ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Software-defined data center

Imagine you have a toy box with lots of different toys inside. You can play with them in any way you want, but what if you could also use these toys to build something new? A software-defined data center is a lot like that toy box.

A data center is a place where companies keep all their computer stuff, like servers, storage devices, and networking equipment. When we say a data center is “software-defined,” it means that instead of using physical equipment to do things like storing data or connecting computers together, we use a special kind of "toy" called software.

A software-defined data center is made up of three main parts. First, there's the "software-defined compute," which means that the computers in the data center are virtualized. In other words, they're not actual physical machines, but rather, they're containers running on top of actual physical machines that create a virtual copy of a machine.

Second, there's "software-defined storage," which means that the storage devices in the data center are virtualized. You can think of storage devices like boxes, each containing a bunch of files, just like you might store toys in boxes. But with software-defined storage, the boxes are virtual, and they're created on the fly, as needed.

Third, there's "software-defined networking," which means that the networking equipment in the data center is virtualized. Networking equipment helps computers talk to each other, just like you talk to your friends. But virtualized networking equipment is basically a bunch of virtual switches and routers that connect the virtual machines and virtual storage devices together.

So, to sum up: A software-defined data center is like a toy box filled with virtual toys, each of which can be used to create a virtual version of a computer, storage box, or network equipment. The result is a very flexible and scalable data center, which allows companies to run their applications and services more efficiently and effectively.