Essential Guide To Planning and Executing A Private Cloud Migration PDF

E-guide
Essential Guide to Planning

and Executing a Private Cloud
Migration
E-guide
In this e-guide
Introduction
Introduction
Moving from a virtualized IT environment to a private cloud model means
getting all enterprise teams onboard in the planning stages. What tools are
Private cloud classroom
needed to deploy an effective private cloud? What are the biggest risks -- and
rewards -- that come with a private cloud migration?
Private cloud planning
Without careful planning, private cloud migrations can easily go off track --
Private cloud construction starting with enterprises failing to ensure their current IT infrastructure is even
compatible with a private cloud.
Private cloud tools 4
Having a virtualized IT environment already makes the transition to private
cloud simpler, but what should you consider when choosing a cloud vendor,
Getting more PRO+ essential cloud stack and virtual machine (VM) that are right for you?
content
A lot goes into a private cloud migration. But fear not: This essential guide can
made your path easier.
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In this e-guide Private Cloud Classroom

Private cloud 101
Introduction
Though the private cloud model is making inroads in enterprise IT, confusion
Private cloud classroom still exists about what exactly constitutes a private cloud. Separating fact from
myth is one of the first steps in your decision to choose private cloud for your
Private cloud planning company -- and looking at use cases and data on private cloud's status in the IT
market can be a good start.
Private cloud construction
Private cloud tools 4 Demystifying the private cloud

Getting more PRO+ essential Enterprises are still trying to figure out private cloud and how it fits with their IT
content plans. Proving its benefits must be their next step.
Cloud computing is a new model of IT that's still riddled with definitions that are
at best inconclusive and at worst contradictory. One of the most fundamental
questions in cloud computing is where the cloud really is.
The whole notion of the cloud started with public cloud resources where IT was
outsourced.
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Enterprises involved in real cloud projects quickly realized that most IT wouldn't
In this e-guide be outsourced, so does that mean they'll have no cloud at all, or that their cloud
is private? And if it's a private cloud, what data center changes must take place?
Introduction
Most enterprises go into a cloud project presuming that a private cloud is an
Private cloud classroom enterprise data center architecture that, in some way, replicates the data
centers of public cloud providers. When asked the question, "What service does
a private cloud provide?" IT managers tend to answer that it's Infrastructure as a
Service (IaaS). They see private clouds being built largely
on virtualization technology. Most have no specific answer if asked how a
private cloud differs from a data center that installed virtualization for server
consolidation.
Unfortunately, many cloud vendors have supported this fallacy. Nearly all
Getting more PRO+ essential announcements about building private clouds are actually about enhanced
content virtualization tools and techniques. In most cases, the products add centralized
resource management and addressing to a virtualization-equipped data center.
Some enterprises also gain early awareness of open-source cloud development

tools like Hadoop or Eucalyptus.
Hadoop creates a type of data model-driven cloud architecture; Eucalyptus

almost recreates a virtual machine cloud similar to Amazon's EC2. If building a
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private cloud means building a cloud in an explicit sense, then these tools also
In this e-guide seem to offer a logical starting point.
Introduction Justifying the private cloud
As logical as either of these private cloud visions may be, enterprises are
finding that they collide with their current practices -- and come with some
economic limitations.
First, many critical applications don't fit these models, and you can't easily or
Private cloud construction efficiently make them fit. This is because most of today's mission-critical
applications run on multitasking computer systems, often based on principles
Private cloud tools 4 of service-oriented architecture (SOA) on a Platform as a Service (PaaS) vision
of the cloud. Virtualization isn't used or even valuable for these applications, and
cloud software tools don't create PaaS clouds.
Getting more PRO+ essential
content
Second, the benefits of an enterprise adopting a specific private cloud model
versus its current IT infrastructure may be impossible to prove, because it may
not be there. Justifying the creation of a private cloud in the data center is the
limited potential for gain in overall efficiency and cost.
The efficiency of a cloud-ready data center doesn't rise exponentially or even

linearly with the size of the resource pool it creates; it rises quickly at first,
tapers off and then plateaus. Enterprises reviewing the cost and benefits of
private cloud tools are learning that their current data centers are near that
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plateau. Moving to an explicit cloud could increase their operations costs by

In this e-guide adding cloud management tasks to the current operations load.
Introduction If current multitasking data center applications are cloud-efficient and are based
on a SOA PaaS model like a cloud, then you might already have a cloud, for all
Private cloud classroom practical purposes. And that's what enterprises increasingly believe. The goal of
an enterprise is to run applications, not just build expensive IT infrastructure like
data centers. If a cloud acts like an IT black box in which details are hidden,
then it's fair to say most data centers are already using the cloud model of
application delivery.
This new "my data center is a cloud" vision is helpful; it focuses private cloud
Private cloud tools 4 technology planning where it should be -- ensuring the current data center
structure that's delivering applications as a service is doing so with high
Getting more PRO+ essential efficiency. If not, then the enterprise can consider to use more cloud tools such
content as Hadoop, Eucalyptus or vCloud to increase efficiency or choose to
cloudsource some applications to a public cloud.
Moving to a private cloud is necessary where data center resource utilization is

low.
What enterprises often find is that disorderly planning in server consolidation

throughout virtualization creates inefficient resource pools that can see
improvement through the use of private cloud tools.
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If an enterprise hasn't consolidated servers, it's more likely that a specific

In this e-guide application is inefficient and could be a good candidate to migrate to a public
cloud such as a PaaS that is based on middleware common with the
Introduction enterprise's data center. Treating a data center like a private cloud is most
beneficial when planning for hybrid cloud applications.

Moving to a private cloud: Unveiling the
Private cloud construction myths
Some think moving from a virtualized data center to a private cloud requires just
a little management software here and some automation there. It’s not quite that
easy.
content As IT managers embark on building a private cloud, they may have to confront
past assumptions and practices. Some of the prevailing wisdom that has
defined their data center infrastructure may not be valid in a cloud. And while
vendors often profess that cloud automation and management is relatively
turnkey, those on the front lines can attest otherwise.
A private cloud resides inside a company’s data center and offers control of IT
resources. It automates workflow and eliminates manual configuration tasks,
such as shifting workloads to setting up firewall rules and configuring routers.
Some thus refer to the cloud layer as a “manager of managers” of sorts that
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allows data center operators to move application workloads; reallocate memory,

In this e-guide storage and other IT resources where they need the most oomph; and
consolidate data and management in a single “location.”
Introduction
For most data centers, though, a private cloud’s “nirvana state” of automated
Private cloud classroom management requires retooling of existing infrastructure and processes. You
can’t just slap cloud management software on top of existing servers, storage
and networks and call it a private cloud. Nor will your infrastructure work the
way it’s supposed to. So let’s examine some general misconceptions about
virtualization infrastructure and consider the changes required for a private
cloud environment.
Private cloud tools 4 Myth 1: VM automation is simple
Businesses with advanced virtualization techniques have now taken the next
content
logical step: building a private cloud so users can dial up virtual machines (VMs)
without requiring a team of people to create and define them. Application
owners should be able to dial up a virtual machine from the private cloud on
demand just as they can with an external provider.
That way, administrators won’t get bogged down with the day-to-day issues of
the virtualization layer and will eliminate the possibility for human errors when
provisioning new VMs.
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But creating, provisioning and managing virtual machines in the cloud differs
In this e-guide from existing data center management practices. In a virtual infrastructure,
existing change management routines dictate the process of creating new VMs,
Introduction and these processes often strive to eliminate VM sprawl. In a cloud
environment, however, the challenge is to develop a user-driven environment
Private cloud classroom without augmenting sprawl. Additionally, VM templates—which provide
standardized hardware and software settings to create new VMs—likely include
Private cloud planning only a base OS, service packs and other patches. Given their fear of
performance problems, most organizations have steered clear of installing full-
Private cloud construction blown applications and services into these templates.
In a private cloud cloud, however, one goal is to allow end consumers to create
new applications and services on demand. When end consumers log in to a
cloud portal, they expect a service catalog to offer more than a couple of virtual
Getting more PRO+ essential applications that contain merely a base OS build. They want a complete service
content or application.
So you need to confront the assumptions and procedures of the past. In the
case of templates, this means going “up the stack” and installing services and
applications into VMs.
You need to work closely with the stakeholders who traditionally manage these
applications and gain approval for VM configuration. And before they can be
included in a service catalog, VMs need considerable testing and verification.
So you need proper controls to ensure that VM sprawl in a virtual infrastructure
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doesn’t become VM sprawl in the cloud. It’s going to take considerable

In this e-guide balancing to empower end users with these new freedoms while also
maintaining corporate standards.
Introduction
One way to allow that freedom is to offer pre-packaged services that end
Private cloud classroom consumers can use off the shelf without the need for excessive tweaking and
customization. You can also simplify the configuration and provisioning process
by creating “classes” of virtual machines—such as platinum, gold, silver and
bronze —in the automation engine. By designating such classes, IT managers
can pre-establish various VM templates from which to choose, and users can
get access to templates with a range of applications and services. A tiered
approach helps control performance and consumption and creates realistic
expectations for departmental units about their resource consumption. Tiered
models limit the amount of CPU or memory and help set the stage
Getting more PRO+ essential for chargeback or showback policies.
content
A VM-first policy: While the move to a cloud-based model doesn’t exclude
physical servers, the more virtualized your existing infrastructure, the easier the
transition to a cloud will be. If you haven’t done so already, adopt a “VM-first
policy,” in which new services and applications are virtualized by default. Then,
only when it’s demonstrated that these services cannot perform well virtualized,
deploy them on dedicated physical servers.
Additionally, it may be time to rethink physical servers that were originally

excluded from the early phases of virtualization. These physical boxes may
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have been performance-sensitive servers that were considered too tricky to

In this e-guide virtualize. With the major advances in hypervisors, it’s time to push these
systems out of the nest and into the virtualization layer.
Introduction
Finally, it’s time to review the policies and change management routines that
Private cloud classroom have been enforced on VMs. Are they still valid, or are they a throwback to how
things were done in the physical world? Now that virtualization has proven its
mettle with production workloads in the data center, a more aggressive policy is
required.
Private cloud construction Myth 2: Provisioning storage is simple
Private cloud tools 4 In a cloud-based environment, provisioning adequate storage is acknowledged

as a central pain point. In a private cloud, storage is multi-tenant, but this model
can create technology problems and IT turf wars.
content
Architectural differences: Server virtualization and enterprise-grade storage
technologies have evolved on separate paths. As a result, attempts to marry the
two and, thus, gain the benefits of a cloud environment are often a kludge.
An enterprise running a decent-sized storage area network (SAN) appliance, for

example, must have direct access to the appliance even to set up a storage
pool to boot a single VM. Compare that with a standard virtualized server, which
is a single-image file that runs with virtual disk space already embedded in it
and assumes a user operates on a host that is capable of processing
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instructions (i.e., CPU) and talking directly to onboard storage. The ideal host
In this e-guide environment for virtualization is a massive single server with as many cores,
RAM and direct-attached storage as possible. But that’s not how infrastructure
Introduction with individual servers and a SAN work. This is not to say that high-level,
expensive, safe storage and virtualization can’t work together, though.
So it’s important for private cloud architects to take a long hard look at how
storage interacts with overall data center architecture. Chances are that even if
your storage pool is best of breed and virtualized, it was set up to work for day-
to-day needs and you don’t need to manage it much. When you link virtualized
resources together into infrastructure-agnostic pools with broader access, your
storage management interface isn’t going to “just work” with VMs seamlessly.
Storage access: In traditional virtualization environments, access to storage is
Getting more PRO+ essential strictly controlled, and virtualization administrators may engage in weekly or
content daily battles to get necessary storage.
In a cloud, with a mere click of the mouse, end consumers can access many
gigabytes or even terabytes of costly storage with less oversight than they had
previously. So the challenge is twofold: shepherding cultural and technological
change.
The job of the cloud administrator is to present storage in a way that is easy to
consume yet also reinforces the concept that there is no free lunch. As end
consumers select items from a service catalog, the best cloud automation
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software makes them aware of the cost of storage through chargeback

In this e-guide processes.
Introduction Today, a raft of storage management plug-ins for virtualization platforms such
as VMware’s virtualization suite, vSphere, allows admins to provision new
Private cloud classroom storage directly from VMware’s management console. These plug-ins save a
huge amount of time and automate processes that, even with the help of
scripting tools, are time sinks. Still, while plugins are a boon, storage teams may
hesitate to allow virtualization administrators the rights to use them, as
broadening access reduces their iron-fisted control over storage array
consumption.
Private cloud tools 4 Myth 3: Configuring networks is simple
For your infrastructure to be cloud-ready, networks also need an overhaul.

content
While private clouds mask underlying differences at the infrastructure layer to
allow for scale and dynamism, this homogeneity creates new network
bandwidth and provisioning challenges.
Bandwidth: Even if your network is humming along, with 1 Gigabit Ethernet

bandwidth and a handful of solid links to serve everyone’s needs, you may still
have bandwidth problems waiting in the wings. So get ready to invest in tools for
monitoring network congestion. If you virtualize everything you can and start
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serving all these resources from the network—and users have access to do so
In this e-guide themselves—the bottlenecks will arise relatively quickly.
Introduction If VM sprawl is an issue for your IT shop, a private cloud will pose even bigger
problems. You might have a team standing up handfuls of servers
Private cloud classroom simultaneously and creating massive loads that disrupt other operations. Now
imagine them doing it from home and clogging your entire operation’s Internet
connection until you can corral them. If you’re also planning virtual desktop
infrastructure or workspace virtualization, the headaches are ever-present.
Client/server design means that work takes place on both ends of the network
and information is exchanged; cloud computing means that most of the work
takes place in the data center but is communicated continuously to the user.
To combat these issues, consider reallocating and expanding bandwidth to
Getting more PRO+ essential resource-hungry users before implementing cloud strategies.
content
Many IT shops have a kind of “fairness doctrine” in place, where all parts of the
organization have an equal share of company network resources whether they
need it or not. But plan on careful segregation of different kinds of users and
have the headroom in place to accommodate this allocation of resources.
A virtualized environment that consolidates numerous physical servers into a

smaller number won’t necessarily add to network traffic, and that hasn’t been a
big consideration in terms of resource allocation. But revamping your data
center into private cloud means delivering more services, and yet more services
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over your network to users who come and go when they please. Consider your
In this e-guide bandwidth needs and think hard about an upgrade.
Introduction VLAN tagging: Virtualized networks also need a separation of VMs to ensure
data privacy of one tenant in the cloud from another. So they need mechanisms
Private cloud classroom to ensure that these networks can share the same physical network link without
compromising or leaking information between networks.

To allow access to a physical network, most cloud automation software uses the
virtual local area network (VLAN) tagging model. This approach requires a
Private cloud construction network team to pre-create pools of VLAN IDs on a physical switch. When a
new VM or virtual application is created, a cloud end consumer eats up these
Private cloud tools 4 VLAN IDs without having to ask the network team to set them up.
But VLANs defined on a physical switch are not “free.” Most physical switches
content
support only a certain number of VLAN definitions, and the name space for
VLANs can be consumed at a much faster rate than expected. The biggest
change here is convincing a network team that creating VLANs up front—which
may or may not be used—is a good idea. In some respects, it flouts a
generation of best practices that counsels IT managers to configure only what is
needed to protect resources from being hijacked by nefarious intruders.
Virtual switches: IT managers need a bulletproof strategy for the logical

configuration and management of virtual Switches (vSwitches) that provide VM
connectivity. Virtualization admins may need to reexamine their default settings,
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which originally may have been created for a server consolidation project. Most
In this e-guide virtual switches, for example, have a set number of “ports” into which a VM can
be “plugged.” Think of it as a conventional physical device, such as a 48-port
Introduction switch. Of course, in the virtualization world, you can have a much greater
number of “ports” than you can in the physical world.
Most virtual switches use a static model for assigning ports to VMs. This pool of
static ports can quickly become depleted, so a virtualization administrator has to
look closely at vSwitch settings to allow for a more dynamic model or for an
approach that creates and destroys ports on vSwitches as they are needed or
discarded.
Private cloud tools 4 Myth 4: Private clouds are simple
While vendors are on a mission to “cloudify” their services and tout the path to a
content
private cloud as simple and easy (with their help, of course), IT managers
should take heed. Reflect on your experience with other IT projects—a software
migration or a legacy hardware upgrade— and the technology change and
personnel upheaval it takes to get there.
A private cloud infrastructure is no different. A true private cloud model means

rethinking all the infrastructure elements that make up your data center—and
the people who manage those IT resources. Don’t be afraid to roll up your
sleeves and challenge the vendor take. It’s going to take a whole lot of
change—and change management—to get there.
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In this e-guide
Confusion still prevails on private cloud
Introduction
benefits
Private cloud classroom IT pros considering private clouds are still foggy on benefits such as
automation, as well as how to capitalize on the secure cloud model.
Until recently, private clouds were known best for the confusion they inspired,
rather than the benefit they demonstrated. That may finally be changing.
To grasp how the conversation on private cloud has evolved, let's explore its
Private cloud tools 4 traditional definition. According to the National Institute of Standards and
Technology (NIST), a cloud infrastructure is provisioned for exclusive use by a
Getting more PRO+ essential single organization comprising multiple consumers (i.e., business units). It may
content be owned, managed and operated by an organization, a third party or some
combination of these entities, and it may exist on- or off-premises. But this
definition is just the beginning for companies interested in transforming their
data centers.
To promote greater clarity on what a private cloud is, industry experts are taking
a new tack by looking at what private cloud is not. They're now focusing on the
private cloud benefits, which is organizations' endgame, anyway. With less
confusion about what a private cloud does, organizations can focus on what
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needs to be in place to meet goals and how to lay the foundation for a private
In this e-guide cloud.
Introduction John Treadway, a vice president at the consultancy Cloud Technology Partners,
noted that three key motivations steer organizations to a private cloud
Private cloud classroom infrastructure: control, transparency and agility.
Broadly speaking, that means control over data center resources to do

development, transparency to know what costs are and why, and agility to build
quickly at a lower cost.
"What companies really want is to beat the competition, to be faster delivering
Private cloud tools 4 services to their customers and to see greater productivity," Treadway said.
While reducing costs has been bandied about as private clouds' top driver,
Getting more PRO+ essential Thomas Bittman, vice president and distinguished analyst at Gartner Inc., said
content
attitudes about the value of private clouds are shifting. More enterprises now
cite speed and agility as the primary benefits of private cloud. To Bittman, this
signals not only maturity in thinking, but also a better understanding of business
requirements.
That's good news, because, in a third-quarter 2012 Forrester Research Inc.

survey, 46% of respondents reported that, over the next 12 months, building a
private cloud is a priority.
Private cloud misconceptions abound
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If ever there was a time to get private clouds right, it's now, but organizations
In this e-guide remain confused about the constituent elements of a cloud.
Introduction "A lot of organizations claim to have a private cloud, but what they really have is
traditional virtualization with some level of automation," said Lauren Nelson,
Private cloud classroom analyst at Forrester Research.
There's a resounding chorus of agreement among industry analysts that there is

a disconnect between a true private cloud and what many organizations believe
to be a private cloud.
At a recent Gartner Symposium, Bittman addressed the five misconceptions
Private cloud tools 4 about private cloud and the corresponding realities. Here are some key points:
 Private cloud is not virtualization. Server and infrastructure virtualization

Getting more PRO+ essential are important foundations for private cloud computing, but they are hardly
content
the be-all and end-all of private clouds. Instead, the private cloud model
often uses some form of virtualization to create an on-premises cloud
service.
 Private clouds are not just about lower costs. Cost reduction can be
introduced via improved allocation of resources or elimination of
common, rote tasks for standard offerings. But the real benefits are self-
service, automation and metering for usage, as well as agility, speed in
development, time to market and business-unit experimentation.
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 Private clouds are not necessarily on-premises. Instead, private cloud

In this e-guide computing is defined by privacy, not location, ownership or management
responsibility.
Introduction
 Private cloud is not limited to Infrastructure as a Service.
 Private clouds are not always going to be private. Over time, they will
evolve to enable hybrid cloud computing.
Private cloud construction Understanding what a private cloud is not is vital to recognizing the reality of
where many organizations are today with private clouds, and then to answering
Private cloud tools 4 critical questions about the goals in implementing the model and putting a
roadmap in place to get there.

content
Interest in private clouds grows as market

matures
Growing interest in private clouds reflects an improved understanding of cloud
computing among IT pros, experts say.
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Interest in private clouds has grown over the past year and there is greater
In this e-guide sophistication in the market with more mature platforms and capabilities among
IT pros.
Introduction
There was a significant increase in the number of respondents to TechTarget's
Private cloud classroom Data Center and Readers' Choice Survey 2013 who said they plan to deploy
a private cloud within the next 12 months: 15.5% of the 627 total respondents
said they planned a private cloud deployment in 2013, as opposed to 8.2% in
2012. Public cloud interest rose only slightly, from 4.1% to 4.5%.
Private cloud construction Forrester Research Inc. also saw an increase in private cloud interest in one of
its annual surveys. Of 1,000 enterprises in North America and Europe, 36%
Private cloud tools 4 were interested in private cloud in 2012, while in 2013 that number jumped to
46%. That was the biggest jump in all the cloud categories in the survey; by
Getting more PRO+ essential contrast, public cloud went from 31% to 35%.
content
Some enterprises find the private cloud to be the best of both worlds, offering
the flexibility of the public cloud as well as the perceived security of an
environment kept behind a firewall.
The relative security of public clouds remains a hot debate in the market, but for
Diebold Inc., a security systems and services provider, the public cloud was not
a chance worth taking, even for Platform as a Service (PaaS) capabilities.
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"One of the reasons for choosing private cloud is the nature of the customers
In this e-guide we deal with," said Balaji Devarasetty, director of cloud services for Diebold,
based in Canton, Ohio.
Introduction
"Most of our customers that we work with are financial institutions -- banks and
Private cloud classroom credit unions. Security is definitely top of mind for them."
Instead, the firm deployed software from Apprenda Inc. to convert its virtualized
infrastructure to an automatic-scaling PaaS for internal software developers to
use. This provides a consistent environment for development teams around the
Private cloud construction world and offers metering, logging and high availability for developers' virtual
machines (VMs).
This, in turn, has sped C# development and shortened Diebold's time to market
with Software as a Service products for banks and credit unions.
content
Private cloud: What's in a name?
Many times, what people think is a private cloud actually isn't, according David
Bartoletti, an analyst with Cambridge, Mass.-based Forrester Research.
Forrester followed up its survey question about general private cloud interest
with a question about whether respondents actually have automation or self-
service and if they track usage by department or role, and found that by that
definition, only 28% of those who say they have a private cloud actually have
one.
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Other consultants said they have seen this same confusion, but it is waning as
In this e-guide the market matures.
Introduction Clients have long confused a highly virtualized environment with a private cloud,
according to John Treadway, a vice president at the consultancy Cloud
Private cloud classroom Technology Partners (CTP), a consulting firm based in Boston.
"Now, people are getting it," Treadway said. "Now they're saying, 'Well, if it can't
give me a VM or service catalog item, fully automated, and delivered in five to
ten minutes, it's really not a private cloud.’”
CTP has begun to see multiple generations of private cloud. First-generation
Private cloud tools 4 private clouds as defined by Treadway are built on an infrastructure and
software stack using traditional vendors' products, from VMware Inc.'s vSphere
and vCloud Director to VCE's Vblock.
content
"That is the kind of cloud that will run their applications as they were architected
five years ago, and that will run okay," Treadway said. "But people are looking
to put a cloud in place that has the efficiency, the cost-effectiveness, the cost
per VM-hour of an Amazon or as close as possible."
Private cloud hits adolescence
In conversations about IT plans for 2014, Treadway said he's heard more about
what he calls a "commodity-style cloud" -- using OpenStack and other such
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components -- along with less-resilient commodity hardware at a fraction of the

In this e-guide cost.
Introduction Ultimately, multiple clouds -- private and public -- with a management layer over
them is where things are headed, Treadway said.
"We're still in the adolescence of private clouds -- not quite in the infancy, and
we're certainly not full-grown adults, here," Treadway said.
To even get to this stage, IT pros have simply had to wait for products to
Private cloud construction mature, according to Sean McDermott, CEO of Windward IT Solutions, an IT
service management and systems engineering firm based in Herndon, Va.
Three years ago it was beyond the average enterprise to provide a complex
self-service portal, automated provisioning, multi-tenant reservation
Getting more PRO+ essential management and so on. Meanwhile, Amazon and Google and other companies
content
already at hyperscale built such things themselves from scratch.
Now there are products such as Vblock and FlexPod for converged
infrastructure, as well as more advanced software tools for end-to-end
automation, McDermott said.
"If you're going to spin up 300 servers and they're going to be available all the
time, it does get kind of costly [to use the public cloud]," he pointed out.
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Still, some consultants see this trend as just a transitional step to an ultimate
In this e-guide future in the public cloud.
Introduction "Public cloud with a logical layer of security will eventually be the default choice,
with private cloud more of a transitional step or a security blanket," said Jared
Private cloud classroom Reimer, co-founder of Cascadeo Corp., an IT consulting firm located in Mercer
Island, Wash. "It makes them feel good even if the odds are that their internal
security staff isn't better than the big cloud providers -- it's hard to explain that to
the CEO."
Private cloud tools 4 Adjusting IT attitudes toward private cloud

A move to private cloud forces admins to rethink how they handle legacy apps,
content understand licensing nuances and step outside their silos.
For most organizations, designing and managing a private cloud is a tectonic

shift in existing IT operations. All layers of the data center stack require retooling
to ensure solid network, storage and application performance, secure data
exchange, and flexibility in a cloud environment.
In the first part of this series, we explored how enterprises must

rethink networking and security for private and hybrid cloud. In part two, we look
at how cloud computing affects legacy applications and forces IT managers to
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shift away from traditional data center management practices. We also look at
In this e-guide how licensing, fees and chargeback differ in the age of cloud.
Introduction What about our legacy applications?
Enterprises are built on legacy applications. These applications assume a

traditional operating system, such as Microsoft Windows, running on a
traditional server. The challenges of moving legacy applications to a private
cloud are often the same as those in traditional virtualization projects, including
performance problems and trouble migrating highly customized applications.
New cloud-based approaches, such as VMware's SpringSource, offer radically
Private cloud tools 4 different models for designing applications, but they also change how
applications are deployed and supported New application-based clouds can
considerably improve developers' lives. They aim to mask the complexities of
content
OSes and networking from application developers, enabling them to write
software that can be deployed internally.
Google App Engine and VMware vFabric are good examples. But while
masking these complexities enables applications to work and scale in cloud
environments, system administrators' lives, in turn, can get more complex. How
do these applications get backed up? How are they monitored? How are they
secured? Environments such as VMware vFabric Server are delivered as
appliances, whose black box–like nature foils traditional attempts to manage
them.
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In this e-guide
Cloud can eliminate IT silos
Introduction
Cloud projects also disrupt entrenched departmental silos and functions.
Because a cloud makes resources more dynamic and can strain performance
and data security, siloed IT teams are often forced to come together to manage
the system as a whole. But in many cases, one department's efforts to enhance
a cloud deployment can undermine the work of another.
Private cloud construction Network professionals, for example, spend a lot of time worrying about how
data moves around the data center. They size switch interconnections just right
Private cloud tools 4 for workloads. They configure routers and firewalls to maximize efficiency. They
tweak everything and monitor it thoroughly. And then system administrators
come along and break all these assumptions with live migration, hundreds of
content
guests per host, trunked network ports and other virtualization tactics.
To boot, the systems guys now work with technologies that have traditionally
been the domain of networking, such as firewalling, intrusion detection and
prevention systems, and network segmentation and design. Storage
professionals share some of these challenges. Their traditional usage model for
a storage area network is disrupted. Storage arrays choke under all the
seemingly random I/O from cloud hosts. Security models for networks, storage
and applications all need revision, too.
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Change and configuration management becomes taxing. Even system

In this e-guide administrators -- often cited as the cause of all this chaos -- are thrown into the
mix as separate departments that previously ran their own servers are forced
Introduction together into a single cloud mandated by management.
Private cloud classroom Change is difficult, and the transition to a cloud causes great anxiety as we
rethink traditional IT. There are solutions to these problems, though. When it
comes down to it, storage, networking, systems and security teams have to
communicate about requirements and concerns. They also have to move at a
comfortable pace for everyone that allows problems to be identified and
resolved before they become overwhelming. Rather than being seen as a time
sink, a cloud deployment offers an opportunity to rethink existing practices and
fix the broken processes that IT has endured for years.
Getting more PRO+ essential Private cloud licenses, support and chargeback
content
In addition to the disruptive nature of cloud technologies, cloud licensing adds
complexity. Increasingly complex systems that need tweaking, troubleshooting
and monitoring threaten to eat into cloud cost savings through lost staff time.
Private clouds are composed of layers of software, from common virtualization

technology at the bottom, management layers in the middle and user interfaces
on the top. Each layer needs a different tool, and with each tool comes a license
fee and a yearly support cost. Each tool also requires staff time to install as well
as ongoing time to support the tool with patches and upgrades. Additionally,
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integration work is often needed for user access via corporate Active Directory
In this e-guide or LDAP instances or between financial systems and cloud chargeback and
reporting products.
Introduction
A private cloud's chargeback-based billing system is also daunting, where IT
Private cloud classroom charges individual departments for IT usage. Like a monthly phone bill,
chargeback involves variable-rate charges that can catch departments unaware
or prompt user resistance. Even choosing an accounting method can be
problematic. Do you charge based on resources consumed, or do you charge a
flat fee? Flat fees are nice for budget estimations, but they may not be fair,
where small virtual servers subsidize large ones. If you charge based on
resource consumption, you have to track resource consumption as well, which
adds complexity and staff monitoring tasks.
Getting more PRO+ essential Charging based on resource consumption can also invite political battles.
content Tracking CPU usage can be particularly contentious because it's highly variable.
When a department receives a bill for CPU usage, it may challenge why it has
to pay for IT tasks, such as server patching, that were previously "free."
Too much focus on the costs charged back can also prompt those being billed
to optimize the amount spent, which usually undermines the efficiency of the
entire cloud environment.
As a result, many chargeback systems take simpler approaches, implementing

a base charge plus RAM and disk allocations.
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Changes can be welcome, though, as cloud designers rethink old processes

In this e-guide and methods. Cloud computing affects everyone in IT. So now, more than ever,
cloud architects need to communicate and work actively with network, security,
Introduction and systems counterparts on design, support and processes.
Private cloud classroom These interconnected technologies and practices require an interconnected
plan. Only in breaking down internal borders can companies truly cope with
these technology shifts and begin to focus on strategic business goals.

Considerations for a private cloud migration
The private cloud model offers the benefits of security and control, but without
content
careful planning and a long-term strategy, a private cloud migration can also
have drawbacks. Often, an existing investment in virtualization can ease the
transition, but enterprises must consider compatibility with their current IT
infrastructure.
Additionally, planning for management and financing is a crucial step toward

making the move to private cloud; if a private cloud doesn't align with enterprise
goals, it could be a step in the wrong direction. Recognizing some of these
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downsides, some companies are looking to virtual private clouds or private

In this e-guide cloud in a box.
Introduction
Private cloud classroom How do you know if your business needs

to build a private cloud?
Cloud computing is a hot topic these days, but it's not right for everyone. Our
experts weigh in on when it makes sense to build a private cloud.
There's no doubt that private clouds have been hyped up in recent years.
Private cloud tools 4 Vendors are churning out cloud management software and analysts are touting
the seemly endless advantages to creating a private cloud. Unless your
Getting more PRO+ essential business is headquartered under a rock, you've likely at least heard talk of a
content private cloud. But how do you know if your business really needs one? What
type of organization can really benefit from a private cloud and when does it
make financial sense? This month, our Advisory Board members explain the
prime circumstances for building a private cloud.
Jack Kaiser, Focus Technology Solutions
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That is a great question. There is lots of confusion and misinformation in the IT

In this e-guide community surrounding private clouds. You must first know what a private cloud
is before you can determine if you need one. Lots of people think if they
Introduction are 100% virtualized (or close to it) that they have a private cloud. That may be,
but is not necessarily, true. All private clouds are built upon virtualization, but
Private cloud classroom much more is needed to have a true private cloud, including:
 An elastic computing environment,

 On-demand self-service,
 Shared (multi-tenant) resource pools,
 Network delivered services and
Getting more PRO+ essential  Service measurements or chargeback capabilities.

content
Assuming you know what a private cloud is, do you need one? In most
cases, whether or not you decide to build a private cloud depends on the level
of complexity and sophistication of the IT staff as well as the end users. In most
small businesses, the IT staff (or person) wears many hats and there is little
need for self-provisioning, automation and the additional costs of a true private
cloud.
However, in large enterprises, where there are business owners who are more
IT savvy, the benefits of the private cloud would outweigh the costs.
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End users would appreciate the self-provisioning and the fact that it would
In this e-guide enable their apps to be operational more quickly than if they had to going
through the process, procedure and burden of requisitioning from traditional IT.
Introduction One of the best benefits of building a private cloud is that end users would have
to adhere to the policies and security requirements set up by the corporate IT
Private cloud classroom staff as opposed to rogue business owners tending their own public cloud farms
with little or no observance to corporate security and IT policies.
The challenging question is, what about the mid-market segment? Then again,
how many employees classify a company as mid-market? Regardless of your
definition of the term, the answer to whether they benefit from a private cloud is
the same as for large companies. If the end users require, demand and have
the ability to perform some IT functions, then it may be beneficial to build a
private cloud. As the new generation of employees enters the workforce --
Getting more PRO+ essential employees who were raised on downloading their own app from iTunes and
content have more technological ability -- more and more small and medium-sized
businesses will be ready for a private cloud.
Maish Saidel-Keesing, NDS Group Ltd.
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To answer this question, perhaps it could be asked in a different way: What are
In this e-guide the reasons that should not influence your decision to build a private cloud?
Introduction Should you build a private cloud just because your boss heard a lot of buzz from
a seminar he went to? That is not a good enough reason, and we all know how
Private cloud classroom it will end. Should you build one just because your users are asking for one, or
because they can get the same on Amazon? This is not a good reason either.
How about just because you want to try out the latest and greatest technology?
New technology is nice to play around with but still doesn't carry enough weight.
Private cloud construction There is no one-size-fits-all template for deploying a private cloud. That said,
the size of your organization should not be a limiting factor. A private cloud can
Private cloud tools 4 be very beneficial even to a small company.
However, you need to find the right business justification. You need to find the
content
specific use case or pain point where it can save you money, time and manual
labor. The specific use will be different for each company, but when you can
prove that the return on investment (ROI) exists, and can be achieved in a
reasonable timeframe by deploying your own cloud, then it will be worthwhile.
Jason Helmick, Concentrated Technologies
In my house I set the thermostat to a comfortable temperature range. When it

gets too cold, the heater turns on; when it gets too hot, the air conditioning
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starts. I never need to call the power company and ask them to start the boilers
In this e-guide or bring over some ice -- it just happens.
Introduction IT needs to become a utility (like the power company) that supplies a reliable
service through automation. This is the purpose of the cloud. When the
Private cloud classroom business needs more servers to handle an increase in load, it just happens.
When the business needs a new product deployed, it just happens. The
business can’t wait for the IT pro to start the boilers and bring over the ice.
Large companies have already been doing this and are enjoying the ROI and
Private cloud construction time-to-market flexibility gained, and smaller companies will soon follow along.
Virtualization is a great way to make this a reality at your company. Its cost-
Private cloud tools 4 effective and excellent tools from Microsoft and VMware already exist to make it
the private cloud a reality.
content
How do you know if you will need to build a private cloud? You already do. Get
started.
Want to build a private cloud

Where should IT pros start when it comes to building a private cloud? This tip
digs into the requirements for private cloud, including IT automation, security
and standards.
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Creating an internal or private cloud that gives IT managers the benefits of a

In this e-guide cloud running inside the data center isn't easy.
Introduction IT pros will have to build it and glue it together themselves, as no single vendor
currently provides all of the pieces needed. Some packaged software is
Private cloud classroom beginning to appear to help create private clouds, such as Ubuntu Enterprise
Cloud (UEC), but it's limited to Linux-based clouds.

What is a private cloud, anyway?
Private cloud construction It resides inside your data center (on-premise), giving IT managers complete
control over the available resources. A typical private cloud relies on the
Private cloud tools 4 security measures available within the cloud and the data center. It automates
workflows and takes out human tasks like configuring routers and load
balancers or setting up firewall rules. These are steps that many enterprises
content
with virtualized servers are doing by hand. Enterprises often have a firewall guy,
a router guy, a load balancing expert, a storage expert, a guy who is
responsible for the operating systems and more.
Chris Swan, CTO of Capital SCF, says that cloud computing goes well beyond
server virtualization by offering customers more options for increasing data
center flexibility and reducing costs. There is a big difference between setting up
VMware ESX clusters in a data center for server virtualization and implementing
an internal cloud.
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For private clouds to be useful and continue in the direction set by public clouds,
In this e-guide IT pros need to automate as many manual tasks as possible to bring up
capacity on the fly and put it back when it's not needed.
Introduction
This will require an inventory management system that does not exist
Private cloud classroom commercially today, one that can keep track of all IT space, the operating
systems running on each machine, how many physical devices you have, how
much access capacity is available, trigger points for adding more disk space on
storage area networks (SANs), the software stored on each machine and more.
Private cloud construction It also requires orchestration to ensure that tasks are executed in the right
order. When a user asks for a server with one CPU, one GB of RAM, a 250 GB
Private cloud tools 4 hard drive and Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 5.3, the cloud software layer
has to go out and grab an IP address, set up a virtual local area network
Getting more PRO+ essential (VLAN), put the server in the load balancing queue, put the server in the firewall
content rule set for the IP address, load the correct version of RHEL, patch the server
software when needed and place the server into the nightly backup queue.
Automation beyond our current means
This type of automation replaces hundreds of discrete tasks normally done

manually by specialists. The investment that cloud vendors are making is in
using the correct cloud layer to automate in hours these tasks that used to take
many days. None of the current external cloud providers, however, are close to
providing this level of automation.
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The data center staff will have to create the automation layer for their internal
In this e-guide cloud because no current vendor provides a complete software layer. The staff
will essentially have to buy the pieces and put them together. Jeff Deacon says
Introduction that Version Business uses a combination of Cisco software on the front end,
HP for compute power and OpsWare to create its cloud environment. Deacon
Private cloud classroom also says, however, that it costs a lot of money and time to build a real
production-quality private cloud.
IT managers will have to meld together tools to manage private clouds and
other resources in a data center. The tools to manage both physical and virtual
resources have been slow to emerge. Even though server virtualization is
growing rapidly, the management tool industry is playing catch-up.
There are no system management tools to seamlessly manage a mixed
Getting more PRO+ essential environment that incorporates existing data centers and cloud computing.
content
System management tools were developed at a time when hardware was
expensive and difficult to replace. Clouds are designed based on very different
assumptions: hardware is cheap and hardware will fail. Cloud providers also
build in redundancy. This requires a different management philosophy, one that
public cloud providers such as Amazon and Google have adopted.
As you might expect, not everyone believes that applications should be

virtualized in your own data center using server virtualization or run on private
clouds. According to Hylton van Zyl, R&D specialist at Credit Suisse, IT
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managers should considering using Software as a Service (SaaS) as a delivery

In this e-guide model for their applications. He says that SaaS providers, such as
Salesforce.com, will likely provide you with good security, as they own the entire
Introduction software stack.
Private cloud classroom Private clouds are less risky but not perfect
Public clouds and external private clouds have a number of barriers and risks
that are balked at by many IT managers. Some of the risks that surround public
clouds are also risks for private clouds, but the degree of risk is generally less.
Private cloud construction In some cases, such as control of resources and security, the risks are much
less.
Cloud security is always a top risk when using external clouds.
Getting more PRO+ essential This is one of the major reasons that IT managers favor private clouds over
content
public clouds for many of their applications. Chris Hoff, a well-known security
guru at Cisco, says that security is just one of several issues with public clouds.
He says that on Amazon EC2 you have virtual machines, virtual appliances, and
Amazon Machine Images (AMIs) running on hundreds or even thousands of
servers. You have no idea what is in these images, who built them and where
they came from. With private clouds, though, IT managers have the control that
public clouds are missing.
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While the degree of a risk can be much less with private clouds, compliance and
In this e-guide regulatory issues, software licensing, availability, scalability, service-level
agreements (SLAs) and the effects of new technology like server virtualization
Introduction on IT workers and their jobs are still issues with private clouds.
Private cloud classroom One of the issues with public clouds is that cloud providers oversubscribe, and
oversubscribing can lead to the equivalent of downtime, loss of availability, for
unlucky users. Cloud providers occasionally move workloads around because
there are too many users sharing the same resources at one time and
performance suffers. These issues are less likely to happen with private clouds,
but they can without proper management tools.
Private cloud tools 4 Adhering to cloud standards is important for private cloud users
Private cloud users must work with standards organizations to ensure that their
content
clouds are tracking the important standards when they appear.
The reason standards are so important is that users will eventually want to
move applications from cloud to cloud, and this is very difficult without standard
interfaces.
Amazon's EC2 interface is currently as close to a standard as we have; this is

the reason that Canonical adopted it for UEC. Red Hat's deltacloud open source
project is an effort to try to make it easier for a data center, through a single
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interface portal, to work with differing cloud providers' using drivers to interface
In this e-guide with each cloud application programming interface (API).
Introduction Given the almost non-existence of cloud interface standards, companies like
Johnson & Johnson are working with RightScale to develop an abstraction layer
Private cloud classroom for Amazon that will make it easier to deploy and move applications onto clouds.
Management software that creates an abstraction layer, such as RightScale, will
serve as fill-ins until real cloud standards are created and adopted.
Adopting a private cloud strategy

When considering private cloud, your organization will have to travel through
four stages of virtualization maturity. Find out how to best prepare for internal
content cloud computing.
Many of us have heard the hype about reaping the benefits of public cloud
infrastructures without compromising service levels, security or compliance
requirements -- it's called private cloud computing. But when is it the right time
for companies to pull the trigger on private cloud without shooting themselves in
the foot?
Some industry experts say it's now. They're quick to caution decision-makers,
however, that private cloud is a journey, not a destination.
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"Private cloud computing isn't something you simply go out and buy; it's an
In this e-guide evolution from what we have today," said Tom Bittman, vice president at
Gartner.
Introduction
Furthermore, he adds that the private cloud is a stopgap or stepping stone to
Private cloud classroom utilizing more mature public cloud services when they become available, any
time from six months to ten years from now.

Think of private cloud as a new item in the IT toolkit for different economics.
Private cloud computing goes beyond virtualization and includes automated
Private cloud construction workload management, self-service interfaces and some form of usage
metering or chargeback. Private cloud computing also requires the ability to
Private cloud tools 4 share resources to maximize utilization -- among business units, divisions and
other groups that may not share resources today -- a change that will affect
Getting more PRO+ essential existing corporate culture, politics, processes and even business relationships.
content
What is private cloud, and when can I have it?
Forrester defines an internal cloud as a multi-tenant, dynamically provisioned
and optimized infrastructure with self-service developer deployment, hosted
within the safe confines of the enterprise data center.
Forget about getting started with a big bang. Think of adopting a private cloud
strategy as a series of steps that requires that the organization to have the
technical pieces in place for private cloud computing and be experientially and
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culturally ready. "If a company isn't ready, they can't reap the benefits," said
In this e-guide James Staten, analyst at Forrester Research.
Introduction Taking a more somber tone, Randy Bias, CEO of Cloudscaling.com, a cloud
engineering services firm that has designed, built and managed large and
Private cloud classroom complex public and private clouds, said that most organizations don't have the
DNA, organizational structure or business incentive to be successful at building
a private cloud.
"I think that over the next several years, we're going to see a lot of attempts with
Private cloud construction the private cloud that will result in failure and misery," he said.
Private cloud tools 4 That said, he strongly advises companies working on private cloud initiatives to
go into it with their eyes wide open. "Whatever you're building, see it as a short-
term goal, not an end goal," he said.
content
A recent survey of Gartner clients found that 75% of companies expect to
pursue private cloud by 2012.
The four stages of private cloud preparation

Every organization considering the private cloud is destined to travel on a
maturity journey that industry experts agree consists of a number of stages,
from laying the IT infrastructure groundwork to assessing early scenarios for
private cloud deployments.
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All agree the initial step, IT virtualization maturity, is the essence of evolving to
In this e-guide the private cloud. Forrester's Staten outlines four stages of virtualization
maturity -- acclimation, strategic consolidation, optimization, and automation --
Introduction to assess where your organization is in the process.
Private cloud classroom The first stage, acclimation, is the time it takes for an organization to learn about
virtualization, how it works, test it against simple applications, and then
determine where it can safely be applied.
A company is in stage two, strategic consolidation, when its comfort level with
Private cloud construction virtualization shifts from concept to strategic implementation, having recognized
the value proposition of virtualization as an agent of cost savings and change.
Private cloud tools 4 "At this point the case has to be made for why a workload should not be
virtualized," said Staten.
content
Stage three, optimization, is when virtualization empowers process
improvement and organizations get serious about life-cycle management of
virtual machines and cleaning up virtual server sprawl. It's at this stage where
there must be an experiential shift in thinking about the IT infrastructure.
"Thinking in the physical world will hurt you in the virtual world," said Staten.
Companies at stage four of virtualization maturity sit at the precipice of being

cloud-ready. These organizations grasp the importance of policy-based
automation of the virtualization pool, which, explains Staten, pushes the
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organization to share services and treat the virtualization pool as an internal

In this e-guide cloud service.
Introduction Set the stage for your cloud

Inherent in the four steps to virtualization maturity are key elements that set the
Private cloud classroom stage for private cloud computing; namely, a willingness to change the
organization and internal processes and gain the political clout to overcome
resistance.
Companies who are grounded in stage three are ready to create a

Private cloud construction greenfield project for private cloud. Experts recommend test and development
workloads as a safe place for organizations get their feet wet with private cloud.
"It's a good proving ground and learning ground," said Fausto Bernadini,
director of IT cloud portfolio services at IBM. Additionally, a greenfield project of
content
non-critical workloads at stage three can help accelerate an organization to
stage four.
Private cloud return on investment (ROI) evolves alongside this virtualization

maturity path. Ultimately, ROI comes from high utilization of the resources that
are dedicated to the private cloud. "The higher the sustained utility of the private
cloud, the better the payback," said Staten.
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Digging a bit deeper, companies venturing into the private cloud can expect to
In this e-guide make big investments in people and processes, as well as new automation and
policy enforcement tools.
Introduction
Unlike the public cloud, where companies can grow and shrink usage (and
Private cloud classroom ultimately costs) based on need, internal private cloud costs are perpetual.
Business factors of building a private

cloud infrastructure
Private cloud tools 4 Though its benefits are well known, private cloud isn't a quick fix for all
companies. Ensure it meets your business goals and workload expectations.
content Moving to the cloud can mean a number of things: from hosting your server
using cloud services such as Amazon or Rackspace to building a private cloud
to simply moving your data into cloud storage. Private cloud is an intriguing
option for companies that need to maintain control of certain types of IT
workloads while taking advantage of the scalability and flexibility of a cloud
environment. But is it worth the trouble compared to other cloud options? There
are three factors you need to consider before making the move to private cloud:
 Business goals
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 Application delivery
In this e-guide
 Workloads
Introduction
Business goals for private cloud. First and foremost, you need to define your
reason for moving to the cloud and your goals. Is your current infrastructure
struggling with performance issues because of a high number of users and
applications with limited bandwidth? Are you unable to run the applications you
need? Is your current data center unable to keep up with your company’s
Private cloud construction growth?
On the surface, building a private cloud can seem like an inexpensive way to
Getting more PRO+ essential solve administrative problems, especially when taking into account open source
content
options. But after factoring in the amount of time it takes to build a private cloud
and the support it needs, costs can be much higher than anticipated.
It’s critical to factor in these extra costs and all possible setbacks to get a
clearer picture of realistic overall costs of a cloud project and how those costs fit
with your goals. As more modern software is built to run on cloud, the cost-
benefit ratio will begin to tip in the favor of private cloud.
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One major business goal with cloud adoption is to create a better user
In this e-guide experience, which factors into both application delivery and workload
considerations.
Introduction
Cloud-based application delivery. On-demand application delivery can be a
Private cloud classroom major boon for end users and IT admins. If each employee uses one computer
with locally installed software, the payoff for serving applications through a cloud
can be great.
In a cloud environment, different licensing rules apply for different applications.

Private cloud construction With some applications, you only need to purchase enough licenses for the
number of users simultaneously using the application. Loading apps from a
Private cloud tools 4 central app server can result in a huge savings.
But licensing varies by application, so check with individual vendors to

content
determine which app is the right match for your environment.
Running apps from a central location also offers management benefits. With the
right tools, applications can even run in remote desktop sessions from mobile
devices. While bring your own device (BYOD) policies can complicate an IT
environment, they allow employees to access applications when they need to,
which could help business workflow and factor into your business' workload
considerations.
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IT workloads. Cloud computing brings with it operational efficiency, especially if

In this e-guide your business' offices are spread out across the country or the world. IT
administrators can manage the environment and work from one central location;
Introduction they don't need to be constantly installing and updating software applications on
individual computers throughout the organization.
Of course, systems still need to be physically distributed to employees, but with
today’s lightweight notebook computers, that can often be done through the
mail. When working under a cloud environment, IT admins rarely need to travel
to remote offices.
Even after these considerations -- business goals, application delivery and
Private cloud tools 4 workloads -- IT pros still must choose the right cloud provider.
Before simply committing to moving to the cloud, you need to research cloud
content
vendors to get a full picture of what they offer and how the services might factor
into your organization. For example, not every organization needs the scalability
that allocating servers dynamically brings. Other organizations might not want to
stream applications.
Each component of cloud brings additional costs and can complicate the
transition, so it’s important to decide which services are necessary and which
are overkill. Switching to the cloud isn’t a small task, and it might not be for all
companies, but the payoffs can be huge if done properly.
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In this e-guide
What’s stalling your enterprise’s private
Introduction
cloud adoption?
Private cloud classroom Enterprises often overestimate their cloud knowledge, and that’s causing many
private clouds to stall before they even get off the ground.
Cloud computing is one of the most exciting advancements of IT in the last few
years. But even with all the hoopla, private cloud adoption has realized less
than one percent of its potential in the enterprise.
Private cloud tools 4 One reason why cloud adoption has been lukewarm in the enterprise could be
that cloud deployment projects take longer than expected.
content Another equally important reason is that potential enterprise users are less than
confident in realizing the actual cloud costs and benefits associated with private
cloud. Users are also reluctant to accept the fact there may be some application
changes associated with cloud adoption.
Companies need to change how they assess their knowledge of private cloud
as they progress through a deployment project. At the start of a cloud
implementation project, nearly all companies consider themselves
“knowledgeable” about the cloud, its technologies and its applications. After a
year of planning and preparing to implement a private cloud in their
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environment, most of those “knowledgeable” companies realize they actually

In this e-guide knew little about the cloud when they started.
Introduction All projects start with a plan, so should cloud adoption

We can attribute nearly every project failure in cloud computing, at least in part,
Private cloud classroom to mistakes that occurred during the planning phase. All good IT projects start
with an accurate estimate of benefits and costs; IT teams must assign steps to
secure these benefits within cost constraints and then execute them. While any
step in the planning phase can be a misstep, most reported problems during
private cloud planning occur during the cost-and-benefit phase.
There are two classes of cloud projects: those aimed at reducing the cost of
Private cloud tools 4 running an internal IT function and those intended to support applications not
easily hosted by internal IT.
content
First, IT teams generally have to prove that a cloud project’s total cost (usually
projected at three to five years) will be lower than the current internal IT costs.
Additionally, those cost savings must be enough to justify the chief financial
officer’s rate-of-return expectations (about 25% and 35%).
Second, IT staff must prove business benefits -- productivity improvements or

sales gains -- will be enough to justify the cost of implementing a private cloud.
Getting accurate data for either of these justifications is another place where
cloud projects often stall. Most often, the cost side of the cloud creates the
biggest headaches for IT teams.
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All IT activities have a capital cost and an operating cost component, and those
In this e-guide costs are spread across a “stack” that consists of hardware, system software
and middleware, application software and user support. Cloud services don’t
Introduction ever displace all of these costs -- user support is needed for any application, no
matter how the app runs -- and most cloud services will displace only the lower
Private cloud classroom hardware and system layers. It’s critical to understand how the cloud service will
affect the cloud stack and to include both cloud and internal costs for each layer
Private cloud planning in the assessment. That will give you a true cost estimate as well as a
framework for identifying cost assumptions that will drive your project execution.
Getting buy-in for a private cloud project
A cloud project plan needs more than the CFO to sign-off on it; all line
departments that will interact with cloud resources must support the project.
Two-thirds of all cloud projects fail when IT teams don’t get buy-in from all
Getting more PRO+ essential business units. A lack of support from line departments is the primary reason for
content cloud project delays after the planning phase.
Getting buy-in from all departments needs to start with approval from
operations, which needs to include the cost and benefit assumptions you
developed in the initial planning stage. For example, many IT administrators are
under the false impression that an application will run in the cloud exactly as it
did in the data center.
There may be differences, and those differences need to be small enough so as

not to annoy end users. Most often, applications that have moved from on-
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premises to the cloud experience degradations in response times or quality of

In this e-guide experience (QoE). Set application QoE goals and have line departments
validate them to keep a cloud project moving forward.
Introduction
From pilot to production: Time to launch the cloud

Private cloud classroom After you have buy-in from all lines of business and have set expectations on
what each unit should expect from the cloud, you’re ready to transition from a
Private cloud planning pilot cloud project to a production cloud. And buy-in is just as important here as
it was in the previous stage.
A pilot test is -- or should be -- designed to prove that critical assumptions in
securing the project’s cost and benefit use case are, in fact, being met. The only
meaningful evidence of this would come from business units that use and
depend on the application. However, in nearly half the cases we’ve seen in
Getting more PRO+ essential which cloud projects are delayed, not all users are consulted before the project
content advances to the production phase. That creates operational problems that push
the cloud project back to its test-and development stages.
To avoid this, track how the cloud project will achieve its goals within specified
cost constraints while you’re developing the deployment plan. Then ensure the
pilot test validates that each goal has been achieved.
The most critical challenge is testing a cloud application at scale, which means
running it with the volume of data you can expect in the production environment.
This often involves load generation, test data production and other activities
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related to testing that should have been identified during the requirements
In this e-guide phase and that could be ignored when planning the pilot stage. If this
happens, cloud performance problems that compromise the project may not be
Introduction exposed until the application goes live in the cloud, and the delay and cost of
addressing these problems could be substantial.
At-scale tests also allow users find project costs they had missed; and while it’s
better to catch these unexpected costs before this point -- because they’re less
expensive to fix -- catching them here is better than waiting until your first cloud
production bill comes in.
Enterprises implementing cloud computing typically overestimate their cloud
Private cloud tools 4 knowledge going into an adoption project. Make sure all those involved in the
cloud installment -- IT teams, business units and end users -- are properly
Getting more PRO+ essential educated before the project begins. Approach a private cloud deployment
content project logically to ensure that all phases -- cost-and-benefit analysis, goal
setting and transition to production -- are established in advance, as well as
understood and accepted by all parties involved.
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In this e-guide Prepping data center infrastructure for a

cloud migration
Introduction
Cloud migration projects affect existing infrastructure and your teams. Prep
work should start with one question: 'Is it wise to move to cloud?'
For good reason, clouds are a popular topic in IT. They offer numerous benefits,
Private cloud planning such as pay-as-you-go billing models, seemingly infinite resources and the
ability to place workloads around the globe to boost capacity.
Still, as you consider a cloud migration, you will likely have to make changes to
your data center infrastructure and your organization to prepare for the move.
You need to think carefully about the impact on all aspects of data center
infrastructure and on IT teams.
content Before taking on a cloud migration project, you need to take a step back and
evaluate the wisdom of the move. It's critical to make the business case for why
a migration to the cloud makes sense -- and the fact that the cloud is en
vogue is not enough. So, assuming that you already have a private cloud, why
would you want to add public cloud capabilities? Perhaps you want to broaden
your disaster recovery (DR) options by running workloads from a different
location. Or maybe you want to add workloads, but are constrained by capacity
limitations at your on-site data center. Or perhaps your reasoning for the move
to a hybrid cloud model is financial.
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The pay-as-you-go aspect of public clouds can shift capital expenditures to

In this e-guide operational ones and free you from unpleasant leases and forklift upgrades.
Introduction It is critical for all levels of your IT organization to know what the goals of this
move are, so your organization can make solid decisions. It is also important to
Private cloud classroom include all IT teams --including application, system, network and storage
administrators -- in these plans. Their knowledge will be key to solid preparation
for implementing a hybrid cloud.
Assess existing infrastructure and set goals

As you consider moving to a cloud model, the first step is to assess where your
Private cloud tools 4 infrastructure is now. Do you already have a private cloud and want to bridge
the gap between it and a public cloud? Perhaps you are on the path to
virtualization, but you haven't progressed to a cloud. And while the term
content
"cloud" has many meanings, it doesn't just mean greater degrees of
virtualization; it also involves a push toward centralization and automation. In
particular, this move toward centralization makes the cloud as much about
people and process as it is about technology.
Gather technical requirements
Once your organization has made its business goals for a hybrid cloud clear,
develop technical requirements with your staff. Do the applications you want to
move need to scale?
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Perhaps you need load-balancing capabilities, not just for service availability,
In this e-guide but also so you can distribute workloads and automatically redistribute
resources to accommodate the peaks and valleys of cloud demand. Do
Introduction applications require secure communication to a back-end database that will
continue to live in your data center? Do you need services to run from particular
Private cloud classroom parts of the globe for support or DR reasons?
Once you have identified your technical needs, consider public cloud provider
offerings objectively. For example, perhaps some providers natively support
your virtual private network (VPN) concentrator or a network tunneling
technology your engineers are already comfortable with, thereby making secure
networking easier. At this stage, it's also important to gather performance data.
Knowing how much network and storage I/O your applications generate enables
you to size network connections and virtual machines that reside in the public
Getting more PRO+ essential cloud and to select from differing service tiers offered by public cloud vendors.
content
Select hybrid cloud tools
Several self-service cloud portals can connect your on-premises infrastructure

to public cloud infrastructure. Most work with a subset of public cloud providers,
so knowing your technical requirements and organizational goals is important to
match a tool set with providers' capabilities, as well as with your own
infrastructure.
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There are several aspects to consider. First, how well do these tools manage
In this e-guide existing heterogeneous infrastructure? Do they require completely new
infrastructure, or do they plug into what you have already built? Where do these
Introduction tools run? Do they get installed in a legacy data center or run in the cloud?
Some tools, like VMware's vCloud Connector, plug in directly to existing
Private cloud classroom infrastructure, but that has implications for DR.
You would need to plan for your primary site becoming unavailable and ensure
that you fully protect your management infrastructure.
Private cloud construction Can these tools access more than one public cloud? What about accessing a
provider's different locations? Are these tools capable of doing chargeback and
Private cloud tools 4 real-time reporting of costs and performance metrics across all sites? Does it
help monitor and meet service-level agreements(SLAs)? Does it create a
Getting more PRO+ essential service catalog from which users can choose? How does it help manage
content templates and configurations? How does it handle authentication? Is there an
audit trail? At this stage, you need to ask all these questions.
Implement security safeguards
Once you have selected a cloud provider and a tool set, you need to address
the multifaceted issue of security. To begin, determine how the tools and the
cloud provider will interact with your data center and grant them access through
network- and host-based firewalls if necessary.
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This might be tricky with offsite, hosted tools, as private clouds' management
In this e-guide interfaces are often on completely internal, private networks.
Introduction You need to implement authentication and access control for the new hybrid
cloud tool as well. Perhaps the tool has its own authentication systems, so you
Private cloud classroom need to recreate your users and your access control policies in its user
database. For example, when an employee leaves the company, you need to
revoke his cloud access at the same time as you revoke his onsite access. You
also might need to grant access to your internal help desk for password resets.
If the tool uses existing authentication systems, you may need to make those
systems more robust, especially if one of your goals is DR. Without a robust
authentication system, consider what would happen if your primary site went
down and users were still trying to access these systems.
Getting more PRO+ essential If you have sensitive data that is stored in a public cloud, investigate encryption
content technologies for that data. Securing network connectivity among sites is also
important, and it may require changes or additional purchases. You also need to
consider how to store important data, like cloud application programming
interface (API) keys and encryption keys. Access to them is important in an
emergency, but they also grant powerful access rights to whoever knows them.
This is a good time to take steps to protect these access rights but also to make
them available when needed, protecting them as you would an administrator
password, logging access and changing access information periodically.
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In this e-guide Private cloud blockers and barriers

Even though the cloud is becoming more mainstream, building a private or
Introduction
hybrid cloud leads IT pros to worry about network connectivity and security.
Private cloud classroom Cloud computing has changed the way IT resources are designed and
managed. Siloed IT departments have to adjust their business-as-usual
Private cloud planning approach.
As companies seek faster, better and cheaper IT resources, hybrid clouds seem
Private cloud construction like a natural fit. They allow IT to shift workloads between internal data
centers and a commercial public cloud provider during peak periods. For
Private cloud tools 4 growing businesses with variable needs, cloud computing can reduce costs
while boosting project flexibility and time to market.
content But the cloud still raises IT hackles. Managers worry that clouds violate
traditional departmental domains and practices, and organizational inertia can
run deep. A cloud also imposes new demands on IT infrastructure, from
networks to servers, and can strain the relationships between their respective
teams. And cloud pricing and licensing continue to pose serious challenges that
further entrench divisions and cut into cost savings.
Still, cloud computing has begun to gain traction in corners of the enterprise. So
how can departments bogged down by inertia take the next step?
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They can start by considering some of the factors that block many cloud
In this e-guide implementations, including their own long-standing silos. In this series, we'll look
at each of these cloud blockers, starting with the network challenges and
Introduction security fears.
Private cloud classroom Networking obstacles in the cloud
Cloud computing offers IT far greater flexibility in how it delivers services. When
a new project crops up or a workload's demands shift suddenly, IT departments
can move the work to a commercial provider or move resources internally until
Private cloud construction the peak period elapses.
Private cloud tools 4 But that flexibility can also pose networking challenges. By moving applications
off-site, companies need good network connectivity between a data center site
and a public cloud provider so users don't experience performance degradation.
content
Good connectivity comes in two forms: necessary bandwidth and low latency.
Most businesses have sufficient network connections to support email, Web
browsing and general company communication.
Adding traffic to the connection between an external cloud provider and a

company requires planning to protect the application or the original uses of the
network connection. A typical data center network -- particularly one with gigabit
networks -- has a lot of bandwidth and low latency.
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IT managers can also monitor internal network equipment usage to diagnose

In this e-guide problems. But when you move an application offsite to a cloud provider, it is no
longer part of your data center network. To access the application, your network
Introduction traffic must take a longer route across smaller network links and links with
greater latency. My PC, for example, uses three network segments, or "hops,"
Private cloud classroom to reach my company's HR application and has a network latency of 0.3
milliseconds.
Moving that application to a commercial cloud provider creates additional delay
of about 20 milliseconds to a server in a commercial cloud. It travels across
network segments of unknown size and that cannot be monitored by internal IT
staff. Some applications suffer greatly when network latency is introduced,
especially if parts of an application, such as a database, are in-house and parts
are in a commercial cloud.
content Most commercial cloud environments charge for network use. Charges of 10
cents or 15 cents per gigabyte of traffic aren't exorbitant. But charges start to
add up, especially when most organizations take their own fast network speeds
and flat-rate pricing for granted. When you consider backups for your cloud-
based apps and data refreshes, new deployments and other day-to-day
operations with your applications, you may spend money in unanticipated ways.
Cloud security: Use what you know
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Security always needs to be part of a cloud implementation plan. Private

In this e-guide cloud challenges are similar to those in existing virtualization projects, though,
so most enterprises shouldn't be surprised by the requirements. But hybrid and
Introduction public cloud models change security measures somewhat.
Private cloud classroom Private clouds can draw on your IT group's traditional security models, using
classic network segmentation techniques, such as virtual local area networks,
firewalling, and intrusion detection and prevention systems. Newer cloud
technologies, such as VMware's vCloud Director, propose new ways of
implementing firewalling and network isolation. While they aim to improve an IT
staff's efficiency, these new techniques can run afoul of existing security and
networking practices that establish policies, procedures and methodologies for
securing environments. Getting these teams involved early in the process of
developing a cloud is key for proper adoption.
content Hybrid clouds present particular data access challenges. In response, some
cloud deployments adopt fairly paranoid stances toward commercial clouds.
They generally assume that you cannot trust the security of the network
between an internal data center and a commercial cloud host, nor can you trust
the security of the network between two virtual machines in a commercial cloud.
They also often assume that you cannot trust the security of a cloud's
underlying storage or storage network.
There are solutions to these problems, which are sometimes included in a cloud
product or underlying virtualization technology. VMware, for example, offers
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virtual private networking capabilities as part of its vShield suite of products. The
In this e-guide VMsafe application programming interface and other products, such as VMware
vShield or Altor Networks' virtual security suite, can achieve virtual firewalling.
Introduction But all these products add cost, staff training, and support time to a hybrid or
public cloud deployment. So you need to consider whether you have personally
Private cloud classroom identifiable information or just data that is crucial to your business, such as a
customer list. Different kinds of data dictate greater or lesser degrees of
Private cloud planning security.
Four network latency gotchas of private

cloud
Cloud-enabling the wrong VM could have some serious consequences. Make
content
one of these mistakes and you could sabotage your cloud efficiency.
If you believe the hype of virtualization platform vendors, you’d think the cloud is
a perfect host for every virtual machine. Whether you’re connecting local and
remote assets using VMware vCloud Connector or clicking the “Create Cloud”
button in Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2012, moving VMs
to a cloud has never been easier.
But the easy option isn’t always the best option. Before pushing any VMs to the
cloud, IT admins need to determine whether it even makes sense. And such
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decisions mirror those of server virtualization -- determining what to move from

In this e-guide physical to virtual (P2V). With cloud, P2V has become V2C (virtual to cloud).
Introduction Network latency: The efficiency killer

When determining whether a VM is a good match for the cloud, network latency
Private cloud classroom becomes a major concern and stands to be the biggest cloud efficiency killer.
Here are the top four network latency “gotchas” to keep in mind when you’re
making your next V2C decision.
Gotcha #1: Your Internet connection. Offloading the processing of VM

Private cloud construction activities to a cloud provider can free up in-house resources. However, your
network connection can create a bottleneck when trying to relay activity results
Private cloud tools 4 back to the data center.
Getting more PRO+ essential Keep in mind the amount of throughput each VM needs when building network
content capacity between your data center and the Internet. Network measurement
tools are a must to ensure efficiency.
Gotcha #2: Your traffic patterns.
A slow Internet connection becomes less critical when network traffic occurs
mostly between colocated VMs.
In addition to measuring the aggregate network requirements of each cloud

candidate, you also need to quantify what VMs are communicating with..
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Obtaining this level of detail for a VM’s network usage used to be

In this e-guide challenging. Current network flow monitoring technologiessuch as NetFlow,
sFlow, J-Flow, and IPFIX, to name a few, can help. Flow monitoring delivers the
Introduction added level of detail that helps admins isolate inside-the-cloud traffic from that
which will later be separated by the Internet.
Until recently, tools for measuring network flows were available only for big,
enterprise customers with expensive equipment. Affordable, commercial flow
monitoring tools are now available for even micro-IT shops. A handful of open
source monitoring tools are an option for those on a limited budget.
Gotcha #3: Your usage patterns.While it may seem obvious, a business user
Private cloud tools 4 and usage patterns can also affect a cloud-connected network. For example,
hosted file services and cloud-based apps are becoming more prominent with
Getting more PRO+ essential the rise Microsoft Office 365 and Google Apps for Business.
content
While office applications in the cloud offload the administration of complex
services, they do so by relocating storage into the cloud. Highly distributed
businesses that aren’t structured around a brick-and-mortar office infrastructure
are particularly suited for moving these services to a public cloud.
On the other hand, businesses with well-established data centers and a central
location may want to think otherwise. The cost and time needed to upload and
download documents from a cloud service will likely outweigh the benefits.
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Gotcha #4: Your provider-to-provider networking. Companies hoping to

In this e-guide completely eliminate the risk of a cloud provider outage affecting IT operations
are interested in full-provider high availability.
Introduction
This cloud-to-cloud network latency can be the most challenging to characterize
Private cloud classroom prior to implementation. There simply aren’t effective tools to characterize
provider-to-provider throughput metrics short of throwing a few servers in each
location and monitoring the traffic. Notwithstanding, IT shops with extreme high-
availability requirements shouldn’t neglect network monitoring for monitoring
connections among providers.
Resource-bound becomes network-bound
Private cloud tools 4 IT’s glacial shift from server virtualization to a cloud-friendly architecture has
changed where bottlenecks exist. Early virtualization environments were largely
Getting more PRO+ essential resource bound, suffering from shortfalls in processor, memory and storage
content capacity but generally were well connected via the network.
While the cloud effectively removes resource boundaries, it does so at the cost
of pushing that processing back to local equipment. As a result, an investment
in network monitoring technology is a good bet for future cloud builds.
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In this e-guide To cloud or not to cloud: What’s your cloud

migration strategy
Introduction
Migrating to the cloud is often touted as a no-brainer. But not all workloads
benefit from the move, so hammer out a solid cloud migration strategy.
Over the past decade, cloud services have rapidly become one of the most
Private cloud planning defining technologies in IT. The hype surrounding cloud services may make it
seem like all of an organization's resources should be migrated to the
Private cloud construction cloud immediately. There is no denying that, in certain cases, cloud services
can be tremendously beneficial. In others, however, a cloud migration probably
Private cloud tools 4 doesn't make sense.
Organizations need to take a hard look at their existing investments in

infrastructure -- from hardware to application portfolios to network architecture
content
and beyond -- to determine if a move will be beneficial.
Some of the migration questions are technical, such as whether a given

application can perform adequately in the cloud; some questions will involve
nontechnical, budgetary issues, such as whether a cloud migration is cost-
effective given current investments in infrastructure.
Here we explore factors that should guide a cloud migration strategy and help
determine whether to move on-premises workloads to the cloud.
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One of the first considerations is an organization's existing data center

In this e-guide investment. Despite technologies such as server virtualization, there are real
costs associated with deploying on-premises servers. There are not only
Introduction licensing costs involved, but also costs associated with hardware resource
consumption and support infrastructure. As such, there is almost always a
Private cloud classroom significant investment associated with an on-premises server. Outsourcing a
server's data and/or functionality to the cloud may mean abandoning your on-
Private cloud planning premises investment unless an on-premises server can be repurposed.
Although this rip-and-replace approach to cloud migrations may not make

financial sense for organizations that have a large investment in an on-premises
data center, an organization can still benefit from migrating certain on-premises
resources to the cloud.
Getting more PRO+ essential No matter how good it is, any server hardware eventually becomes obsolete.
content Enterprise-class organizations have traditionally coped with this expected
obsolescence by adopting a hardware lifecycle policy.
An organization, for example, might choose to retire servers after five years.
That being said, an organization could integrate a cloud services roadmap into
its hardware lifecycle policy. Doing so allows IT teams to migrate on-premises
resources to the cloud instead of moving them to newer hardware.
The prospect of using cloud services is often particularly attractive for smaller
organizations and startups. In the case of a smaller organization, the use of
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cloud services provides access to enterprise-class hardware and fault-tolerant

In this e-guide features that would otherwise be unaffordable. Similarly, startups can benefit
from cloud services because they can get their operations running quickly
Introduction without having to invest in on-premises data center resources.
Private cloud classroom Application requirements for a cloud migration
In the case of application servers, administrators must consider whether the

application can function in the cloud. Likewise, the application's performance
must be considered.
Compatibility usually isn't a big problem for newer applications that run on top of
Private cloud tools 4 modern operating systems. It is also easy to assume that performance won't be
an issue for such applications because most cloud providers will allow hardware
resources to be allocated to hosted servers on an as-needed basis. However,
content
two major considerations must be taken into account for such applications.
The first is performance. Even though you can provision the hosted application
server with nearly unlimited compute and memory resources, Internet
bandwidth may impede application performance. It does little good to have a
high-performance hosted application server if Internet bandwidth limitations
stand in the way of a good user experience.
The second consideration is application portability. Although it is often easy to

migrate a virtualized application server to the cloud, the application might have
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external dependencies that rule out (or greatly complicate) a cloud migration.
In this e-guide For example, the application might have an Active Directory dependency or
require access to an on-premises SQL server database.
Introduction
For older applications that run on legacy operating systems, a move to the cloud
Private cloud classroom may not be an option. Lab testing is the only way to know how an application
will behave in a cloud environment. Testing helps determine the steps that are
involved in moving the app there.
Another consideration for moving application servers to the cloud is hardware

Private cloud construction scalability. Some IT analysts have suggested that cloud services are ideal for
hosting hardware-intensive workloads because cloud services generally offer
Private cloud tools 4 nearly unlimited scalability. While a cloud service provider can usually scale its
offerings to meet even the most demanding workloads, this scalability comes at
Getting more PRO+ essential a price.
content
Infrastructure as a Service providers such as Microsoft and Amazon Web
Services charge customers a resource consumption-based monthly fee. As
such, a cloud-based high-performance computing environment can become
cost-prohibitive. Recently a client told me, for example, that it costs more than
$10,000 per month to operate a single high-performance application in the
cloud. The bulk of the cost is due to CPU and disk I/O consumption.
Virtualization will ease a cloud migration
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Regardless of organizational size, one of the considerations is whether the

In this e-guide workloads targeted for cloud migration have been virtualized. In some cases, it's
much easier to move workloads to the cloud if on-premises servers have
Introduction already been virtualized. In fact, some providers will allow an organization to
port virtual machines directly to the cloud. If on-premises servers have not been
Private cloud classroom virtualized, a migration to the cloud is likely still possible, but the process may
involve more work.
Cloud infrastructure considerations
Private cloud construction Another factor to consider is the on-premises network. If an organization plans
to keep resources on-premises (even temporarily), the cloud network must
Private cloud tools 4 function as an extension of the on-premises Active Directory forest. This means
that the organization will typically have to deploy cloud-based domain
Getting more PRO+ essential controllers, DNS servers and possibly DHCP servers.
content
More importantly, the organization will have to figure out how to establish a
secure communications path between the cloud-based virtual network and the
on-premises network.
This requirement usually isn't a deal-breaker for organizations with an existing

on-premises network, but it does mean that a significant amount of planning
may be required before beginning the migration process.
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As an organization contemplates the risks and benefits of cloud migration, it is

In this e-guide important to keep in mind that cloud migrations are not an all-or-nothing
proposition. Organizations do not have to go "all in" with cloud migrations. In
Introduction most cases, it will make sense to move certain services to the cloud while
continuing to operate others on-premises.

How a cloud migration affects existing data
Private cloud construction center infrastructure
When preparing for a cloud migration, don't overlook configuration
management, network implications or storage, or the move may not be worth
the cost.
content Preparing for a move to the cloud includes vital steps, such as analyzing
technical requirements and implementing security protocols.
However, even with the best planning, you can still encounter obstacles. Once
you've prepped for a cloud migration project, you need to explore the impact on
data center configuration management, networks and storage.
The hybrid cloud puzzle involves several complex pieces, but they are not
insurmountable problems. Rather, these problems benefit from new, better
solutions that arise every month. If you and your organization take the
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nontechnical messages of cloud computing -- namely centralization and

In this e-guide automation -- to heart, you will find yourself becoming more flexible and more
able to take advantage of solutions as they emerge and, most likely, save
Introduction money in the process.
Private cloud classroom Building service catalogs, templates to automate configuration

management

A primary benefit of public clouds is the ability to dynamically scale systems and
resources to match workloads. This saves money because you don't need to
Private cloud construction size your system for a yearly peak workload, just for today's workload. But to
rapidly scale systems, staff will need to build and maintain good virtual machine
Private cloud tools 4 templates to use with these tools. They will also likely need to explore some
automated configuration management.
content
Implementing configuration management in the form of tools like Chef and
Puppet isn't simple. It opens the door to extreme levels of automation and
change control, which saves staff time, prevents outages and assists with
security by keeping all OS configurations in sync. As with authentication, you
need to consider your goals so that you can properly design these systems to
be robust during site outages. Staff also may need training, and you may need
to build additional infrastructure -- such as separate configuration repositories
and servers, firewall rules, etc. -- to support these new tools.
Retrofitting networking to your cloud migration project
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Networking is central to what makes the cloud possible. A successful hybrid

In this e-guide cloud implementation is dependent on good networking practices, excellent and
comprehensive monitoring and rapid troubleshooting. Adding reliable and
Introduction available connectivity to multiple sites, load balancing, dynamic scaling and
security requires staff time and considerable skill.
Moving workloads out of a data center to a public cloud can stress an
organization's external network connections. You may choose to make a single
network connection redundant to help guarantee that a problem with one
provider doesn't take all your company's products offline. These tasks aren't
simple and need to be planned carefully with a network engineering team. It
also is important that the application and system administrators work together
with the network engineers for sizing and troubleshooting.
Getting more PRO+ essential More traffic on network connections may mean more traffic through firewalls,
content intrusion-detection devices and intrusion-prevention devices that were never
sized for that amount of traffic.
Scaling them up and adding redundancy is a must to prevent single points of

failure from taking hybrid cloud applications offline. Likewise, intrusion detection
and prevention systems need to be configured so that communications from
white-listed remote hosts aren't interrupted.
Implementing service management
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A robust monitoring technology indicates the state and performance of every

In this e-guide system in your data center. But as you move to the cloud, are these systems
extensible, and will they work for the cloud? Perhaps. The technologies for on-
Introduction premises virtual environments may work for public cloud environments as well.
Other considerations might emerge, such as disaster recovery. If the primary
Private cloud classroom site is down, how can you manage and monitor systems? Perhaps you choose
to replicate your management services as well, or create a secondary
Private cloud planning monitoring system at the alternate site.
Real-time performance metrics are also important, and access to them depends
on the cloud provider you choose. Performance metrics ensure that technical
staff can troubleshoot a problem, help inform the automatic scaling features of
hybrid clouds and are often used for chargeback, billing and reporting. Using a
monitoring tool or service that can automatically trigger scaling up or down is a
Getting more PRO+ essential key part of the move toward a hybrid cloud, but it is often overlooked until later
content in the process. A chargeback process that is aware of up-to-the-minute charges
from cloud providers is also a must.
Choose tools with good programming interfaces and have IT staff that can
configure and manage those tools and integrate them into your company's
business processes.
Good service management techniques don't stop once a service is partially or

completely in the cloud. Adapting internal configuration management databases
and other tools to the cloud is important. Some of this work is strictly process-
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oriented, rather than technological, though there are likely good integration
In this e-guide possibilities. In some cases, tracking certain assets in a traditional configuration
management database is impossible, given the dynamic nature of the cloud.
Introduction
Moving from a private cloud to a hybrid cloud requires planning and
Private cloud classroom implementation work throughout a data center. Basic assumptions that have
built up over decades need to be rethought, tools need to be re-evaluated and
all parts of an infrastructure likely need to be changed in a careful way. Having
clear goals in mind informs much of this work, which is often about
communication just as it is about technical implementation.
Don't ignore storage and backup
In the race to the cloud, IT management often overlooks storage and backup
needs. But with good communication of business requirements and solid work
content
on technical requirements, these problems can be mitigated.
First, not all cloud storage is the same. Consider that most on-premises storage
is sized in two ways: performance and price per gigabyte. But in the cloud you
often see only one fee: price per gigabyte. When you select a public cloud
provider, inquire about performance options. Many inexpensive-seeming
providers use slower SATA disk arrays to drive down costs. But if your
applications require additional performance, you may find yourself without
options. Many providers have begun to add service tiers that guarantee certain
levels of storage performance, and selecting a provider that does so allows you
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to save money where performance isn't necessary but spend money selectively
In this e-guide to make performance-sensitive applications work well. Choosing a provider that
allows you to move dynamically between these tiers may be of interest,
Introduction especially as unanticipated performance requirements crop up.
Private cloud classroom Second, backup needs are often overlooked with hybrid clouds. First, do you
plan to use your legacy system to back up cloud-based virtual machines? How
will that affect network traffic? Just as important, how will that affect your bill, as
most providers charge fees per gigabyte of traffic moved off the network?
Perhaps the cloud provider offers backup solutions internally that are cost-
effective but will require different processes and procedures for restoring data
than your already-established systems. You may also want to consider enabling
encryption for backups, especially for third-party shared services.
Getting more PRO+ essential Encryption of backups is not a simple thing and will require procedural changes
content to securely store encryption keys, as well as testing of restores and encryption
key changes.
Columbia Sportswear’s move from

virtualization to private cloud computing
Columbia Sportswear parlayed server virtualization into a private cloud. Along
the way, it found that its management tools needed serious rethinking.
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LAS VEGAS -- Companies that have only begun to virtualize may not have
In this e-guide cloud computing on their priority list, but IT shops that use virtualization as a
path to private cloud find it to be an effective way to serve their business needs.
Introduction
Two years ago, building a private cloud was hardly the first IT priority for Mike
Private cloud classroom Leeper, Columbia Sportswear's director of global technology. But as his team
stepped up its server virtualization levels, the project gave way to a cloud
migration.
In 2009, Portland, Ore.-based Columbia Sportswear, an outdoor apparel

Private cloud construction company, was somewhat of a laggard in virtualization, let alone in building a
cloud. It was focused on creating its first disaster recovery (DR) strategy and
Private cloud tools 4 was only about 18% to 20% virtualized, according to Leeper.
"We started evaluating the basic concepts of virtualization and realized that was
content
how we were going to do what we needed to do -- and do it repetitively over
time," Leeper said during the session, Lessons Learned on the Road from
Server Virtualization to Private Cloud, at Interop last week.
The company has come a long way since then. Strategic choices along the way
-- both technology and personnel related -- helped speed the transition from
virtualization to public cloud computing.
The ERP tipping point
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In less than a year, Columbia Sportswear progressed from a 20% virtualized

In this e-guide environment to one that was more than 90% virtualized.
Introduction "We virtualized everything -- from test and dev and sandboxy things to big-boy,
tier-one applications," Leeper said.
Still, the environment was hardly a private cloud. There were no management
tools layered on top to provide automation, nor was there standardization,
a self-service catalog for users or a chargeback system.
Private cloud construction The tipping point came with the purchase of a SAP enterprise resource
planning (ERP) system, which Columbia historically ran on IBM Power
Private cloud tools 4 hardware. With only three retirement-age staffers with iSeries knowledge,
Leeper needed to modernize hardware.
Getting more PRO+ essential With that, Columbia bought a VCE Vblock converged infrastructure to run the
content
new ERP system and to provide a path to a true private cloud environment, he
said.
IBM Power hardware wasn't the only casualty; many of the company's
infrastructure management tools were dumped on the road to the private cloud.
"We kept trying to use our legacy tools to manage virtualized workloads, but
those tools just don't work," Leeper said. "You start looking at performance
metrics from physical-layer hardware, and virtualized workloads are spoofing
the heck out of that."
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Other than Microsoft Operations Manager for Windows and applications, all
In this e-guide management tools have been replaced with virtualization-based tools, such as
VMware vCenter Operations, vCloud Director and third-party reporting tools.
Introduction
Roadblocks to the cloud
As is often the case with cloud projects, people, not technology, are roadblocks
to success. Developers who had specific performance requirements were
hesitant to work with virtualized applications. They were also concerned about
licensing restrictions, where companies like Oracle Corp. have stringent rules
Private cloud construction about support for virtualized apps on hypervisors. Leeper had to prove out the
case for a private cloud with these naysayers, incrementally.
"To convince them, we gave them every resource they asked for to get up and
running, with the notion that we were going to show them exactly what they
content
were consuming," he said.
By taking an incremental approach and creating buy-in over time, Leeper got
key stakeholders enthused about the cloud.
There was also opposition to service catalogs. Users wanted the kind of
customization they had enjoyed under the pre-cloud regime, but Leeper made it
clear there was a new sheriff in town.
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"Everyone wanted their own configuration of what their platform looked like: 'this
In this e-guide kind of compute, this kind of memory, this kind of storage layout.' We put a stop
to that," he said. "We have eight profiles you can use; that's it."
Introduction
Columbia Sportswear has continued to virtualize and build its cloud
Private cloud classroom environment, and it has overhauled its hardware and management to get there.
Ultimately, the purpose of the project is to enable the business goals of the
company.
Private cloud construction "When a designer comes up with a new product, we have an infrastructure that
can rapidly deploy at scale and allow the business to operate as fast as they
Private cloud tools 4 want," Leeper said. "The heavy lifting of the work we have done in the past 18
months is what has gotten us to that point."

content
Private Cloud as a Service delivers

OpenStack, ensures governance
SaaS-based private clouds give enterprises benefits of cloud -- faster
development times and self-service portals -- without the management angst.
Enterprises wary of moving mission-critical data off-premises to a public cloud

provider such as Amazon may find an OpenStack private cloud fits the bill.
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But private clouds can be costlier than public clouds, and relatively few IT
In this e-guide employees have OpenStack skills.
Introduction "We had quite a bit of developer need for self-service; we were spending quite a
bit of time on deploying images for developers and just needed to get out of that
Private cloud classroom for my team," said Joe Specht, senior director of system infrastructure at
Seattle-based Tableau Software.

Tableau adopted Metacloud's "Private Cloud as a Service" product a little more
than a year ago to help out.
"We were probably averaging three days to deploy an image for dev, and now
Private cloud tools 4 they can do it in mere seconds," he said.
Metacloud's service, an OpenStack-based software called Carbon|OS, is akin to

Getting more PRO+ essential using a Software as a Service (SaaS) model to deliver private cloud. This
content
approach appealed to Tableau, which has a lot of internal code systems the
company's IT teams "do not want to exit the building," Specht added.
With Private Cloud as a Service, companies can access some benefits of public
cloud by having engineering and operations teams supplement in-house staff's
capacity without moving off-premises or turning over control. And with
OpenStack's steep learning curve, this type of arrangement could increase
efficiency.
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Tableau also considered providers that offer OpenStack distributions or

In this e-guide management, such as Mirantis Inc., Piston Cloud Computing and Rackspace --
as well as VMware's vCloud Director, which Specht considers too costly.
Introduction
"We didn't have enough talent on the team to write an OpenStack
Private cloud classroom implementation," Specht said. "It boiled down to Metacloud [being] willing to
write tier-one support -- meaning the first call, the first alert, went to their team
for anything in our OpenStack environment."
OpenStack's steep learning curve is considered an elephant in the room and a

Private cloud construction barrier to use in production environments, according to Torsten Volk, research
director of systems management and former senior IT industry analyst at
Private cloud tools 4 Boulder, Colo.-based Enterprise Management Associates.
"[Metacloud is] talking to companies that want OpenStack as the real deal," Volk
content
said. "There is so much hype around OpenStack currently … but to use it in
production? It's really not production-ready."
Volk questions OpenStack's security and performance, as well as the ability to

ensure service-level agreements and to receive updates without applications
going down.
Specht, however, has been satisfied with the service so far -- thanks partly to
Metacloud's support.
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"There's been a couple times when it's been really good to have somebody who
In this e-guide knows the ins and outs of OpenStack environment, where I don't think that even
if my team had deployed it and had been running it for a year, we would have
Introduction gotten solutions nearly as fast as they did," Specht said.
Private cloud classroom Governance in a box: It's a matter of trust
Companies that need to keep data in-house but don't have IT pros with cloud
skills can still build private clouds, thanks to plug-and-play software.
Private cloud construction A lack of IT resources, plus governance and data-security concerns, pushed
U.K.-based Amity Financial Solutions toward a plug-and-play, cloud-in-a-box
Private cloud tools 4 approach from AppLayer, said Nick Chadbourne, CEO of Amity.
"As a financial services company, there's a huge amount of regulations

Getting more PRO+ essential assigned," Chadbourne said. Before using London-based AppLayer, Amity
content
accessed a variety of SaaS-based applications, such as customer relationship
management and email, from different interfaces. "We wanted to consolidate
them all in one place," he added, "so we use AppLayer as the conduit between
suppliers."
AppLayer's "industry clouds," or clouds for specific verticals like finance, pull
together all software and enterprise uses and adds an orchestration layer that
allows end users to download apps as needed through a self-service portal.
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When a customer buys AppLayer's private cloud-in-a-box, which is bound to

In this e-guide IBM hardware and the IBM Flex System, it simply plugs it in -- all software
licenses and security are built in.
Introduction
And being able to plug in a new system, turn it on and allow end users to
Private cloud classroom choose their apps meant Amity didn't have to hire someone to manage it all
directly.

"It feels more secure giving it to [AppLayer] than keeping it in-house,"
Chadbourne added. And having a single vendor manage all software licenses
Private cloud construction and remain up to date on ever-changing compliance regulations meant Amity's
developers could focus on creating products to keep the company competitive.
"We needed to make sure that wherever the data was held -- and however it
was being transferred -- was in our compliance rules," he added. "This gave us
content
more of an audit process for compliance."
Virtual private clouds offer customers SLA

security
Virtual private clouds can get the best of both the public and private cloud
worlds, some enterprises say.
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As public cloud SLAs take heat from analysts, some enterprises say virtual
In this e-guide private clouds offer the right mix of cloud agility and managed services
reliability.
Introduction
A virtual private cloud (VPC) offers on-demand Infrastructure as a
Private cloud classroom Service (IaaS) external to a customer's data center, but it runs on a dedicated
infrastructure, rather than a multi-tenant infrastructure.

It is usually connected to each customer using a virtual private network (VPN) or
another direct network connection, rather than the public Internet.
As such, a virtual private cloud can offer higher service-level agreements
Private cloud tools 4 (SLAs) than public clouds, contracting for up to 100% uptime in some cases.
Finding the SLA that's just right

content Some purists might consider this managed hosting rather than cloud computing,
but these distinctions aren't relevant to customers such as Taylor Erickson, vice
president of IT at Lanx Inc., a company that specializes in spinal care and
surgical products in Bloomfield, Colo.
Lanx moved its SAP application and Active Directory to a virtual private cloud
hosted by Virtustream Inc., last fall. Virtustream's xStream virtual private cloud
gives the company a five-nines (99.999%) uptime SLA. Penalties start at
99.949% uptime, and were negotiated by Lanx with the help of an analyst firm
to review the contract, Erickson said.
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With the choice between Virtustream's xStream VPC and a public cloud
In this e-guide provider Erickson declined to name, the virtual private cloud SLA was just one
of the reasons the company chose Virtustream.
Introduction
In fact, enterprise managed hosting providers such as ViaWest and
Private cloud classroom Hosting.com tend to offer 100% uptime SLAs , but Virtustream's demonstrated
expertise at hosting SAP appealed to Lanx, as did Virtustream's cost, which can
be as low as half that of such services.
And 99.999% uptime was still more than the company might have been able to
Private cloud construction provide on its own. For example, a week after the company's migration, an air
conditioning unit in Lanx's building failed, and the server room temperature
Private cloud tools 4 soared to 98 degrees.
"But our mission-critical SAP was up and going because we'd migrated to a
content
cloud provider," Erickson said.
Virtual private cloud a happy medium between public and private cloud
Other users say public cloud, which tends to be the lowest-cost and most elastic
of all service types, has undeniable appeal, but that using it requires very
careful planning.
"You can never take [public cloud] off the table," said Dave Robbins, senior vice
president and CIO of Ellie Mae, maker of an electronic loan origination platform
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and based in Pleasanton, Calif. "But if you're going to do it, what's your
In this e-guide architecture and strategy to do it?"
Introduction Just carving out public cloud IaaS space without respect for regional diversity or
how to get an ecosystem in place to exploit application delivery can be very low
Private cloud classroom cost, but it's very low value as well, according to Robbins.
"It's a more complicated picture than most people think through," he said. "You
have to look at the entire architecture."
Private cloud construction In the meantime, Ellie Mae has found a happy medium in a Tier 3 Inc., virtual
private cloud, tied in to an on-premise FlexPod environment that uses Cloupia,
Private cloud tools 4 now owned by Cisco Systems Inc.
Space on Tier 3's infrastructure was used by the company last year as it
Getting more PRO+ essential migrated from an older infrastructure to the new one built on FlexPods, and
content
simultaneously launched new products and services. Some production
applications ran in Tier 3 as this process took place, and the company also uses
Tier 3's VPC for QA and test systems.
VPCs bridge a disconnect between public cloud SLAs and enterprise

expectations
Some SLAs are cryptic, but what's really more of a problem is the typical
enterprise customer's disconnect in expectation from what they normally get
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from hosting providers and managed service providers and what they're going
In this e-guide to get from public cloud, said James Staten, analyst with Forrester Research.
Introduction "We're all used to pushing a hoster over a barrel to get what we want. We get
that, but they custom configure the environment just for us and they sign us up
Private cloud classroom for a three-year commitment," he said.
Customers pursuing public cloud services tend not to want to be locked in to

such commitments, and in some cases using a standardized service is going to
be preferable to one custom-managed for the user, Staten said. But in these
Private cloud construction cases, the SLA is going to be lower.

content
Blueprints for moving from virtualization to the private cloud model
Once a company decides to build a private cloud, the hard part starts -- but
beginning with an existing virtualized IT environment puts you one step ahead.
Selecting a cloud vendor, cloud stack, VM and the right tools will set up
enterprises for a smooth transition to private cloud. Along the way, IT pros,
CEOs and others involved in the migration should keep in mind their goals for
the move and understand how it'll affect the company long-term.
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In this e-guide First five steps to building a private cloud

environment
Introduction
When building a private cloud, IT teams must start at the beginning -- define
what private cloud will mean to the organization -- before proceeding.
Building a private cloud isn't a quick process. It starts with understanding

Private cloud planning expectations and defining cloud computing in your environment, then building
on the model you've created. Enterprise IT must include the entire organization,
Private cloud construction its processes and its technologies when constructing a private cloud.
Here are the first five steps you need to take to conceive, build and maintain a
private cloud within your enterprise.
Getting more PRO+ essential 1. Decide what you want out of a cloud
content
Journeying to the cloud is a huge trend in IT. The problem is that the term
"cloud computing" means something different to everyone. To start your
journey, your organization needs to be realistic about its cloud computing goals.
Many organizations find themselves looking toward private clouds only after
they've realized the promises of virtualization, like data center consolidation,
power savings and cost savings over physical hardware.
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Others find themselves wanting to take virtualization to the next level, with
In this e-guide standardization and automation as part of their IT processes.
Introduction But few organizations are ready to work on organizational changes, tackling the
harder "people problems" that traditional IT has fostered, such as silos,
Private cloud classroom duplication of services, security and management of services. These are not
usually technical problems but run roughshod over organizational boundaries
and long-standing political domains.
And there are many misconceptions about the term "cloud," including an
Private cloud construction overabundance of differing definitions. One common misconception is that
private clouds are completely based in virtualization. Even though virtualization
Private cloud tools 4 usually plays a major role in a private cloud deployment, a private cloud can
also just mean a shared infrastructure. Take, for example, Google's Gmail or
Getting more PRO+ essential Microsoft's SkyDrive. Both are public cloud services that don't rely much on
content virtualization. Instead, massive amounts of physical hardware are in use behind
the scenes.
The same is true of a private cloud for your organization, in which a shared
service is created to replace many different duplicate services, and the use of
virtualization is evaluated only as part of that service's implementation. For
example, a shared file server service might replace dozens of departmental file
servers, and it might be implemented with physical hardware because of the
incompatibility between VMware vMotion and Microsoft Cluster Service.
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2. Have realistic expectations of the journey -- and the cloud

In this e-guide
You should expect that there cannot be true self-service IT within your
Introduction organization. IT departments have spent years wrapping process and procedure
around the act of creating and managing servers, usually with good reason.
Private cloud classroom Often these processes are responsible for monitoring systems, determining
sizing and dependencies, documenting system designs and
responsibilities, handling licensing and more.
Allowing any end user to provision a server or service without approval

Private cloud construction mechanisms in place might be appropriate for certain lab or test-and-
development environments, but in a production IT environment it is a quick path
Private cloud tools 4 to chaos, sprawl and outages. However, it is reasonable to expect much of the
provisioning process can be automated and standardized through the use of
Getting more PRO+ essential workflow tools and approval mechanisms, like those found as part of Embotics'
content V-Commander or enStratus Networks' offerings.
Expect the journey to the cloud to be less about technological challenges and
more about personnel challenges, as processes are torn down and recreated,
routine tasks automated and standardization championed. An IT department
that is heavy-handed and unresponsive to users' needs may not be in the right
place to start rethinking itself and its work. Similarly, an IT department that is
overworked may not have enough free time to pursue cloud solutions, despite
the time savings the cloud would provide.
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It is very important that management prioritizes IT work appropriately and backs

In this e-guide up the IT department in the face of complaints about delays in other work due to
the focus on cloud computing.
Introduction
Finally, all levels of management, including human resources, will need to
Private cloud classroom support a transition to the cloud. Not only will all facets of the organization see
delays as IT works to improve itself, but IT workers whose primary jobs consist
of the tasks being automated might also consider themselves targets for layoffs
and may actively undermine the process. Plan for personnel issues and, from
the beginning, communicate to staff that they are valuable and these efforts are
intended to free them to do more interesting, more productive work for the
organization.
3. Understand enterprise workloads and services
content
Working toward a private cloud model is difficult when you don't understand the
services on which your organization relies. Documentation is key; without it the
relationships among systems are hard to decipher, service-level
agreements are unknown and it's easy to make false assumptions. The needs
of the people using these services should also be documented so that new
cloud services can be built to meet those needs. This is especially true when
centralizing duplicate services within an organization. There was a reason a
department built its own infrastructure instead of using shared services; find out
the reason to get their buy-in and avoid conflicts.
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Documentation also lends itself to standardization, because a standard that

In this e-guide does not account for all needs and system design requirements will quickly
have exceptions. Performance information is also crucial to moving toward
Introduction shared infrastructure and cloud-based applications. A year or more of historical
performance data, as high resolution as is practical, can be very helpful for
Private cloud classroom determining capacity needs and system sizing.
4. Get on the path to virtualization

While it isn't required that a private cloud be based on virtualization, it is the

Private cloud construction common model. Virtualization usually drives certain knowledge and behaviors
within organizations. For example, most virtualization software requires
Private cloud tools 4 centralized storage. That same centralized storage will be a building block for a
private cloud, so the knowledge gained in implementing virtualization is very
Getting more PRO+ essential beneficial to private clouds.
content
Likewise, virtualization is usually quite disruptive to data center networks. At the
very least, it can turn static traffic patterns into dynamic ones.
The move toward shared computing models and cloud-based computing

continues that trend and increases the reliance on networks, which usually
drives up bandwidth needs.
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The dialogue started among your virtualization administrators, storage

In this e-guide administrators and network administrators as a result of planning for
virtualization will become crucial as you advance into the cloud, especially when
Introduction planning to serve remote offices and mobile users.
Private cloud classroom 5. Understand that standardization and automation go hand in hand
Automation is one of the key goals organizations have when moving to a private
cloud. However, automation is incredibly difficult without standardization. For
example, with standards for operating systems (OSes) and server builds, you
Private cloud construction can make assumptions about locations of files, sizes of file systems and
authentication mechanisms. Based on those assumptions, you can script the
Private cloud tools 4 installation of application software and middleware such as Web servers,
application servers and firewall rules.
content
Standardization can be difficult for an organization that has not practiced it. But
once you take on standardization, the time savings can be enormous.
Consider an organization that has had no standards for OSes, OS versions or

build processes. Every server is different and every operation needs special
attention. Procedures for patching or installing software differ each time, and
success rates waver because of the variations in each host. This usually has
two consequences:
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An incredible amount of staff time is spent performing routine tasks on these

In this e-guide servers, and many routine tasks, like patching security vulnerabilities, are
skipped because they are too difficult and unpredictable. Standardizing on one
Introduction or two OSes and automating the build and application deployment processes
yields massive IT productivity gains.
Once you've automated much of your environment, you can deliver self-service
portals and service catalogs. Though it is unlikely that your organization will
ever be 100% self-service-driven, many processes can be automated with
workflows; the only interactions, then, are approval processes. This allows the
IT department to focus on more important issues -- how to best support and
monitor an application or service, for instance. It also gives application admins
and developers a consistent and repeatable platform on which to build. And it
means IT operations staff can build useful, repeatable procedures for handling
Getting more PRO+ essential incidents and monitoring system alarms, instead of each server being a one-off
content exception. It may even open the door to automated responses to alarms.
These are the first five steps an enterprise needs to embark on when building a
private cloud infrastructure. But these are just the beginning.
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IT teams need to continue on the private cloud journey by putting in place

In this e-guide procedures, such as chargeback or showback, that hold business units
accountable for IT resources provisioned and consumed. And private clouds
Introduction must be carefully monitored to maintain performance and keep end users -- as
well as the CIO -- satisfied with the new direction you've taken IT.

Private cloud computing planning from
Private cloud construction concept through deployment
Building a private cloud requires strict planning, but also flexibility. Changing
technologies and attitudes will go a long way toward success.
Getting more PRO+ essential Creating a blueprint on what your company expects to get out of cloud
content computing, getting buy-in from all departments, automating IT workloads, and
transitioning to a self-service model are the initial steps in creating a private
cloud. But the journey doesn't stop there.
Let's take a look at the five final steps, including initiating chargeback, bolstering
security and monitoring cloud performance, to help you with planning so you
can create a fully functioning private cloud in your enterprise.
1. Take a look at chargeback and showback models
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As clouds form and workloads centralize, it is important for organizations to

In this e-guide keep track of resource usage and verify that resources are consumed fairly and
organizational priorities are accounted for.
Introduction
A chargeback model is one of the most powerful yet most resisted forms of
Private cloud classroom resource accounting. It can be difficult to implement chargeback in an
organization with no history of accounting for resource consumption because it
requires inventorying and justifying every server and application as it moves to
the cloud. The process itself is good for an organization; it reduces waste,
seriously curtails sprawl and puts pressure on application and system
administrators to right-size virtual machines (VMs).
Private cloud tools 4 Moving forward carefully and working creatively with management and the CFO
can yield some good solutions to budgetary issues. And care should be taken to
Getting more PRO+ essential make the chargeback process as unobtrusive and low-overhead as possible.
content
Organizations that cannot do chargeback right away can usually do showback,
when reports are generated for management to show where resources in the
cloud are being used. Showback is an excellent first step toward a real
chargeback model and is useful in the initial stages of a private cloud to set
budgets and expectations.
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Many organizations that use showback techniques treat the model almost like
In this e-guide chargeback. Specific projects and departments are assigned a dollar amount,
except the bill is never sent to the customer. It is a powerful way to track and
Introduction conserve resources, but the method can be completely foreign to developers,
application administrators and other staff members who had never needed to
Private cloud classroom justify or account for their resource use before. Care should be taken to ease
staff into these new procedures.
2. Keep everything in its proper place in a private cloud
Private cloud construction Security is always a big part of IT, and when you're moving toward the cloud, it
is a good time to reconsider your approaches to cloud security. It's also a good
Private cloud tools 4 time to consider new technologies.
While cloud computing doesn't necessarily require virtualization, the use of

content
virtualization opens the door to features that include inter-VM firewalling and
intrusion detection, agent-free antivirus scanning, and other features via APIs,
such as VMware's VMsafe. While many clouds are built using traditional
approaches to security, being open to new approaches can save time and
money while adding flexibility. For example, inter-VM firewalling and intrusion
detection may replace complex private VLAN setups, saving time and reducing
complexity.
Another type of security measure is disaster recovery (DR), with its many
products and options dedicated to maintaining off-site copies of VMs.
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Replication of storage at a VM level frees the storage administrators from

In this e-guide having to acquire and maintain costly array-based replication licenses, WAN
accelerators and Fibre Channel-to-IP converters. Replication can also be done
Introduction to disparate arrays, which usually isn't possible with array-based options. You
can easily manage recovery point objectives (RPOs) and recovery time
Private cloud classroom objectives (RTOs) at a VM level with newer cloud-oriented options.
Some products also manage failover and failback and can significantly reduce
the effort needed to maintain your organization's disaster recovery playbook by
automatically applying DR rules to new VMs. Too often new servers are added
to disaster recovery plans after implementation, leaving the servers unprotected
in the interim.
3. Know that monitoring is crucial
content
Centralization of services into a private cloud has many benefits, but it doesn't
make performance monitoring any easier. Relocating services often means an
increased dependence on network performance, which, in turn, calls for
extensive monitoring in addition to the tools that perform that task.
An increasing number of performance monitoring tools provide a single

monitoring interface that is very useful to system, storage and network
administrators who troubleshoot problems.
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E-guide
Information gleaned from application monitoring system reports are just

In this e-guide symptoms of a problem, not root causes. But it saves enormous amounts of
time to be able to rapidly tell that what looks like a network problem is actually a
Introduction storage issue.
Private cloud classroom Some performance monitoring tools also offer features that aid help desk and
support efforts. Such tools are especially useful to detect intermittent problems
and situations that do not trigger other performance alarms. In addition, the data
can rapidly pinpoint the root cause of a problem.
Private cloud construction Application monitoring is often greatly improved in a private cloud environment,
mostly because of better documentation of requirements and the inventory
Private cloud tools 4 process that organizations use to prepare for consolidation. Virtualization also
provides high-availability and fault tolerance options at the virtual machine level,
Getting more PRO+ essential as well as high availability through the application within a VM.
content
4. Perform future-proofing within IT teams
Private clouds and virtualization technology decouple organizations from many

problems that IT groups have been trying to solve for years. Centralizing,
standardizing and automating workloads and workload management tasks frees
time to do other things, such as keeping an eye on new technologies. That, in
turn, reduces reliance on external consultants and builds knowledge and
expertise in-house.
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Computer scientist Alan Kay was on to something when he said, "The best way
In this e-guide to predict the future is to invent it." That is absolutely true within organizations,
too. IT teams need open minds about how organizational goals can be
Introduction achieved. Ultimately, instead of just trying to keep up, IT staff will have more
time to do things that move the organization forward.
5. Remember, we're all in this cloud computing thing together

One of the biggest changes an organization makes on the path to private cloud
computing is internal cooperation. Years of building political and operational
Private cloud construction walls that divide parts of your organization serve only as a barrier to a cloud
adoption project.
Private clouds can be quite expensive, and you will not realize any cost- or time-
saving benefits when individual departments or divisions implement the
content
technology on their own. Retaining flexibility and meeting the needs of all
aspects of your organization are crucial as you centralize into a private cloud.
To do this, though, all parties must be open and honest about their needs, have
useful documentation and work in an iterative fashion.
Be sure to make room in a cloud plan for adjustment and change as everyone
learns how to work in the new environment. Silos within IT need to disappear.
Very often, an organization's network, storage and system administrators work

separately and become territorial about their work. The most effective
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implementations of virtualization and private clouds are supported by teams with

In this e-guide members from each of these areas, working together for the benefit of the
organization.
Introduction
Applications in the cloud often depend on networking, especially when
Private cloud classroom applications are centralized in data centers that are not local to the users.
Storage is crucial to virtualization, and decisions made by storage
administrators have long-lasting effects on service delivery, service-level
agreements, costs and time. New technologies allow great efficiencies to be
gained if IT staff members remember that it isn't their storage, their network or
their systems. The cloud and its infrastructure belong to the organization.
Private cloud tools 4 Systems can be tuned to reduce load on networks and storage. Cloud
environments have also begun to replicate in software what storage and
Getting more PRO+ essential network admins have always known as hardware features, such as firewalls
content and storage replication. The move to the cloud brings automation and
standardization, which may cause hard feelings for staff members who are
responsible for the way things are or whose jobs can be automated. Create
good avenues of communication, assign no blame and make sure the IT staff
understands that the changes will give them more important and more
interesting work to do in the cloud.
The IT landscape has changed, your organization is changing with it, and
experience with cloud computing continues to be a marketable skill.
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In this e-guide
Cloud stack comparison shopping for your
Introduction
private cloud build
Private cloud classroom Will it be OpenStack, CloudStack, Eucalyptus or another option? Save yourself
from costly mistakes by choosing the right cloud software up front.
Nearly all enterprises and a good percentage of midsize businesses believe
they'll be deploying at least some private cloud technology in the next three
years. Any business planning a cloud project quickly realizes there are many
cloud software, or "stack," offerings, from different vendors that view the future
of cloud in different ways. Picking the right cloud stack now could avoid costly
retrenchment later.
content The process of choosing a cloud stack starts by defining your private
cloud deployment model, based on what's driving the private cloud interest in
your company. Here are three common deployment models within enterprises
and midsize companies.
1. Virtual extension model. In this model, the main consideration is to

preserve existing virtualization software, with the goal of supplementing it
with cloud computing features and flexibility. With this type of model, a
company will want to pick a cloud stack that's compatible with what
they're already running.
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2. Public cloud to hybrid cloud model. These companies have already

In this e-guide committed to a public cloud provider, but they are now aiming to bring
some cloud projects back on-premises or create a hybrid cloud -- where
Introduction public cloud resources act as a backup or as offload resources to a
growing private cloud. Here, the primary goal of cloud stack selection will
Private cloud classroom be compatibility with the public cloud service that's already in use.
3. Greenfield model. In this case, the cloud consumer has no significant

virtualization or cloud commitment and is just looking for the best cloud
software for the long term. Many larger companies that have a strong
commitment to service-oriented architecture (SOA) aim to bridge cloud
and SOA into an environment in which the cloud acts as a platform and
not a virtual machine host. These companies would align with the
greenfield model.
content Cloud stack shopping: The virtualization extension model
For companies that fit the virtual extension model, a major question is, "Is your
existing IT infrastructure based on VMware?" VMware users typically select
VMware's vCloud Director as their cloud software, and this is particularly true for
those who use features like vMotion for VM migration. While other cloud stack
options can be hypervisor-agnostic, they rarely exploit VMware's capabilities
fully or easily.
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For companies without existing ties to VMware, the common cloud stack
In this e-guide choices are Citrix CloudPlatform, Eucalyptus and OpenStack. All three claim a
fair degree of hypervisor support, but the first step should always be to ensure
Introduction your cloud choice works with your current hypervisor.
Private cloud classroom The second deciding factor is the cloud software commitment of your own
primary IT vendor. If you're an HP shop, for example, you'll probably want
to think about OpenStack, since HP's cloud is built on OpenStack technology.
Cloud stack shopping: The public cloud to hybrid model

For businesses that fit the public cloud to hybrid cloud model of private cloud
Private cloud tools 4 deployment, the obvious first question is, "Which public cloud or clouds do we
currently use?"
Getting more PRO+ essential While, there seems to be a market movement toward OpenStack as the
content
framework for any new public cloud adoption, there is also growing competitive
tension between the OpenStack community and Amazon Web Services (AWS),
which may widen the gap between Amazon clouds and OpenStack software.
AWS Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) is most compatible with Citrix CloudPlatform
and Eucalyptus, while Rackspace -- one of the founders of OpenStack -- is
clearly more compatible with OpenStack.
An important foundation for members of this group is to know what cloud

services they will use beyond basic Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), such as
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OpenStack Nova or AWS EC2. AWS is adding more Platform as a Service

In this e-guide (PaaS) capabilities every year, and most of these new services aren't directly
supported in private clouds.
Introduction
Planning to create an AWS-symbiotic private cloud will mean matching your
Private cloud classroom plans to AWS services. If the goal is to migrate from public to private cloud, then
the services need only be compatible, but if the goal is hybridization, then the
services will have to be interoperable as well. This is the area where most users
of this cloud deployment model get in trouble, so be careful.
Private cloud construction Microsoft Azure users -- or users of Azure-compatible PaaS clouds from other
vendors -- can build Windows Azure private clouds and use Microsoft Service
Private cloud tools 4 Bus to hybridize public clouds with Azure. Be sure to use the latest version of
Windows Server for this process.
content
If you're running Windows Server on an IaaS cloud, you can still use the
Windows Azure Service Bus tools for hybridization if you have the latest
software running on all your internal and cloud servers.
Cloud stack shopping: The greenfield model
For companies with greenfield private clouds, the range of options is large, but
so is the risk. The first step is to establish what cloud stack platform will support
potential cloud applications. Generally, PaaS will produce the best results in
terms of cost savings and operating simplicity. It will also likely make it easier to
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create a hybrid cloud down the road. A platform-specific hypervisor, such as

In this e-guide KVM for Linux, may be the best option if candidate cloud applications all run on
one platform and if there is no PaaS platform available.
Introduction
SOA users should always explore whether a hypervisor is needed at all. SOA
Private cloud classroom applications are componentized and often provide flexibility in hosting
components on server pools. Some people have compared SOA to a
"Component as a Service" model, and SOA can be hosted on compatible
platforms with nothing more than multitasking capability. Often this provides
better performance and resource efficiency.
There are other cloud stacks available, in addition to those already mentioned.
Private cloud tools 4 Many public cloud providers and some large enterprises use the Xen Cloud
Platform for its scalability and flexibility, but it's less of a turnkey option. Hadoop
Getting more PRO+ essential is a data-model-based cloud architecture that's ideal for "big data" applications
content and expanding to other areas, but it's too specialized to be a general cloud
stack candidate.
No matter which cloud stack enterprises choose for a private cloud project, they
should be prepared to tackle other common problems with workflow distribution
and development. And the scale of a deployment can further complicate
matters. The larger your cloud deployment plan is, the more critical it will be to
explore all options and issues before making a decision. Going back on a cloud
commitment is difficult and expensive.
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In this e-guide
Five VMware tools to kick start a private
Introduction
cloud build
Private cloud classroom If you're kicking the tires on a private cloud, you might want to read up on these
five VMware tools.
The market is practically bursting with private cloud-related products and tools.
The number of options is impressive, considering many didn't know the
definition of private cloud a few years ago.
Private cloud tools 4 If you're in the market for a private cloud (and who isn't these days?) you should
familiarize yourself with these five VMware products.
content VMware vSphere and ESXi. Just as every cloud has a silver lining, every
private cloud has a hypervisor. In VMware's case, that hypervisor platform is
vSphere and it runs atop its ESXi operating system.
ESXi and vSphere provide the virtualization foundation for IT workloads running
on nearly all enterprise OSes. In addition to virtualization, vSphere provides all
the necessary capabilities for managing storage and virtual networking
resources, as well as the hardware-to-virtual layer integration needed for
physical assets.
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VMware vCenter Server. Though few companies do, it is entirely possible to

In this e-guide operate the ESXi hypervisor OS without vCenter Server. VMware vCenter
Server exists as the management umbrella for ESXi servers; it puts the "sphere"
Introduction in vSphere, so to speak.
Private cloud classroom More importantly, its native management features enable multiple ESXi servers
to cluster for recovery and load balancing. Those two capabilities constitute a
large portion of what converts simple virtualization into private cloud. When you
turn on VMware HA and DRS, VMs can failover to surviving hosts in the event
of a failure; they also load balance across hosts to ensure resources are
consumed optimally.
Private cloud tools 4 You can consider the VMware cluster as the primordial pool from which private
cloud resources are distributed to users and associated VMs. In many ways, if
Getting more PRO+ essential you have a VMware cluster of ESXi hosts, and that cluster has VMware HA and
content DRS turned on, you have the beginnings of a private cloud.
VMware vShield. The entire notion of a private cloud centers on resources.

How many resources does the cloud have? How many resources are being
consumed? How many resources will the cloud need in the future? This
"cloudiness" is what makes private cloud both confusing and powerful.
Some IT activities go against the innate “hands-off” mentality of private cloud.

And security is one of them. Security is all about protecting, controlling and
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auditing configurations and behaviors, all of which can be a challenge if the

In this e-guide security tools you use aren't specific to private cloud environments.
Introduction This is where private cloud-aware security tools like VMware vShield can help.
vShield is essentially three products under one umbrella, each designed to
Private cloud classroom handle a specific facet of private cloud security.
vShield App -- and vShield App with Data Security -- delivers a hypervisor-level
firewall; vShield Edge acts as a virtual environment gateway; and vShield
Endpoint delivers inside-the-VM endpoint security with full awareness of each
Private cloud construction VM's location within the cloud.
Private cloud tools 4 VMware vCloud Director. Not every private cloud can be completely
homogeneous. Enterprises often comprise multiple IT groups, many of which
reside in different geographic locations. Different budgets and varying business
content
goals can affect IT consolidation. As a result, a single, unified private cloud
won't work for every company.
Additionally, public clouds exist in various locations and host IT workloads that
don't make sense to run within the data center. There are several hosted
vSphere environments in the public cloud that can be connected to an
enterprise's private cloud using vCloud Director.
In these scenarios, companies should look to VMware vCloud Director. Think of

vCloud Director as a "meta" private cloud. It offers a bridge between a public
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cloud provider and private clouds that each company owns and manages. With
In this e-guide vCloud Director, enterprises can connect disparate cloud environments, giving
IT departments the flexibility to distribute resources efficiently.
Introduction
VMware vCenter Chargeback. Cost has always been a driving force behind IT
Private cloud classroom activities. Yet quantifying our activities in terms of dollars and cents has been a
notoriously difficult task. The private cloud model's resource
homogenization can actually simplify this. Rather than thinking of services by
the server, private cloud allows IT teams to think of services by the resource.
Private cloud construction VMware vCenter Chargeback can create and populate those cost models. This
cloud management tool improves cost modeling activities in private cloud. While
Private cloud tools 4 it can be cost prohibitive for some companies, vCenter Chargeback can actually
offer a solid return on investment for mature organizations.
content
Smooth your cloud transition with existing

IT investments
Previous commitments to virtualization or service-oriented architecture can help
smooth the path to cloud computing.
Nearly all enterprises say cloud computing's primary mission in their business
will be a combination of offloading peak demand and backing up critical
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applications. This explicitly demands a hybrid cloud in which applications, data

In this e-guide and users form a public/private ecosystem. Making that happen without a fork-
lift upgrade of IT can prove difficult, but there are ways to reduce the pain and
Introduction assure an orderly cloud transition.
Private cloud classroom There are two paths to a hybrid cloud in a technology sense; the
virtualization path and the service-oriented architecture (SOA) path.

If your company has made a significant commitment to either of these
technologies in your data centers, you can build on that commitment to create a
Private cloud construction hybrid cloud. In fact, the more you have invested in virtualization and/or SOA,
the less you'll likely have to spend to exploit cloud computing. If you're not
Private cloud tools 4 decisively in either camp, then you made need to take a stand in your data
center before stepping into the cloud.
content
All virtualization tools, including those from market-leader VMware, can be
extended into the cloud and hybridized with public cloud resources. The key
component in this, sometimes called a "director," assigns virtual machines
(VMs) to either your own data center or the cloud based on policies. You can
use cloud offerings like Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) or Platform as a
Service (PaaS) as long as they look like your own virtualized pool of computers,
but you will have to deal with migrating data into and out of the cloud.
At the same time, all of the popular SOA-based middleware frameworks --

including those from IBM, Microsoft and Oracle -- will support extension into
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public cloud resources. Here, you can either choose from a vendor-specific
In this e-guide cloud with PaaS functionality that's compatible with your internal SOA
middleware or host your middleware on an IaaS cloud. The same issues with
Introduction data migration, of course, will also exist here.
Private cloud classroom Choosing between virtualization and SOA
But what if you haven't made a commitment to either SOA or virtualization?

That's where the real risk of a "cloud revolution" with high startup costs comes
in. Decide whether you're a better fit for one of these technologies or a totally
Private cloud construction public cloud application model. The best choice will depend on your adoption
costs and your benefit case.
If you get most of your software from a single vendor, there's a good chance
that vendor will either offer SOA-enabling middleware or support a third-party
content
offering. Your cloud project would have to first reorient your applications to fit
your vendor's SOA model and then extend that model into the public cloud. The
"revolution risk" here will come primarily from any applications you developed
on your own or obtained from specialty vendors. If these aren't SOA-ready
(meaning that they're componentized and can be orchestrated with a workflow
engine) then you'll need to revise or replace them. Software is the "revolution
risk factor" in the SOA-centric cloud migration.
If SOA evolution won't work for you, the next option is to adopt virtualization.
Nearly any application can be made to run in a set of hosted VMs, so the real
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risk here is that your current servers may not be good candidates for
In this e-guide virtualization. If that's the case, you may have to upgrade your data center to
obtain efficient hosts for your VMs.
Introduction
In most cases, enterprises with relatively new servers won't have any problem
Private cloud classroom getting virtualization to work, but older servers come with increased risk. Your
current hardware thus becomes your revolution risk for a virtualization-centric
path to the cloud.
Other options for a cloud transition

If neither of these models work at reasonable cost points, you have two options.
Private cloud tools 4 First, you can move your entire IT operation into the cloud. This will normally
create a high transition cost, but it also displaces future capital costs, power,
facilities, etc., and the benefit case may cover your costs. If it doesn't, the
content
second option is cloud integration at the GUI level.
Many enterprises today have Web front-end software that lets them access
applications from a browser and also compose the workers' GUI using these
front-end tools. Because these tools will normally let you build a screen from
data obtained in multiple applications, you can combine cloud-hosted
applications with nearly any applications you run in your current data centers.
This GUI-integration approach can serve as the basis for a long-term strategy,
but it can also be used to help manage the transition costs to hybrid clouds for
users with a few hard-to-migrate applications.
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Cloud computing offers capital and operations cost reductions that have to be
In this e-guide traded against the cost of transitioning to cloud services.
Introduction By taking a path that manages your transition cost and risk, you'll end up with
the best cloud outcome.

Considerations for building an efficient
private cloud
The key to an agile private cloud is to choose an IaaS vendor that's compatible
Private cloud tools 4 with existing infrastructures and future cloud software use.
Getting more PRO+ essential Creating a private cloud means choosing the right cloud software. To do this,
content you need to take into account business goals as well as compatibility issues
with existing virtualization technologies and future cloud plans.
Most companies look to private cloud as an extension of public cloud

services. Hybrid cloud -- bridging at least one public cloud with at least one on-
premises private cloud -- creates a more elastic set of resources on which to run
applications. Many enterprises’ hybrid clouds will connect with Amazon EC2, so
choosing a cloud platform comes down to compatibility. Open source IaaS
vendors Eucalyptus and OpenNebula use the same management APIs as EC2,
which can facilitate the public and private cloud link.
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To make your private cloud efficient, all servers in the cloud's resource pool
In this e-guide should be compatible; servers should use the same virtualization software, run
on comparable hardware and have similar virtual machine (VM) configurations.
Introduction If a private cloud's virtualized servers are divided into small systems, resource
assignment won't be efficient and the cloud likely won’t offer any benefits over
Private cloud classroom simple virtualization.
But not all virtualization platforms are compatible with cloud software. If your
company uses only one virtualization platform, and that platform doesn’t work
with the cloud software selected or doesn't support all applications or guest
OSes, you may need to change it. Xen and its various flavors are supported by
several cloud software providers, which means there's more user experience to
draw on and more tools support Xen-based clouds. KVM and Microsoft Hyper-V
are also widely supported as is VMware, though some VMware products have
Getting more PRO+ essential little community support.
content
If you use more than one virtualization platform, choose a cloud vendor that
supports all applications and guest OSes you run as well any new ones you
expect to operate in the IaaS environment.
Why cloud apps could dictate IaaS options

A growing number of companies choose to build cloud-specific applications
instead of moving existing apps to the cloud. This gives them more cloud
software options within IaaS platforms, such as OpenStack, Eucalyptus,
OpenNebula, Red Hat and VMware, as well as specialized cloud platforms.
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Hadoop, an architecture based on a network-distributed data model, is the most

In this e-guide popular specialized cloud platform. It allows cloud apps to pull data from several
locations rather than from a central point.
Introduction
OpenStack is highly tolerant of underlying virtualization packages, OpenNebula
Private cloud classroom is less so and Eucalyptus falls somewhere in between. Matching Hadoop with
virtualization software may require additional planning and pilot testing. Hadoop
doesn't dictate the use of virtualization in its nodes, so it won't provide specific
guidance on making it work.
Private cloud construction Among the private cloud software products designed to exploit virtual data
center resources, OpenStack seems to have the most momentum. Its developer
Private cloud tools 4 activity is particularly strong in the area of creating a fusion of development and
cloud operations, or DevOps. This could be a critical benefit in creating new-for-
Getting more PRO+ essential the-cloud applications, but it will also likely enhance your ability to manage
content existing apps in private and hybrid clouds. Even businesses that elect to use a
different cloud platform may want to look at these emerging tools to see if they
support existing cloud choices.
VM resource pools are a powerful and versatile way to support IaaS models, but
they're not the only way. Other strategies that use OS-level virtualization may be
best for some applications. This is particularly true when the goal is to use a
private cloud for applications specifically mapped to the cloud.
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In this e-guide Aligning a cloud computing project with

your enterprise mission
Introduction
A poorly planned cloud project can have disastrous consequences. Don't look
for the lowest price tag; align your cloud service with your end goal.
Any technology in its early stages can have destructive preconceptions; cloud
Private cloud planning computing is no different. And one of the most destructive cloud assumptions is
that the lowest price wins.
Companies adopting a cloud model make the mistake of opting for a vendor
with the lowest price for their chosen type of cloud service. This is a big mistake;
an enterprise needs to align its mission with the best cloud service provider,
taking into account three aspects of the provider's offering: software, application
availability and data requirements. The following are three questions related to
content
these aspects that all enterprises should ask before choosing a cloud service or
provider.
Where does the cloud software come from?
The primary concern an enterprise should have of a prospective cloud

consumer is where the cloud software comes from. For an enterprise customer,
all cloud services must generate some type of Software as a Service (SaaS) for
end users to consume. So, the cloud platform resides at the bottom of the stack;
application software resides at the top.
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Cloud services such as SaaS offer applications directly to users, but all other
In this e-guide cloud services require end users build upward from the cloud platform to the
user interface. Cloud consumers must cover the cost of the necessary software
Introduction layers, including licensing and support.
Private cloud classroom Companies that have already written or plan to write their own software likely
will discover that a Platform as a Service (PaaS) provider that uses the same
OS and middleware offers a more cost-effective strategy. PaaS reduces not
only hardware costs but also platform software costs for both acquisition and
support. If PaaS does not meet the enterprise's needs, Infrastructure as a
Service (IaaS) likely will.
Private cloud tools 4 If your enterprise plans to use third-party software, you may want to find a cloud
provider that hosts some or all applications and offers SaaS directly or through
Getting more PRO+ essential a partner. Amazon Web Services and Rackspace probably host the majority of
content third-party applications available in the cloud, but check with your software
providers to see if and where they host their applications. Even if you plan to
supplement SaaS with custom software or Web-based apps, having a single
provider for both SaaS and in-house (contributed) software (running on IaaS or
PaaS) will simplify application integration and deployment.
Where SaaS applications are going to be supplemented by user-supplied

software, it's usually easier to integrate the two applications if the SaaS provider
hosts all associated software.
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This is another reason to closely examine a cloud provider's SaaS offerings to

In this e-guide determine if it simply provides the platform or its own cloud services. If the cloud
provider also offers IaaS or PaaS that's compatible with the enterprise's internal
Introduction applications, it could be the ideal package, because this facilitates management
and integration.
How mission-critical are your cloud applications?

The more mission-critical the enterprise applications are, the more resilient the
cloud must be.
Pilot cloud projects, test and development, as well as some Web-related activity
Private cloud tools 4 may not have a critical availability requirement and can often be aligned with
cloud services lacking high-availability features, which are often less expensive.
Getting more PRO+ essential However, cloud provider availability can be difficult to measure, and if you need
content
higher availability for your more critical applications, it can mean it may also be
difficult to write a meaningful service-level agreement (SLA) for cloud services.
But there are two steps you can take to match cloud provider availability with
your needs:
 Look for availability options such as multiple-service/geographic zones

that can protect you from power outages.
If no such options are available, you may be vulnerable to local power

outages, which can be a source of cloud failures.
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 Ask whether you can attach the cloud service to the enterprise's VPN or
In this e-guide virtual LAN (VLAN). Internet connections to the cloud are typically the
weakest link in terms of availability, but VPNs can be associated with
Introduction specific SLA guarantees of availability. VPN or VLAN connections often
offer higher performance.
What are your enterprise data needs and where does cloud computing fit?

If applications have modest data needs, then cloud data pricing and
performance won't likely make much difference. But as data use grows,
Private cloud construction enterprises either end up paying high cloud data storage charges or storing data
on-premises and linking that data to the cloud. The latter can create serious
Private cloud tools 4 performance bottlenecks if access connections are slow.
Cloud providers differ in their support for storage and data models. Most offer
content
block and object store, while some also offer data-distributed cloud storage
models, such as Hadoop and relational database management systems.
Applications with higher data use must be audited against available data models
to ensure they don't incur a higher cost than anticipated.
What is the long-term value of the virtualization model?
For enterprises looking to move forward with their cloud computing project, the
most important question regarding a cloud mission may involve the longer-term
value of the entire virtualization model. Current cloud applications tend to be
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drawn from server consolidation and Web-related activity, while monolithic

In this e-guide applications written for independent servers dominate.
Introduction In the future, cloud computing will drive both software providers and cloud
providers to a "component-hosting" model similar to service-oriented
Private cloud classroom architecture (SOA). This model will increase the value of PaaS and clouds
based on operating systems such as Linux or Solaris. These cloud types should
be considered as strong contenders for buyers with an eye to the future.
Clearing networking and security hurdles

of private cloud adoption
Getting more PRO+ essential Network configurations and security fears continue to keep enterprises from
content private cloud adoption. Fight these issues with the right staff and tools.
Cloud computing has changed the way IT resources are designed and
managed. Siloed IT departments have to adjust their business-as-usual
approach.
As companies seek faster, better and cheaper IT resources, hybrid clouds seem
like a natural fit. They allow IT to shift workloads between internal data centers
and a commercial public cloud provider during peak periods. For growing
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businesses with variable needs, cloud computing can reduce costs while
In this e-guide boosting project flexibility and time to market.
Introduction But the cloud still raises IT hackles. Managers worry that clouds violate
traditional departmental domains and practices, and organizational inertia can
Private cloud classroom run deep. A cloud also imposes new demands on IT infrastructure, from
networks to servers, and can strain the relationships between their respective
teams. And cloud pricing and licensing continue to pose serious challenges that
further entrench divisions and cut into cost savings.
Private cloud construction Still, cloud computing has begun to gain traction in corners of the enterprise. So
how can departments bogged down by inertia take the next step? They can
Private cloud tools 4 start by considering some of the factors that block many cloud implementations,
including their own long-standing silos. Let's look at each of these cloud
Getting more PRO+ essential computing blockers, starting with the network challenges and security fears.
content
Networking obstacles in private cloud
Cloud computing offers IT pros far greater flexibility in how it delivers services.
When a new project crops up or a workload's demands shift suddenly, IT
departments can move the work to a commercial provider or move resources
internally until the peak period elapses.
But that flexibility can also pose networking challenges. By moving applications
off-site, companies need good network connectivity between a data center site
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and a public cloud provider so users don't experience performance degradation.

In this e-guide Good connectivity comes in two forms: necessary bandwidth and low latency.
Most businesses have sufficient network connections to support email, Web
Introduction browsing and general company communication.
Private cloud classroom Adding traffic to the connection between an external cloud provider and a
company requires planning to protect the application or the original uses of the
network connection. A typical data center network -- particularly one with gigabit
networks -- has a lot of bandwidth and low latency.
Private cloud construction IT managers can also monitor internal network-equipment use to diagnose
problems. But when you move an application off-site to a cloud provider, it is no
Private cloud tools 4 longer part of your data center network. To access the application, your network
traffic must take a longer route across smaller network links and links with
Getting more PRO+ essential greater latency.
content
My PC, for example, uses three network segments, or "hops," to reach my
company's HR application and has a network latency of 0.3 milliseconds
(msec).
Moving that application to a commercial cloud provider creates additional delay

of about 20 msec to a server in a commercial cloud. It travels across network
segments of unknown size that cannot be monitored by internal IT staff. Some
applications suffer greatly when network latency is introduced, especially if parts
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of an application, such as a database, are in-house, and parts are in a

In this e-guide commercial cloud.
Introduction Most commercial cloud environments charge for network use. While charges of
10 cents or 15 cents per gigabyte of traffic aren't exorbitant, charges start to add
Private cloud classroom up, especially when most organizations take their own fast network speeds and
flat-rate pricing for granted. When you consider backups for your cloud-based
apps and data refreshes, new deployments, and other day-to-day operations
with your applications, you may spend money in unanticipated ways.
Private cloud construction Cloud security: Use what you know
Private cloud tools 4 Security always needs to be part of a cloud implementation plan. Private cloud
challenges are similar to those in existing virtualization projects, though, so
most enterprises shouldn't be surprised by the requirements. But hybrid and
content
public cloud models change security measures somewhat.
Private clouds can draw on your IT group's traditional security models using
classic network segmentation techniques, such as virtual local area networks,
firewalling, and intrusion detection and prevention systems. Newer cloud
technologies, such as VMware's vCloud Director, propose new ways of
implementing firewalling and network isolation. While they aim to improve an IT
staff's efficiency, these new techniques can run afoul of existing security and
networking practices that establish policies, procedures and methodologies for
securing environments.
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Getting these teams involved early in the process of developing a cloud is key
In this e-guide for proper adoption.
Introduction Hybrid clouds present particular data access challenges. In response, some IT
teams adopt fairly paranoid stances toward commercial clouds. They generally
Private cloud classroom assume you cannot trust the security of the network between an internal data
center and a commercial cloud host, nor can you trust the security of the
network between two virtual machines in a commercial cloud. They also often
take the stance that you cannot trust the security of a cloud's underlying storage
or storage network.
There are solutions to these problems, which are sometimes included in a cloud
Private cloud tools 4 product or underlying virtualization technology. VMware, for example, offers
virtual private networking capabilities as part of its vShield suite of products.
content
The VMsafe application programming interface and other products, such as
vShield or Altor Networks' virtual security suite, can achieve virtual firewalling.
But these products add cost, staff training and support time to a hybrid or public
cloud deployment. So you need to consider whether you have personally
identifiable information or just data that is crucial to your business, such as a
customer list. Different types of data dictate greater or lesser degrees of
security.
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In this e-guide Selecting the right virtual machine for your

private cloud
Introduction
So you’re ready to get into private cloud? Pace yourself. Choosing to cloud-
enable the wrong VM could negatively affect performance.
Industry conversations have moved beyond understanding what cloud

Private cloud planning computing is to determining how best to deploy it in an enterprise IT
environment. This evolution parallels the past debate of virtualization candidacy
Private cloud construction -- knowing how to determine if a physical server would make a good virtual
server.
The idea of cloud candidacy, which means choosing the best candidates to
cloud-enable, is just as important to reach the most return on your cloud
investment. Here’s a checklist of how to determine the best candidate for
content
your private cloud.
1. What are the network requirements for the cloud workload? Much
like server virtualization considerations of processing and memory
requirements, the amount of network resources a workload or application
consumes within your private cloud is critically important.
A workload with heavy network resource requirements that link back to

other servers within the LAN might not make the best cloud candidate.
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Placing this workload into a private cloud could create bandwidth and
In this e-guide latency issues, affecting the overall cloud performance. Measure network
utilization among servers residing in the cloud and any other servers
Introduction located in the local data center.
Private cloud classroom 2. What other services are interconnected to the private cloud? Take
into account any communication between a cloud workload that interacts
with other workloads in the network. For example, almost any Windows-
based IT service leans on Active Directory for authentication, as do
desktop operating systems. Domain controllers must process large
amounts of traffic, so completely moving them into the cloud is probably
a bad idea.
Alternatively, services that have little interaction with others in the local
Getting more PRO+ essential data center are less likely to be affected by their geographic relocation.
content This will also have little effect on latency. Looking for virtual machines
(VMs) with few interconnections is a good way to find cloud-ready
resources.
3. Does an obvious separation (i.e., “hard line”) exist between

workloads residing in the private cloud and other
workloads? Isolating services can be a good dividing line between good
cloud candidates and bad ones. Well-isolated services that make
excellent cloud candidates, for example, are those services that reside
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within your DMZ. By design, the DMZ has “hard lines” surrounding its
In this e-guide services, specifically in firewall rules that separate it from the Internet and
an internal LAN. That separation means that you could easily move all
Introduction contents from a DMZ to the cloud. The very nature of a DMZ draws a
clear demarcation for what might make a good private cloud candidate.
Private cloud classroom Combine the isolation with virtual firewall rules from different cloud
services, and DMZ services have the potential to be successful in the
Private cloud planning cloud.
4. .Is the cloud service replication-friendly? Some IT services are

already designed with replication in mind; communication was designed
to support the types of latency and bandwidth you would experience in
LAN-to-cloud communications. These services could include offsite
backup copies, failover servers or any service with protocols that are
Getting more PRO+ essential prepared for network conditions that don’t meet LAN speeds.
content
5. How much pain will you experience if data that resides in your
private cloud becomes compromised? This final check is really a
direct result of early concerns surrounding cloud security and data
ownership. Security, ownership and regulatory issues surrounding data
must be a consideration when choosing to place a VM in the cloud.
Some VMs and certain IT resources work with data that, if lost or
compromised, wouldn’t incur significant pain for the business.
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Pay attention to the types of data a potential cloud-enabled virtual

In this e-guide machine could process. If the loss or exposure of that data is greater
than the value gained in a cloud migration, then it might be best to keep
Introduction that VM in the data center.
Private cloud classroom Choosing the right virtual machines for a private cloud requires you to analyze
resource use of each VM and service. You also need to examine the risks
associated with moving these resources to the cloud. With the right due
diligence, finding the best resources and services to deploy in the private cloud
should be relatively easy.

The smart shopper’s guide to virtualization
content
and cloud management tools
Choosing virtualization and cloud management tools should not be taken lightly.
So, what's the most important factor to consider?
Having a virtualization management strategy is very important to a

successful move to the cloud. As the role of software grows in the modern data
center and companies consider the software-defined model, it's necessary for
different types of software to communicate and integrate at some level. Let's
find out how that integration works among virtualization and cloud management
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tools, how the tools are licensed, and how to make the best choice for your
In this e-guide virtual infrastructure.
Introduction Cloud management integration
Application programming interfaces (APIs) are becoming critical pieces of

the software-defined data center. It's not enough to just have an API -- you need
a strong API with great visibility and capability. For example, in a VMware
vCloud environment, simply having access to the vCloud API doesn't give you
everything you need to back up and recover virtual machines (VMs). While it is
Private cloud construction still a useful API -- even at version 1.5 -- you can't assume that just because you
have an API at the highest level, it's the best choice for your environment.
Most virtualization and cloud management tools interact with a virtual
infrastructure and a cloud though the API provided by the hypervisor vendor.
content
But other APIs exist as well. For instance, management tools that show insight
into the storage environment may need to use SMI-S (Storage Management
Initiative Specification) to do it. Or management tools that want to gather data
about the virtual or physical network may want to use Cisco NetFlow to do it.
More and more virtualization management tools are providing support for
additional APIs. This is especially true for cloud-related APIs, such as the
vCloud API, Azure APIs and Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud APIs.
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Rarely do third-party management tools communicate with one another.

In this e-guide Instead, there are typically "managers of managers" that move management up
to a higher level. For example, Cloupia, VMware vCloud Automation Center,
Introduction Microsoft System Center and Embotics vCommander take management to a
higher level, which solves some problems but creates others.
Licensing and cost considerations

Every business is concerned with maintaining a positive return on IT
investment, so before proposing or making a new purchase, understand the
Private cloud construction various factors that can affect the cost of IT tools. Here are a few:
Private cloud tools 4 1. Bundling. When you purchase a hypervisor and centralized
management tool, major vendors may try to bundle additional
management tools into their enterprise license agreement (ELA). Thus,
content
it's possible to receive additional virtualization/cloud management tools at
a reduced cost when negotiating an ELA. Tools that are free or very
inexpensive are often used instead of stronger alternatives simply
because of their low associated cost.
2. Licensing method. The method that is used to calculate the license

costof a tool is often a deciding factor. Some tools are licensed "per VM,"
while others are licensed "per CPU socket." For example, if you have two
servers with two 16-core CPUs each, running hundreds of VMs, the per-
socket cost may be dramatically lower than the per-VM cost.
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3. Packaging. Some vendors include so much in one package that their

In this e-guide packaging alone may sway your buying decision toward their product.
For example, Microsoft System Center is sold in a single SKU for the
Introduction entire System Center Suite. Thus, if you have already purchased System
Center Virtual Machine Manager, you might as well use the other System
Private cloud classroom Center components (if they fill your needs) because they were already
included in the package you bought.
Private cloud construction 4. Published vs. negotiated price. Keep in mind that the negotiated price
of a product in an ELA should always be less than the published price of
Private cloud tools 4 a product. Unless you are buying just a single copy, negotiating license
agreements for software products with vendors can save a lot of money.
content
Best practices for selecting tools
At the end of the day, you simply want to ensure that the tools you run in the
data center are as efficient and useful as possible within your company's
budget. With that in mind, here are three tips for selecting the best tool:
1. Talk to other users. Aside from testing a tool yourself, talking to other
customers who have used it is the best way to learn about its value. Was
the tool hard to deploy? How much did the customer pay? How helpful is
the tool on a daily basis? Would the customer purchase it again or shop
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around? For impartial advice, it's a good idea to find these customers
In this e-guide through user group meetings or over the Web -- rather than use the
customer references recommended by the vendor.
Introduction
2. Test tools for yourself. Never buy anything without creating your own
Private cloud classroom proof of concept.
If you can't understand how to install the tool yourself or how it works
without professional services, then look for other tools. This firsthand
experience is invaluable in selecting the right product.
If you have a poor initial experience in installing a tool and learning about
Private cloud tools 4 it through the company's website and documentation, it's unlikely your
experience will improve over time.
Getting more PRO+ essential 3. Ask the company to show you an ROI. If a software company can't
content
show you the financial return on investment its tool offers, you will likely
have a tough time coming up with one yourself when trying to sell that
tool to your company's management.
Finally, take your time in making a choice. It's tempting to make a snap decision
and buy a tool from the vendor that dazzles you with promises. These tools,
however, will be with you and your IT staff for years, so take care to make an
informed, proven selection.
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In this e-guide Private cloud tools

Management, financial tools in your private cloud arsenal
Introduction
Once your private cloud is up and running, the right tools will help maintain it
Private cloud classroom and maximize its benefits.
Automation and other management tools can ensure your private cloud is
running smoothly, and chargeback and return-on-investment (ROI) tools can
help make the business case for cloud. However, not all of enterprise IT is
Private cloud construction happy with the state of the private cloud management tools on the market.
Private cloud tools 4 Maximize cloud benefits with five keys to

private cloud automation
content
Public cloud-wary companies often turn to private cloud, but added overhead
could outweigh its benefits without key automation tools and processes.
Private clouds are an alternative to both public clouds and long-established

server virtualization practices. With a private cloud, organizations can realize
the advantages of both while mitigating some of the disadvantages. To
maximize the benefits of your private cloud, be sure to implement these five
private cloud automation tools and processes -- or risk unnecessary system
administration overhead.
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1. Automated provisioning. Compute and storage resources should be readily

In this e-guide available without intervention by a systems administrator. Automated
provisioning tools allow users to specify the number and types of resources
Introduction needed and then create those virtual resources and make them available for
use.
Provisioning may be done in response to a user-specified command -- e.g.,
"Create four midsized virtual servers" -- or in response to a change in demand
for an app that is configured to automatically scale up or down as demand
dictates.
Configuration management tools, such as Chef and Puppet, allow system
Private cloud tools 4 administrators to describe cloud infrastructure components in abstract terms
and easily deploy those components to the cloud. Configuration management
Getting more PRO+ essential tools include client apps that monitor the local state of a server and allow
content developers to create configuration scripts that adapt to the state of a device.
This provides for more robust and flexible deployment options in the private
cloud.
Provisioning in a private cloud may require some support for prioritization; not
all business processes are equally important. Mission-critical workflows should
have access to limited resources over low-priority processes. Consider your
need for prioritizing jobs in the private cloud and support for policy-based
provisioning when evaluating private cloud automated provisioning tools.
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2. Cloud management dashboard. A cloud management dashboard is an

In this e-guide essential part of a cloud automation strategy. Many aspects of automated
provisioning are carried out behind the scenes by scripts, but cloud users
Introduction should not have to grapple with command lines and scripts.
Private cloud classroom A cloud management dashboard presents an easy-to-use interface that allows
users to provision and de-provision resources, track resource use, modify
access controls to resources and view services available in the private cloud.
In addition to streamlining ad hoc tasks, such as starting a server, a cloud

Private cloud construction management dashboard can support task scheduling, such as regularly backing
up databases.
The ideal dashboard is a single point of management for cloud users. It should
display information on accounts, charges and budget restrictions, if any. Even
content
with highly automated private clouds, problems will occur and users may need
systems administration support. The cloud management dashboard should
include access to a help desk system as well.
3. Monitoring cloud operations. Monitoring dedicated servers in a data center

is challenging, but considering that the configuration of such servers is fairly
static when compared to servers in a cloud configuration, you can appreciate
the difficulty of monitoring cloud resources. Monitoring tools allow for real-time
assessment of the state of the cloud and include resource allocation and use
details.
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Private cloud automation monitoring tools are useful for both real-time
In this e-guide monitoring and long-term planning.
Introduction In the short term, policy-driven alerts help keep cloud admins aware of
potentially problematic conditions, such as hardware failures or disrupted
Private cloud classroom services. Long-term planning requires aggregate information about the use of
cloud resources, growth in demand for particular types of resources and costs
of providing particular services.
4. Workflows. Workflows are sequences of tasks that are carried out

Private cloud construction automatically. While a private cloud can offer many types of services as a
unified process, there are often cases in which a series of processes are
Private cloud tools 4 required to run. For example, an analytics reporting service may require copying
data from several sources, applying several types of transformations on those
Getting more PRO+ essential data sets, loading the transformed data into a relational database and then
content generating a series of reports.
Workflow systems allow developers to specify a series of tasks and conditions

that must be met for each task to execute. If multiple data sources are required
before transformation tasks can run, then the workflow system could hold up the
transformation process until all data sources are available.
5. Metering and billing. A defining characteristic of cloud is that users are

charged for the resources used. The private cloud management platform should
include tools for tracking resource use by accounts and users.
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These tools may include support for budget controls that alert users when they
In this e-guide approach the limits of their budgets or block provisioning when a budget is
exhausted. The granularity of charges varies across clouds. For example, one
Introduction company may charge virtual servers on an hourly basis while another may
charge based on minutes of server time rather than hours.
Tools to unlock private cloud’s potential

Private cloud construction Private clouds offer a plethora of possible advantages, but certain tools are
needed to unleash their full power. Our expert explains what these tools are and
Private cloud tools 4 how to use them.

Many enterprises either already have a private cloud, plan to build one or at
content least have considered in-house cloud as an option. If you're on the private cloud
bandwagon but remain unfamiliar with how to extract its full benefits, you're not
alone.
This tutorial looks at private cloud computing tools that unleash the power of
automation and orchestration, monitoring and service catalogs. While these
features are important, they're also not yet fully understood in the context of
virtualized, or private cloud, environments.
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Enabling orchestration and automation

In this e-guide Although automation and orchestration are often used interchangeably, there is
a subtle difference between the two terms. Automation is usually associated
Introduction with a single task, and orchestration is associated with a process that involves
workflow around several automated tasks. If you're looking to better understand
Private cloud classroom the value and importance of automation (and orchestration) in a private cloud
environment, one of the best ways is to contrast server provisioning in a
Private cloud planning traditional data center with virtual server provisioning in a virtualized
environment.
Server virtualization can reduce the amount of time to provision servers, but it
does not decrease the time associated with installation. An IT staff uses labor-
intensive management tools and manual scripts to control and manage the
infrastructure, and they will not be able to keep up with the continuous stream of
Getting more PRO+ essential configuration changes needed to maintain access and security changes in
content conjunction with a private cloud's dynamic provisioning and virtual machine
(VM) movement. This is why automation of these processes is an important
element of private cloud.
Orchestration is key; it is the automated coordination and management of

servers, storage, security and networks to deliver services to users. An
orchestration function resides between cloud services and the cloud
infrastructure. It is based around policies that define relationships between
and/or among the users, servers, storage, security and networks.
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Policies are automatically translated in real time into device configurations that
In this e-guide dynamically provision whatever resources are necessary. For example, the
orchestration tool to the hypervisor management system communicates the
Introduction CPU and memory requirements for provisioning a virtual server.
Private cloud classroom All of these functions -- allocating CPUs for a virtual server; allocating storage;
setting up routers, firewalls or switches to support the newly provisioned virtual
server -- are automated. The orchestration function coordinates all of the
automated configuration changes across all systems and hardware; it is a single
point of control.
Without automation and orchestration tools, IT would have to manually re-
Private cloud tools 4 provision and optimize resources every time the smallest change in the
environment is made.
content
Automation and orchestration, however, will not solve all your problems. They
may help get changes to the infrastructure completed quickly, but those
changes have to be recorded almost simultaneously so the orchestration
function has the up-to-date configuration data needed to make decisions like
allocating CPUs and storage. The rapidity of change stemming from automation
and self-service in private cloud environments requires a more efficient
approach to configuration management and change management -- processes
that live inside the IT organization. Tools like configuration management
databases (CMDBs) are available to record these changes in real time.
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Automation and orchestration tools for the private cloud

In this e-guide What tools are available to handle automation and orchestration? LineSider
Technologies (recently acquired by Cisco) and CA Technologies are two of the
Introduction several companies that offer automation tools.
Private cloud classroom LineSider OverDrive focuses on networks and automates the provisioning and
deployment of network services in cloud environments. When resources are
moved and/or changed, policy-driven OverDrive modifies and changes the
underlying network infrastructure. OverDrive sits between an LDAP directory, a
hypervisor manager and device controllers.
It manages routing and virtual private networks (VPNs), switching and VLANs,
Private cloud tools 4 and firewalls and their access control lists.
CA Technologies offers the CA Automation Suite for Data Centers. This suite
content
includes CA Server Automation, CA Virtual Automation, CA Process Automation
and CA Configuration Automation. CA Automation Suite for Data Centers is an
attempt by CA Technologies to automate server provisioning, processes and
configuration management. It provides support for Windows, Red Hat Enterprise
Linux, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, AIX, Solaris, and HP-UX, Hyper-V and
VMware ESX.
There are other automation tools from vendors, such as IBM with its Tivoli
Service Automation Manager and HP's Cloud Service Automation offering. Of
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these tools and many others, LineSider Overdrive is closest to what an

In this e-guide automation tool should be.
Introduction Monitoring your private cloud performance

Monitoring ensures that applications meet specific performance targets. It'll also
Private cloud classroom help answer questions like:
 What is the response time from storage devices?

 What is the performance of an application?
 How is my compute and storage bandwidth being used?
Private cloud tools 4 Virtualization, however, has added a layer of abstraction to traditional
monitoring; we can no longer measure performance just by looking at physical
Getting more PRO+ essential devices. As network virtualization is adopted, network operations teams have
content struggled to look past the abstraction and determine what is actually happening
at the physical level. New performance monitoring tools provide insight into the
infrastructure for both physical and virtual elements, allowing operations staff to
make better decisions about how to configure and allocate workloads in virtual
environments.
If you look at the evolution of IT -- from mainframes with shared resources to

client/server with dedicated resources and now back to shared resources with
low cost hardware -- we have systems that behave differently. We have
dependencies in virtualized environments that did not exist in client/server. The
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way that we monitor and manage is changing because we no longer have clear
In this e-guide lines of dependencies. Interactions have grown much more than complex than
those in the client/server world.
Introduction
So how do application performance tools work? They monitor memory
Private cloud classroom utilization, CPU utilization and performance metrics. The application is
associated with the guest operating systems; the guest operating system is
associated with the hypervisor running on a physical server. The associations
continue with a network port down to the storage resources. Monitoring provides
the linkage all the way through the infrastructure to the application.
SolarWinds provides one of the most complete sets of monitoring tools on the
Private cloud tools 4 market. It provides monitoring for network, storage, application, server and
virtualization performance management. This set of tools monitors the cloud
Getting more PRO+ essential stack from top to the bottom through the devices themselves.
content
One particular SolarWinds product, the Hyper9 Virtualization Manager, provides
visibility into the health of CPUs, memory and networks in a virtual environment.
It allows guest virtual servers to be mapped from the application all the way
down to the data stores. If, for example, you add a fourth virtual server and
suffer a sudden performance drop, you can track back and look at the disk
resources, what I/O resources are being used and the host that the servers are
running on. The potential is there to very quickly identify any bottlenecks and
make immediate changes.
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Another company to consider is AccelOps; its monitoring tools capture and

In this e-guide analyze information about the network infrastructure. IT staff can use AccelOps
to access status, events, trends, and configuration data about networks,
Introduction network devices, systems, applications and virtual environments. Alerts can
also be set up to send out alarms on performance or memory allocation
Private cloud classroom problems. And if you want to investigate a security issue, AccelOps offers a
recap of any recent changes made to a virtual server. AccelOps deployment
Private cloud planning involves installing the AccelOps application as a VM on a VMware ESX
platform.
Nimsoft also provides monitoring software for private clouds. This software tools
monitor servers, network devices, databases, and applications, along with
virtualized environments like ESX, vSphere, Hyper-V, and Citrix XenServer.
Nimsoft works with cloud providers such as Rackspace, Amazon,
Getting more PRO+ essential Salesforce.com and Google; it also integrates with CMDBs and service desks.
content
Service catalogs in the cloud
Service catalogs are now being viewed as a core part of cloud computing. A
service catalog contains a list of automated services that are available via a
self-service portal. It exists to demonstrate service availability and trigger steps
in the provisioning of many types of enterprise services. A service catalog is
typically a front-end Web-based listing of services, products and pricing
delivered by the back-office IT infrastructure.
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For an organization to receive the full benefits of cloud, users must be able to
In this e-guide request the services they need and IT must be able to respond to those
requests quickly. The service catalog allows users to serve themselves by
Introduction choosing from a menu of cloud service offerings. IT organizations that
implement private clouds should provide a service catalog to establish
Private cloud classroom standards, provide users with convenient online access to cloud services, and
help orchestrate automation of services.
Part of the service catalog design challenge is to ensure that the catalog is well
integrated with the necessary components required for a seamless workflow:
service desk, CMDBs and provisioning and change management tools.
Private cloud tools 4 newScale is one of several companies that provide service catalog software;
RequestCenter provides users with an easy-to-use service catalog. HP has
Getting more PRO+ essential introduced a HP Service Manager Service Catalog that is integrated with a
content number of HP products. BMC Cloud LifeCycle Management includes a policy-
driven service catalog, and CA Oblicore Guarantee provides the capability to
create service catalogs.
Tips to enhance your private cloud

Too many "private clouds" are being created today without automation, without
sufficient monitoring and without service catalogs. Those private cloud
implementations will have a hard time realizing all the benefits of cloud
computing.
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There are many companies, big and small, supplying tools for each of these
In this e-guide important functions. Some, such as LineSider and Oblicore, have been acquired
by larger companies like as Cisco and CA Technologies, respectively, and
Introduction integrated with other products to form more complete cloud management suites.
Private cloud classroom Most of these tools are so new and untested in production environments that
you should take a close look at the use of the tools by the vendors’ reference
customers. If they don’t have reference customers, then beware.
Using tools from acquired companies may lock you in to the larger companies
Private cloud construction that purchased them. This happens frequently when acquisitions occur -- one
company's management tools get buried inside a larger set of products and are
Private cloud tools 4 no longer marketed and sold separately.
Of the three functions discussed earlier, monitoring tools are the most likely to
content
be insufficient in virtual environments. The tendency is to try to use whatever
monitoring tools you used in the traditional data center, but these will not
provide sufficient, if any, monitoring of traffic between virtual components. Local
communication between virtual servers can go largely unmonitored; traffic that
runs through a virtual switch is practically invisible because it never hits wire. To
ensure the optimal private cloud experience, virtual traffic between VMs needs
to be monitored.
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In this e-guide Introducing IT chargeback to meter private

cloud use
Introduction
IT chargeback is a vital cog in your private cloud wheel. To properly bill users
for IT resources, choose one of these four models.
One issue that limits the adoption of private clouds within enterprises is that
Private cloud planning shared resources will be charged back to business units that use the private
cloud. IT chargeback becomes a problem in companies where budgets are very
Private cloud construction tight and separate divisions don't work and play together as well as they should.
Oh, you know … in most companies.
Fortunately, there are many third-party packages and services you can use to
track your private cloud computing usage. These tools function as additional
external applications that are loosely coupled to core applications and cloud
content
services. Some exist on-premises and some are public cloud services that you
subscribe to. While this technology goes by many names, the term I prefer is
"use-based accounting."
The right approach and technology will be up to the requirements of the private
cloud service and the business. In some instances, IT teams attempt to build
accounting tools in house. However, that's usually a bad idea considering the
technology is readily available to buy and somewhat proven -- as long as you
select the right kind.
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Once you've chosen your use-based accounting technology, you'll need to

In this e-guide decide how you want to bill for IT services and resources. Most private cloud
services will be billed using chargeback services within the same enterprise,
Introduction leveraging internal dollars to pay the internal bill.
Private cloud classroom While your approach to internal accounting of private cloud usage may vary, I
like to break them down into the following four general models:

 All you can eat
Private cloud construction  Bill for time
 Bill for quantity

 Bill for instances
content These four approaches mimic those of public cloud providers.
The "all-you-can-eat" approach tracks use of the service, but consumers (i.e.,
internal end users/business units) can use as much of the service as they like
and pay a flat rate. This is applicable if you don't want to limit users from
leveraging the service, and understand that maintaining a system to monitor
detailed usage can be more trouble than it's worth since it does not typically
require a use-based accounting tool.
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While this is the least sophisticated option, it's also the most popular.
In this e-guide Companies that deploy private clouds estimate resource use by each internal
entity. They define a number of dollars for those IT resources, and each month,
Introduction money is removed from the entity's budget.
Private cloud classroom The downside of the all-you-can-eat approach is that while a few entities will
make out well -- namely the primary users of the private cloud services -- the
cost moves to entities that may have very little use for the private cloud, but are
billed for it nonetheless. Kind of like gym memberships after everyone has given
up on their New Year's resolutions.
"Bill for time," as you may expect, tracks the amount of time the IT service is in
Private cloud tools 4 use and bills according to a set price for that time. The use-based accounting
system will report the usage of IT resources and create the bill for you. Money is
Getting more PRO+ essential then removed from the budget based on the time consumers use private cloud
content computing services.
The upside of bill for time is that business units pay only for the time they use
the private cloud service; therefore, utilization is better understood and billed
according to use. However, time is not always a good indicator of resource use.
For instance, while two entities are billed for one hour of private cloud service
use, one entity may have saturated the private cloud while the other barely
made the usage meter jump.
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The "bill for quantity" model means IT pros bill consumers for the quantity of
In this e-guide data that's transmitted to and from the private cloud, typically at the megabyte or
gigabyte level. Again, the use of data is tracked, and a bill is automatically
Introduction transmitted to the consumer of the private cloud service.
Private cloud classroom While this seems fairer than the bill for time model, in reality, data transmitted
back and forth to the private cloud is not a great indicator of use of internal
cloud resources. It's more of just the conversation with the requesting system or
user.
Private cloud construction The "bill for instances" model is perhaps the best way to account for private
cloud resources usage. In short, IT pros watch the number of instances, such as
Private cloud tools 4 storage and compute services, those who leverage the private cloud spin up
and down. This gives you a more accurate view of who's doing what, with what,
Getting more PRO+ essential and therefore helps you determine how much they should be charged.
content
I suspect use-based accounting for private clouds will evolve a lot in the next
few years, considering the growth of private clouds and shrinking IT budgets.
Who knows, this may be a good way for IT to understand more about their end
users.
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In this e-guide Why IT chargeback is essential to private

cloud infrastructure
Introduction
IT chargeback is a necessary cog for private clouds and one of the most difficult
to deploy. Luckily, there are several ways to set up chargeback.
IT chargeback can be intimidating for the inexperienced, but it is one of the most
Private cloud planning useful tools in the fight against sprawl and excessive resource consumption in a
private cloud infrastructure. Enterprises must keep track of usage so that
Private cloud construction resources are consumed fairly and are aligned with organizational priorities.
Implementing IT chargeback can be difficult for an organization with no history

of accounting for resource consumption, because it requires justifying and
inventorying each server and workload as it moves to the cloud. The upside to
that process is it reduces waste, curtails sprawl and puts pressure on
content
application and systems administrators to rightsize their virtual machines.
Ways to calculate IT chargeback
IT can use chargeback for computing and storage resources used, as well as
for staff time. It is very common for chargeback to be done on a per-VM and
per-gigabyte level, accounting for CPU and memory use along with storage.
Mature IT organizations sometimes bill on a per-CPU cycle or per-byte-

transferred level because mainframe chargeback used to be that way. But
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chargeback is overhead, and does not directly advance business goals. You
In this e-guide should keep your chargeback as simple as possible while trying to reduce waste
and increase accountability.
Introduction
Many organizations start with chargeback billing as a flat fee and calculate the
Private cloud classroom costs based on average sizes. For example, you might decide that a single VM
costs $500 and just apply that to all VMs. It's a simple way to calculate things
and very budget-friendly for people involved with budget planning.
In this practice, smaller customers subsidize the larger ones, and it does not
Private cloud construction encourage rightsizing of VMs or resources used. In that case, you might use a
tiered system, which adds complexity to billing and budgeting, but it also
Private cloud tools 4 encourages good sizing behaviors, and people may see it as more fair.
IT chargeback and storage in private cloud infrastructure

content
Storage chargeback can be as complicated as you want it to be. Many
organizations have multiple tiers of storage and different billing rates for each.
As storage auto-tiering becomes the standard, billing will get even more
complex because individual blocks of each server will be stored on different
tiers of storage.
It is easy to tell how much storage your marketing department is using on your
central file server, but how can you tell how much is on solid-state drives, 15K
or SATA disks?
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There are complex methods of determining that, but many organizations that
In this e-guide have moved to auto-tiering storage have simply declared it a co-op and base
charges on the total cost of the array divided by the usable storage. It's easy to
Introduction budget for, and the automation saves staff time.
Private cloud classroom You might also choose to include IT staff time as part of the chargeback model.
It's helpful to account for staff time used as part of the private cloud
infrastructure, but it's not how IT should be funded in the long term.
Standardization and automation can help identify what work should be charged
back. For example, some IT shops have adopted a hybrid approach in which
staff funding comes mainly from the organization itself, but staff time to work on
requests that fall outside of standard configurations is paid for by the project or
department making the request.
Getting more PRO+ essential Take care to make the IT chargeback process as unobtrusive and low-overhead
content as possible. Enterprises that don't feel they can do chargeback right away often
choose "showback," where reports are generated for management that show
where resources are being consumed. Showback is an excellent first step to a
real chargeback model and is useful in the initial stages of private clouds to help
set budgets and expectations.
Many organizations that employ showback techniques treat it almost like

chargeback, in that specific projects and departments are assigned a dollar
amount -- except the bill is never sent to the "customer."
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It is a powerful way to track and conserve resources but can be completely

In this e-guide foreign to developers, application administrators and staffers who have never
needed to justify or account for their resource use. You will want to ease staff
Introduction into these new models.

Self-service, security and storage tools for
the private cloud
To manage a private cloud, you’ll need third-party tools that can help create
self-service portals, maintain security and control storage.
Private clouds often require the use of third-party tools for tasks such as
Getting more PRO+ essential migrating applications, automating virtual machine provisioning and monitoring
content the environment. Three other facets of private cloud that could benefit from use
of third-party tools include service catalogs, security and storage.
Service catalogs, or self-service portals, are the crux of the private cloud.
They put the power in the end users’ hands by allowing them to choose from a
list of available cloud services. Without proper management or visibility into
service use, your cloud can get out of control.
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Security is a major consideration in any virtualized environment, and the cloud

In this e-guide is no different. But native security measures may not be enough and traditional
security tactics won’t properly protect a cloud. And while cloud may seem to
Introduction offer unlimited storage capabilities, mismanagement or improper allocation can
actually increase storage use.
Service catalogs and the self-service portal
Service catalogs and self-service portals sometimes are treated as different
entities, wherein the self-service portal acts as the interface to the service
catalog. In cloud, however, these technologies are a single entity.
A service catalog typically contains a list of services being automated and made
Private cloud tools 4 available to users. It is the source of record for the services that IT offers to
internal users. A service catalog can contain the name, description, cost and
Getting more PRO+ essential information for services delivered by the back-office IT infrastructure. It allows
content users to serve themselves from a menu of cloud service offerings. A well-
designed and integrated service catalog is an essential ingredient of a cloud.
When Suncorp, a financial services provider in Brisbane, Australia, was building

its private cloud, an initial step was to create a service catalog. Suncorp’s
service catalog contains the list of cloud services being automated for internal
use and made available to business users via a self-service portal.
Service catalogs not only provide the list of services and their characteristics to
users in cloud environments, they can also be integrated with a configuration
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management database (CMDB). For example, if you use your service catalog to
In this e-guide provision virtual servers and a change in physical servers -- as denoted in the
CMDB via a configuration management ticket -- impacts the number of CPUs
Introduction available for these virtual servers, then this change would also be reflected in
the service catalog.
The following is a list of companies that provide service catalogs and self-
service portals:
 newScale, which Cisco acquired in April 2011, is the basis for Cisco’s
Private cloud construction Intelligent Automation tools for IT portals, service catalogs and lifecycle
management software. This software helps IT organizations create self-
Private cloud tools 4 service storefronts for data center and workspace services across
physical, virtual and cloud environments.
 CA Service Catalog from CA Technologies enables organizations to
content
define service offerings.
Native multi-tenancy allows multiple physical catalogs to support multiple

business models across physical, virtual and cloud environments. It uses
a billing engine to automatically associate service usage with
departments, cost centers and customers and can send out invoices.
 Nimsoft Service Desk module is a component of the Nimsoft Unified

Manager offering that enables users to access the service catalog and
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submit change requests, report incidents, etc. Nimsoft Service Catalog

In this e-guide uses ticket templates that allow users to enter requests for a cloud
service. A workflow engine automatically routes all tickets to the
Introduction appropriate group based on a combination of the requesters’ information
and ticket information.
Where cloud security matters
Companies that move from physical to virtual environments, such as clouds,
need to update their security. You can’t install a traditional firewall or antivirus
software on a cloud-based virtual environment; physical firewalls aren’t
designed to inspect and filter the traffic originating from a hypervisor that’s
running several virtual servers. Whatever protection you have, it must be able to
handle various activities like starting and stopping virtual servers and moving
them.
content There is little to say about the importance of security in the cloud that hasn’t
been said already.
However, many admins tend to overlook where security is important. Hypervisor

security, for example, is both critical and overlooked. If an intruder gains control
of a virtual server, he may be able to gain control of the hypervisor. A whole
new set of security issues are coming to the fore as enterprises allow
employees to access corporate data with smartphones and tablets, such as
Apple’s iPad.
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Security problems will be exacerbated if employees access back-office

In this e-guide databases on mobile devices. Mobile clouds can help to resolve these security
problems as they allow IT admins to centrally control security.
Introduction
Important security facets in the cloud include auditing, intrusion detection,
Private cloud classroom access controls and antivirus protection. A number of vendors provide the
distinctive security protection that clouds require:

 Catbird’s vSecurity provides automated monitoring and enforcement for
seven control areas: auditing, inventory management, configuration
Private cloud construction management, change management, access control, vulnerability
management and incident response.
 Juniper Networks’ Altor VF integrates Altor’s virtual firewall technology
with Juniper Networks’ Network and Security Manager and Juniper
content
Network’s STRM Series Security Threat Response Managers. It enables
users to secure their virtual servers and cloud environments.
 AppRiver SecureSurf cloud security suite includes email hosting, email

security, archiving and Web protection services. SecureSurf, which is a
relatively new addition to the AppRiver portfolio, is a Web filtering and
malware protection offering. AppRiver provides its security services as a
Software as a Service (SaaS).
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 Barracuda Networks' Email Security Service provides a cloud-based

In this e-guide email filtering service that can be used as a cloud protection layer for the
Barracuda Spam and Virus Firewall.
Introduction
 McAfee Cloud Security suite secures email, identity traffic and Web
Private cloud classroom traffic. The McAfee Cloud Security Platform offers a variety of
deployment options, ranging from on-premises solutions to SaaS
solutions, to a hybrid combination of both.
Keeping cloud storage under control

Private cloud construction Server virtualization has lowered IT costs and improved server utilization, but its
proliferation has increased the amount of storage required. Some IT managers
Private cloud tools 4 have discovered that money saved with server virtualization is now being spent
on storage.
content
Virtual servers can consume up to 30% more disk space than physical servers.
And VM sprawl, an unfortunate result of improperly managed virtual servers,
has forced many enterprises to overhaul their data backup and disaster
recovery (DR) strategies.
Some companies have indicated that they had to upgrade storage devices to
handle the extra storage required for virtual server environments such as
clouds.
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Other companies, such as Concur Technologies, a travel and management

In this e-guide solutions provider headquartered in Redmond, Wash., not only moved storage
up a tier from Serial ATA to Integrated Drive Electronics (IDE) to resolve
Introduction performance issues, it also used data deduplication.
Private cloud classroom When creating virtual servers in a private cloud become more commonplace in
enterprises and IT organizations begin supporting mobile devices, the amount
of required storage will increase significantly. This increased storage use will
push us to take a more serious look at storage virtualization, data deduplication
and thin provisioning as well as a second look at data backup.
Enterprises have a few options for handling storage issues that crop up in
Private cloud tools 4 virtualized environments. Technologies such as storage virtualization,
deduplication and thin provisioning can optimize the storage requirements of a
Getting more PRO+ essential cloud environment. And several vendors offer tools that address the increase in
content storage use in cloud environments.
Some tools in this area include:
 NetApp MultiStore, which lets users create isolated logical partitions on a

single storage system such that unauthorized users cannot access
information on a secured virtual partition. MultiStore allows you to easily
move virtual partitions between storage systems and provide DR in the
cloud.
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 DataCore SANsymphony-V storage hypervisor is a portable software

In this e-guide package that’s used to enhance multiple disk storage systems by
supplementing individual capabilities with extended provisioning,
Introduction replication and performance. It offers a transparent virtual layer across
consolidated disk pools, which can improve storage utilization.
 FalconStor FDS is a LAN-based deduplication tool that reduces storage
capacity. It uses a centralized management graphical user interface
(GUI) that allows users to define deduplication policies. FalconStor FDS
scales from a small footprint to rack-size installments that support
petabytes of logical storage capacity.
Private cloud tools 4  Syncplicity's Virtual Private Cloud automatically synchronizes an

unlimited number of files and folders across PCs, Macs, file servers,
Getting more PRO+ essential Google Docs and other cloud applications. It ensures that every file and
content file version is backed up to your own Virtual Private Cloud automatically -
- on or off the corporate network.
 Axcient RapidRestore is a hybrid storage model that includes a storage

appliance and an Internet storage service. Customers can back up
storage locally and online for archiving. Axcient’s RapidRestore storage
appliances have capacities ranging from 500 GB to 10 TB.
 Riverbed Whitewater appliance focuses on data security, accelerates

transmission of data over the Internet and ensures data availability in
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cloud environments. Security of data and slow speeds of transmission of

In this e-guide data to and from clouds are major concerns of cloud users.
Introduction
Private cloud classroom Load balancing servers in a private cloud

Overloaded servers can crush performance and ruin end users’ computing
experiences. Load balancing is key to maintaining healthy, robust clouds.
Private cloud construction In many ways, managing a private cloud is no different than managing an on-
premises data center. IT admins still must take important steps to monitor and
Private cloud tools 4 balance the infrastructure. But the success of a cloud environment depends on
several components: security, server density, network planning and workload
management.
content
Before placing any workload on a cloud-ready server, administrators must plan
their physical server environment. During this planning phase, cloud managers
can size the environment, know what workloads they are delivering and truly
understand available resources.
Distributed computing allows users to log in from any device, anywhere, at any
time.
This means an organization’s cloud environment must be able to handle user

fluctuations -- particularly for international companies, whose users log in from
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various time zones. Without good server load balancing, a cloud environment
In this e-guide can experience degraded performance as cloud servers take on more
workloads than they’re capable of.
Introduction
Administrators must take time to evaluate which workloads are being deployed
Private cloud classroom into the cloud, because each will have different effects on the cloud-based
server. For example, if an environment is looking to deploy a virtual desktop
environment, it must know the image size and how many users can safely
reside on one physical server. Load balancing determines size and properly
configures hardware at the server-level. If a server becomes overloaded, a
resource lock will occur, which can degrade performance and affect the end-
user experience.
Visibility into the cloud
Getting more PRO+ essential A company with multiple cloud locations must have visibility into remote data
content centers to avoid complications and maintain server health. By monitoring what’s
running on cloud servers and setting up alerts when issues arise, IT admins are
able to take proactive measures to load-balance the entire environment.
Deploying end-point monitoring tools can help with visibility. If a server’s

resources are being consumed at a dangerously high rate, an engineer needs
to know so he can resolve the issue quickly.
Constant visibility -- monitoring who is accessing cloud machines and how

dense the user count is -- can help alleviate load balancing issues.
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Having visibility into your cloud presence can help you understand how
In this e-guide resources are being used. Results can be used to determine how to properly
allocate user numbers or recognize if the environment need additional servers
Introduction to support workloads.
Private cloud classroom Load-balancing tactics within a private cloud

One misconception among data center and cloud managers is that load
balancing is primarily a server-based function. The reality is that admins must
monitor and load balance multiple devices within a cloud environment. Server
load balancing is not a difficult process -- as long as it’s done proactively.
Servers. Physical resources on a server are finite. Without proper monitoring
Private cloud tools 4 and load balancing, an entire system can become overloaded by workloads and
users. When working with data centers in the cloud, it’s important to look at the
Getting more PRO+ essential physical hosts and virtual servers running on them.
content
If a company is running a private cloud and pushing out applications using
Citrix’s XenApp, for example, it must know how many apps are installed on the
server and how many users it can safely support. By sizing the machine based
on this information, administrators can set a cap on user count and disable
additional logons once the threshold is met.
Any new users will log in to a different server that has been made available for
load balancing purposes.
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Access gateways. If an access gateway breaks down, so will the ability to

In this e-guide launch cloud workloads. Global Server Load Balancing (GSLB) is one feature
available on Citrix’s NetScaler appliance that can help administrators create a
Introduction robust and redundant environment. If one location goes down, GSLB detects
the connection loss and immediately load balances to the next available
Private cloud classroom appliance, allowing continuous access into an environment -- even if a device
has failed.
Security devices. Each security device only accepts a certain amount of
connections; having a backup device in case of failure is important.
Properly sizing a security appliance will depend on the cloud environment and
Private cloud tools 4 the number of users accessing it. The ability to authenticate users across the
WAN is important to maintain uptime and environment stability.
content
Network infrastructure. Cloud traffic bottlenecks that occur due to a poorly
designed switching infrastructure can cost a company money in degraded
performance and can result in man hours spent troubleshooting and fixing the
issue. Network admins should start with a good core switch and have a
secondary switch available. By monitoring the amount of traffic passing through
the network, admins will know if the environment is properly sized or if it needs
more hardware.
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In this e-guide Cloud management tools a letdown for

enterprise IT workloads
Introduction
Cloud management tools have emerged, though many lack the capabilities of
traditional management stacks that enterprise IT has come to rely on.
According to a recent TechTarget survey, public, private and hybrid cloud

Private cloud planning adoption is expected to grow this year, which will see companies in all verticals
continue to move more complex workloads out of the data center and into the
Private cloud construction cloud.
Cloud computing is convenient, but it masks many of the performance and

management issues that traditional data centers have learned to monitor and
manage. With businesses running an increasing number of workloads in a cloud
environment, IT administrators have to anticipate workload performance to
content
ensure reliability and a good user experience.
"When it comes to management of public or private clouds, generally speaking,

you are talking about lifecycles of workload instead of thinking in terms of virtual
machines [VMs]," which is how we used to approach virtual environments, said
Jonah Kowall, research director for IT operations management at Stamford,
Conn.-based Gartner Inc.
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Things get more complex in the cloud, where you're deploying applications that
In this e-guide consist of several VMs with applications deployed and configured on them, all
working together.
Introduction
Tracking virtualization's evolution to the cloud
For many users, the shift to the cloud is still on the horizon, and many are still
working through the challenges of virtualization -- deploying and managing
virtual resources. "I still get a lot more client questions about virtualization than
about the cloud," Kowall said. Still, when it comes to public clouds, people
Private cloud construction generally are looking into a Software as a Service approach to managing those
systems.
But as the market for private and hybrid clouds evolves, a more coherent
approach to cloud management will evolve, he said.
content
Generally speaking, Kowall said, whether private or public, the cloud isn't all that
different from virtualization. "The issue is more about how you orchestrate it and
how you automate the deployment of monitoring," he said.
The two major management platforms for virtualization -- Microsoft System

Center 2012 and VMware's vCloud Suite -- offer a "collection of tools bundled
into a single package for managing and operating private cloud environments,"
according to Aneel Lakhani, a Gartner research director for virtualization and
cloud.
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But don't expect these tools to deliver something that resembles Amazon cloud
In this e-guide services. "Although you can get some similar experiences, there is no way to
build an Amazon-style cloud internally just with these kinds of tools," Lakhani
Introduction said. "A lot of the reasons people want to build an internal cloud have to do with
cost and efficiency. But it is not the case that most private cloud platforms will
Private cloud classroom get you to the cost profile of [Amazon Web Services] (AWS)," he said.
What you can do is provide a self-service interface so that users can get VMs
on demand from a portal.
Private cloud construction "You can have that automated, and you can connect all of it to your existing
systems, management systems and service desk systems," Lakhani said. You
Private cloud tools 4 can take an environment with just virtualization and turn it into something like
the cloud, with "the ability to automate the whole process of provisioning and
Getting more PRO+ essential de-provisioning, controlling who gets access, controlling capacity, and removing
content a lot of overhead activity," he said.
For those purposes, these tools work well, Lakhani said, though they don't solve
every problem. They can move users closer to what might be called a legitimate
private cloud, but they don't solve application architecture, process or
organizational problems, he said. In particular, they won't "magically make your
infrastructure into something that is infinite, which is an unrealistic dream that
many people have when they try to implement cloud," he added. "
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The AWS experience is one of not worrying about capacity. People try to
In this e-guide transpose that experience into their expectations for private cloud, which is
impossible," he said.
Introduction
For example, if someone reserves 16 VMs and then doesn't use them, he is
Private cloud classroom taking up space and holding a reserve that others can't use, Lakhani noted.
"Even Amazon won't take care of that; it's a process and management issue
that can be automated, but you have to choose to do the automating," he said.
Even with AWS, charges can be accrued when instances are reserved but not
used.
"The point is that there is a significant expectation mismatch between what
Private cloud tools 4 people think they can accomplish with these tools and what they will deliver --
and with cloud in general -- than what is realistic," he added. By contrast, BMC
Getting more PRO+ essential Software claims its traditional business service management platform
content automates such processes as server provisioning and repurposing and user
self-service in the cloud.
In addition to a large VMware and Microsoft presence, the market has more
than 50 comparable cloud management products. "It is a churning and crowded
market," Lakhani said, pointing out that there are likely more vendors and
products in the space than necessary.
Cloud management tools market is still evolving
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Another consideration is how mature and full-featured the tools are. For
In this e-guide instance, some reviewers have found System Center 2012 to be difficult to learn
and its private-cloud evaluation software kit to be difficult to use.
Introduction
Chris Wolf, a research vice president at Gartner, sees no clear winner among
Private cloud classroom the various options. He points out, for example, that many of the newer products
are not a "complete traditional management stack like you might get from a
company such as BMC Software." That forces many companies to think about
whether they want to try to extend their traditional IT management tools into the
cloud or adopt new tools.
Purpose-built cloud management platforms typically don't include core
Private cloud tools 4 enterprise service features, such as ticketing and asset management -- which
are tasks most enterprises take for granted, Wolf said. Instead, end-user
Getting more PRO+ essential organizations expect that the cloud management tools will integrate with such
content support ticketing systems as BMC Remedy.
Alternatively, some customers elect to take a single-vendor approach and, as a

result, go with complete stacks from such vendors as BMC, CA, Hewlett-
Packard and IBM. "One issue is cost," Wolf noted. "
The newer, leaner solutions may be less costly; and some companies may
decide they don't want to bring something like ITIL [the IT Infrastructure Library]
forward; they may want a new, leaner way to organize IT processes that isn't so
process-heavy," he said.
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Wolf also warned IT purchasers to scrutinize claims carefully. "When you are
In this e-guide doing hybrid cloud -- public cloud plus your data center -- management from a
single-pane-of-glass perspective is practically nonexistent. Vendors will claim to
Introduction have it, but most are not fully integrated," he said.
Private cloud classroom Technology standardization is another issue. When organizations build private
clouds, many are trying to emulate the public cloud, which tends to be a highly
standardized infrastructure with few management components, Wolf noted. As a
result, public clouds can achieve high economies of scale.
Private cloud construction By contrast, traditional IT usually focuses on best-of-breed applications, and
ends up spending millions on integration, which isn't terribly cost-efficient.
Private cloud tools 4 "Keeping your portfolio to a few vendors in each area, like the public cloud, will
streamline management and lower operational costs," he said.
content
The market continues to evolve, so Wolf recommends that customers focus on
their vendor relationships and decide which vendors they are most comfortable
working with. "Cloud management is tricky," Wolf said. "Prioritize the vendor
relationship first, because some of the features being offered today are things
most customers won't really need for a while."
Tools that determine your cloud ROI

Companies adopt cloud under the promise of cost savings, but is that a reality?
Providers aim to prove cost benefits with cloud ROI tools.
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IT managers must balance two conflicting business drivers: modest budget

In this e-guide increases and significant demand for more computing services. Cloud
computing has the potential to meet those two desires, but executives are left
Introduction wondering if a move to cloud is really cost effective. Vendors are responding
"Yes" with tools to help prove their case.
With technology becoming more complex and its use more widespread, a CIO's
role is morphing from technical guru into chief financial officer.
Increasingly, CIOs are searching for ways to link IT investments to the corporate
Private cloud construction bottom line. Since cloud technology is new and its reach is quite broad, making
that connection has been difficult when companies started to dabble with cloud
Private cloud tools 4 services.
"Cloud financial ratios are not widely understood by IT leaders, with many
content
adoption decisions based on rudimentary, incomplete data or without any
financial data at all," said Milind Govekar, vice president at Gartner Inc. "As a
result, many companies are only now realizing they have over-provisioned
virtual machines for private cloud or over-purchased licenses for public cloud
initiatives, resulting in lower ROI for their cloud projects."
Cloud vendors as well as start-up suppliers have begun delivering tools to help
companies be sure that cloud services make financial sense for them. With
these tools, enterprises can compare the cost of running an application in the
cloud to running it on an internal server -- or compare costs across different
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cloud services. Interest in these services is quite high. In fact, 451 Research
In this e-guide LLC found that revenue for cloud ROI tools grew to $200 million in 2012, up
from $129 million in 2011.
Introduction
Some of these cloud ROI tools come from cloud vendors. Amazon Web
Private cloud classroom Services (AWS) offers a Total Cost of Ownership calculator that presents
companies with a sample accounting for each of its services.

The calculator asks about the client's Web servers, database servers, storage,
data growth rate and IT administrative costs and then produces reports that
Private cloud construction compare either the one-year or the three-year expenses associated with a cloud
service and an on-premises option.
Microsoft's Windows Azure has a similar calculator, which was designed by
marketing company Alinean. The service translates existing on-premises
content
workloads into Azure servers and allows executives to export the results into
Excel spreadsheets for further analysis.
Third parties have also developed cloud ROI systems. Apptio builds modeling
and analytics tools to help enterprises determine how much bang they are
getting for their IT buck.
Apptio Cloud Express, a free service, allows businesses to track the usage and
costs associated with AWS, Windows Azure and Rackspace services.
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Astadia, a cloud computing systems integrator, developed the free IT Cloud

In this e-guide Transformation ROI Calculator for Salesforce.com services. The program
accounts for software applications, servers, data center expenses and back
Introduction office functions when determining the potential ROI from a move to the cloud.
Private cloud classroom While these tools offer companies guidance, they do have limitations. To date,
most of the products work with only one cloud service.

As a result, corporations are not able to gain experience with a tool and then
apply it to a number of cases.
There are also concerns about the calculations. For instance, a calculator may
Private cloud tools 4 look only at hardware costs and not include software licensing beyond the basic
operating system or personnel costs associated with overseeing a cloud
service. As a result, users often need to add vendor consulting services to get a
content
true picture of what the cloud offers them.
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In this e-guide
Getting more PRO+ exclusive content
Introduction
This e-guide is made available to you, our member, through PRO+ Offers—a
collection of free publications, training and special opportunities specifically
gathered from our partners and across our network of sites.
Private cloud planning PRO+ Offers is a free benefit only available to members of the TechTarget
network of sites.

Take full advantage of your membership by visiting
http://pro.techtarget.com/ProLP/
Getting more PRO+ essential Images; Fotalia
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© 2015 TechTarget. No part of this publication may be transmitted or reproduced in any form or by any means without
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Essential Guide To Planning and Executing A Private Cloud Migration PDF

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E-guide

Essential Guide to Planning

In this e-guide Private Cloud Classroom

Private cloud construction

Private cloud tools 4 Demystifying the private cloud

Some enterprises also gain early awareness of open-source cloud development

Hadoop creates a type of data model-driven cloud architecture; Eucalyptus

Introduction Justifying the private cloud

The efficiency of a cloud-ready data center doesn't rise exponentially or even

plateau. Moving to an explicit cloud could increase their operations costs by

Moving to a private cloud is necessary where data center resource utilization is

What enterprises often find is that disorderly planning in server consolidation

If an enterprise hasn't consolidated servers, it's more likely that a specific

Private cloud planning

allows data center operators to move application workloads; reallocate memory,

Private cloud tools 4 Myth 1: VM automation is simple

doesn’t become VM sprawl in the cloud. It’s going to take considerable

Additionally, it may be time to rethink physical servers that were originally

have been performance-sensitive servers that were considered too tricky to

Private cloud construction Myth 2: Provisioning storage is simple

Private cloud tools 4 In a cloud-based environment, provisioning adequate storage is acknowledged

An enterprise running a decent-sized storage area network (SAN) appliance, for

software makes them aware of the cost of storage through chargeback

Private cloud tools 4 Myth 3: Configuring networks is simple

For your infrastructure to be cloud-ready, networks also need an overhaul.

Bandwidth: Even if your network is humming along, with 1 Gigabit Ethernet

A virtualized environment that consolidates numerous physical servers into a

Private cloud planning

Virtual switches: IT managers need a bulletproof strategy for the logical

Private cloud tools 4 Myth 4: Private clouds are simple

A private cloud infrastructure is no different. A true private cloud model means

Broadly speaking, that means control over data center resources to do

That's good news, because, in a third-quarter 2012 Forrester Research Inc.

Private cloud misconceptions abound

There's a resounding chorus of agreement among industry analysts that there is

 Private cloud is not virtualization. Server and infrastructure virtualization

 Private clouds are not necessarily on-premises. Instead, private cloud

Getting more PRO+ essential

Interest in private clouds grows as market

Private cloud hits adolescence

components -- along with less-resilient commodity hardware at a fraction of the

Private cloud construction

Private cloud tools 4 Adjusting IT attitudes toward private cloud

For most organizations, designing and managing a private cloud is a tectonic

In the first part of this series, we explored how enterprises must

Introduction What about our legacy applications?

Enterprises are built on legacy applications. These applications assume a

Change and configuration management becomes taxing. Even system

Private clouds are composed of layers of software, from common virtualization

As a result, many chargeback systems take simpler approaches, implementing

Changes can be welcome, though, as cloud designers rethink old processes

Private cloud construction

Private cloud planning

Additionally, planning for management and financing is a crucial step toward

downsides, some companies are looking to virtual private clouds or private

Private cloud classroom How do you know if your business needs

Jack Kaiser, Focus Technology Solutions

That is a great question. There is lots of confusion and misinformation in the IT

 An elastic computing environment,

Getting more PRO+ essential  Service measurements or chargeback capabilities.

Maish Saidel-Keesing, NDS Group Ltd.

Jason Helmick, Concentrated Technologies

In my house I set the thermostat to a comfortable temperature range. When it