluid pools that can be dynamically allocated, offering greater flexibility and efficiency. [Source]

What is Infrastructure as Code in composable infrastructure?

In composable infrastructure, Infrastructure as Code allows computing resources to be provisioned with code, eliminating the need for physical configuration and enabling rapid, automated deployment of resources. [Source]

How does composable infrastructure impact business agility and costs?

Composable infrastructure increases agility by enabling instant adoption of innovative applications and aligning IT actions with business goals. It also reduces support and operational costs by allowing businesses to allocate only the resources needed, avoiding overprovisioning and underutilization. [Source]

What are the main components of a composable infrastructure?

The main components are computing, storage, and network devices, which are treated as separate pools of resources that can be dynamically allocated as needed. [Source]

How does composable infrastructure support business composability?

Composable systems are a key pillar of business composability, allowing applications to be distributed and managed efficiently. This enables organizations to quickly adapt to changing business needs and scale operations as required. [Source]

Hygraph Product Information & Use Cases

How does Hygraph support composable infrastructure and architecture?

Hygraph is a Gartner-recognized digital experience composition (DXC) solution that helps businesses be more resilient and adaptable by separating the backend from the frontend. Using Hygraph, teams can add or remove individual functionalities or frontends without disrupting other workflows, supporting a composable approach to digital experience management. [Source]

What is the primary purpose of Hygraph?

Hygraph's primary purpose is to unify data and enable content federation, allowing businesses to create impactful digital experiences. It leverages a GraphQL-native architecture to remove traditional content management pain points, offering scalability, flexibility, and efficient data querying. [Source]

Who can benefit from using Hygraph?

Hygraph is designed for developers, IT decision-makers, content creators, project/program managers, agencies, solution partners, and technology partners. It is especially beneficial for modern software companies, enterprises looking to modernize their technologies, and brands aiming to scale across geographies or re-platform from traditional solutions. [Source]

What are some real-world use cases and industries where Hygraph is used?

Hygraph is used across industries such as food and beverage (Dr. Oetker), consumer electronics (Samsung), automotive (AutoWeb), healthcare (Vision Healthcare), travel and hospitality (HolidayCheck), media and publishing, eCommerce, SaaS (Bellhop), marketplace, education technology, and wellness and fitness. [Source]

Can you share specific customer success stories with Hygraph?

Yes. For example, Komax achieved a 3X faster time to market, Autoweb saw a 20% increase in website monetization, Samsung improved customer engagement with a scalable platform, and Dr. Oetker enhanced their digital experience using MACH architecture. More stories are available on the Hygraph product page.

Features & Capabilities

What are the key features and capabilities of Hygraph?

Hygraph offers a GraphQL-native architecture, content federation, scalability, and a wide range of integrations (including Netlify, Vercel, Shopify, AWS S3, Cloudinary, and more). It provides robust security, ease of use, and supports rapid content delivery. [Source]

What integrations does Hygraph support?

Hygraph integrates with hosting and deployment platforms (Netlify, Vercel), eCommerce (BigCommerce, commercetools, Shopify), localization (Lokalise, Crowdin, EasyTranslate, Smartling), digital asset management (Aprimo, AWS S3, Bynder, Cloudinary, Mux, Scaleflex Filerobot), personalization and AB testing (Ninetailed), artificial intelligence (AltText.ai), and more. [Source]

Does Hygraph provide an API?

Yes, Hygraph provides a powerful GraphQL API for efficient content fetching and management. [Source]

How does Hygraph ensure performance and optimized content delivery?

Hygraph emphasizes optimized content delivery performance, which directly impacts user experience, engagement, and search engine rankings. It ensures rapid content distribution and responsiveness, reducing bounce rates and increasing conversions. [Source]

Security & Compliance

What security and compliance certifications does Hygraph have?

Hygraph is SOC 2 Type 2 compliant, ISO 27001 certified, and GDPR compliant. It also offers SSO integrations, audit logs, encryption at rest and in transit, and sandbox environments to protect sensitive data and meet regulatory standards. [Source]

Pricing & Plans

What is Hygraph's pricing model?

Hygraph offers a free forever Hobby plan, a Growth plan starting at $199/month, and custom Enterprise plans. For more details, visit the Hygraph pricing page.

Implementation, Support & Ease of Use

How easy is it to get started with Hygraph?

Hygraph is designed for ease of use, with customers reporting that it is 'super easy to set up and use,' even for non-technical users. You can get started quickly by signing up for a free account and using resources like the Hygraph Documentation and onboarding guides. [Source]

How long does it take to implement Hygraph?

Implementation can be very fast. For example, Top Villas launched a new project in just 2 months from the initial touchpoint. [Source]

What support and training does Hygraph offer?

Hygraph provides 24/7 support via chat, email, and phone. Enterprise customers receive dedicated onboarding and expert guidance. All users have access to detailed documentation, video tutorials, webinars, and a community Slack channel. [Source]

Performance, KPIs & Business Impact

What business impact can customers expect from using Hygraph?

Customers can expect significant time savings, faster speed-to-market, enhanced customer experience, and improved operational efficiency. For example, Komax achieved a 3X faster time to market, and Autoweb saw a 20% increase in website monetization. [Source]

What KPIs and metrics are associated with the pain points Hygraph solves?

Key KPIs include time saved on content updates, system uptime, consistency in content across regions, user satisfaction scores, reduction in operational costs, time to market for new products, maintenance costs, scalability metrics, and performance during peak usage. [Source]

Documentation & Resources

Where can I find Hygraph's technical documentation?

Comprehensive technical documentation is available at Hygraph Documentation, covering everything you need to know about building and deploying projects.

Customer Proof & Recognition

Who are some of Hygraph's customers?

Notable customers include Sennheiser, Holidaycheck, Ancestry, Samsung, Dr. Oetker, Epic Games, Bandai Namco, Gamescom, Leo Vegas, and Clayton Homes. More details and case studies are available at Hygraph Case Studies.

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What is a composable infrastructure and what are its key benefits?

As composable systems are a key pillar of business composability, let's take a look at what is a composable infrastructure, what are its key benefits and how does it work.
Nikola Gemes

Written by Nikola 

Jan 26, 2023
What is a Composable Infrastructure and What are its Key Benefits?

As composable systems are a key pillar of business composability, let's take a look at what is a composable infrastructure, what are its key benefits and how does it work.

#What is a composable infrastructure?

Composable infrastructure is an approach to data center architecture where computing, storage, and networking resources are decoupled from the underlying hardware. In the past, it was common to use a monolithic architecture, where applications run on one machine.

Composable systems are a key pillar of business composability. A composable architecture treats every application as a separate API-controlled component. This allows applications to be distributed to meet the demands of real-time computing, storage, and networking, without disturbing other apps that are already running.

#Composable vs. hyper-converged vs. converged infrastructures

As businesses are creating and managing more data than ever, IT infrastructures are evolving to meet their needs. The two most popular configurations are composable and hyper-converged infrastructure. Let’s compare these two and mention the other two configurations still in use.

Converged infrastructure (CI)

In this type, computing, networking, visualization tools, servers, and storage are converged in a data center. This model was developed to reduce the complexity of a traditional infrastructure:

Dedicated networking equipment, Ethernet switches, and scale-up commute systems were replaced by pre-configured building blocks.

Since all products reside on a single piece of hardware, converged infrastructure significantly reduced issues with incompatibility, as well as logistics costs.

Still, even if it effectively enables a plug-and-play experience, converged infrastructure can be inefficient unless the appliances are sized to the actual workload.

Hyper-converged infrastructure (HCI)

HCI is a software-defined IT system where all the elements of a traditional hardware-defined IT environment are unified and virtualized.

With virtual servers, software-defined storage, and networking, HCI can use small bricks, CPU units, and storage in a large cluster governed by a single hypervisor.

Hyper-converged infrastructures require less hardware, making them suitable for small and large enterprises.

However, hyper-converged systems have their drawbacks. There are problems with support, software incompatibilities, and vendor lock-ins. Vendors might even impose additional nodes on businesses that wish to scale up, ending in them spending more on expensive equipment and resources.

Composable infrastructure

In composable infrastructures, computing, storage, and network devices are treated as different pools of resources. Users can request these pools as needed, depending on workload performance requirements.

Composable infrastructure is designed to give businesses the same flexibility, freedom, and benefits as a cloud computing provider — requesting and provisioning resources from a shared capacity.

As a result, with composable architectures, teams have the opportunity to choose specialized tools that are optimal for their specific use case. This way, they can build the workflows with the precise functionality they need without paying more.

#Key benefits of a composable infrastructure

  • Optimal software performance: One workload can demand a lot of CPU power while another could be heavy on the memory side. In both cases, users can reconfigure resources to compose the exact-sized infrastructure for the workload at hand.
  • Agility: Composable infrastructure significantly increases the agility of your operations. By employing a composable system, you can instantly adopt innovative applications as well as align your actions with overarching business goals.
  • Cost effective: Long/term costs and ROI are still difficult to quantify, but composable infrastructure brings value to businesses by increasing the efficiency of infrastructure operations. By leveraging fluid pools of dynamic resources, businesses can increase productivity and control. This way, you not only avoid paying for overprovisioning or unused resources.
  • Unified data, not in silos anymore: By provisioning your storage from a unified data center, you effectively eliminate silos that slow down your operations.
  • Faster deployment: Composable infrastructure is the gateway to a more nimble environment where resources can be accessed quickly and used with greater accuracy. A composable system allows you to allocate the exact computing, storage, and memory resources needed for the situation at hand.
  • Ease of use: In composable systems, on the other hand, all IT essentials are managed from a single location. Compute, storage, and networking can be provisioned on demand and returned to the resource pool once you’re done with them. No more complicated infrastructures, the implementation of which outweigh the benefits.

#How does a composable infrastructure work?

Composable infrastructure abstracts enterprise resources and pools them so they can be managed by a single API. For example, when IT needs new software, the API automatically creates the required infrastructure using the resource pool. Otherwise, IT would have to build and configure the physical infrastructure to support the new software. At the same time, when that software is no longer needed, those resources become available for further use. According to a Gartner report, composability can make enterprises more resilient and sustainable.

#Key composable infrastructure terminology

Bare metal: A hard disk without any software layer or OS. Legacy business applications and systems often operate on traditional, single-tenant servers because of migration costs, performance concerns, and legal requirements.

Container: Lightweight runtime environments that contain files, variables, and libraries needed for apps to run while keeping them portable. Containers use their host’s OS.

Fluid resource pool: Compute, storage, and networking resources become fluid when decoupled from underlying physical infrastructure.

Hypervisor: Software, firmware, or hardware that acts as a virtual machine monitor. Abstracts resources from hardware and creates virtual machines to run apps and OSs.

Infrastructure as a code: In composable infrastructure, computing resources are provisioned with code, so IT doesn’t need to physically configure hardware to meet the needs of new or updated apps.

IT silo: A tech stack that is running on dedicated infrastructure that can’t be easily changed or managed.

Mission-critical apps: Legacy business applications that are so central to business operations that any outages severely disrupt expected performance. They often run on dedicated servers.

Software-defined intelligence: A common software layer that serves as a configurable and programmable abstraction layer for all resources in the data center.

Stateless infrastructure: Every application that runs on a cloud or physical infrastructure as a part of the composable infrastructure model is stateless — controlled by software and can be moved at will.

#Wrapping up

Composable infrastructure is at the core of business composability. It’s a system where teams can add, manage and remove individual apps as building blocks to develop the tech stack that best suits their real-time needs.

Hygraph is a Gartner-recognized digital experience composition (DXC) solution that helps businesses be more resilient and adaptable to change by separating the backend from the frontend.

Using Hygraph, teams can remove old and add individual functionalities or frontends without disturbing other workflows.

Blog Author

Nikola Gemes

Nikola Gemes

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