A managed private cloud solution is one where the customer has a dedicated cloud environment that is managed by a third-party provider. The customer can benefit from the scalability, flexibility, and security of the cloud, without having to deal with the infrastructure management and maintenance. However, the customer may also have specific requirements for ownership and tax purposes, such as retaining the title of the assets or depreciating them over time. In this case, a traditional purchase or a custom HPE GreenLake solution may not be suitable, as they would either require the customer to pay upfront for the infrastructure or transfer the ownership to HPE. HPE GreenLake for VDI is also not a good option, as it is a specific solution for virtual desktops, not a general-purpose cloud platform.
The best option for the customer is to use HPE Financial Services lease with GreenLake management services.
This option allows the customer to lease the infrastructure from HPE Financial Services, while HPE GreenLake provides the management and pay-per-use billing for the cloud services. The customer can retain the ownership of the assets at the end of the lease term, or renew the lease with updated technology. The customer can also take advantage of the tax benefits of leasing, such as deducting the lease payments as operating expenses or claiming depreciation allowances. This option provides the customer with a managed private cloud solution that meets their ownership and tax needs, while also offering the advantages of HPE GreenLake, such as cost savings, agility, and innovation. References: HPE GreenLake Cloud Services, HPE Financial Services, HPE GreenLake for Private Cloud Enterprise

OCA (One Config Advanced) and SSET (Solution Sizer and Estimator Tool) are both tools that help design and configure HPE solutions. OCA is a web-based tool that allows users to create and validate configurations for HPE servers, storage, and networking products. SSET is a tool that helps users estimate the power, cooling, and space requirements for HPE solutions. SSET also provides recommendations for rack and power distribution units (PDUs). Compared to OCA, SSET requires an additional datacenter characteristic to configure a solution: the input voltage. This is because the input voltage affects the power consumption and efficiency of the solution. The input voltage can be either single-phase or three-phase, and it can vary depending on the country and region. SSET allows users to select the input voltage from a list of predefined values or enter a custom value. OCA does not require the input voltage as an input parameter, as it only focuses on the product configuration and compatibility. References: Edge to Cloud Solutions: Engineered Experiences to Unlock Your Full Potential, Chapter 5: Next Generation Compute, Storage, and Integrated Data Solutions, page 97. HPE SSET User Guide, page 7.

HPE SimpliVity is a hyperconverged infrastructure solution that combines compute, storage, networking, and data services in a single appliance1. HPE SimpliVity clusters are groups of HPE SimpliVity nodes that share the same federation and data center2. HPE SimpliVity clusters can be expanded by adding new nodes to increase the capacity and performance of the cluster3.
However, adding new nodes with newer generation Intel CPUs to an existing HPE SimpliVity cluster may cause compatibility issues for vMotion, the VMware technology that enables live migration of virtual machines between hosts4. vMotion requires that the source and destination hosts have compatible CPUs, meaning that they support thesame set of CPU features4. If the new nodes have different or additional CPU features than the existing nodes, vMotion may fail or be restricted4.
To facilitate adding the new hosts to the cluster, one possible solution is to enable Enhanced vMotion Compatibility (EVC) on the cluster5. EVC is a feature of VMware vSphere that ensures vMotion compatibility for the hosts in a cluster that are running different CPU generations5. EVC masks the CPU features that are not common among all hosts in the cluster, so that all hosts present the same CPU feature set to the virtual machines5. This way, vMotion can be performed without CPU compatibility errors5.
To enable EVC on the cluster, the following steps are required5:
Power off all virtual machines in the cluster, or migrate them to another cluster.
Edit the cluster settings and select the EVC mode that corresponds to the baseline CPU feature set for the cluster. The EVC mode must be equivalent to or a subset of the feature set of the host with the smallest feature set in the cluster.
Add the new hosts to the cluster and verify that they are compatible with the EVC mode.
Power on the virtual machines in the cluster, or migrate them back from another cluster.
By enabling EVC, the cluster can benefit from the improved vMotion compatibility and flexibility of adding new hosts with newer generation Intel CPUs. However, enabling EVC also has some limitations and trade-offs, such as5:
EVC does not allow vMotion between hosts with different CPU vendors, such as AMD and Intel.
EVC does not prevent vMotion from failing for other reasons, such as network or storage incompatibility.
EVC may prevent virtual machines from accessing some CPU features that are available on newer hosts, but not on older hosts.
EVC may not work with some applications that do not follow the CPU vendor recommended methods of feature detection.
Therefore, enabling EVC should be carefully planned and tested before adding the new hosts to the cluster.
References:
1: HPE SimpliVity
2: HPE SimpliVity User Guide
3: HPE SimpliVity Expansion Installation and Startup Service
4: VMware EVC and CPU Compatibility FAQ
5: About Enhanced vMotion Compatibility