Archive for June, 2010
As buzz surrounding cloud computing reaches a fever pitch, it’s important to understand not just how cloud 
computing works, but how cloud computing can work for your company. If you’re considering a move from a dedicated server to a cloud server, consider the following:
A cloud server is a virtualized server that leverages shared computing and storage resources, while a dedicated server is a physical server that is only allocated to one customer. New cloud servers can be provisioned very quickly; in fact, once ReliaCloud customers are registered, they can whip up a server in as little as 60 seconds.
Customers pay for cloud servers based on hourly utilization, and there are no set-up fees. When purchasing dedicated servers, customers sign a long-term contract, pay set-up fees, and typically have to wait days for the server to be installed.
Finally, cloud servers include features such as firewall security, high availability, and load balancing, which are only available to dedicated server customers who buy specialized hardware.
IT managers trust cloud now more than ever, according to coverage of a new survey. The survey, conducted on behalf of IT conference 360, found that the majority of European organizations now believe that cloud computing will result in an improvement in security defenses.
This represents a substantial increase from a similar study conducted in February of this year, and reflects a growing trend among IT managers on both sides of the pond who have increasingly relied on cloud computing as a secure and forward-thinking option.
As more and more businesses place their trust in the cloud, providers like ReliaCloud continue to work hard to maintain that trust. One way that we help ensure optimal security levels is through firewalls. Our cloud servers are located behind a two-layered firewall perimeter. The outer firewall security layer is provided by Cisco ASA hardware firewall devices, and the second security layer is provided by a virtual router running a software packet filter.
That was the sound of small business owners across the country taking a flying leap onto the cloud after reading Byron Acohido’s recent USA Today article. The cloud has appealed to increasingly broader circles over the past year, and now Acohido makes a strong case for the cloud as a tool for small businesses.
“Most small-business owners don’t realize this yet, but a mother lode of technology that can free precious cash and manpower is available to them as in no other time in history,” Acohido writes. “Small firms typically buy basic clerical and accounting software in shrink-wrap boxes and run them on a company computer. The owner, or a harried employee, invariably gets pressed into service as resident tech expert. Today, they can tap into a swelling portfolio of business applications residing in far-off computer servers. These programs come down from the Internet cloud.”
The inherent flexibility of cloud computing is what makes it so applicable and appealing to businesses of all sizes. Find out how the cloud can flex to fit your business!
With the prevalence of Internet exploits, securing your business has come to mean much more than a lock on the door. ReliaCloud Servers are connected to a private cloud network, and this network is by default inaccessible via the Internet. Therefore, a brand-new cloud server is generally not accessible via the Internet because it is produced with these default settings. To allow Internet access to your cloud servers, you need to explicitly set up port following rules.
ReliaCloud recommends applying security patches to your cloud server soon after provisioning the new server. We apply security patches to our software templates at least once every three months, and we also make updates any time a major security patch is released.
For more information on the security of cloud servers, visit the ReliaCloud Knowledge Base. Click on “Browse by Category” and select “Security” from the drop-down menu.
Accessibility is a fundamental component of cloud computing, and remote access enables you to take full advantage of your cloud server. You can remotely access cloud servers in multiple ways:
One option is to use a virtual console located in the cloud portal website. The virtual console is like having a keyboard, monitor, and mouse connected to the cloud server. You can use the virtual console to make configuration changes on the server regardless of the server network settings. You should be aware that this virtual console is not designed for high performance, and you may experience more lag using this option than you would when managing servers via traditional management protocols.
Another option for remotely accessing your cloud server is to use SSH (Linux/Unix) and remote desktop (Windows) protocols. Before initiating this type of remote access, you need to configure network settings on the servers and cloud network accordingly. SSH and remote desktop protocols offer better performance when managing cloud servers remotely.
To learn more about managing your cloud server, contact us or tap into the wealth of knowledge at ReliaCloud’s Knowledge Base.
If you think the cloud is big now, the IDC (International Data Corporation and Premier market intelligence provider) thinks you haven’t seen anything yet. The Wall Street Journal is among those reporting on a recent IDC study indicating that the cloud market is expected to experience dramatic growth over the next few years. What does this mean to you? Well, let’s take a look.
According to the Wall Street Journal coverage, the boom will be particularly strong among private cloud servers as more businesses embrace the era of automated and virtualized data centers as opposed to “In-house data centers that have become increasingly more expensive and complex to set up and maintain,” writes Journal staffer Benjamin Pimentel. In contrast, “Cloud computing enables companies to access computing power through a network.” This means companies can spend less time and money dealing with IT headaches and get back to their core business with less effort at every stage of the process.
The article quotes IDC analyst Katherine Broderick as saying that “now is a great time for many IT organizations to begin seriously considering this technology and employing public and private clouds in order to simplify sprawling IT environments.” Isn’t it worth a few moments of your time to see if Cloud Computing can save hours of it?
To learn more about how to get on the booming Cloud, contact ReliaCloud today.
The Open Group recently published a white paper on how the development of cloud computing is comparable with the emergence of the mainframe, the minicomputer, the microprocessor, and even the Internet.
The white paper pays particular attention to the potential return on investment awaiting cloud participants, concluding that cloud computing can provide many advantages over conventional approaches to IT provisioning – which can translate into significant improvements in ROI.
At a basic level, cloud computing prevents over- and under-provisioning of resources, allowing customers to receive the level of service appropriate for their business. The ability to increase performance while decreasing costs is one of the primary reasons businesses consider joining the cloud. But what makes cloud computing particularly exciting is that cloud computing’s potential effect on business is not just incremental improvement, but disruptive transformation through new operating models.
To learn more about the impact and ROI cloud computing can have for your business, contact ReliaCloud today.
Our CTO, Jason Baker, recently wrote an article for Data Center Knowledge on how to evaluate cloud computing providers. With new providers popping up every month, it can be difficult to know who to trust your information to. Jason focused on five main categories that need to be considered:
- Price
- Performance
- Security/Assurance
- Service Level Agreements
- Support
Read the article for yourself to find out how each of these categories plays into the big decision.
