Posts Tagged ‘Cloud Servers’
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.
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.
Phrases like “cloud server” and “cloud computing” are tossed around so frequently these days, you could be forgiven for thinking that they might be little more than water cooler buzz words. However, cloud servers and cloud computing represent a major paradigm shift, and organizations all around you are benefiting from hopping on the cloud.
So what’s this all about?
A cloud server is essentially raw computing power delivered as a metered service. This computing power is encapsulated within a cloud server instance. Each cloud server instance runs on top of a hypervisor within a physical computing infrastructure. A cloud server has a specific amount of computing (CPU and memory) and storage resources that can support an operating system and run applications.
Customers build their own cloud servers by selecting a specific cloud server model and a software template. The software template is a bootable image that contains an operating system and a set of applications. Customers pay for their cloud servers on an hourly basis, and customers are responsible for the provisioning and maintenance of their Cloud servers.
Now that you’re in the know, find out how cloud computing can work for your business.
I ran across another interesting article the other day – this one by the BBC, stating that cloud computing has come out from behind the clouds to shine in the mainstream business world. Tim Weber, Business Editor for the BBC news website, interviewed many people in both the business and information technology sectors. He cites five key reasons the cloud has attracted a growing fan base:
- Cheap: Your IT provider will host services for multiple companies; sharing complex infrastructure is cost-efficient and you pay only for what you actually use.
- Quick: The most basic cloud services work out of the box. For more complex software and database solutions, Cloud computing allows you to skip the hardware procurement and capital expenditure phase—it’s perfect for start-ups.
- Up-to-date: Most providers constantly update their software offering, adding new features as they become available.
- Scalable: If your business is growing fast or has seasonal spikes, you can go large quickly because cloud systems are built to cope with sharp increases in workload.
- Mobile: Cloud services are designed to be used from a distance, so if you have a mobile workforce, your staff will have access to most of your systems on the go.
Upon searching for up-and-coming cloud computing news, I ran across a new book with a title so long that I couldn’t help but read more: Management Strategies for the Cloud Revolution: How Cloud Computing is Transforming Business and Why You Can’t Be Left Behind. The author, Charles Babcock, is a recognized expert in the business side of computing and information technology. In fact, he is an editor for Information Week magazine and blogger at Plug Into The Cloud.
While I haven’t had time to read it for myself, I did find a very informative review on the book. James E. Gaskin of IT World highlights Babcock’s assertion that cloud computing is a practical option. Babcock believes this is due in part to cloud servers’ ability to increase efficiency by reducing over-provisioning of a company’s own data centers.
If you are debating whether or not to believe the claims that cloud computing may actually benefit your company, you might consider checking this book out for yourself. Gaskin informs us that the book praises high bandwidth availability and relatively low cost of today’s cloud servers. Ultimately, Babcock’s book asserts that companies who aren’t already considering cloud computing should get up to speed or risk being left in the dust.
Your cloud servers, applications, and data are physically located on computer nodes within data center facilities. The reliability of these data centers is crucial to your cloud computing experience.
One of the best ways to ensure reliability is to select a cloud provider that has obtained SAS 70 Type II certification. The American Institute for Certified Public Accountants (AICPA)’s Statement on Auditing Standards (SAS) number 70 applies to service organizations such as cloud providers. This widely recognized auditing standard indicates that a service provider has undergone an in-depth audit of their control activities. Specifically, SAS 70–certified providers must demonstrate that they have adequate controls and safeguards in place when they host or process data belonging to their customers.
SAS 70 Type II represents an even higher level of certification, which requires an audit over an extended period of time to ensure policies and procedures are followed and adhered to.
To learn more about the importance of SAS70 Type II certification, contact ReliaCloud today.
New study links cloud computing to huge cost savings
A new study conducted by The Brookings Institution, a heavyweight think tank based in Washington, D.C., suggests that increased reliance on cloud computing could result in substantial cost savings for federal institutions. Though the study relied on existing research and case studies involving government agencies in particular, the implications are far-reaching.
The study’s findings were published this month in a report by Brookings Vice President and Director of Governance Studies Darrell M. West. West found that the government agencies in his study “generally saw between 25 and 50 percent savings in moving to the cloud.” West highlights a number of potential reasons for the cost savings, including cloud servers’ customizable service levels as well as the fact that use of remote file servers de-emphasizes users’ geographical location.
Based on his findings, West advises the government to “redirect greater resources to cloud computing in order to reap the efficiencies represented by that approach.”
The entire report is available for download through The Brooking Institution’s web site (PDF).
To learn how cloud computing can increase the efficiency of your organization, contact us today.
