CIRRACORE’s 2015 Fast-start Great Vacation Giveaway
Cirracore wants to get the year off to a great start, engage our partners and friends have some fun in the process! So we are please to announce our 2015 Fast Start Vacation Giveaway. We are asking our friends and partners to help us get off to a fast start in 2015 by identifying and introducing us to Cloud Infrastructure as a Service opportunities. We intend to give away one trip a quarter based on a drawing from all of the leads that are submitted in that quarter and turn into paying customers. All you have to do is submit the opportunity via the link below. That’s it – Submit a lead and go to the Bahamas on us! Now lets get to work and have a blast in 2015!
Cirracore Offers Free Month and Beach Trip to Planned Verizon
Outage Enterprise Cloud Customers
Limited-time, free month offer and trip to the Bahamas for two
to Verizon customers affected by planned 48-hour service outage.
Atlanta, GA (PRWEB) January 08, 2014
Cirracore, a leading supplier of VMware® Enterprise Cloud Infrastructure
as a Service (IaaS) solutions, has announced today that they will offer a
free month with a minimum 1 year term for dedicated cloud resources for any
current Verizon Cloud customer that can’t tolerate the upcoming extended
outage recently announced by Verizon, and would like to move their Cloud
resources to Cirracore’s Enterprise Cloud offering which includes a 100%
uptime guarantee.The Cirracore
technical team will be available to assist with migrations.
Additionally, Cirracore is currently offering a vacation trip
for two to Atlantis in the Bahamas (http://www.cirracore.com/beach-trip/) for
leads, and will extend this offer to any Verizon customer that takes
advantage of this migration offer.
For more information, visit Cirracore.com. To request your
no-cost, no-obligation, limited-time assessment, contact Cirracore at sales@cirracore.com,
U.S. toll free at (888) 797-3831, Ext. 701 or worldwide +1.404. 348-2436,
Ext. 701.
About Cirracore Cirracore is a
global provider of managed enterprise, private and hybrid cloud solutions for
mission critical applications that allow enterprises to scale operations
while reducing costs and IT infrastructure support. Cirracore has rapidly
become one of the most respected high-performance Infrastructure as a Service
(IaaS) providers in the industry serving a global enterprise customer base.
Cirracore has partnered with premier companies that are leaders in their
respective industries to provide best in class service to our customers.
Visit Cirracore to learn about Enterprise Cloud hosting at
http://www.cirracore.com
Your Own Virtual Private Datacenter Free for the First Month
Your own virtual private datacenter where you are in control of your compute and storage resources.
Build out your environment from your resources pools by creating virtual servers (VM) from your allocated resources of Cores, RAM, and Storage. Create VMs that exactly meet the application requirement and not be forced into pre-defined VM sizes.
Manage your VMs from the web interface of VMware’s vCloud Director.
With dedicated resource pools, Cirracore can provide you with your own virtual private datacenter where you are in control of your compute and storage resources.
Build out your environment from your resources pools by creating virtual servers (VM) from your allocated resources of Cores, RAM, and Storage. Create VMs that exactly meet the application requirement and not be forced into pre-defined VM sizes.
Manage your VMs from the web interface of VMware’s vCloud Director or vCloud Connector from your vSphere Enterprise and have your resources at Cirracore appear as local resources in your vCenter and share workloads across both environments.
Cirracore provides geographically diverse locations for cloud hypervisor-based replication solutions that meet DR/Business Continuity requirements. Cirracore can host your VMware vCloud environment in Atlanta and replicate to Dallas, Texas or vice-versa.
Hypervisor-based replication gives you the ability to replicate at the correct level of any virtual entity, be it a single virtual machine, a group of virtual machines, or a virtual application (such as VMware vApp).
Cirracore’s hypervisor-based replication is powered by award-winning Zerto software, which is purpose-built for VMware vCloud environments. Cirracore’s Hypervisor-based replication solution achieves RPO in seconds, and RTO in minutes.
Cirracore provides a backup service for Cirracore Enterprise Cloud customers. This service is different than Replication for DR/Business Continuity. Replication refers to Cirracore’s Cloud Replication / DR that replicates parts or all of a virtualized environment to a geographically diverse location in real-time.
Cloud Backup gives customers desiring file-level backup and restore functionality of their virtual environments hosted in Cirracore’s Enterprise Cloud.
Cirracore uses award-winning Commvault Simpana software for file-level backup and restore solutions to securely protect customer data and retention policies.
The only requirement for a free month is a commitment made in the month of December, 2014. Call Cirracore today!
A cloud revolution is coming, changing the user landscape. Major IaaS price cuts and other provider moves give hints on where cloud is heading.
Any new technology presents users -- and early adopters in particular -- with an uneasy combination of extravagant claims and immature execution. In many cases, the users with the most compelling business cases will take the risks and blaze a trail for others. When they do, they leave signposts along the way in the form of the impact of their adoption on the nature and prices of services. That's the way it has always been, and that's the way it is with the cloud. It's time we read three of those signs to see where the cloud revolution is heading.
1. IaaS price cuts. The most important market signal of the last six months is the continued decline in pricing for infrastructure as a service (IaaS). This decline is an indication that cloud providers are seeking more business by cutting prices. That's good news for the cloud consumer. However, price commoditization will make it much harder for new innovative companies to enter or survive in the IaaS marketHow will the constant reductions in IaaS pricing be viewed -- as good or as bad news?
2. IBM's server move. Another critical sign is IBM's decision to sell its x86 server business to Lenovo. It's not that IBM thinks that x86 systems have no future, but that the prices and profit margins for x86swill be under continual pressure -- not the sort of thing a big technology company wants to see. From a cloud perspective, commodity servers are a good thing because they'd cut the costs for cloud providers, and they'd also cut the costs for users who are comparing cloud costs with those of internal IT.
How will this critical development be viewed from a cloud perspective?
3. PaaS and SaaS growth. Finally, we're seeing more platform as a service (PaaS) and software as a service (SaaS) growth, as well as a growing market for "platform services," or Web services to enhance basic IaaS offerings.Why are users moving up the cloud stack? And why are providers encouraging it by focusing more on higher-layer services, thoseabove IaaS?
These three market signs have seemingly little in common. But taken together, they signal a radical shift in the paradigm driving cloud adoption, and that's a signal of a different future for the cloud.
IaaS price cuts are a signal that the cloud giants recognize adoption will depend entirely on cloud price. The case for hosting a current app in the cloud is created by the difference between its in-house and cloud costs. Cloud cost reductions are aimed at getting more qualifying applications. This means that the adoption rate of the cloud would likely decelerate, at least in the near term, without a boost in cloud savings. The simple "virtual hosting" model of the cloud is probably already running out of steam.It's also running out of profits. The cloud providers lose revenue on every existing customer when they drop prices. Contrary to what's been written, the major cloud providers have little further economies of scale to gain.
IBM's decision to leave the x86 server market shows that the hardware there is already commoditized, so few more cost reductions in basic cloud infrastructure can be expected. All this means that cloud providers won't become better businesses because lower prices create more users; they'll become better businesses by selling basic IaaS users other cloud services on top of IaaS. The lower prices are a signal that IaaS might actually become a loss leader to get users into the cloud store to buy virtual "milk," then buy virtual "cookies" while they're there.
Moving above basic IaaS
Two things happen when you move "above" basic IaaS services in the cloud. First, your new services displace more hardware and software cost on the user side. Second, users can then justify higher prices from a cloud provider without killing cloud's incentive. IaaS displaces only hardware cost; PaaS displaces hardware, OS and middleware costs; and SaaS displaces all application costs.
The most important impact of a move from IaaS is allowing cloud providers to begin to support native cloud application development. Amazon's new Web services are clearly not designed to induce people to migrate their existing content-caching or Web-accelerating applications to the cloud; they have no such applications. It's these applications, things that can be done well only on the cloud. They will evolve from the limited "hosted server consolidation" applications of today and drive the cloud's future.
Amazon, Google, Microsoft and other cloud providers need a customer base so they can sell their cloud-specific services. Price reductions for IaaS will keep that base, and opportunities to upsell into the emerging cloud-specific service market will grow.
The more higher-layer components there are to cloud services and the more cloud-specific that applications become, the less the cloud of the future will look like the cloud of today. The notion of a "hybrid cloud" will almost disappear as agile components move freely across hosting options using these advanced orchestration concepts. Every cloud will be potentially a hybrid, so users and providers will rely on deployment and management tools that converge on a common model.
The signs are clear: The cloud is not a different hosting option for existing applications; it's a different architecture for application development. Adding the cloud hosting dimension to the tools available to developers will change forever how we write business and even entertainment applications and services. For those who relish revolution, the best news of all is that the price wars and service trends we see today are a clear sign that the cloud providers themselves think a cloud revolution is just around the corner.
Piecing together the hybrid cloud management puzzle
Managing the hybrid cloud means covering all of your bases from having a solid cloud management strategy to security. Having a plan helps to ensure high performance from the best of both cloud worlds.
Hybrid cloud gives users the ability to reap the benefits of public cloud -- including elasticity, on-demand resources and a pay-as-you-go model -- while still maintaining control over critical applications through private cloud. You could say hybrid clouds are little bit country and a little bit rock n' roll. However, that doesn't mean that hybrid cloud management is a walk in the park.
Yes, a hybrid cloud allows users to cash in on the low costs and scalability of public cloud, as well as limit the dangers of third-party exposure. But, there are many questions to answer before diving deep into the waters of hybrid cloud.
What is the true definition of a hybrid cloud?
Don't be fooled into thinking you have a hybrid cloud when, in reality, you're using separate public and private clouds. It's all about orchestration when it comes to separating the hybrids from the wannabes. Automated orchestration acts as the bridge between the public and private clouds to help move data between the two. For a true hybrid cloud model, build both cloud types on clustered COTS-based architecture rather than legacy gear. Otherwise, automated orchestration is not possible between the cloud types.
What are the keys to a solid hybrid cloud management strategy?
Fitting the hybrid cloud puzzle together is difficult when some pieces come from a public cloud and others from a private cloud. A solid management strategy is paramount for using a hybrid cloud. Managing hybrid cloud requires consistency, so configurations should be able to run on both cloud types.
No one wants billing surprises at the end of the month, so admins need tostay on top of cloud spending. Hybrid cloud users can keep costs under control with alerts for when infrastructure as a service or platform as a service expenses reach their limits.
Security concerns are always attached to the cloud, and the hybrid model is no different. Security follows the same cloud consistency rules as configurations. Admins should be proactive in planning for security breaches with data encryption and firewalls.
How can I avoid hybrid cloud security hurdles?
Data security is a benefit of private cloud, but that doesn't mean hybrid cloud is without issues. However, many of these concerns are manageable. A lack of data redundancy is a significant cause for concern -- especially when it comes to outages. Using multiple data centers creates a failover option that can limit the damage and inconvenience of an outage.
Negotiating a weak service-level agreement (SLA) can be another cause for concern around hybrid cloud security. Because a hybrid cloud is a combination of public and private, make sure the SLA takes into account both cloud environments. Your cloud SLA should cover the needs for each cloud, and not just focus on one or the other. The same goes for security tools. Authentication and other controls need to be cohesive for public and private clouds.
Compliance, or a lack thereof, is more fuel to the security concern fire. Teamwork is vital to keeping any hybrid cloud compliant, and both clouds need to maintain compliance for the entire platform to succeed.
What if my public cloud provider isn't meeting my expectations?
If your public cloud provider is letting you down, then it's time to part ways. Your hybrid cloud strategy should include a backup provider so you don't have to deal with unexpected costs, poor service or providers dropping the ball on the SLA. But, don't go from one bad provider experience into the arms of another. Make sure your backup provider won't expose you to vendor lock-in. Also, ensure your backup provider is compatible for current and future cloud workloads so you don't have to rearchitect applications.
How can I combat hybrid cloud deployment issues and manage applications properly?
Even though hybrid cloud is the best of both worlds, you still need to work out some deployment kinks. Each cloud has unique needs and if those needs aren't met, problems will arise -- such as latency and dependency. Planning ahead for these issues when migrating apps from private to public clouds and having a strong understanding of your cloud SLA keeps your hybrid cloud running smoothly.
To get the best hybrid cloud application performance, carefully map out your cloud architecture to determine where the application best fits. An app with poor performance slows down the entire enterprise and frustrates end users and consumers.
About the author: Nicholas Rando is assistant site editor for SearchCloudComputing. You can reach him at nrando@techtarget.com.
There are many considerations for building a private cloud, especially with a tight budget. Keep costs in check by carefully planning out hardware, capacity, storage and networking
Identifying the most cost-effective approach to the cloud is not easy. Budgetary constraints and commonsense indicate enterprises will take a phased approach to cloud, except in the occasional greenfield installments. And when planning out cloud infrastructures organizations, should take into account hardware, capacity, storage and networking requirements.
A large enterprise might break a cloud installation into three annual phases to allow future replacement cyclesto take place as a rolling three-year upgrade, which evens out acquisition costs over time. Additionally, legacy systems need to coexist with the new cloud infrastructures. While mainframes rarely figure into the cloud equation, storage arrays can be repurposed -- especially newer purchases.
Virtualization originally drove enterprises to servers without drives, but the realities of virtualized I/O performance created high-end server configurations with local fast storage -- typically solid-state drives (SSD) or flash. These "instance stores" are surrogates for drives in un-virtualized systems.
Likewise, the processor structure differs depending on the server's target service. For big data analytics, high-end processors with large memory capability are the best configurations; Web-servers and general computing could use inexpensive, diskless low-core count x64 or ARM64 engines packed as 1/2U servers.
Segregating use cases into big engine/small engine operations allows IT teams to create two or more heterogeneous sub-clouds. And managing them from a single console shouldn't be too difficult.
Capacity planning for private cloud
Capacity Planning is the next step in your private cloud project. A large part of successful capacity planning is to look at daily, weekly and monthly cycles to establish variations in the workload. This should give an instance count for level-loading.
Next, look at peak excursions and determine how to handle them. This includes flexible start times and job priorities, which can be baked into orchestration policies. This analysis yields the number of instances required for an evenly loaded system with typical excursions.
It's good to add extra units for unexpected events, plus a small quantity to cover failures and lay down a plan to add more units, as needed, for expansion. Firewalls, software-defined networks and storage require additional instances. Perform a similar utilization analysis for each sub-cloud in your project.
Defining storage requirements
Networked storage is another element in cloud infrastructure. The days of expensive "enterprise" drives are disappearing as SSDs replace high-end Serial-Attached SCSI (SAS) disks. Auto-tiering and caching software is changing the tiering structure to a (smaller) primary SSD array and a (larger) . Even with less capacity in the primary, all of the active data will fit in most environments and will be delivered 1,000 times faster.
Deduplication is a way to expand the capacity of storage by as much as six times. And with drives jumping from 1 TB to 10 TB in just the last three years, the number and physical footprint of new-age arrays can be smaller.
Storage prices also are dropping rapidly, and for many similar reasons. Additionally, software-defined storage is poised to decouple high-end features from the arrays and eliminate the need for complex and expensive high-end arrays.
Networking options continue to advance
Much like storage, networking is also going through a transition -- and at a much faster pace. Software-defined networks promise to make network configuration agile and allow fast, automated orchestration of virtualized networks. The compute functions move onto standard virtual machines, while switching is done on commodity silicon.
Planning the infrastructure for the cloud is not magic; it requires a systematic approach.
All of this bodes well for infrastructure costs in your new cloud. However, there are still some options to save more money and work. Modular systems, such ascontainerized data centerpods or rack-level installations, save a great deal of start-up effort and can be implemented faster than traditional approaches.
Converged systems take this a step further, defining a combination of servers, networking and storage that are pre-integrated and managed through a common console. These limit the need for separate organizational siloes, with corresponding improvements in efficiency and staffing levels.
Planning the infrastructure for the cloud is not magic; it requires a systematic approach. The rapid evolution of hardware technologies can complicate the decision-making process. Buying only what you need and evaluating the cloud project quarterly can ease the process and help to maintain optimal performance in your private cloud.
Closely watching your private cloud network performance is important, but often overlooked. Finding the right monitoring tools can save you a lot of hassle.
Monitoring is a crucial element of any private or hybrid cloud performance strategy. Cloud performance can make or break your reputation with users, and make your job as cloud admins complicated. Without a clear picture of workload and network performance, it's impossible to justify configuration or architectural changes -- such as workload balancing -- or quantify the effectiveness of quality of service (QoS) implementations or more far-reaching technologies, such as software-defined networking (SDN) for the private cloud.
Performance monitoring is easier in the private cloud where an organization has complete access to systems and the software stack. Monitoring can be far more difficult in public cloud orhybrid cloud environments, because cloud providers expose far less of their infrastructure to users.
Still, even if your company decides to use public cloud services, application performance monitoring (APM) tools can offer a glimpse of performance behaviors -- especially when such results are compared to the performance of the same workload in a private cloud setting.
These objective performance comparisons can quickly help IT administrators determine the best place to run each workload, looking particularly at mission-critical applications. For example, suppose a workload uses 1.5 compute units in the public cloud to accomplish the same amount of work performed by 1 compute unit in a private cloud. It's not difficult to determine the most cost-effective computing site given a workload's importance, cloud burst needs and other factors.About the author:
Stephen J. Bigelow is the senior technology editor of the Data Center and Virtualization Media Group. He can be reached at sbigelow@techtarget.com.
