TVP Category Archives

Is the Cloud Too Much of a Good Thing?

Is the cloud too much of a good thing? Virtualization and Cloud Computing have been one of the biggest technological advancements of the twenty first century and it continues to grow at an amazing pace. Cloud computing has started to obtain mass appeal in corporate data centers as it enables the data center to operate like the Internet through the process of enabling computing resources to be accessed and shared as virtual resources in a scalable manner. Each day there seems to be a new announcement or press release about a new product or service that has been released utilizing some form of cloud computing and I do not see this trend changing anytime soon.

End User Computing within the Secure Hybrid Cloud

When we look at the secure hybrid cloud, the entry point to the hybrid cloud is the end user computing device, whether that device is a tablet, smart phone, desktop, laptop, google glass, watch, etc. We enter our hybrid cloud from this device. From there we spread out to other clouds within our control, clouds outside our control, or to data centers. How these devices authenticate and access the data within these various places within the hybrid cloud becomes a matter of great importance and has been a concentration for many companies. How we protect the data that ends up on the end user computing device is also of great importance.

Data Protection for the Hybrid Cloud

In many cases, when we mention Data Protection for the Hybrid Cloud, we are usually talking about backing up to the cloud. The cloud becomes a repository of our backup images and in some cases those backup images can be launched within clouds that use the same technology. Being able to send data to the cloud is becoming table stakes for infrastructure as a service (IaaS) data protection. However, once we move outside the realm of IaaS to Platform or Software as a Service (PaaS or SaaS), data protection is hit or miss.

Securing the Hybrid Cloud

The secure hybrid cloud encompasses a complex environment with a complex set of security requirements spanning the data center (or data closet), end user computing devices, and various cloud services. The entry point to the entire hybrid cloud is some form of End User Computing device whether that is a smart phone, tablet, laptop, or even a desktop computer. Once you enter the hybrid cloud, you may be taken to a cloud service or to your data center. The goal is to understand how the data flows through out this environment in order to properly secure it and therefore secure the hybrid cloud, but since it is a complex environment, we need a simpler way to view this environment.

CERN Goes Hybrid

CERN goes Hybrid: Have you heard the news that CERN is going to the cloud? The term CERN is used to refer to the European laboratory located in the northwest suburbs of Geneva snug on the Switzerland border. The main function is to provide the particle accelerators, as well the other part of the laboratory infrastructure needed to perform high energy physics research. CERN was originally established in 1954 as The European Organization for Nuclear Research. The research at the facility has moved past nuclear research and has fully expanded into one of the largest laboratories for particle physics research using the Large Hadron Collider. On an interesting side note, the main site at CERN is also the birthplace of the World Wide Web and, historically before that, these facilities were a major wide area networking hub for sharing the scientists research with different scientists located elsewhere.