Host.net Talks Up New All-Virtual Private Data Center
vPDC employs DataCore Software storage virtualization technology, VMware server virtualization, and Cisco Nexus virtual network technologies.
An all-virtual private data center (vPDC) platform developed by Host.net has been rolled out. It is using DataCore Software’s storage virtualization technology to power its storage.
Host.net delivers private cloud computing services for companies ranging from SMBs to large enterprises. It utilizes a software-based approached. DataCore Software, a provider of storage virtualization, business continuity, and disaster recovery software solutions, is one of several companies contributing to the efforts of Host.net.
The Host.net platform also includes VMware server virtualization and Cisco Nexus virtual network technologies. It also employs plus unique architecture and transport capabilities, such as ultra redundant compute and enterprise storage platforms deployed at multiple Host.net data centers, dedicated SANs for each computer cluster to eliminate disk overload, and connectivity within Host.net’s own multi-site network.
The vPDCs themselves are geographically distributed across Host.net’s Cisco-powered 1 0G multinational backbone.
“We chose VMware, DataCore, and Cisco in the core design of our vPDC platform because each vendor delivers the very best virtualization component in their respective areas of competence,” explains Host.net vice president of virtualization services Jeffrey Slapp. “In three months’ time, dozens of companies have signed on as new customers because of the competitive advantages we have achieved with this combination of technologies and architecture.”
Cloud Agility Through Hardware Independence
According to DataCore Software president and CEO George Teixeira, cloud computing should be based on portable software. †”Many clouds are being built from a hardware-specific mindset. What is wrong with this picture? The whole point of cloud computing is delivering cost-effective services to users, and that demands the highest degree of flexibility and openness versus being boxed in to specific hardware platforms that may not adapt to changes over time. Aren’t clouds, after all, supposed to be soft and agile?”
Because the Host.net vPDC platform is comprised of software-based technologies, the company’s offering is not tied to any specific hardware. Teixeira says this avoids the problems associated with building clouds with a hardware provider “sandwiched between virtual servers and virtual networks,” enabling flexibility beyond any cloud offering dependent on hardware vendors.
Storage in the Cloud
Another key benefit relates to redundancy.
Slapp believes that, until now, it has been difficult for companies to embrace solution due to the costs involved with proprietary SAN solutions.
That hurts, says his colleague, Host.net executive vice president Lenny Chesal. “With or without a recession, companies are looking for cost-effective infrastructure solutions,” he says.
With Host.net’s vPDC platform powered by DataCore SAN virtualization software, Host.net’s client companies can have a full-blown, multi-path SAN available to them on demand. That includes the key benefit of a virtual disaster recovery component that eliminates the need for Host.net clients to incur massive upfront SAN-related capital expenditures that can run $100,000 or $200,000. It also feeds the corporate appetite for storage, both inside and outside the cloud.
“Interestingly, we are finding that the demand for storage far outpaces the demand for individual virtual systems,” says Slapp. “With DataCore technology, we can deliver a highly flexible storage solution both to the customers inside our cloud who are using virtual servers, and to the clients who are still utilizing physical servers in our data centers. Clients don’t have to make large capital investments to implement SAN solutions. We can carve out the storage for them very rapidly.”
