A primary concern of migrating to the cloud is how to best manage it. Planning to adopt anycloud model raises a slew of questions; introducing hybrid clouds solicits even more.
How many of your management processes for dedicated and virtualized server infrastructures willbe relevant to cloud computing?What is involved in managing a hybrid cloudenvironment with multiple publiccloud providers and an existing private cloud?Enterprises become particularly concerned with security when sensitive data lands on public storageservices, cost issues when going over budget on unanticipated bandwidth and storage capacity andthe proliferation of mismanaged images. Formulating effective strategies for managing hybrid cloudscan help ease these concerns.
Identifying cloud management domains
A management strategy for hybrid clouds should define what you need to manage and howbest*to do that. Hybrid clouds consist of an internal private cloud and contracts with one ormore public cloud providers. Hybridcloud administrators are responsible for managing computing, networking and storage resourcesin multiple domains. Over time, the combination of domains will change, but your managementstrategy and tools should remain the same.
Cloud management policies should address a few key topics:
  • Configuration and installment management policies should specify rules governing thecreation, deployment, patching and rebuilding of images.
  • Access control policies should be in place when sensitive data and restrictedapplications, such as programs containing high-value intellectual property, are being used in theprivate or a public cloud.
  • Budget management and reporting policies should specify how cloud users will receiveinformation regarding costs and use. A budget policy should stipulate any additional controls thatmust be instated, such as revoking the right to launch new images when a budget is 98%consumed.
Cross-platform tools for managing hybrid clouds
In addition to understanding what aspects of a hybrid cloud you must manage, you also need tounderstand how to manage those aspects. And a common challenge in a hybrid cloud model isconsistently executing these tasks across multiple domains.
Using cross-platform tools is prudent when implementing a hybrid cloud management strategy thatincludes multiple providers. Amazon Beanstalk, for example, supports deployment, capacitymanagement, load balancing and management tasks, but the tool is limited to an Amazon cloud.
It’s vital to determine what mix of cloudtools will be most valuable. IT staffs often are faced with the quandary of using specializedtools versus a suite of tools. This raises some questions: Do you want to use a “single pane ofglass” approach to cloud management tools, or would you rather use a collection of specializedtools, each designed to address a specific operation in cloud management? *
Single-pane-of-glass tools for operations management. When you require multiplemanagement applications, a consolidated product may be a better option. The OpenStack initiative, for example, is an open sourceproject dedicated to building a range of cloud computing software, including tools for imagemanagement, billing and monitoring.
Commercial providers such as RightScale and Enstratus offer single pane of glass products that let customersmanage multiple cloud providers from a single console. Integration is a key benefit of theseapproaches, which is especially important when you need to manage budgets across multiple providersor identities of users who access images running in multiple clouds.
Specialized tools. Choose a specialized tool if you have management systems in place formost of your environment but need to address specific weak spots. Popular specialized tools forconfiguration management include Chef and Puppet. Both products provide ahigher level of abstraction for managing infrastructure than a custom script would use to manageservers and storage systems.
For example, instead of coding a script that accounts for different package managers ondifferent Linux distributions, a system administrator can specify that a particular package beloaded when an image is built. The underlying configuration management tool takes care of thoseimplementation details. Another option, RunDeck, is a jobmanagement and automation tool that helps with workflows, logging, configuration management andother management tasks.
Security controls are available from Software as a Service(SaaS) providers, including Dome9’s cloud firewallmanagement and Novell, which offers its Cloud Security Service.
Managing hybrid clouds can be challenging, but it also can be done efficiently with the propertools. Sometimes a combination of specialized programs and custom coding is the key. In othercases, a cloud software platform or a commercial management service is the better option. In allcases, the first step is to understand what aspects of the business process you need to manage.
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Dan Sullivan, M.Sc., is an author, systems architect and consultant with over20 years of IT experience with engagements in advanced analytics, systems architecture, databasedesign, enterprise security and business intelligence. He has worked in a broad range ofindustries, including financial services, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, software development,government, retail and education, among others. Dan has written extensively about topics rangingfrom data warehousing, cloud computing and advanced analytics to security management,collaboration, and text mining.
This was first published in February 2012





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