Hybrid Multi-Clouds

• Definition
• How it Works
• Use Cases
• Solution Components

A hybrid cloud is a cloud environment where external services are leveraged to extend or supplement the internal cloud – in other words, a mixture of both private and public cloud computing resources.

In the case of a hybrid multi-cloud, the environment consists of a mixture of private and public computing resources where one or more of these resources is itself a compute cloud.

Put simply, it is a cloud of clouds.

• Why "Hybrid"? Because resources can be internal or external (public cloud resources can be added to a private environment)
• Why "Multi"? Because the environment can consist of multiple data centers
• Why "Cloud"? Because the environment is virtualized, on-demand, and service-based

How it Works

A Hybrid Multi-Cloud enables users to bootstrap and manage Virtual Data Centers (VDCs) from a self-service portal. Each VDC is a private cloud that offers the following functionality:

• Node management (Virtual/Physical)
• User account management
• Package management
• Application configuration

VDCs can be enhanced by extending to a public cloud – adding public cloud resources as necessary to address demand.

What is the Use Case for Hybrid Multi-Clouds?

There are 2 primary user groups for a hybrid multi-cloud:

1. Large Enterprise IT Organization: In this case, the multi-cloud is a cloud of departmental or divisional clouds within the organization. Large companies with globally distributed departments and divisions often operate as a group of companies within companies. Meeting the IT needs of various divisions (or other logical business groups) often means creating distinct computing solutions for each group. The solution is a cloud of multiple departmental clouds, each with its own policies and systems, which can be private and also burst into a public cloud service.
2. Cloud Service Provider: In this case, the multi-cloud is a cloud of client clouds. Service providers need to operate multi-tenant environments for their clients, so that each client can maintain its own private computing environment. Therefore, Service Providers need to create clouds that consist of separate individual clouds or virtual data centers (VDC), where each VDC is a client who can access their own environment in the multi-cloud.

In both cases, the computing infrastructure must be separated into distinct environments for each customer or department, and the infrastructure must be managed at a high level across each environment by a single entity.

Solution Components

To create a Hybrid Multi-Cloud, a company needs:

• Self-service portal for submitting and monitoring cloud management requests
• Infrastructure and service governance tool to automate resource allocation based on application requirements (to protect SLAs)
• Cloud management software that operates across all cloud environments (private, public and hybrid)
• Hypervisors: VMware ESX, Oracle VM Server, etc.
• Account Management Software: MS Active Directory etc.

Univa’s cloud management software addresses these requirements:

• UniCloud: Cloud management software that is premise-independent
  • Only product that can seamlessly migrate workload across private and public cloud infrastructures
• UniPortal: Self-service web-based application for submitting and monitoring cloud management requests and user workloads

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