Private cloud = virtualisation + automation + self-service

Stephen Withers
Thursday, 15 July 2010 16:57

Business IT - Technology

If the idea of a 'private cloud' seems like an oxymoron (perhaps because 'cloud' implies the resources are out there somewhere and you don't really care where, but an organisation has to know where its own resources are), try this definition for size: private cloud equals virtualisation plus automation plus self-service.

The virtualisation part is well established, especially in terms of virtual machines and virtual storage. Even small businesses have seen how they can benefit from these technologies, but larger organisations can reap major rewards from the improved utilisation they can deliver - it's cheaper to have two boxes running at 60% of capacity than 12 each running at 10%.

But as the size of an installation increases, the harder it is to ensure that all systems are correctly patched and configured. As a general rule, the more opportunities you give people to make mistakes, the more likely it is mistakes will occur. So putting the right processes in place and automating routine operations becomes increasingly important.

Another reason for automation and standardisation is that they can dramatically reduce the elapsed time needed to execute a request. Ordering a new server might take 90 days or more, even if the required hardware is already sitting on the data centre floor. But in a private cloud environment a virtual server may be available in a matter of minutes.

Why is there such a big difference? Firstly, in most cases the person making the request will choose the closest standard configuration. For example, a marketing department might request a large web server to support a planned campaign. There's no need for them to worry about the virtual hardware configuration, the operating system, software or anything else. In some ways, it's like ordering a 'number 3 banquet for 6 people' at a neighbourhood restaurant. Since the configuration is predefined, there's no need for the details to be checked by a human - that's already been done.

Other users will need to be more specific, for instance a database administrator might need to order SQL Server 2008 on Windows Server 2008 running on 4 CPUs with 16GB of memory.

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