Cloud computing and Citrix C3 Last update 28 July 2009 Feedback welcome -- Michael IT in the Clouds Dr Michael Harries Citrix Labs
Just hot air? The term cloud computing has been much hyped in recent past.
Indeed everyone seems to mean something different when they talk cloud.
For one, cloud has long been the graphic used for any network connecting two computers.
Computer scientists would see it as the culmination of a long line of contributing technologies. 5
Others, like Nicholas Carr, have a utopian, user oriented view of cloud computing. Cheap, utility-supplied computing will ultimately change society as profoundly as cheap electricity did
Some vendors, like SalesForce, argue that cloud is the whole future of IT. Cloud is web based SaaS + web based, hosted dev platform
Google IS the cloud Others, like Google, define cloud as just what they do.
Cloud is ease of use It s every cool web page It s Google mail It s SaaS It s EASY For the end user, cloud is synonymous with nice web application
For Enterprise IT, cloud promises to make IT easy Cloud is flexibility of resources, available on demand Cloud is dynamically scalable Cloud is automated Cloud is IT nirvana!
But it s just not that simple Cloud is insecure Loss of IT control Limited SLAs A Threat
1. Simple 2. Unexpected 3. Concrete 4. Credible 5. Emotional 6. Stories So why so many disparate views? Cloud computing is an idea made to stick
One of the reasons cloud is so popular is that enterprise IT sees these numbers from cloud providers as extremely attractive. Storage Servers Network Apps $0.15/GB/mo 1 admin/20,000 $10/megabit 1 image x 1M users x 4 upgrades/yr vs. vs. vs. vs. $3.75/GB/mo 1 admin/100 $500/megabit 230 apps x 5 versions x many upgrades
Standardisation But they are misleading for the enterprise as they result from massive standardization at the core of each vendor s business model.
Software as a Service Cloud Platform as a Service Infrastructure as a Service Here are some commonly agreed cloud categories. Only IaaS requires System Virtualization.
Let s start by talking about Infrastructure as a Service or IaaS. IaaS Infrastructure as a Service
Amazon has been a pioneer of IaaS with their Elastic Compute Cloud and Simple Storage Service. The Amazon cloud has enabled a new wave of innovation. Elastic Compute Cloud from $0.10 per VM hour Simple Storage Service $0.15 per gig stored $0.17 per gig transfered
30 employees. More than 300,000 paying customers. 288,000,000 photos. For example, SmugMug have been able to scale tremendously without any of their own infrastructure through using Amazon Servers and Storage. NO INFRASTRUCTURE
New York Times 4TB of TIFFs To 1.5TB of PDFs 100 EC2 Xen VMs And burst computing by the New York Times in converting historical images for use on a retrospective web site.
Xen These capabilities are enabled by system virtualization and, in most cases, by the Xen Hypervisor which is at the heart of Citrix XenServer as well as at the heart of most public clouds. Citrix, Intel, AMD, IBM, HP, Fujitsu, Unisys, SGI, Samsung, Sun, VA Systems, Red Hat, Novell, VA Linux, DoD, NSA (42 orgs) + XenServer + 100% compatible with Hyper-V
Sounds good so far? IaaS is more complex than it may appear. IaaS cloud vendors mean many different things by cloud.
Some emphasize base level virtualization virtual servers, virtual storage, and virtual networks.
Others emphasize resource management, multi-tenancy (in all its forms), usage monitoring, and optimizing across the farm.
Still others are mainly about application management, which components work where, and how they need to interact.
And some are mainly about providing access and automation in the cloud.
The key promise of IaaS is to bring improved operational efficiency from virtual server agility. While much of the rhetoric focuses on offpremise cloud, on-premise (or private) cloud offers immediate benefits to enterprise IT. Operational efficiency Off-premise On-Premise
What else?
Software as a Service or SaaS also brings important cloud ideas for the enterprise. SaaS Software as a Service
Citrix is the fifth largest external SaaS vendor globally with the Citrix Software as a Service offerings.
There are enormous benefits from treating all enterprise applications as SaaS as applications to be delivered to end users on demand. Application Delivery = Enterprise SaaS SSL 001000111010101 SSL 001000111010101 SSL 001000111010101 SSL 001000111010101 SSL 001000111010101 Abstract connection High-fidelity experience Common security model etc etc
Where Does Citrix Fit? Citrix Delivery Center Citrix has long been about turning Enterprise applications into a service. In a very real sense, bringing delivery abstraction to every application. Delivering Enterprise IT as a Service XenDesktop XenApp NetScaler XenServer Users Apps
From a TCO and ROI perspective this approach brings formidable benefits. IT operational costs HW & SW costs Worker downtime IT staff productivity 29% reduction 40% reduction 88% reduction 78% increase Source: Gartner, IDC, Citrix and Wyse Estimates
However the long term effects are potentially more important. Using an application delivery mediator between your enterprise architecture and application architecture makes the organization change friendly by reducing inertia. Agile Infrastructure Creates a change friendly organization Enterprise Architecture Application Architecture
Citrix Cloud Center addresses both SaaS and IaaS. Citrix Cloud Center C3 (SaaS + IaaS)
C3 is exactly the same technology that Citrix sells for the Enterprise, but with a pricing model that s more appropriate for the cloud. Citrix Delivery Center [but for the cloud]
Here s a simple schematic showing how it might deployed for cloud use (inside or outside the datacenter) NetScaler Workflow Studio XenApp XenDesktop XenServer Repeater cloud bridge Users Datacenter
Recent additions to C3 include: A virtual appliance version of our celebrated NetScaler appliance.
75% of Internet Users Each Day The physical NetScaler appliance is heavily used by internet companies globally to optimize their web applications to the extent that 75% of all internet users touch the technology daily.
Recent additions to C3 include: A virtual switch (announced but not yet released) Company A Company B Company C
Recent additions to C3 include: XenApp and XenDesktop, as we re recognized that application delivery is an important cloud task. All of these contribute to the broader picture. NetScaler Workflow Studio XenApp XenDesktop XenServer Repeater cloud bridge Users Datacenter
C3 Reference Architecture Here s one way to think about IaaS cloud computing. Customer / Application Consumer / App VM Transactions Management Workload Distribution System (grid engine) cloud bridge Web Application Delivery Fabric Virtual Server Containers Commodity Hardware Infrastructure Distributed Virtual Switch
C3 Reference Architecture Customer Application / VM Management NetScaler MPX Workload Distribution System (grid engine) And here s how the Citrix Cloud Center technologies fit into such an architecture. cloud bridge XenApp Web Application Delivery Fabric XenDesktop Repeater Virtual Server Containers Dynamic Workload Provisioning XenServer Commodity Hardware Infrastructure Distributed Virtual Switch
Citrix Service Provider Program We ve also recently announced a Service Provider program. Citrix newest partner program Designed for service providers Monthly active subscriber pricing & licensing model Route-to-market for customers inclined to leverage hosted services
Enterprise Cloud is about new operating models that leverage the flexibility and agility of SaaS and IaaS. Enterprise Cloud
Enterprise Cloud is about Windows applications being delivered as SaaS. Windows Apps
Cloud-burst Enterprise Cloud is about Cloud-bursting; for example automatically load balancing application delivery sessions to the cloud when the physical XenApp farm is at it s limit.
Bridge Enterprise Cloud is about the capability to keep your data on premise and your applications in the cloud. Apps in cloud; Data stays on premise
Citrix C3 Labs provides an easy way to explore these ideas at very low cost using Amazon EC2 Citrix C3 C3 Lab
Citrix C3 Lab Blueprints Common Scenarios Community Driven Architectural Overviews Deployment Guides Best Practices http://community.citrix.com/c3lab C3 Labs blueprints (recipes) are available on the Citrix community site.
Cloud is the future. Now is the time for exploration.