Server virtualization integration in private cloud

Nowadays, it is imperative for many enterprises to deploy server virtualization and eventually convert it into a virtual cloud.

In many ways, server virtualization and cloud computing are mutually contradictory. In theory, companies and their IT departments can integrate the two to achieve symbiosis and improve the efficiency of the enterprise. The goal is to centralize data center resources and deliver applications and services effectively when users need or have business requirements. As long as properly deployed and properly managed, consolidating server virtualization technologies in private cloud systems can achieve enterprise cost-saving flexibility and adaptive solutions by consolidating network resources, reducing power consumption and facility costs, and reducing carbon-emitting emissions. However, there are no shortcuts or magical solutions to implement the proper deployment and management of private cloud systems. Any private cloud project must be based on a comprehensive and realistic assessment of the environment at that time-especially the assessment of server virtualization-and weigh it against the company's future internal cloud system services and server quality requirements.

Companies that install and manage private clouds should follow these steps:

Analyze the current loop

Select IT department employees and Company C-level executives to form action teams to assess the strengths and weaknesses of existing virtualized environments. List key items, such as CPU utilization, virtualization management, hardware configuration, and security. Review existing virtualization authorizations to ensure that they match the specific vendor's licensing terms. Fix vulnerabilities in the enterprise to ensure standardization of the same version of hardware and software products: This helps optimize system performance-because all authorization files are the same. Develop the 3-5-year plan, anticipate the development of the enterprise and allocate the corresponding resources according to the forecast. In any case, companies should strike a balance between their own development and today's technological development.

Set up an enterprise development plan and design a private cloud that conforms to its own characteristics

Assemble IT managers, C-level executives, software developers, and fixed asset managers to estimate the total ownership cost of building the enterprise's own private cloud. Whether the service and management of the project is the company's own responsibility or outsourced to the outside of the company's host provider, should confirm the cost of renting facilities and electricity per kilowatt hour, as well as the configuration of virtual servers (whether the use of backward, low efficiency, low energy consumption dual-core processors or advanced four-core processors) should be confirmed. Companies should set up specific plans to explicitly configure and test servers, applications, backup and disaster recovery, data storage, and a schedule of related facilities such as third-party management tools that are critical to support the on-demand cloud computing service model.

Companies should allocate at least 6 months to develop migration plans, implement pilot projects and run upgrade functions. For large organizations, it takes at least a year to achieve a complete transition to a private cloud. For private cloud authorization, authentication, access control, independent management, integration and policy management, managed virtual domain and other aspects of management and security, the company must have a detailed blueprint. How do I handle authorization? If the company decides to outsource the private cloud to a server vendor outside the company, it should review the supplier's history and customer evaluations in advance.

Assessment, management cost and billing model

Private cloud computing deployment can save the physical space and heat dissipation and utility cost of enterprise 40%-80%. At the same time, a cleverly designed private cloud system can increase the utilization rate of enterprise assets and ROI by two to three times times. These results can be compared with the results achieved by a well-functioning virtual environment in an organization, the only difference being the organizational structure.

The current private cloud computing environment includes high reliability and highly scalable services. These services are built on a virtual server and are implemented via the Internet. In addition, the way private and business cloud computing environments manage billing and refund differs from most popular server virtualization deployments. In a cloud computing environment, special services are billed in a way that is analogous to a grid computing pattern: The cost of a group user can be calculated by power consumption or by subscription services, which are based on the length of time that a particular department uses special applications and services within a company. Companies that build private cloud systems must decide which billing model to choose and ensure that costs are traced through the right refund process. The size and scope of the private cloud environment are different and the results achieved are different.

In addition to the above issues, organizations must identify which services are used for private clouds, which are used internally and which services can be isolated from the system, to ensure the relative security scope of the firewall.

The key to managing contracts and services to reduce total ownership costs is to increase ROI and mitigate the risk of an enterprise's ability to effectively manage the private cloud computing environment. Remember that you must manage both physical and virtual parts of your infrastructure. The effectiveness of the system depends on whether the company has established realistic and effective objectives for service level agreements and operational level agreements.

Service level agreements should focus on the quality of service in the internal cloud, the allowable downtime, the level of specific performance agreements, the cost and time of power outage recovery, and the provision of data loss and security vulnerabilities, as well as backup, disaster recovery, and storage. Further clarify the actual costs of the above, and ask the cloud or cloud system service provider to explain any ambiguities or ambiguities in the contract. There must be no hesitation in pressing, high level of availability and uptime and service and support.

Another key to managing the private cloud computing environment is to determine the cost of the downtime maintenance period and the required uptime level: 99.9%,99.99% or 99.999%. "Time is Money" applies here as well. A guaranteed level of performance and security must be required and accepted, and contingency plans will be formulated and added to the contract if the objective situation is not in conformity with the original plan. The corresponding compensation should include cash compensation or future service credit.

Finally, don't forget to upgrade the run level protocol. This often overlooked management strategy is the internal mechanism that determines how different departments meet and maintain the level of service required by the company. The design of the protocol is designed to establish a running plan that determines the specific responsibilities of the company and the relevant principals and departments of the special system. For your private cloud computing environment, the running level agreement is an important attachment to the service level agreement.