[kwlug-disc] Private Cloud

[John Van Ostrand]

Private cloud to me means a lot of things and different companies will value features differently.

The could is private, so clearly there is a control issue, either the nature of the application or resource requirements don't lend themselves to existing public cloud vendors or security and privacy issues preclude using an outside company. When using a private cloud clearly there is some aspect that is weighed heavier than cost savings.

First almost all organizations can use the reduction in costs provided by virtualization. Rather than one server per application per department, you have one server for 10 applications (or more) for a variety of departments. Not only does this reduce capital costs, but it reduces running costs (A/C, electricity, floor space, switch ports, etc.) It also makes migration to another host a non-event instead of a time consuming rip-and-replace operation. Such easy migration means companies can have less overlap in leases and could more easily meet punitive lease deadlines

A multi-departmental company may choose a cloud architecture to make their internal projects more efficient and agile. So when a business unit asks for resources they get it sooner, rather than having to go through the financial approvals for capital expenditures. This means several things. First it means a self-service architecture where IT system analysts can requisition a VM and storage, rather than ask the sys admin team to do it. Second it means cost accounting so that an appropriate amount of charge back can be allocated to the department.

Some companies may choose to develop their application with a cloud architecture in mind. So instead of transactional applications they would design a cloud aware application that can manage its own allocation of hosts and resources and scale quickly to meet demand.

For further agility an organization may choose to decentralize its IT staff, placing more IT staff in departments. These staff would not need hardware or OS admin skills, but the simpler skill of requisitioning resources. These staff would become experts in the departmental business and be system analysts rather than technicians.

An organization may also look to private cloud to further stratify its IT staff. This could result in savings my replacing highly skilled sysadmin staff with arms-and-legs rack and stack staff to simply replace hardware. The virtualization makes for  a convenient demarcation of skilled and unskilled labour.

Some may also look to image standardization as a way to save sysadmin time. Although I think over time this may get just as jumbled.


----- Original Message -----
> 2012/1/19 Kiwi Ssennyonjo <kiwi at ssenn.com>:
> > What do you want in a private cloud?
> 
> To me it means kind of a jumble of Dropbox and Google Docs.
> 
> I have files, and them to be accessible from ANYWHERE -- my home PC,
> my laptop, a public PC, my friend's PC at their house, my grandma's
> PC. I don't want to have to install anything, so it'll probably be
> web-based, but I'd like to edit them -- say if they are text files --
> without having to install anything either.
> 
> Possible application: I track my expenses in a simple text file...
> when I buy a hot dog from a street-meat vendor, I want to be able to
> pull out my cell phone and quickly add "$3.50 -- hot dog" to my list.
> (hmm, what if I don't have a data plan, that addition fits in 140
> chars...)
> 
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-- 
John Van Ostrand 
CTO, co-CEO 
Net Direct Inc. 
564 Weber St. N. Unit 12, Waterloo, ON N2L 5C6 
Ph: 866-883-1172 x5102 
Fx: 519-883-8533 

Linux Solutions / IBM Hardware