Application as a barrier to cloud computing?

Before virtualization technology matures, legacy applications can cause huge hurdles to private cloud promotion. Finally, the problem comes down to the application.

As we leap from the old it approach to the new private cloud approach, a consistent proposition arises: the application. IT professionals are beginning to realize that when data center consolidation and virtualization are necessary to improve IT operations, application delivery becomes the star of the private Cloud's debut. Sometimes we avoid this problem, but it is no doubt to deceive ourselves.

As part of cloud computing migration, the company is implementing a cloud computing platform that serves the binary model of some IT applications, but does not include all. Most client/server type applications can be virtualized to some extent. But other massive databases, such as the running of the financial system, were designed before the virtualization technology matured. Because of performance problems, these applications are not virtualized.

We implemented virtualization in all the right places, "said Dmitri Ilkaev, vice president of Enterprise architecture at Thermo Fisher technology company.

The Waltham company, which is located in mass state, is an opportunistic person using virtualization technology, and he says the technology should be deployed in places of great importance. However, some of the company's core business applications do not fit neatly, standardized, and virtualized stacks. As a manufacturer of large digital complex scientific instruments, the company has moved into laboratory services and software to support its equipment. Ilkaev that the initial power of cloud type It automation is the ability to sell internal applications and services.

Ilkaev that the private cloud is a natural extension of the company's already-integrated and virtualized work. The company has widely used software as a service product, such as Salesforce.com. Even for the VP of Enterprise Architecture, it is ultimately the hybrid cloud model that delivers applications and support.

The banking sector's attitude towards private clouds is tepid

Other companies have adopted a more conservative approach. Sherrie Littlejohn, head of the corporate architecture and Strategy Group at Wells Fargo, said the bank's giant had carefully considered implementing the cloud infrastructure, but found it was not urgent. In addition, the banking industry's expectations of it are still dominated by security.

"We have many servers, and security is absolutely the first." "she said.

Littlejohn that Wells Fargo can envision some of the key business applications in cloud computing services, but it has been operating on a fairly advanced management system virtualization layer for its infrastructure. The competitive advantage of cloud computing providers is not big, she said.

In addition to a number of external services running its Web site and online services, Wells Fargo has used salesforce.com. But Littlejohn says security enforcement is relatively straightforward. When Wells Fargo is ready to build a private cloud, the firm will take a leisurely turn, giving internal users a greater leeway to configure their own it, Littlejohn said. Delivering business services and security takes precedence over new technologies, she said.

"I don't think we need to be aggressive," she said. "We will conduct testing and training in a gradual manner, and I must be careful, cautious and cautious in the banking sector," he said.

Incorporating applications into cloud computing migrations

Of course, applications are a big problem for organizations that want to reshape the IT department and focus on the benefits of cloud computing. Honeywell International, a UK company, is withdrawing 12TB of data that the company no longer needs.

Applications become a big problem when organizations restructure it and look at the benefits of cloud computing. Instead, run the money-burning movement of its data center. "Can you imagine the load on the server?" And its backup requirements? "said Solix, CEO of the company, Sai Gundavelli.

Gundavelli sells data management tools to Honeywell company and is responsible for managing data migration from original hardware devices to cloud computing storage devices. Apps, he says, are a daunting stubbornness, often the result of a lot of mergers and acquisitions or the code The Lone Ranger has written. When undertaking a large-scale reorganization (for example, virtualization or cloud computing), it is the first priority for IT departments to address.

"Running a data center on a global scale involves a staggering number of applications." "he said. "Just like buying a garage, they keep stuffing things inside, but they never move things outside," he said. He noted that one of his other clients, German manufacturer Bombardier, had identified nearly 2,000 applications that were expected to be phased out in the virtualization and modernization of its infrastructure.

The impact of application haunting

Typically, even a successful implementation case of a private cloud can be unsuccessful when talking about an application. In an in-house presentation, Christian Reilly, an IT professional at a large multinational company, looked back five years before he spent 42 full days deploying an application. His company, which is well versed in cloud computing, migrated infrastructure, global communications, workspace virtualization, and even an iphone app for a popular business application, did not touch the business as usual. "Can anyone guess how long it took to deploy this application?" 42 days, "he said.

What's wrong? Well, no problem. Infrastructure issues have been addressed, and they have gained experience in delivering large-scale online services from companies such as Google and Amazon. They are completing the effort to meet the IT budget, but no one can rewrite the application for the private cloud overnight.

That's the reality, says Reilly. "Virtualization is a big foundation for cloud computing, but it's definitely not everything." ”

The company has more than 90% virtualization, but is not automating application delivery. What's missing is how to get those apps connected at a certain level, and at that level, to be able to ' just ' implement the resource configuration. He is reviewing server templates, preconfigured stacks, and anything that can make cloud computing more useful than simply running on a server.

When it comes to consolidation migrations, he says, his application portfolio is the first thing he starts. He starts with client/server type applications, standardizing the virtual platform on Xen and eventually implementing a central authority, which he considers to be the key to addressing security issues.

He points out that you either control the user or control it in the background, which obviously makes it more efficient.
In our experience, you cannot control both. You can't have your cake and eat it, "he said." "If you want both to be avoided, your business might not be able to implement cloud computing at all." ”

The fact that users have access to a variety of Web Access forms of high technology means they prefer to have the same experience in the workspace. Reil¬ly said it was regrettable that most of it had not been able to keep up with the times, and business applications confirmed it.

It is not clear what changes the enterprise application should make to catch up with the changes in the user experience needs. It will take a certain amount of time to achieve the goal of doing big things. Most likely, we'll see the same trend: SaaS will support the transformation of users to use it in their work, and make the transition smaller. So it's also reasonable that it needs another ten years to do it.

Original link: http://www.searchcloudcomputing.com.cn/showcontent_51944.htm

(Responsible editor: Lu Guang)