Grazed from ZDNet.  Author: Ken Hess.

Asking most IT managers or techies whether they think they need a private cloud, reminds me of that scene in The Three Amigos where El Guapo asks Jefe if he knows what it means to have a plethora. Jefe, in fact, did not know what it means to have a plethora. And, most managers and techies neither know if they need a private cloud nor what it means to have a private cloud at all. Do you know what it means to have a private cloud or are you like Jefe who agrees with anything that El Guapo says? Here’s your chance to give your answer honestly and accurately.

The following is a short hit list of facts about cloud computing that will help you to place yourself on a level playing field with buzzword fanciers. Cloud computing is…

• Not synonymous with virtualization but built on virtualization.
• Built on the concepts of resource abstraction and resource pooling.
• Built and operated by you, the private cloud owner.
• A service delivery model: IaaS, PaaS and SaaS.
• A cost-effective technology due in part to operational efficiency and increased service levels.
• A natural, evolutionary step above simple virtualized infrastructures.
• Network-centric as services are provided ‘over the network.’
• An elastic computing environment.

A lot of people, including techies, think that cloud computing is simply virtualization on a very large scale but this isn’t exactly true. The difference in virtualization and cloud computing is that virtualization is simply placing workloads on individual virtual systems. The individual systems are virtual instead of physical but they have analogous functionality and purpose: A web server, a file server, a database server. You can have thousands of virtual machines where each performs its own functions. This is not cloud computing.

A cloud computing environment is a virtual infrastructure whose pooled resources service a particular function: A search engine (Google), a file storage and retrieval system (Dropbox), a web application service with individualization (QuickBooks Online). Thousands of virtual machines with a single purpose: Providing a single non-stop service.

Do you understand the difference?

Maybe the square/rectangle idea will help you:

Every square is a rectangle but not every rectangle is a square.
Every cloud is composed of virtual infrastructure but not every virtual infrastructure is part of a cloud.

A private cloud provides a service or services to its users on a grand scale.

Another example:

VDI (Virtual Desktop Infrastructure) can be a cloud service (Desktop as a Service (DaaS)) or you can setup your own VDI environment for 5,000 users that has nothing to do with cloud computing. The difference in VDI and DaaS is that when one of the 5,000 users connects to a desktop, it is in a one-to-one ratio. Every time I connect to my virtual desktop, it is my personal virtual desktop. Every time you connect to your virtual desktop, it is your personal virtual desktop.

When using DaaS, a cloud service, you connect randomly to a desktop service, not a specific virtual machine that is yours alone. You can customize your desktop but the profile is what’s customized, not the desktop system itself. If DaaS providers provided your desktop on a one-to-one basis, they would have a very limited number of customer possibilities indeed. Similarly, if you signed up for Zoho’s services and received your very own dedicated application server, Zoho would have to charge hundreds of dollars per month instead of the five dollars per month that they do charge for premium services.

Is the concept clearer now?

Cloud computing also leverages service optimization, which is a fancy way of saying that cloud services are doled out in a “low touch” or “no touch” scenario. Some call this a self-service environment and indeed it can be that. But, most often, it means that services are provisioned in an automated fashion.

For example, you need to setup a new web service. Using cloud computing and some clever front-end programming, you’d never have to speak to another person to do so. You could run through a wizard and in a few clicks, you’d have your new cloud-based service up and running. If you need a new virtual machine setup for a particular workload, a new virtual private server could be yours within minutes with no human intervention (except you) in the process…

Grazed from Inquirer Technology.  Author: Raquel P. Gomez.

People are only just starting to understand new technological trends such as virtualization and cloud computing, when along comes a phenomenon called “Big Data.”

That trend doesn’t really focus on burgeoning content or data encouraged by all those cloud activities. Big Data is all about tools and processes that allow organizations to manage and analyze very large data sets that yield insights from which the business may profit…

Grazed from Federal Times.  Author: David Blankenhorn.

With the advent of cloud technology, the archaic model of information technology asset acquisition based on the "I have a new application, so I will acquire a new, dedicated server" men-tality will need to give way to the concept of applications not being tied to specific servers. Cloud computing is based on the premise that IT is managing elastic and pooled IT resources and services from which agencies can rapidly procure IT services, scale them up or down as needed, and release them when finished…

Grazed from eQuick News.  Author: Jessie Taplin.

Q1. What iѕ Cloud Computing? (Slightly obvious but onе whісh wе should reаllу start with)

A. Cloud Computing is, іn basic terms, computing over thе internet. It аllоwѕ yоu tо access your e-mail, documents, software, even yоur desktop оn line, so іt’ѕ likе having a virtual computer. This means уou can work from anywherе – yоur office, уour home, а hotel, a cafe, basically anуwhere thаt hаѕ an internet connection…

Grazed from Federal Computer Week.  Author: John Edwards.

The high-profile security breaches the Defense Department has suffered in the past couple of years highlight the wide range of threats it faces — from the disgruntled soldier who gave secret documents to WikiLeaks to the state-sponsored hackers suspected in the recent theft of 24,000 files related to new weapons systems…

Grazed from Sys Con Media.  Author:  Maureen O’Gara.

Out to get its share of the shrinking federal gravy train, Amazon Web Services Tuesday came up with AWS GovCloud, which it claims is safe enough for Washington and its legion of contractors to run "more sensitive" workloads on by resolving at least some of the regulatory and compliance issues that have restrained them from using the cloud before…

Grazed from Sys Con Media.  Author: Maureen O’Gara.

After shedding its stealth cocoon back in the spring when it announced it got a $13.2 million A round, two-year-old Nutanix finally launched its Google-like Complete Cluster on Tuesday.

It’s supposed to make virtualization simple and cheap…

Grazed from Financial Times.  Author: Daryl Plummer.

Governing cloud computing is like herding a group of cats; you think you’re in control until one of them decides it’s time for you to pet it, feed it or suffer its wrath.

Cloud services, like cats, are hard things to control. This is mainly because the service provider has all the power, and the service consumer has much of the risk. But there are ways to approach governance in the cloud that yield good results, instead of just hairballs and claws…

Grazed from Network World.  Author: Dave Keams.

There were a couple of announcements made at last month’s Catalyst conference that I meant to draw to your attention but other things got in the way. Both are relevant to enterprise cloud-based computing so I’ll talk about both today…