A brief note on Cloud Computing

There is much confusion in the Internet regarding Cloud Computing. Here are my own thoughts.

Cloud Computing

Cloud Computing is a term used to describe a service where Processor, Storage and Networking (bandwidth) resources are available to users over the Internet. The Cloud Compute services are used to run both Server Applications such as Microsoft Exchange, and Client Applications such as Virtual Desktops. There are two types of Cloud Computing being developed today.

Virtualization based Clouds (for example, Amazon EC2)
- The application software, for example Drupal CMS, runs in its own Virtual Machines. The OS is not shared with any other application in the cloud. Each customer of this type of Cloud Computing can have their own preferred version of the OS and libraries.
- Cloud Service Providers provide efficient and high quality ways to host these Virtual Machines
- Cloud Application Developers develop their server applications in single-tenant mode, i.e. each server application is capable of providing service to one customer company only.
- A Virtual Machine can contain any fully functional server software. In other words, it can contain applications that were not specifically designed for cloud computing. The following are examples of such software
  - an Microsoft Exchange VM: Contains Windows Server 2003, Exchange and any other add ons to Exchange.
  - a Linux based Drupal Content Management Server: Contains Linux, a web server and application server (e.g. apache, tomcat), an application written in any scripting language such as php, ruby, python etc. and a database (typically MySQL)
- All the required software is installed in this VM, that is, it is fully self-contained. A zip or tar file of such a VM is called a Virtual Appliance
- Applications can be moved from one Cloud to another, maybe from the Cloud back to the Corporate Datacenter, etc.
Application based Clouds (for example, Google’s App Engine, Salesforce.com’s force.com)
- Applications may share the OS that they are running on with other Applications. This results in various restrictions in terms of what OS and libraries the customer can have access to.
- Applications must be custom developed for the specific cloud.
- Applications must be developed using specific languages that the cloud supports, for example, Google Apps must be developed in python
- An application developed for one cloud cannot be moved to another provider’s cloud. Customers are locked in.

Thinsy develops software for the Virtualization based Cloud Computing market. A typical Virtualization based Cloud has the following three aspects:

Infrastructure Software and Hardware
Virtual Appliances (fully self contained zip files that have an OS+Apps)
Operations manpower to run the Cloud

2.1. Cloud Infrastructure Software and Hardware

Servers - Standard x86 Servers. e.g. a two Quad Core Processor server with 24GB of memory and 4 or 6 250GB SATA disks
Networking gear - Gigabit ethernet switches, routers etc. Each server may have 2 gigabit network cards
Hosting and Bandwidth - Datacenters with enough Internet connectivity where these servers are installed
Software that runs on these servers - For Virtualization based Cloud Computing, the Infrastructure software is VM Servers and VM Management Servers. Examples of such software are VMware ESX and VMWare Virtual Center or EnSpeed VMM with LiveSync and EnSpeed VM Orchestrator

2.2 Virtual Appliances

A Virtual Appliance is a zip file that contains the files necessary to make a Virtual Machine. The Virtual Appliance zip files is a fully self contained image that contains an OS, an application, maybe a database, and anything else that the application may require.
The process of Virtual Appliance Development may be described using the following steps:

Create a blank VM on a VM Server by specifying disk and memory (for example, two 8GB virtual disks and 512MB of memory)
Use an OS ISO image (for example, a CentOS iso) to install the CentOS on the blank VM
Install mysql database on the Virtual Machine
Install apache in the VM
Install php and any other language needed (for example, a JDK for Java development)
Install the application itself (Drupal, SugarCRM, or Alfresco)
Customize the application for the specific target market (TimeZone, language, etc.)
Add any GUI that you need for administering the Virtual Machine. All of our EnSpeed Virtual Appliances have a GUI for configuring the IP address, etc.
Copyback the VM from the VM Server back to the EnSpeed VM Orchestrator to make a Virtual Appliance

Once the Virtual Appliance has been created, then you can make any number of Virtual Machines using this Virtual Appliance.
The EnSpeed VM Orchestrator provides an intuitive GUI to perform all of the actions described above.

2.3 Operations Manpower to run the Cloud

Once you have Virtual Appliances, you can sell these services to your customers. Every time you get a new customer, you create a new Virtual Machine using the Virtual Appliance of customer’s choice and start up the VM. The Operations team now steps in and runs the VM. The tasks involved typically are:

Monitor VM servers to ensure that they are running smoothly
Monitor VMs to ensure that they are providing services
Take backups of the VMs at regular intervals

About this entry

Title: A brief note on Cloud Computing

Published:: 07.10.08

Category:: EnSpeed VM Orchestrator, EnSpeed VMM, EnSpeed Virtual Appliance General

About

The EnSpeed Virtualization Blog is a log of my thoughts on Virtualization, Virtual Appliances, The EnSpeed Virtualization Software family, and EnSpeed Virtual Appliances. It is meant to be of use to all users of EnSpeed software

Jagane Sundar, Founder, Thinsy Corporation

Sean Tierney 07.10.08.08 / 11pm

jagane,
I’m a bit confused by your definition of virtual appliance. It sounds like you’re referring to it as a “factory” for creating specialized VM’s. From my understanding (and the way we use it at JumpBox) it refers instead to the specialized VM itself.

I would say the definition of “virtual appliances” can be most simply stated as “a VM containing an application that doesn’t require interaction with the underlying OS in order to use.”

Virtual appliance authoring tools seem more like what you’re describing, unless I have a fundamental misunderstanding of this stuff.

Sean

jagane 07.10.08.08 / 11pm

Sean,

Your point is well taken.

As compared to a Physical Appliance, for e.g. a SSL VPN Appliance, a VM offering similar functionality could well be called a Virtual Appliance.

However, the VMware Virtual Appliance Directory is a collection of downloadable “Virtual Appliances” which are essentially tar, zip or rar files that you could use to make a VM. In this use of the term, a Virtual Appliance refers to the bits that you make a VM from. This usage of the term “Virtual Appliance” is how we interpret it.

We do not use the term “Virtual Appliance” to indicate tools for authoring Virtual Appliance. Our product, the VM Orchestrator, includes features that help you author VAs.

As with any nascent technology, the terminology is debatable.

– Jagane

Bert Bouwhuis 08.10.08.08 / 12pm

Jagene,

Differentiating between virtualization based clouds and application based clouds may indeed remove some of the confusion.
However, stating that ‘resources are available to users over the internet’ still doesn’t take away the confusion with respect to the so-called ‘internal cloud’ (as also frequently used by VMware since Las Vegas). My personal opinion is that there is no such thing as an internal cloud. Would you agree to that?
Furthermore, I’m more or less missing the concept of a virtual infrastructure on top of a virtual machine. If my datacenter would be transferred to the cloud, I would need firewalls, DMZs, internal networking, etc in the cloud. This doesn’t easily map to you definition IMO, as it refers to machines only, and not to mechanisms by which those machines are tied together without connecting them all to the internet.

Bert

jagane 08.10.08.08 / 1pm

Hello Bert,

You have raised questions about two interesting points, each of which I will address in separate responses.

Internal Clouds:

I believe that an internal cloud is a legitimate concept. It refers to a consolidation of servers that may have existed in individual departments into one or more datacenters operated and managed by a central IT group. Imagine the following situation. If a department within an Enterprise needs a new server for, say, running a Source Code Control System for a new project. In years past, the procedure may have been something like this:
1. Order a new Server from Dell
2. After Server shows up, purchase and install an OS (Win Server or Redhat)
3. Purchase a Source Code Control App and install
4. Purchase backup software and hardware
5. Establish procedures to back up the server, and take backups offsite if necessary.

In the new Virtualization based Cloud Compute world, the steps may looks like this:
1. Go to your cloud management website
2. Browse Virtual Appliances that are available.
3. Create a VM using a suitable VA.
4. License the use of such VA from the publisher of that VA. Note that you have one point of contact for resolving all issues relating to your Application.

What is hidden under the covers here is that the hard work of establishing a Cloud, performing backups, etc. is automatically taken care of by the Enterprise’s central IT group, hopefully with software such as the EnSpeed VM Orchestrator and EnSpeed VMM with LiveSync.

Over the coming years, I see an overall shift in the kind of work that IT staff do. The work will change from repetitive tasks such as installing OSes and Apps over and over, to more intelligent tasks such as building Virtual Appliances using the above procedures.

On the user side, I expect that the Cloud Services will improve to the point where group managers and other non-IT staff will be able to create and run such Applications without the help of IT.

The second question you raise regarding advanced networking requirements such as a DMZ, firewall, etc. is very relevant from an Operations perspective. My answer to that is this:

We are in the nascent stages of the Cloud Compute industry. The features offered by Cloud providers, Amazon EC2 included, are primitive compared to what is possible using an in-house datacenter. However, considering the investments that companies such as VMware, Microsoft, Cisco etc. are making in Virtualization, I would not be surprised if such features come online rapidly.

I know of a number of high quality SSL VPN Virtual Appliances, Firewall Virtual Appliances, etc. It’s only a matter of time before you can stitch together a sophisticated network for your company using such VMs.

Cloud Feed » Blog Archive » Daily Cloud Feed - Oct 8, 2008 08.10.08.08 / 4pm

[…] A brief note on Cloud Computing […]

Bert Bouwhuis 09.10.08.08 / 12pm

Thanks Jagene. Your description of an internal cloud makes sense this way. With respect to the advanced networking part, I guess we just have to wait and see what such vendors as VMware are preparing in this area.

Alain Yap 16.10.08.08 / 3am

Just a question, Jagane!

Will the internal clouds be accessed via Internet/Web also so as to satisfy a definition of ‘cloud’? (Might have sounded stupid for asking but I’m still learning)

Thanks for sharing.
Alain

jagane 16.10.08.08 / 10am

Hello Alain,

Yes, parts of the internal ‘cloud’ will be accessible from the Internet. The cloud itself will probably have a firewall VM that restricts access from the Internet.
See Bert’s question and comment above. If vendors add sophisticated networking capabilities to the ‘cloud’, then having an ‘Internet’ net, a ‘DMZ’ net, and an ‘internal’ net will be possilbe.
The beauty of such an arrangement is that you can then use Virtual Appliances like Lego bricks and add/remove/change functionality at will. Perhaps you want to switch from a Checkpoint firewall Virtual Appliance to a Cisco PIX virtual appliance. This could be accomplished with a few mouse clicks.

Jagane

EnSpeed Virtualization Blog - Jagane’s Thoughts on Virtualization

A brief note on Cloud Computing

Cloud Computing

2.1. Cloud Infrastructure Software and Hardware

2.2 Virtual Appliances

2.3 Operations Manpower to run the Cloud

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EnSpeed Virtualization Blog - Jagane’s Thoughts on Virtualization

A brief note on Cloud Computing

Cloud Computing

2.1. Cloud Infrastructure Software and Hardware

2.2 Virtual Appliances

2.3 Operations Manpower to run the Cloud

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