Virtualisation versus cloud computing

In many cases private cloud computing environments have been built on a virtual infrastructure, and many organisations have deployed virtualisation by creating virtual servers on top of their existing networking, storage and security stacks. For example, certain hardware, operating system and even application clusters can deliver cloud services, but these technologies can be complicated and costly, often requiring a lot of work to provide a limited set of features. However, with private cloud computing, organisations need to think about the features they require and design virtualisation and cloud technologies in conjunction with one another.

The more likely scenario is that a private cloud computing environment is built on a virtual infrastructure, and many organisations have deployed virtualisation by creating virtual servers on top of their existing networking, storage and security stacks.

Virtualisation as an element of cloud computing

Cloud computing is as much a methodology as it is a technology and it is not possible to plan any single element without considering the effect on the others. You also have to add in practices and policies that govern chargeback, monitoring, procurement and many other facets of IT infrastructure. In reality your business requirements and needs will ultimately drive everything related to any choice of technology.

For example, the ability to rapidly provision virtual machines is not very beneficial if it still takes six weeks to order and install host servers. Furthermore, procurement will always be a problem if chargeback is not recovering costs, and that requires careful and detailed resource and utilisation monitoring. If storage and compute resources have different provisioning schedules, then these will have to be documented and reconciled to properly forecast demand.

Private cloud computing does not centre on virtualisation or any one specific technology, but uses a set of technologies that have been aligned to be flexible at times of high demand, provide a wide range of services and to reduce overall computing related hardware, software and system support costs.

Virtualisation and cloud computing are closely connected because major vendors Microsoft, VMware and Citrix Systems are putting a lot of emphasis on the cloud. They have closely aligned their products with tools and complementary technologies that promote the adopt ion of private cloud computing.

The future of cloud computing

As most senior managers will be aware, cloud computing is a rapidly evolving discipline and one that is likely to reshape organisation charts in all sectors as fast as it will change datacentre layouts. Cloud computing closely aligns with virtualisation, but are private clouds the datacentres of the future?

The simple answer is yes, as the private cloud model is starting to resonate with organisations designing or redesigning datacentres. Enterprises are trying to find the right balance between the two types of clouds, and private clouds are a great first step on the journey to the public cloud. Most CIOs realise that pooled resources with a virtualisation layer allows for greater flexibility and efficiency, and that these should ultimately be more cost effective for their organisation.

The term ‘private’ means ‘internal’ or ‘proprietary’ and there is a clearly sociological element to these words that make people feel better than ‘public’ or ‘shared’ clouds, where security concerns (whether true or imagined) have tended to slow down adoption. The ultimate goal is to move to the public cloud as much as possible, for the simple reason that there are greater cost savings thanks to higher utilisation levels. However, in reality, most people will keep many workloads internal (private) and federate workloads to service providers (public) only when they perceive there is a strong fit.

This is where external help and expert consulting comes in, pointing you in the direction of pragmatic virtualisation and cloud solutions and new technology opportunities such as Windows Server, Hyper-V and Windows Azure.

To find out more about Ballard Chalmers services and how we can help your organisation please email us or call Andrew Chalmers on 01342 410223.

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