https://www.channelfutures.com/wp-content/themes/channelfutures_child/assets/images/logo/footer-new-logo.png
  • Home
  • Technologies
    • Back
    • Analytics
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Cloud
    • Data Centers
    • Desktop
    • IoT
    • Mobility
    • Networking
    • Open Source
    • RMM/PSA
    • Security
    • Virtualization
    • Voice/Connectivity
  • Strategy
    • Back
    • Best Practices
    • Business Models
    • Channel 101
    • Channel Programs
    • Channel Research
    • Digital Transformation
    • Diversity & Inclusion
    • Leadership
    • Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Sales & Marketing
    • Specialty Practices
  • MSSP Insider
    • Back
    • Business of Security
    • Cloud and Edge
    • Endpoint
    • Network
    • People and Careers
    • Training and Policies
  • MSP 501
    • Back
    • 2021 MSP 501 Application
    • 2020 MSP 501 Rankings
    • 2020 Hot 101 Rankings
    • 2020 MSP 501 Report
  • Intelligence
    • Back
    • Our Sponsors
    • From the Industry
    • Content Resources
    • COVID-19 Partner Help
    • Galleries
    • Podcasts
    • Reports
    • Videos
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
  • EMEA
  • Awards
    • Back
    • Excellence in Digital Services
    • 2021 MSP 501
    • Top Gun 51
  • Events
    • Back
    • CP Conference & Expo
    • Channel Partners Evolution
    • Channel Evolution Europe
    • Channel Partners Event Coverage
    • Webinars
  • Channel Mentor
    • Back
    • Channel Market Intelligence
    • Channel Educational Series
Channel Futures
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • Technologies
    • Back
    • Analytics
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Cloud
    • Data Centers
    • Desktop
    • IoT
    • Mobility
    • Networking
    • Open Source
    • RMM/PSA
    • Security
    • Virtualization
    • Voice/Connectivity
  • Strategy
    • Back
    • Best Practices
    • Business Models
    • Channel 101
    • Channel Programs
    • Channel Research
    • Digital Transformation
    • Diversity & Inclusion
    • Leadership
    • Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Sales & Marketing
    • Specialty Practices
  • MSSP Insider
    • Back
    • Business of Security
    • Cloud and Edge
    • Endpoint
    • Network
    • People and Careers
    • Training and Policies
  • MSP 501
    • Back
    • 2021 MSP 501 Application
    • 2020 MSP 501 Rankings
    • 2020 Hot 101 Rankings
    • 2020 MSP 501 Report
  • Intelligence
    • Back
    • Our Sponsors
    • From the Industry
    • Content Resources
    • COVID-19 Partner Help
    • Galleries
    • Podcasts
    • Reports
    • Videos
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
  • EMEA
  • Awards
    • Back
    • Excellence in Digital Services
    • 2021 MSP 501
    • Top Gun 51
  • Events
    • Back
    • CP Conference & Expo
    • Channel Partners Evolution
    • Channel Evolution Europe
    • Channel Partners Event Coverage
    • Webinars
  • Channel Mentor
    • Back
    • Channel Market Intelligence
    • Channel Educational Series
    • Newsletter
  • REGISTER
  • MSPs
  • VARs / SIs
  • Digital Service Providers
  • Cloud Service Providers
  • CHANNEL PARTNERS ONLINE
 Channel Futures

Channel Programs


Understanding Your Cloud: Availability, Performance, Volatility

  • Written by Drew Jenkins 2
  • November 23, 2010
If you’re anything like me, when you finished reading the VAR Guide to Selecting a Cloud Computing Platfo

If you’re anything like me, when you finished reading the VAR Guide to Selecting a Cloud Computing Platform, you became unnaturally attuned to all of the conversations about “the cloud” going on around you. Your IT manager may have presented a plan to “go into the cloud.” You might have heard that 35 CPU-years of cloud computing were used to find “God’s Number” when it came to solving the Rubik’s Cube. Maybe you just channel surfed to a nephology panel discussion on The Weather Channel. With the exception of that last possibility, you’ve noticed that “the cloud” is everywhere. It’s time to pin down what the cloud really entails.

When it is time for you to choose your cloud platform, you will need to know the six key characteristics of the cloud and how reality differs from the commonly held misconceptions. Let’s look at each characteristic, its associated misconception, why it is important and what you should ask as you evaluate cloud solutions to meet your business needs.

1. Availability – You Want Your Cloud to “Be There”

Misconception: All cloud platforms are highly available and globally distributed.

Reality: In a cloud environment, you can’t point at a single server or a drive with your data. That means you don’t have to worry about a drive or processor failing and taking down your site, which is a good thing. That fact doesn’t make your data “highly available,” though. The cloud as a whole is only as reliable as the network it’s on and its data center environment. When you consider the geographic distribution of the cloud infrastructure, do you really want it spread across the country? If you don’t have control of where your data is located, what would keep one line of code from being pulled from a server in San Francisco while the next line is pulled from a server in New York City?

Questions to ask: Does your application need to be highly available? What is acceptable downtime? What is the process and recovery time for failures? How will you monitor availability? How does the provider handle maintenance? Do you know where your data will be geographically? Are multiple locations available for geographic diversity?

2. Performance – You Want Your Cloud to Deliver Results

Misconception: You can swap your dedicated server infrastructure for a cloud infrastructure, one for one.

Reality: If you aren’t tied down to a single piece of hardware and you’re able to scale processing power as high as you need it, you might assume a cloud instance will perform as well as a similarly provisioned dedicated server. The problem is that while you can match specs on paper, your cloud infrastructure is distributed across several pieces of hardware. While many cloud platforms have improved their relative performance, dedicated alternatives still have an edge in certain cases. Understand your workload’s current and potential bottlenecks as you compare the on-paper computing power.

Questions to ask: What are the current bottlenecks in your workload? What are the demands of the workload on each major element of the computing infrastructure? What elements of your workload can you scale-out? What elements of my workload must I scale-up? What services can I offload to better tune my workload?

3. Demand Volatility – You Want Your Cloud to be Dynamic

Misconception: All clouds scale automatically, infinitely and seamlessly.

Reality: The cloud architecture is designed to scale. If you aren’t confined to a single server, you’d theoretically be able to leverage an infinite number of processors and an infinite amount of disk space. The reality is that the cloud may be limited by the software used to run them or by the amount of available resources. Many cloud platforms rely on you to manually select the processing power and disk space you need … This is a good thing when you’re not ready to pay for a huge spike in usage, but if you’re anticipating a volatile workload, it’s important to understand how easy it is to scale up and down the stack to meet changing demand. While utility-based billing allows for you to pay for exactly what you use, it can also be more expensive when you compare it against the same usage on server with dedicated resources. Track your usage and note the peaks in your demand. If you find your workload relatively constant or predictable, a dedicated alternative might actually cost less.

Questions to ask: Is this a project or production-oriented workload? What is the process and level of effort to add additional scale to the workload? What is the frequency of change required to support demand optimally? How predictable is the demand? Does frequency of change make utility billing more or less economical? Does the business highly value predictability costs?

To Be Continued

We’re only halfway through our six-step decision-making framework, and I hope you’re still with me. You may have walked into this series with one question only to walk away with a dozen, but each one of the questions you walk away with will help you understand how the cloud can meet your specific business needs.

Drew Jenkins is manager of channel sales for SoftLayer. Monthly guest blogs such as this one are part of The VAR Guys’ annual sponsorship.

Tags: Cloud Service Providers Digital Service Providers MSPs VARs/SIs Channel Programs Cloud From the Industry

Related


  • VDI
    IGEL Integrates Amazon WorkSpaces DaaS with Its Virtual Endpoint OS
    Also, the new Arm-based Raspberry Pi, co-developed by Citrix, IGEL and NComputing, is generally available.
  • Job cuts
    Latest VMware Job Cuts Impact More Workers in California
    The layoffs will begin March 30.
  • Hottest Ticket in Town
    Channel Partners Virtual 2021 Is the Hottest Ticket in Town
    And that means any town, since it’s 100% online. Will you be there?
  • Partner Program Update
    Palo Alto Networks Rolls Out Latest NextWave Partner Program
    NextWave 3.0 will help partners differentiate their services.

Leave a comment Cancel reply

-or-

Log in with your Channel Futures account

Alternatively, post a comment by completing the form below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Content

  • Over 6,000 VMware vCenter Devices Exposed by Critical Vulnerabilities
  • Three Ways MSPs Can Improve Supply Chain Security
  • Devo Technology Unveils First Partner Program for Resellers, MSSPs, SIs
  • Infoblox Cloud Specialization to Help Partners with SaaS Sales

Galleries

View all

From The Second City: How to Use Improv as a Business Tool

March 3, 2021

Industry Perspectives

View all

5 Ways XDR Can Improve Operational Efficiency for MSPs

March 4, 2021

Multi-Cloud: Strategy or Inevitable Outcome? (or both?)

March 3, 2021

Backup Vulnerability: 4 Targets Hackers Might Utilize to Infiltrate Your Backup Solution

March 2, 2021

Webinars

View all

A Partner’s Perspective on Channel Success in 2021

March 23, 2021

XDR and Why it Matters to MSPs

March 24, 2021

Top Security Trends Impacting Technology Security Providers In 2021

March 25, 2021
  • 1

White Papers

View all

Why Fortinet for my MSSP?

March 2, 2021

Small and Mid-Size Business Security: 4 Steps to Success

March 2, 2021

How SMBs Can Secure Endpoints and Remote Workers for the Long Haul

March 2, 2021

Upcoming Events

View all

Channel Partners Conference & Expo

November 1, 2021 - November 4, 2021

Videos and Fastchats

View all

FASTCHAT: How SOAR Eliminates Security Challenges and Elevates Service Provider Revenues

January 6, 2021

Happy Holidays from Channel Partners & Channel Futures!

December 21, 2020

FASTCHAT: How Old, Unpatched Technologies Are Creating New Security Threats for MSPs and Their Customers

December 3, 2020

Twitter

ChannelFutures

Chinese hacker group #HAFNIUM exploits critical @MSFTExchange Server vulnerability, could impact thousands.… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

March 7, 2021
ChannelFutures

Our latest #Cybersecurity Roundup highlights #CPVirtual, @Huntresslabs, @Entrust_Corp and @InsightEnt.… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

March 5, 2021
ChannelFutures

RT @Channel_Expo: A HUGE thank you to our amazing #CPVirtual sponsors and exhibitors! 👏 @ATTBusiness @DellTech @8x8 @lumentechco @telarus @…

March 5, 2021
ChannelFutures

.@okta acquiring rival @auth0 in $6.5 billion all-stock transaction. #security dlvr.it/Rtzwdp https://t.co/4LvHCJuwsR

March 4, 2021
ChannelFutures

.@MicrosoftTeams features are coming to @MSFTDynamics365, the company announced at @MS_Ignite. #MicrosoftIgnite… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

March 4, 2021
ChannelFutures

.@PreciselyData acquired by Clearlake Capital, @TAAssociates. #digitaltransformation dlvr.it/RtzbKg https://t.co/1rNYnTScxq

March 4, 2021
ChannelFutures

Thanks for attending #CPVirtual. Here's a Day 3 wrap and a look ahead to #CPExpo Homecoming in November!… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

March 4, 2021
ChannelFutures

.@Veeam announces six annual Impact Partner Awards, with @SHI_Intl, @LogicalisUS, more. #cloud… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

March 4, 2021

MSSP Insider

Newsletters and Updates

Sign up for The Channel Report, Channel Futures Update, MSP 501 Newsletter and more.

Live Channel Events

Get the latest information on the next industry-leading Channel Partners event.

Channel Partners Online

Want more? Find more channel news and analysis on our sister site, Channel Partners.

Media Kit And Advertising

Want to reach our audience? Access our media kit

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • Channel Partners Online
  • Channel Partners Events
  • MSP 501
  • MSSP Insider
  • IoT World Today
  • Webhostingtalk

WORKING WITH US

  • Contact
  • About us
  • Advertise
  • Newsletter

FOLLOW Channel Futures ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2021 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.
This website uses cookies, including third party ones, to allow for analysis of how people use our website in order to improve your experience and our services. By continuing to use our website, you agree to the use of such cookies. Click here for more information on our Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy.
X