Cloud Computing And Citrix C3 - July 2009

Cloud computing and Citrix C3 Last update 28 July 2009 Feedback welcome -- Michael IT in the Clouds Dr Michael Harries Citrix Labs

The term cloud computing has been much hyped in recent past. Just hot air?

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

Others, like Google, define cloud as just – what they do. Google IS the cloud

For the end user, cloud is synonymous with „nice web Cloud is ease of use application‟ It‟s every cool web page It‟s Google mail It‟s SaaS It‟s EASY

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

So why so many disparate views? Cloud computing is an idea „made to stick‟ 1. Simple 2. Unexpected 3. Concrete 4. Credible 5. Emotional 6. Stories

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 1 image x 1M users $0.15/GB/mo 1 admin/20,000 $10/megabit x 4 upgrades/yr vs. vs. vs. vs. 230 apps x 5 versions $3.75/GB/mo 1 admin/100 $500/megabit x many upgrades

But they are misleading for the enterprise as they result from massive standardization at the core of each vendor‟s business model. Standardisation

Here are some commonly agreed cloud categories. Only IaaS requires System Virtualization. Cloud Software as a Infrastructure Service as a Service Platform as a Service

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

For example, SmugMug have been able to scale tremendously without any of their own infrastructure through using Amazon Servers and “30 employees. More than Storage. 300,000 paying customers. 288,000,000 photos.” NO INFRASTRUCTURE

And burst computing by the New York Times in converting historical images for use on a „retrospective‟ web site. • New York Times • 4TB of TIFFs • To 1.5TB of PDFs • 100 EC2 Xen VMs

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. Xen 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 off- premise 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 Application Delivery applications to be delivered to end users on demand. = Enterprise SaaS SSL 001000111010101 SSL 001000111010101 SSL 001000111010101 SSL 001000111010101 SSL 001000111010101 Abstract connection High-fidelity experience Common security model etc etc

Citrix has long been about turning Where Does Citrix Fit? Enterprise applications into a service. In a very real sense, Citrix Delivery Center 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 HW & SW Worker IT staff costs costs downtime 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 Agile Infrastructure enterprise architecture and application architecture Creates a „change friendly‟ organization makes the organization “change friendly” by reducing inertia. Enterprise Application Architecture 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 Repeater XenApp XenDesktop cloud bridge XenServer 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 C Company B

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 Repeater XenApp XenDesktop cloud bridge XenServer Users Datacenter

Here‟s one way to think about C3 Reference Architecture IaaS cloud computing. Customer / Consumer / VM Transactions Application App Management cloud bridge Workload Distribution System (grid engine) Web Application Delivery Fabric Virtual Server Containers Commodity Hardware Infrastructure Distributed Virtual Switch

And here‟s how the Citrix Cloud C3 Reference Architecture Center technologies fit into such an architecture. Customer Application / VM Management NetScaler MPX cloud bridge Workload Distribution System (grid engine) Web Application Delivery Fabric Repeater XenApp XenDesktop Virtual Server Containers Dynamic Workload Provisioning XenServer Commodity Hardware Infrastructure Distributed Virtual Switch

We‟ve also recently announced Citrix Service Provider Program 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.

Enterprise Cloud is about the capability to keep your data on premise and your applications in Bridge 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

C3 Labs blueprints (recipes) are available on the Citrix community site. Citrix C3 Lab Blueprints • Common Scenarios • Community Driven • Architectural Overviews • Deployment Guides • Best Practices http://community.citrix.com/C3Lab

Cloud is the future. Now is the time for exploration.

Cloud Computing And Citrix C3 - July 2009

by Michael Harries

Accessibility

Categories

Upload Details

Usage Rights

2 Embeds 7

Statistics