Citrix shares Intel’s mission of taking cloud computing mainstream, and is excited to contribute our technology and expertise to the Cloud Builders program.  Our initial focus is the on-boarding of applications to cloud infrastructures, and how to best manage security requirements when moving workloads into the cloud. Let’s start this discussion with security and compliance.

The Cloud is a key driver for business and technical innovation, and through the use of an extensible services model, allows usage of advanced infrastructures, platforms and applications to be available to all classes of users. Realizing the benefits of cloud computing, however, entails addressing significant challenges pertaining to security and compliance. For example, how are security and compliance measures that have traditionally required end-to-end ownership and physical access adapted to the cloud? Take a look at Citrix’s perspective as outlined in our new whitepaper http://www.citrix.com/site/resources/dynamic/salesdocs/citrix_xd_dtg_wp.pdf, which details the first-order challenges and associated solutions.
 
As Citrix works with Intel and our ecosystem of security partners, we’re jointly addressing both the innovative uses of cloud computing and providing the infrastructure to deliver all the promises of the cloud. Citrix and Intel have a long history of collaboration and partnership, including the recent launch of XenClient enabled by Intel vPro – and there’s much more to come!

Hopefully you saw the Intel and ODCA announcements today. The formation of an end-user organization to drive requirements into the industry through usage models is a long overdue development.

Also, I hope you’ve seen the Intel Cloud Builders reference architectures that we published on Wednesday October 27. It is an impressive set of reference architectures that go well beyond the IaaS usage model and into additional usage models including trusted pools and, policy based power management.

The development of these usage models into reference architectures really highlighted both the challenges as well as the dynamic nature of this segment of the industry.

There were a ton of decisions we made in the process of designing and building these reference architectures. Everything from the form of isolation for multi-tenancy, to the type of storage architecture to us, to use of trusted pools had to be specified and understood in the context of our overall objectives. Even though we had access to experts from across the industry, the process was definitely non-trivial. The challenge for an IT team is clear: gathering and learning from this huge variety is hard enough even when explained in the context of a usage model.

It really highlighted to me the value of using usage models as the starting point for these reference architectures. In that context, the ODCA is in a unique situation to challenge the industry to address their critical IT challenges. Having a set of sophisticated IT users express their challenges is a powerful statement.

In posts over the next few weeks, I will dig deeper into the reference architectures based on the set of initial usage models and starting with trusted pools.

Today, it seems like the majority of cloud computing discussion has focused on the data center. The end point, or client device, is often treated as more of an afterthought. My goal is to give you a different perspective on why, even for cloud based applications, the device you choose matters.

What does it mean to be Client Aware?

Simply put, "client aware" means that cloud based applications or services are able to recognize and take advantage of the capabilities of the end point device. Why does this matter? Organizations typically support broad range of applications. And many of these applications are becoming increasingly graphs and processor intensive. The growing need for security is also driving increased use of processor intensive encryption and decryption. One option is to rely solely on the cloud based data center to power the delivery of these applications. Another option is to optimize application delivery by taking advantage of the combined performance of the end point device and the cloud based to support these applications. By ensuring their cloud based applications are client aware, enterprises are able to take advantage of this more balanced approach.

The end point you choose matters

For cloud-based applications, it's important to look beyond availability metrics and consider the end-user experience. Most clouds are designed without any thought to the end point device. Yet, with larger screens, better graphics, stronger security and faster performance, some devices are clearly more capable than others. By taking advantage of the capabilities of the end point device, IT maintains a more flexible infrastructure with the ability to optimize application delivery and end user experience.

Making it happening

Intel is enabling this capability by delivering a series of web based APIs that enable applications to comprehend characteristics of the end point including network bandwidth, processor performance and available battery life.

For an overview of the topic, download the whitepaper on the benefits of a client-aware cloud.

To go deeper, download the APIs that enable client detection at http://software.intel.com/sites/whatif/webapis/.

To see how one application takes advantage a client aware infrastructure take a look at the video "Cloud Computing & The Web: Intel Web API for the Client Aware Cloud."

As you begin migrating applications to the cloud and want to make them client-aware, be sure to contact Intel with any questions. We'll be here to help.

Today is a big day for Intel, as we announced a major effort to enable next generation data centers for cloud computing. The topic of cloud computing is generating a ton of industry announcements, which is understandable given the once in a decade shift that cloud represents. Intel’s announcements are unique in the breadth of participation of the industry, as well as our support for a stronger voice of the customer. We announced our advisory role in the newly formed Open Data Center Alliance, a group of over 50 companies representing over $40B of IT spending who are committed to driving an interoperable, multi-vendor approach to the next generation data center. We also announced a dramatic expansion of our Cloud Builders program, with 20 different reference architectures from the leading providers of technology for cloud computing. All of this is in the context of our vision – a cloud that is federated, automated, and client-aware.

The announcement begs the question of what Intel is trying to achieve. After all, we are a key technology ingredient rather than a full provider of solutions, so addressing the challenges of the cloud is beyond our ability to impact alone. The Open Data Center Alliance is committed to multi-vendor solutions, including at the processor level, so our assistance to the group does not gain us a specific advantage. Let me shed some light on our motivation. First, we believe that cloud computing is still quite nascent. I enjoyed this posting, which highlights the risk of overstating the impact of cloud short term, while painting a good target. Our primary goal is to work with the industry to accelerate the cloud architecture transition.  Second, we are strong proponents of the model that has driven innovation and cost advantages in the standard high volume server market. This is a model where competition exists at every horizontal layer of the solution, and customers can select best of breed each generation. Here is a very thoughtful assessment of the vendor lock-in considerations in the shift to cloud. Our goal is to drive standards and implementations that enable differentiation, while limiting lock-in over several generations.

We don’t expect that our assistance to the Open Data Center Alliance, nor our collaboration with industry partners in the Cloud Builders program, will fundamentally change the end state of cloud computing. Rather, we’re focused on accelerating the outcome that would naturally evolve. A good analogy is the growth of WiFi. Back in 2002 the technology was expensive and the access to WiFi hotspots was quite rare. We were on a trajectory to see wireless adoption in notebooks occur at a glacial pace. Intel launched the Intel® Centrino® processor technology based on wireless networking standards, but augmented the product with a broad effort to enable WiFi hotspots and to improve the user experience linking to the hotspots. Net result, we saw wireless go from single digit percentage adoption to 90% penetration in three short years. Did we create WiFi? Of course not. Did we accelerate the benefits users wanted anyway by coalescing the industry of OEMs and service providers? You bet. We hope to have a similar effect on the data center.

The question of why we believe cloud computing is good for Intel is fodder for a future blog. A prominent analyst recently suggested that in just a few years the boom of the Intel server market would be a fading memory due in part to cloud computing. Throughout the history of the computing industry, we’ve had prognostications of an end to the innovation cycle. Meanwhile, we’ve seen the cost of computing drop, computing resources become ever more democratized, and new uses continually defy the imagination (or lack thereof) of the cynics. If both our products and our engagement with partners and customers drive an environment where computing is more capable and more accessible, our business results will take care of themselves.

I’d love to hear your thoughts – are you worried about interoperability, or more comfortable with a fully integrated solution?  Do you think cloud is all about reducing the footprint and investment required for IT, or are you excited by the new possibilities cloud computing creates?

It seems like most every time I get into a conversation about cloud computing efficiency, more often than not the conversation focuses on the use of servers configured with the latest energy efficient processors that utilize autonomous power management features in the CPU and Chipset.   No disagreements from me on that approach – it’s absolutely the right thing to do.  But if you want to drive the efficiency of a cloud deployment to the next level, power management - specifically directed power management is something to consider.  Here are some key elements to consider.

Can’t Manage What You Can’t Measure.  Any Power Management 101 discussion starts here.  Before you can do anything advanced like scale your cooling output to the power consumed or migrate/place workloads based on power availability, you need to understand how much power is being consumed – specifically down to the server and eventually at the VM level as well.  That granularity gives you the data to make informed management decisions at the workload, rack and data center level that will drive the efficiency of your cloud.

Directed Server Power Management.   The latest and greatest processors and servers do the Ronco* set it and forget it power work at the server level.  Beyond that what is needed is the ability to manage – usually by capping – power consumption is a directed fashion.  Being able to set power policies in a dynamic and configurable manner improve your ability to improve the efficiency of your cloud deployment

Aggregated and Integrate.  Once the server level building blocks noted above are in place, the next step is to enable your data center management and building management systems to intelligently monitor the power data available in aggregation (think rack, row), or to take manual or automatic management actions to cap power on an individual server or physical/logical group to address a power or thermal concern.  If you get really sophisticated, you can do things like use your job scheduling software to look at power headroom at the server or rack level and intelligently place workload.  The opportunities for ISVs and End Users to deliver innovations that drive efficiency are pretty much boundless – and will help improve cloud efficiency.

Solutions From Intel.  What is Intel doing to help enable OEM and ISV solutions?  For the individual server power measurement/reporting and server level directed power capping, there is Intel Intelligent Power Node Manager which OEMs can design into their servers.  For the data center console aggregation work there is the Intel Data Center Manager SDK.

Well, that’s one technologist’s opinion…What actions do you have planned to move beyond Cloud Efficiency 101 to the next level?

In the latest installment of Chip Chat, Allyson Klein talks with Raejeanne Skillern about the Intel® Cloud Builders Program and the advanced tools it delivers to the architects and vendors of all things cloud.

Cloud Builders is an industry-enabling program designed to bring together the vendors that make cloud enabling technologies and solutions. It is building momentum with even more reference architecture solutions and resources in the coming months, so keep an eye on the Cloud Builders portal and get involved by checking out the Cloud Builders Community.

Based on recent posts by cloud watchers, it's clear to me that security is on everyone's mind. It's positioned to be the obstacle to widespread adoption of cloud computing, but what's really going on in this space? Let's get a lively dialog going here in Cloud Builder. I invite you to join the discussion. Post your comments, questions, and concerns. Tell me what you're thinking.

Although it's apparent there are many challenges to guaranteeing cloud security, Intel and our partners are providing answers. We've published many white papers on the topic that you can find on this site. You can find them here: www.intel.com/technology/security.

Securing the cloud is on everyone's hot topics list. Recent editorial coverage of industry gatherings (IDF, Bay Area Secure World, and Hosting & Cloud Computing Summit) and surveys of IT managers spurred vigorous and serious discussion about cloud security issues. Here are a few recent posts that caught my attention. The news stories trend to the negative side of security, but it's natural for journalists to highlight their concerns. The good news is that Intel and the top minds in the industry are focused on ensuring cloud security from a number of directions.

IS SECURITY A BARRIER TO ADOPTION?

In a recent PC World survey, IT managers said they are "a bit scared" of cloud adoption. 62% of the executives surveyed have no confidence in cloud security. Respondents worry that third parties (where their data sits) can't enforce security policies.

LACK OF SERVICE LEVEL AGREEMENTS (SLAs)

Joseph Foran says that despite increased spending on network security, data security and compliance in the cloud are still problems. "A vacuum of standards and a trail of data security breaches haven't helped the cause any," he writes. A lack of SLAs and security guarantees can leave your company without any way to prove compliance.

COMPLIANCE

Andi Mann says he distrusts the cloud hype. There's a "fundamental disconnect between cloud computing and mission-critical IT when it comes to ensuring security and compliance," he says. Extensive attention paid to security by internal IT managers is simply not matched by external vendors. He asks, "Who takes care of the intricacies of security management? Who establishes, maintains, and checks audit trails—assuming they are even being recorded in the first place?" He calls for the establishment of "trusted relationships, federated services, third-party monitors, pseudo-clouds, and other solutions" to address the passel of potential problems.

ENCRYPTION

Michael Cobb highlights the importance of encryption. "Because a cloud implementation somewhat blurs the distinction between data at rest, in motion, and in use, data encryption becomes one of the most important defenses." I echo that sentiment in my recent blog "Encrypt the World."

CLOUD SECURITY ISSUES IN DEPTH

For a detailed analysis of possible cloud security problems, read this white paper from the Cloud Security Alliance: www.cloudsecurityalliance.org.

LACK OF STANDARDS AND FRAMEWORK

A new group is attempting to provide a cloud framework. CloudAudit calls it the "A6" or automating audit, assertion, assessment, and assurance via an API. Check out CloudAudit at www.cloudaudit.org.

THE FUTURE

Everyone is working to secure the cloud. Why? Because the cost savings and elasticity benefits require every IT manager to consider the cloud for at least some services. If isn't on your plate yet, it will be. Just this month, a consortium was formed of 24 service providers, vendors, government agencies, and consultants. They want to make it easier for businesses to compare the security features offered by cloud providers. The Cloud Assurance Metric (CAM) will publish objective, quantifiable measurements drawing from existing standards.

Intel is in this discussion with you. We can help you build out your cloud strategy and advise you on secure hardware and software solutions, as well as best practices for securing your data in the cloud. Post your comments here and let's get to work creating definitions, and refining cloud security standards together.

My name is Tim Plaud and I'm a principal storage architect with Compellent, a partner of Intel. An evolving set of concepts for the better part of four decades, cloud computing has evolved from being a marketing buzz word with little clarity and even less credibility to a real IT strategy built on a set of proven technologies for data centers. Cloud computing now has a stronger-than-ever foothold and it only seems to be getting stronger.

Many end users I talk to understand the value of cloud services, whether the infrastructure to deliver IT as a service is built on-premises or owned by a service provider. However, the big issue for these companies is how they can go about architecting a solution. To help these companies build their own private clouds, we’re working with Intel and VMware to demonstrate a “Cloud on Wheels” solution in the Intel booth (#206) at SNW, taking place during expo hours on Tuesday, Oct. 12 and Wednesday, Oct. 13. Christian Black, researcher and architect, Intel IT, and I will be in Dallas to drive the demos and talk about how the different technology building blocks go together.

I’m excited to have worked with Intel and VMware on Cloud on Wheels, which will combine Intel Xeon 5600 processors, a converged IP/storage fabric on 10Gb iSCSI, VMware virtual servers and vSphere, and Compellent Fluid Data technology. The demo will illustrate how end users can experience the performance advantages of wide-striping and dynamic RAID, as well as the efficiency advantages of thin provisioning and automated tiered storage. In fact, automated tiered storage plays a particularly important role in this private cloud because application data always finds the right level of storage performance and capacity, without requiring any manual intervention. That’s critical for simplifying administration especially if organizations are tight on resources and don’t have a lot of time to manage storage.

Naturally, virtualized storage resources are just one piece of the private cloud puzzle. Cloud environments require the processing power, the virtual servers and the network connectivity to handle scalability, performance and management requirements. With Intel, VMware and Compellent technologies making up the foundation of the Cloud on Wheels solution, all the pieces work together in a self-tuning data center. Customers can manage large pools of IT resources, including networking, storage and servers, as part of an integrated modular, flexible and scalable cloud requiring very little management. After all, isn't that what this whole cloud thing is all about?