Download User`s needs in the Clouds

User‘s Needs in the Cloud
Tomi Dolenc
Jernej Porenta
Arnes
[email protected]
TF-MSP, Heraklion
19-20. 9. 2011
Outline
• Before: virtual server hosting
• After: „clouds“
• How & why
• User‘s needs
• Is our judgement clouded?
• Relation towards commercial clouds
Virtual server hosting @ Arnes
• “Guest virtual servers” - GVS
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Typical VPS
Linux/Apache/MySQL stack
1 CPU / 512Mb / 30GB
Packages: full (root access), partial (user access), closed (web
based access)
• (Virtuozzo, ~100 VPS/server)
• Covers typical needs of user organizations:
• Website (CMS)
• LMS (mostly for schools)
• Any other web based apps
• Support:
• Helpdesk 10/5
• Full VPS backup
Extended needs
• More disk space
• More memory
• Different platform (MS Windows)
• Example:
• Specific software
• Digital archives
Arnes clouds 2011
• Goal: enable tailored hosting for VIU
+ beyond
• Project started late 2010
• Planned features
• VM Hosting
• Storage
Arnes clouds 2011: VM hosting
• Solutions tested
• OpenNebula
• Eucalyptus
• Ganeti
• Planned:
• 10 physical servers
• small/medium/large VM
• total user control
Arnes clouds 2011: VM hosting
• Implemented – pilot phase:
• 3 physical servers (will extend to 10)
• Ganeti
• Web managed VMs
• Production: late 2011
Arnes clouds 2011: Storage
• Started Q2 2011
• Planned: iSCSI access to >1TB space
• Pilot phase:
• Started in May
• Tests were OK
• Production: October 2011
Future
• Translate to “true cloud”
• Implementation: OpenStack
• Dynamic provisioning
• Advanced user needs:
• Temporary computing power
• API interface
Future
• Extend resources
• Additional physical servers
• Additional storage
• Additional features
• Predefined templates
• Extended support (?)
• Use private cloud for our needs
Is our judgement clouded?
• Going “cloud” looks appealing
• First step not difficult
• Marketing the buzz
• Keeping with the IT development trends
• Who needs it?
• ROI?
• Legal aspect?
Assesment of user‘s needs
• Only through selected
interviews/personal contact
• Users interested in anything that’s free
• Very important: know & trust your provider
• Feedback from the pilot:
• Happy with the support
• Want more (sky’s the limit)
Resource allocation
• No charges  Policy very important!
• Internal user segmentation
• Save enough for VIU needs
• Maintain the helpful face
• Will they use flexible CPU/storage
(“true cloud”)?
Planning the resources
• Make sure the € is well spent
• Flexible resource allocation
• Add more as you go and let users ask
for your €
• Plan B: share/relocate to grid/HPC
• (can consume pretty much everything)
Legal aspect
• Hosting personal data  Signing MxN
contracts?
• Our Information Officer is currently
looking into European practices, we are
trying to find how it works in reality
• What’s your model?
MITM to public clouds
• Universities outsource email to the
cloud (only students)
• Google & MS not very interested in us
• Universities slow in adopting AAI
• VDI for schools?
• Tempting but expensive
• Companies reluctant to partner with
NREN
Your experience
or good/bad
practice?
(CC) Blackandecker/Flickr.