Which of the following features is NOT typically associated with HCI?

Independent hardware dependency is not typically associated with Hyper-Converged Infrastructure (HCI). HCI solutions are designed to integrate compute, storage, and networking components into a single, unified system that typically relies on commodity hardware. This means that HCI is characterized by a high level of abstraction and flexibility, allowing organizations to scale their infrastructure easily and take advantage of software-defined technologies.

In contrast, independent hardware dependency implies reliance on specific hardware vendors or configurations, which goes against the grain of what HCI aims to achieve. HCI systems excel in environments where organizations want to minimize hardware dependency, ensuring greater agility and easier scalability without locking into specific hardware solutions.

Other features like virtualized management, automatic failover capabilities, and simplified lifecycle management are indeed hallmark characteristics of HCI, focusing on automation, redundancy, and ease of management across the entire infrastructure.