Virtually Adopting the Cloud

Virtualization technology is mainstream for many organisations these days. Not only does it streamline management of IT resources, it also makes more efficient use of existing and new IT infrastructure, improves reliability and availability whilst reducing administration and improving deployment times. Many hosting providers are now offering virtual servers as they adopt this technology to gain the benefits I mention above. As a result they are often able to pass on cost savings to their customers.

Followers of my blogs will recognise that in previous posts I have highlighted some of the above benefits as advantages to be gained from adopting Cloud Computing too. This should come as no surprise as virtualization is one of the basic building blocks upon which Cloud Computing is built. Wether a public, private or hybrid cloud, independent of vendor, all make use of virtualization.

In many ways, Cloud Computing can be considered as an extension of virtualization technology, building functionality around and on top to simplify the provision and management of IT, and so much more. On a recent teach of the Learning Tree Cloud Computing course, an attendee suggested their organisation had adopted Cloud Computing because they were using virtualization technology (VMWare in this case). Just using virtualization technology on its own is not cloud Computing. By the end of the course the attendee could see the clear distinction yet close relationship between these technologies. The misunderstanding is very easy to make, and that’s why the Learning Tree course not only examines Cloud Computing and the products from many vendors in detail , it also explains the underlying technologies such as virtualization and Web services so attendees can really place these technologies into the context of Cloud Computing

Chris

What You Need To Know About Implementing Virtualization in the Workplace

Virtualization in IT departments has been attributed to gains in efficiency, increased effectiveness, cost savings, and potency in reducing server and desktop “sprawl”.  This White Paper provides an introduction, as well as details on configurations, benefits and how to select a virtualization platform based on your needs. Chapters include Virtualization on the Desktop, Virtualization in the Server Room, Environmental, Management and Service Benefits and the Impact on End Users.  Download your copy today!

Security is Virtually Different in the Cloud

I have just taught a version of the Learning Tree Cloud Computing course and top of the agenda was security and enough debate to stimulate this posting. Security is important in the cloud but is it really that different to security in general application and data security stored on private networks ? The answer is yes most probably.

Security of data and application security principles applied to private networks and deployments should still be applied to the cloud of course. Doug Rehnstrom posted on this recently. Security in the cloud is probably different from a private network and one of the major reasons is virtualization.

Cloud technology is built upon virtualization – this raises a number of security concerns – not just for the cloud but for all organisations that use virtualisation technology. The security of a virtualised solution is highly dependent on the security of each of its independent components – this has been highlighted recently by NIST who have issued guidelines on security in virtualised environments.

Security in a virtualised environment depends on the security of the hypervisor, the host operating system, guest operating system, applications, storage devices, networks connecting them. How many organisations that have deployed virtualised environments – and thats a lot, have actually considered the security implications of their implementation. I am confident that many of these organisations are the ones who state security as a barrier to adopting the cloud. As private clouds become more prevalent then the security of the virtualization, its monitoring and compromise detection will need to be carefully considered and adopted. Should that not be the case for all virtualized deployments, cloud or not ? Most definitely yes too. So if you are using a virtualized environment your security requirements are not so different from the cloud, you just may not have realised it.

If you are interested in the discussion further have a look at the white paper I recently put together.

Chris