What is Cloud Computing
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Corey Wishon
Apr 21, 2012, 6:19:04 AM4/21/12
to Association Cloud Computing Professionals
This is a simple message but I find a lot of people find trouble in
defining "cloud" over all the hype.
It seems anything is the cloud. I use to believe, incorrectly, that
cloud computing was simply sharing computer resources offsite. That
seems like a simple of enough answer but ultimately wrong when we
realize that a cloud can be both on premise and all resources owned by
the organization. One realizes that "cloud" is a fitting name for this
technology. It sits on the horizon of the IT landscape, like a
thunderstorm ready to ravage the plains. Those of us that have flown
in a airplane find the the clouds wisp and seem to disappear all the
while holding the plane in their grips.
Defining the cloud is very important for Techs, Managers, Analyst, and
Hobbyist. Many people I have met have confused virtualization with
cloud computing. Virtuallization gets a lot of attention and is often
seen as cutting edge. It is one of IT's most powerful and long lived
activities. The technology actually dates back to the mainframes of
1960 decade. As a consultant I am often being shown "On-Premise
Internal Clouds". Cloud solutions leverage the benefits of virtual
technology but they are not one and the same.
The industry has terms to help us define a cloud. First we describe
the "shape"( PaaS, IaaS, SaaS) then we define the location public,
private, the overused hybrid. I could define each term but none by
themselves will give you the answer. My opinions are just that and
rest assure you can find a word for word definition what I want to
attempt to do with the reader is help them get the full picture.
First, when I think of the cloud I am thinking more of a logical
process than a hard technology. This technology is not another fad, it
is a game changer. Technology can always be improved but the cloud
isn't associated with a vendor, despite their best efforts, it is the
natural concluding of virtual technology, opensource, and ever
expanding interconnected world. This is IT living up to it's potential
meshed with smart technology policies. You will feel and see a good
cloud solution. If the developers and user base is unhappy than
something is wrong.
Lets observed cloud concepts in action. Here is the great state of
Kansas lays Wishon Inc. We mine ruins of the yellow brick road and
emerald city. We have a sales, operations, financial, hr, management
and IT department. Each department has its own physical server (hold
the hate mail). Kathy is our system administrator and she convinces
management implement a virtualization system with 3 host servers,
shared storage also we send some storage to TinMan Inc across down for
redundancy.
Lets take a time out, This was a very smart move in fact most people
are here. Instead of physical servers you have virtual machines. My
work in the government taught me the differences of thought between
systems administrators and systems integrator (consultants, ect). We
need to have respect and understand for both viewpoints. During my
government time I was always on the offensive submitting new ideas,
finding hidden issues, I couldn't believe they paid me so much to do
nothing.
On the other side of the coin, the administrator, is tasked with
ensuring thing run. Unfortunately, many IT departments have iron grips
of power and simply search for reasons to shoot ideas down. It is
important to understand that cloud computing takes away that power and
ultimately it will remove several jobs in our field. I am writing this
so new consultants will be partners, be gentle, stand by their work.
Always do test runs and make sure everyone is on board.
Back to our story, Dan is a application administrator for the firm's
CRM system. He needs a development server to work on but IT is very
concerned about server sprawl and Kathy has to build each new server.
Dan submits his request but is caught in a backlog. The firm misses
the upgrade and a consulting firm BI3 Systems is brought in.
The consultant, Corey, comes into a yelling match between Kathy and
Dan. Kathy feels she is being called out and is overworked, she is
right. Dan needed the server and followed the procedures but still
feel through the cracks. Corey sees the first sign of need for cloud
technology, the developer/administrator schism.
Corey wants to try a system that Dan can provision his own VM for the
test. The room explodes, managers screaming server sprawl and Kathy
talking about security. Corey explains that Kathy would build a golden
template while management could control who and when a server is
released.
CLOUD = CONFIGURED COMPUTER RESOURCE THAT IS REQUESTED BY A USER
THROUGH A PORTAL
Lets quickly talk about the types and why or why not they might be
uses.
1.) Platform as a Service:
Pro: Domain in a Box Con: Difficult to integrate
with existing technology Use: New Company
Ex: Google
APPS
Quick Development
2.) Infrastructure as a Service Con: Some Cost
Involved Use: Cloud
Replacement
Pro: Standard Datacenter Model More Management
Required Test Enviroments
Easier
Integration
Enhanced Security
Ex: Amazon Web Services
Oracle Public Cloud
3.) Software as a Service Con: Lack of
Control Use:
Application Trial
Pro: Instant Per Use Software Legit Security
Concern App
Integration
Location:
On-Premise Private Cloud
Improve Application Development and Management
Allow Firms to "go cloud" without trusting others :)
Of-Premise Public Cloud
Real Benefit of the Cloud
Only Go with Established Providers
-Amazon Web Services
-Oracle Public Cloud
-Microsoft Cloud Power
-VMware Cloud Director
The Security Deterrent:
Unless you work for the NSA and maybe even then migrating to a cloud
provider such as Amazon Web Services will make you much more secure.
Here are some rough estimates of security you would have to match and
should blow any security objections out of the water.
FY Cost
Physical Security Firewall Device $ 7,500
Tier 1 Data Center
$125,000 (Low End)
Secondary Replication Sites $ 60,000
Enterprise Backup $ 25,000
1 CISSP Advisor
$100,000
Database Integrity Checker $ 15,000
Replication Software $
12,000
OC2 Truck Line
$129,000
Security Audits $
90,000
And Yes PKI is possible and often used.
In Closing,
I hope you gained some insight and also understand the need to form
cooperative arrangements rather than forcing change.
Best Regards,
Corey D. Wishon
Cloud Integration Engineer
BI3 Systems
cdwi...@bi3systems.com
defining "cloud" over all the hype.
It seems anything is the cloud. I use to believe, incorrectly, that
cloud computing was simply sharing computer resources offsite. That
seems like a simple of enough answer but ultimately wrong when we
realize that a cloud can be both on premise and all resources owned by
the organization. One realizes that "cloud" is a fitting name for this
technology. It sits on the horizon of the IT landscape, like a
thunderstorm ready to ravage the plains. Those of us that have flown
in a airplane find the the clouds wisp and seem to disappear all the
while holding the plane in their grips.
Defining the cloud is very important for Techs, Managers, Analyst, and
Hobbyist. Many people I have met have confused virtualization with
cloud computing. Virtuallization gets a lot of attention and is often
seen as cutting edge. It is one of IT's most powerful and long lived
activities. The technology actually dates back to the mainframes of
1960 decade. As a consultant I am often being shown "On-Premise
Internal Clouds". Cloud solutions leverage the benefits of virtual
technology but they are not one and the same.
The industry has terms to help us define a cloud. First we describe
the "shape"( PaaS, IaaS, SaaS) then we define the location public,
private, the overused hybrid. I could define each term but none by
themselves will give you the answer. My opinions are just that and
rest assure you can find a word for word definition what I want to
attempt to do with the reader is help them get the full picture.
First, when I think of the cloud I am thinking more of a logical
process than a hard technology. This technology is not another fad, it
is a game changer. Technology can always be improved but the cloud
isn't associated with a vendor, despite their best efforts, it is the
natural concluding of virtual technology, opensource, and ever
expanding interconnected world. This is IT living up to it's potential
meshed with smart technology policies. You will feel and see a good
cloud solution. If the developers and user base is unhappy than
something is wrong.
Lets observed cloud concepts in action. Here is the great state of
Kansas lays Wishon Inc. We mine ruins of the yellow brick road and
emerald city. We have a sales, operations, financial, hr, management
and IT department. Each department has its own physical server (hold
the hate mail). Kathy is our system administrator and she convinces
management implement a virtualization system with 3 host servers,
shared storage also we send some storage to TinMan Inc across down for
redundancy.
Lets take a time out, This was a very smart move in fact most people
are here. Instead of physical servers you have virtual machines. My
work in the government taught me the differences of thought between
systems administrators and systems integrator (consultants, ect). We
need to have respect and understand for both viewpoints. During my
government time I was always on the offensive submitting new ideas,
finding hidden issues, I couldn't believe they paid me so much to do
nothing.
On the other side of the coin, the administrator, is tasked with
ensuring thing run. Unfortunately, many IT departments have iron grips
of power and simply search for reasons to shoot ideas down. It is
important to understand that cloud computing takes away that power and
ultimately it will remove several jobs in our field. I am writing this
so new consultants will be partners, be gentle, stand by their work.
Always do test runs and make sure everyone is on board.
Back to our story, Dan is a application administrator for the firm's
CRM system. He needs a development server to work on but IT is very
concerned about server sprawl and Kathy has to build each new server.
Dan submits his request but is caught in a backlog. The firm misses
the upgrade and a consulting firm BI3 Systems is brought in.
The consultant, Corey, comes into a yelling match between Kathy and
Dan. Kathy feels she is being called out and is overworked, she is
right. Dan needed the server and followed the procedures but still
feel through the cracks. Corey sees the first sign of need for cloud
technology, the developer/administrator schism.
Corey wants to try a system that Dan can provision his own VM for the
test. The room explodes, managers screaming server sprawl and Kathy
talking about security. Corey explains that Kathy would build a golden
template while management could control who and when a server is
released.
CLOUD = CONFIGURED COMPUTER RESOURCE THAT IS REQUESTED BY A USER
THROUGH A PORTAL
Lets quickly talk about the types and why or why not they might be
uses.
1.) Platform as a Service:
Pro: Domain in a Box Con: Difficult to integrate
with existing technology Use: New Company
Ex: Google
APPS
Quick Development
2.) Infrastructure as a Service Con: Some Cost
Involved Use: Cloud
Replacement
Pro: Standard Datacenter Model More Management
Required Test Enviroments
Easier
Integration
Enhanced Security
Ex: Amazon Web Services
Oracle Public Cloud
3.) Software as a Service Con: Lack of
Control Use:
Application Trial
Pro: Instant Per Use Software Legit Security
Concern App
Integration
Location:
On-Premise Private Cloud
Improve Application Development and Management
Allow Firms to "go cloud" without trusting others :)
Of-Premise Public Cloud
Real Benefit of the Cloud
Only Go with Established Providers
-Amazon Web Services
-Oracle Public Cloud
-Microsoft Cloud Power
-VMware Cloud Director
The Security Deterrent:
Unless you work for the NSA and maybe even then migrating to a cloud
provider such as Amazon Web Services will make you much more secure.
Here are some rough estimates of security you would have to match and
should blow any security objections out of the water.
FY Cost
Physical Security Firewall Device $ 7,500
Tier 1 Data Center
$125,000 (Low End)
Secondary Replication Sites $ 60,000
Enterprise Backup $ 25,000
1 CISSP Advisor
$100,000
Database Integrity Checker $ 15,000
Replication Software $
12,000
OC2 Truck Line
$129,000
Security Audits $
90,000
And Yes PKI is possible and often used.
In Closing,
I hope you gained some insight and also understand the need to form
cooperative arrangements rather than forcing change.
Best Regards,
Corey D. Wishon
Cloud Integration Engineer
BI3 Systems
cdwi...@bi3systems.com
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