Are you a startup or a small to a medium-sized company looking to build affordable cloud infrastructure? Then you are at the right place to receive the best and affordable ideas. Before even selecting on the server to build your private cloud, you first need to focus on some crucial points that directly affect your business.
- Are you a single tenant or you would want others to be using the server space?
- The speed and agility you want?
- Do you have the IT budget to set up the private cloud?
When it comes to building private cloud, the professional vendors, analysts, and practitioners focus on four basic tenets that should be in operation so that the IT department should take full advantage of the private cloud setup:
- Converged Infrastructure
- Fully automated orchestration of both Software distribution and system management
- Self-Service Catalog that includes standard computing offerings
- Standard accountability to keep track of used resources.
We will discuss the above points later, let’s first know some basic know-how of “CLOUD”.
What is the Cloud?
Cloud is not a single physical server or a structure. It is a global network of the remote servers that have different configurations and are made to operate as a single ecosystem. The virtual servers are made up of cores of the physical server’s operating system.
In these servers, you can run any applications, store and manage data, deliver services such as streaming videos, office productivity software, webmail or access social media. The data here is highly secured. Instead of accessing data from a local or personal computer, you are accessing it online. And the information you save on cloud can be accessed from almost everywhere, anytime you need and from any device.
There are three types of Cloud.
- Public Cloud – In which server space and all the resources are shared and it offers services to the public all over the internet.
- Private Cloud – In which the server space is utilized by the private internal network or within the company.
- Hybrid Cloud – In this type, services are shared between public and private clouds.Benefits of Cloud to the Medium Scale Industries.
The main benefits a medium scale business can achieve by running their system in a private cloud environment are
- Flexibility
- Quick data access
- Data localization
- Guaranteed resource availability
- Strong Security
- Regulatory Compliance
- Cost Savings
The benefits of cloud computing are achieved mainly due to the Virtualization Technology that triggers all types of clouds. Most of the cores of the servers remain unused or underused, and virtualization technology allows the private cloud users to receive enhanced resource utilization. With enhanced space, the cloud provides space and scale as your business demand grows and adjusts to changing business needs.
One of the main reasons for using private cloud by SMEs is the flexibility offered through virtualization. It enables multiple operating systems and applications to run on the same physical machine. If the resource requirement of an application changes, then the resources dedicated to a particular virtual server can be adjusted (like it can be either increased or decreased).
The flexibility helps to enhance application performance and positively impacts your business productivity.A private cloud environment saves a lot of your money and keeps your IT investment in the budget when compared to a public environment.
Existing Cloud Service Providers.
If you are confused about the private cloud you want to set up in your data center, then there are other options like opting for the best cloud service providers. Here are some top-notch service providers:
- Amazon Web Services
- Server Basket
- Google Cloud Platform
- IBM Cloud
- Rackspace
- GoDaddy
- Verizon Cloud
- VMware
- Oracle Cloud
If you feel that these service providers might not fit on your budget and you want to opt for customized dedicated servers provider along with dedicated network between the servers, then you can even contact the local vendors such as Server Basket with whom you can build your in-house private cloud at a very low price. We have found that these local private cloud providers are charging very less amount but providing Grade A quality servers with free installation support.
Benefits of choosing local vendors for building your own private cloud.
- Data Hosted on Premises
- Grade “A” Quality Servers
- Access Any time
- Fixed Billing
- No Down Time
- Better Control and Data Security
- Free Installation Support
To buy from Existing Providers or Build your Own Private Cloud.
So, if you are buying the cloud services from local providers, you will end up investing very less amount and get the best services with local support.
With four basic tenets, as already revealed above, your business would receive the most benefits from the private cloud:
Converged Infrastructure.
In a private cloud, servers are virtualized using the operating system cores. The private cloud should be properly built and tested with factors such as disaster recovery, placement logic, and replication. It should have the ability to exist across multiple data centers and should be able to support another tenet of cloud computing. While you are opting for the private cloud, you should ensure removing any single point of failure in the service.
Fully Automated Orchestration.
Both the system management and software distribution should have fully automated orchestration across the converged infrastructure. This is where you can save costs and can even reduce the resources. The private cloud allows us to streamline the human activity and automate deployment required to perform the daily tasks. If previously, it took 2-3 days to extract and arrange the data, with a private cloud, you would be able to gain and arrange the data within 15 minutes. With automated orchestration, you would experience speed and agility in various levels of approval.
Self Service computing offering.
With a private cloud, you can easily access the data when needed without depending on your colleagues. No matter where ever you are located, with a strategically build cloud, you don’t need the help of an IT administrator to control the performance of the application.
Accountability.
The IT administrator or the upper departments has the accountability of which department or person is accessing the data. You can keep a complete track of which users or employees are using which resources and for how long.
How can you build an On-Premise Cloud?
Want to build an on-Premise Cloud? Then you just have to either buy a new server with loaded configuration depending on your business requirement. If you have budget issues, then there are retailers who even offer low-cost refurbished servers that are also best for running high-end applications. Although these servers are used servers, they are re-engineered and sold.
Another option you can opt for is the leased servers. Here you rent a server from the service provider for a certain period, maybe for a month or a year, and pay them the agreed lease amount. You just use the server for a certain period and then return it to the service provider as your lease period ends.
There are various types of server brands like Dell, HP, Cisco, IBM, and others that are best for building a private cloud environment. Depending on your business application needs and database storage, the processor configuration, RAM capacity, and storage drives to choose are decided. Depending on the strength of the processor and the number of cores, you can decide on how much virtual machines to use.
Summary.
An SME can even take cloud services from a cost-effective service provider. It depends on the choices and the future business expandability of the company. For a private cloud, you should have a real business case for it. To build a private cloud, you need to be very clear on many aspects, what you want to achieve and how it fits your multi-cloud strategy.
A private cloud, after all, is not a simple engineering project, rather it must be strategically planned and implemented. You should build a private cloud infrastructure that can reduce the latency rate, handle more traffic, and offer exceptional performance during heavy workloads. In order to tackle all these challenges, you must build a private cloud with a reliable and reputed company.
