Hybrid Cloud FAQ: Good old virtualization in a new financial wrapper
What is a hybrid cloud?
A hybrid or convergent cloud is a combination of at least one public cloud with at least one private cloud. For example, this is a bunch of your data center in the office and Amazon clouds. Amazon virtual machines can be visible on the same subnet as your physical one.
What is it done for?
The main reason is saving and speed. You can allocate yourself any amount of resources from a public cloud for any time, and then simply turn off unnecessary power. Taking into account all the details, the cost of renting capacities in a public cloud is about the same as when buying real equipment - but in the first case, all operating expenses are quantized and not for three years (with a margin for depreciation), but for a second.
What does it mean?
First, it can mean that the public cloud virtual machines are on the same virtual subnet as your physical ones. In this case, they communicate through a secure tunnel, from where you can get the machines from the remote cloud (that is, from the point of view of the management software, new capacities are placed on your network with the address of your own network).
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Secondly, private and public clouds can be integrated at the level of a virtualization platform. The technique behind this concept may be different, but at the user level, this means that your software can equally well run on a server from a nearby rack, and on a machine in Ireland, for example.
Why do you need a hybrid cloud?
Because the total computational power of your data center is limited, and the external public cloud can easily scale. At any moment you can pick up more power from the outside. And, if necessary, after 15 minutes of mad calculation to disconnect.
What uses this mode of operation?
As a rule, for banal savings. It is necessary to shovel something in the data - they took away more resources from the outside, counted, disconnected. You do not need to expand your equipment. In second place - the speed of obtaining resources. With a cloud you can get them literally within an hour, with real iron it will take weeks and months.
Is there an example?
Yes. For example, we have a customer, a retail network. They have their own equipment, but when they launch a new process, power is taken from our public cloud. If it becomes clear that this IT process is needed all the time, they transfer it to their data center. If "does not take off" - simply cancel the use of resources in the cloud.
What begins the construction of such a system?
In Russia, as a rule, with the choice of a public cloud from the Russian operator. The fact is that almost all those who may need a hybrid solution are in one way or another strictly limited in terms of legal, accounting or other aspects by Russian suppliers. There are quite a few options for enterprise level clouds, it should be noted. I will talk further on the example of our KROK cloud, since all practice is associated with it.
That is, new capacities are “registered” in their own network?
Yes. Services that run in the hybrid cloud and run on your machines, see transparently those services that are in the public. From the point of view of your software, they are on the same network and on the same site. From the point of view of the admin, you can connect to the control center of our cloud and simply allocate power in one click.
When is such integration still convenient?
There was a customer who needed to wait about 7 weeks for new equipment. At the same time, the launched service was needed today. Connect with our CROC cloud in a virtual network. Since the local addressing was saved, there were no problems. Further, after solving the problem, the client's financiers gradually realized that it was a good idea to replace all capital expenditures with operating expenses.
Is it possible to develop yourself?
Yes you can. For example, about 80% of our customers in data centers use hybrid cloud functionality, and most admins prefer to configure them themselves. To do this, for example, we provide our customers with the VPC (Virtual private cloud) functionality - this is an isolated segment of a public cloud platform with advanced functionality for managing network settings. The customer can, through the self-service portal, create the number of isolated VPC environments necessary for him and produce:
By itself, the VPC control procedure does not require special knowledge other than reading the instructions.
Why do large customers use hybrid clouds?
As a rule, a mature business virtualizes its infrastructure. That is already infrastructurally ready to use hybrid solutions. When acquiring additional power in our public cloud, building and maintaining a hybrid cloud costs nothing - and this is very convenient. And then - testing, development, temporary tasks, urgent unscheduled launches, periods of activation of accounting - all these one-off powers fall on the VPC-part of the hybrid.
Ok, why does business go to the clouds at all?
Usually there is a classic infrastructure on its site. And there are a number of reasons why a cloud approach is needed: here is the turnover of its IT personnel, and the desire not to take risks with the engineering problems of the data center, and to outsource some questions about the availability of IT systems to those who are responsible for the ruble. In Russia, the transition often begins with some kind of emergency case and the phrase "stop this already."
Quest to buy a server: how long will it take for you in the company?
In my practice, it can take an average of 3 months to half a year with a successful set of circumstances in a large company.
Is it possible without your infrastructure?
Yes, we have a number of customers who place their equipment in our data center, and at the same time build a hybrid cloud with our public one — this is also necessary for working with peaks when more resources are needed.
Who looks at it with interest?
Banks. They can not yet completely into the cloud because of the many legal difficulties, plus growing risks. Air carriers: some would have moved to the clouds a long time ago, but they always have a pool of critical iron, which should help to land the plane - and therefore hybrids with critical iron on their platforms can be very convenient for them. But retail and transport companies do not interfere much.
Like a bridge
Even in our practice, this situation constantly arises: its own IT-service and IT-infrastructure of the customer already bring it to the handle, and they understand that without much change there is no further. And immediately jump to full virtualization is scary. Well, then the hybrid cloud is used as a bridge: first it is configured like a sandbox, then the service by service from its equipment is given to the cloud. And then - a smooth move. We have a customer who in a couple of nights dragged the entire infrastructure into the cloud so that in the morning its users started up - and everything with the same addressing started working on our facilities.
Summary
Hybrid clouds are good old infrastructure virtualization in a new financial wrapper with a focus on operating costs. There is nothing technically complicated, everything worked fine and two years ago on the same platforms. The main aspect is often more convenient due to the lack of difficulties with equipment maintenance and precise quantization.
A hybrid or convergent cloud is a combination of at least one public cloud with at least one private cloud. For example, this is a bunch of your data center in the office and Amazon clouds. Amazon virtual machines can be visible on the same subnet as your physical one.
What is it done for?
The main reason is saving and speed. You can allocate yourself any amount of resources from a public cloud for any time, and then simply turn off unnecessary power. Taking into account all the details, the cost of renting capacities in a public cloud is about the same as when buying real equipment - but in the first case, all operating expenses are quantized and not for three years (with a margin for depreciation), but for a second.
What does it mean?
First, it can mean that the public cloud virtual machines are on the same virtual subnet as your physical ones. In this case, they communicate through a secure tunnel, from where you can get the machines from the remote cloud (that is, from the point of view of the management software, new capacities are placed on your network with the address of your own network).
')
Secondly, private and public clouds can be integrated at the level of a virtualization platform. The technique behind this concept may be different, but at the user level, this means that your software can equally well run on a server from a nearby rack, and on a machine in Ireland, for example.
Why do you need a hybrid cloud?
Because the total computational power of your data center is limited, and the external public cloud can easily scale. At any moment you can pick up more power from the outside. And, if necessary, after 15 minutes of mad calculation to disconnect.
What uses this mode of operation?
As a rule, for banal savings. It is necessary to shovel something in the data - they took away more resources from the outside, counted, disconnected. You do not need to expand your equipment. In second place - the speed of obtaining resources. With a cloud you can get them literally within an hour, with real iron it will take weeks and months.
Is there an example?
Yes. For example, we have a customer, a retail network. They have their own equipment, but when they launch a new process, power is taken from our public cloud. If it becomes clear that this IT process is needed all the time, they transfer it to their data center. If "does not take off" - simply cancel the use of resources in the cloud.
What begins the construction of such a system?
In Russia, as a rule, with the choice of a public cloud from the Russian operator. The fact is that almost all those who may need a hybrid solution are in one way or another strictly limited in terms of legal, accounting or other aspects by Russian suppliers. There are quite a few options for enterprise level clouds, it should be noted. I will talk further on the example of our KROK cloud, since all practice is associated with it.
That is, new capacities are “registered” in their own network?
Yes. Services that run in the hybrid cloud and run on your machines, see transparently those services that are in the public. From the point of view of your software, they are on the same network and on the same site. From the point of view of the admin, you can connect to the control center of our cloud and simply allocate power in one click.
When is such integration still convenient?
There was a customer who needed to wait about 7 weeks for new equipment. At the same time, the launched service was needed today. Connect with our CROC cloud in a virtual network. Since the local addressing was saved, there were no problems. Further, after solving the problem, the client's financiers gradually realized that it was a good idea to replace all capital expenditures with operating expenses.
Is it possible to develop yourself?
Yes you can. For example, about 80% of our customers in data centers use hybrid cloud functionality, and most admins prefer to configure them themselves. To do this, for example, we provide our customers with the VPC (Virtual private cloud) functionality - this is an isolated segment of a public cloud platform with advanced functionality for managing network settings. The customer can, through the self-service portal, create the number of isolated VPC environments necessary for him and produce:
- configuring the internal addressing of the virtual networks of the cloud platform (in the public cloud, the internal addressing is automatically configured);
- integration into a single network space of private networks of the customer's office with virtual networks of the cloud platform, up to the construction of horizontal L2 networks between sites;
- setting static or dynamic routing;
- configure IPSec VPN tunnel between sites.
By itself, the VPC control procedure does not require special knowledge other than reading the instructions.
Why do large customers use hybrid clouds?
As a rule, a mature business virtualizes its infrastructure. That is already infrastructurally ready to use hybrid solutions. When acquiring additional power in our public cloud, building and maintaining a hybrid cloud costs nothing - and this is very convenient. And then - testing, development, temporary tasks, urgent unscheduled launches, periods of activation of accounting - all these one-off powers fall on the VPC-part of the hybrid.
Ok, why does business go to the clouds at all?
Usually there is a classic infrastructure on its site. And there are a number of reasons why a cloud approach is needed: here is the turnover of its IT personnel, and the desire not to take risks with the engineering problems of the data center, and to outsource some questions about the availability of IT systems to those who are responsible for the ruble. In Russia, the transition often begins with some kind of emergency case and the phrase "stop this already."
Quest to buy a server: how long will it take for you in the company?
In my practice, it can take an average of 3 months to half a year with a successful set of circumstances in a large company.
Is it possible without your infrastructure?
Yes, we have a number of customers who place their equipment in our data center, and at the same time build a hybrid cloud with our public one — this is also necessary for working with peaks when more resources are needed.
Who looks at it with interest?
Banks. They can not yet completely into the cloud because of the many legal difficulties, plus growing risks. Air carriers: some would have moved to the clouds a long time ago, but they always have a pool of critical iron, which should help to land the plane - and therefore hybrids with critical iron on their platforms can be very convenient for them. But retail and transport companies do not interfere much.
Like a bridge
Even in our practice, this situation constantly arises: its own IT-service and IT-infrastructure of the customer already bring it to the handle, and they understand that without much change there is no further. And immediately jump to full virtualization is scary. Well, then the hybrid cloud is used as a bridge: first it is configured like a sandbox, then the service by service from its equipment is given to the cloud. And then - a smooth move. We have a customer who in a couple of nights dragged the entire infrastructure into the cloud so that in the morning its users started up - and everything with the same addressing started working on our facilities.
Summary
Hybrid clouds are good old infrastructure virtualization in a new financial wrapper with a focus on operating costs. There is nothing technically complicated, everything worked fine and two years ago on the same platforms. The main aspect is often more convenient due to the lack of difficulties with equipment maintenance and precise quantization.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/226755/
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