Moving to the Cloud as a Service or as a Machine

One of the decisions faced by anyone that wishes to have a cloud presence is what will be moved to the cloud, why, and whether or not there is a service that can be used instead of using virtual machines. Give The Virtualization Practice’s case, we plan on moving our customer facing VMs to the cloud, but what are those machines? The most important are a Web Server with a split LAMP stack, a Mail Server, and DNS.

Cloud Security Alliance: STAR and other Initiatives

The 5/17 Virtualization Security Podcast was an open forum on the Cloud Security Alliance initiatives, specifically the Security, Trust, & Assurance Registry (STAR). Which is “a free, publicly accessible registry that documents the security controls provided by various cloud computing offerings.” The CSA has grown from a grass roots organization to a major player and producer or guidance for security and compliance for clouds.

StratoDesk enhance offering for converting PCs to ThinClient: NoTouch equals Zero Client?

A common initiator for moving to virtual desktops is the transition away from existing PCs. To help accommodate this option, Stratodesk have announced the latest version of their NoTouch Desktop. NoTouch is a PC and thin-client re-purposing and management product. As well as supporting Citrix, VMware and Quest, Stratodesk have recently partnered with Desktone to offer easier access to Desktone DaaS desktops. There are a number of optimised Linux-build offerings. Devon IT with VDI Blaster, 2X have their ThinClientServer – there is even a license free option in the recently updated ThinStation. What does Stratodesk’s NoTouch offer, and can Stratodesk assist in a easing deployment of virtualised desktop projects over and above simply deploying thin clients? How, and can, NoTouch integrate or compete with the recent acquisitions of Citirx (Virtual Computer) and VMware (Wanova)?

Cisco puts Cius on hold as BYOD growth kills the enterprise tablet

The continued growth of BYOD and the increased maturity of mobile device management and mobile application management tools have forced Cisco to rethink both its enterprise collaboration strategy and its tablet strategy. Cisco came early to the enterprise tablet market announcing the Cius in mid-2010 just 3 months after Apple launched the first generation iPad.

Teenager's View of Cloud Security: Expectations of Privacy

The 5/3 Virtualization Security Podcast had a very special guest, a teenager. This surprise guest told us about how she and her friends use their smartphones and cloud services such as FaceBook, Twitter, SMS, etc. For the panelist, it gave us a new look at our existing problems; expanding our viewpoint for end-user computing security, cloud security, and expectations of privacy.