SDDC

Software-defined data center (SDDC) is an architectural approach in which all core data center infrastructure—compute, storage, networking, and security—is virtualized and delivered through a unified software control plane. By decoupling software from hardware, SDDC enables policy-driven automation, centralized management, and on-demand resource provisioning across private, public, and hybrid cloud environments.

Core components include software-defined compute (virtualization of servers and workloads), software-defined storage (SDS, which pools and automates storage resources), software-defined networking (SDN, with virtual networks, overlays, and programmable switches), and software-defined security (micro-segmentation, identity-based access, encryption, and policy enforcement). These layers are coordinated by a centralized management and policy plane, typically featuring automation, telemetry, APIs, and infrastructure-as-code capabilities.

Architecturally, SDDC separates the control plane from the data plane and relies on declarative models and automation to provision and manage resources. It often integrates with cloud management platforms and orchestration tools to support private clouds and hybrid deployments, with APIs enabling integration with development workflows and external cloud services.

Benefits of SDDC include faster provisioning, improved resource utilization, consistent operations across environments, and streamlined governance. It supports agile development, disaster recovery, and scalable workloads while aiming to reduce manual tasks and operational cost.

Adoption considerations involve initial modernization efforts, skill requirements, tool and vendor interoperability, potential performance overhead, and security/compliance planning. Notable vendors and projects implement SDDC concepts through integrated stacks that combine virtualized compute, SDS, SDN, and centralized management, forming the basis for modern private and hybrid cloud infrastructures.