EMC creates a Star Trek holodeck ... and uses it to simulate a data center

EMC can now simulate the interactions going on inside a data center using virtual servers.

A data center is one of the most complicated structures on the planet. However, this is not because it necessarily has more physical components than any other complex piece of infrastructure, like a petrochemical refinery for example.

But if we consider the amount and depth of the interactions going on in and between the physical boxes as we penetrate the levels of hardware, software and then detailed micro-hardware down to the molecular level, then data center complexity is nearly unparalleled.

So too, then, are the possibilities for making mistakes and costly mis-shoots when building and implementing a data center and its infrastructure.

InfraSIM is an internal EMC code project for simulating a data center's infrastructure. It is trademarked.

InfraSIM allows you to deploy virtualized networks consisting of simulated servers, storage devices, and smart PDUs. You can use it to create development environments that simulate the exact physical environments where your product will eventually be deployed.

The project is a collection of libraries and applications housed at https://github.com/InfraSIM/ and available under the Apache 2.0 license (or compatible sublicenses for library dependencies). The code for InfraSIM is a combination of python, shell and C.

Check out the documentation on GitHub here.

High-level view of the VM components in the InfraSIM architecture

Sounds good, with scope for lots of stimulating simulation fun. ®