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One of the many benefits of cloud computing is the inherent flexibility. Cloud servers can be adapted to meet the needs of a wide variety of businesses and a wide range of computing and storage needs. If you’re already on the cloud and you find that you need to expand your computing capability and storage resources, you have multiple options.
First, you can scale your cloud server environment horizontally. This means that you add computing capacity by provisioning additional cloud servers. Each cloud server allows you to run more applications, consume more bandwidth, and utilize more storage resources. You can set up load balancing to evenly distribute traffic among your growing population of cloud servers.
Second, you can scale your cloud server environment vertically by upgrading existing cloud server models. For example, you may have provisioned a cloud server using a small server model that you have since outgrown. You can use the ReliaCloud portal to upgrade the cloud server model to a larger model that contains more CPU, memory, and storage.
Finally, you can scale your cloud server environment by leveraging outside services such as our cloud storage.
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.
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.
Transferring applications and data from your current systems to a cloud server is a relatively simple three-step process, but it can be completed in a wide combination of ways.
The first step is to identify a data transfer protocol that you will use to copy your data. You could use FTP, SFTP, NFS, CIFS, WebDAV, or a variety of other storage or transfer protocols.
The second step is to configure your cloud servers to respond to these protocols. For example, you may need to setup an FTP server, NFS mount, network share, or Samba server.
The third step is to setup port forwarding on your cloud network to allow incoming traffic from the Internet to your cloud servers. Now you should be able to copy data from your existing systems to your new cloud servers.
To understand which combination works best for your company, contact us today, or check out the ReliaCloud Knowledge Base. It’s always a great resource for using your cloud server or cloud storage, search specific keywords, or browse by topic for answers to your cloud computing questions.
