Private Cloud Computing

Virtual Machines

Virtual Machines are created by importing virtual disk images into the Private Cloud Computing platform. CPU, memory, and storage resources are then allocated to each Virtual Machine and can be expanded as needed. The Private Cloud Computing platform supports the following operating systems: * Windows 7 * Windows Vista * Windows 2000 * Windows XP * Windows Server 2008 * Windows Server 2003 * Ubuntu * Debian * SUSE * Mandrake * Red Hat * Solaris * BSD

Resources

Due to Private Cloud Computing architecture, Virtual Machines require less memory and storage capacity compared to traditional hardware. * Memory: First, each Virtual Machine will write to a solid-state disk. Then, it will commit information to the underlying storage system. The Virtual Machine’s paging file will also write to solid-state disk, which will greatly improves performance because it requires less memory than traditional systems. On average, you will be able to allocate 25 to 50% less memory per virtual machine. * Storage: Thanks to the use of templates and clones, each Virtual Machine’s operating system and applications only have to be stored once and then only require the user data for additional storage. This is a considerable amount of space savings for larger deployments.

Performance

When Virtual Machines are started on the Private Cloud Computing operating system and applications are preloaded in the solid-state disk, the responsiveness and overall user experience is greatly enhanced. This is especially true when users boot their thin clients and begin working.

Templates

Virtual Machine Templates are created in order to deploy similar configurations (i.e.: operating system and applications) to a group of users. System maintenance and software installations can be applied to the templates and reapplied to each user. This process helps centralize administrative tasks. Storage capacity is also reduced as each user is ultimately pointed back to the original template. In a traditional 10-user environment, there is easily 50 GB of operating system and application data. However, with Private Cloud Computing, only 5 GB is required because each user runs from the base template.

Clones

Clones are created from existing Virtual Machines or Templates. You can clone a server machine to the maintenance environment to test the latest software update or run an intensive SQL query. Similarly, desktops can be cloned from a template for each user in the department or company. When a machine is cloned, only the changes from the source machine are saved in the clone. This creates a tree structure and reduces the storage required for multiple virtual machines.

Business Continuity

Private Cloud Computing uses a copy-on-write strategy to store data, which can act as a business continuity device. The way it works is incremental snapshots of your data on the server are taken and stored in order to provide you with various restoration points. These points of recovery are presented to the Cloud Management Center, which will then allow you to roll back any virtual machine to a selected point-in-time data image for recovery purposes. You can also customize the retention period per PCC implementation. This revolutionary process allows PCC to inherently function as a business continuity solution without the added additional overhead.

Offsite Data Replication

Private Cloud Computing data can be replicated to another PCC unit located at your data center or to Apex NW Technology’s collocation facility.

Time Traveler

Each virtual machine has an application available called the Time Traveler, which allows administrators or users to mount a new drive from any point in time in order to restore data. Quickly recover deleted or damaged files with just a few clicks of a mouse!

Smart Clients

Typical desktop terminal implementations are infamous for their poor user experience and an often hefty investment in server-side processing. Apex NW Technology’s Smart Clients overcome these problems by implementing a thin client solution with enhanced graphics. These thin clients provide a user experience very similar to that of a standard desktop PC. Graphics processing is done on the server side with an additional GPU and then streamed to the Smart Client. This approach eliminates the workload and bandwidth problems that enhanced graphics would typically introduce on the server side hardware.

Users will connect to a fully-virtualized workstation hosted on the Private Cloud Computing platform. The virtual workstation includes its own storage and processing resources along with enhanced graphics. Local USB devices will also be redirected to the virtual workstation, as if it were a standard PC. The clear advantage of this approach is that user data is now centralized and can easily be backed up alongside server data. Users have options for how they will connect to their virtual workstations. The virtual workstations can be reached from a Apex NW Technology’s thin client, a software application running on an existing PC, or through a remote connection protocol.

• The Apex NW Technolgoy’s Thin Client is a small desktop client device that connects a user’s keyboard, mouse, monitor, and any USB devices such as a printer or mobile device to the virtual workstation. The thin client uses only 10 watts of power. There is also a version that is fully-integrated with a 19” LCD monitor. The thin client uses a relatively low amount of network bandwidth so even WAN users can use the thin client.
• The Apex NW Technology’s software client is a desktop application that allows users to connect to their virtual workstation from an existing physical PC. The software client provides the same features as the thin client but allows an existing PC to be used in place of a thin client.
• As with any physical desktop, users can also logon to their virtual workstations with standard remote protocols. Apex NW Technology provides a remote connection utility to Private Cloud Computing users similar to the LogMeIn product that is bundled with the managed services portal. This can be useful for home and traveling users who need access to their office desktop via Internet.

In addition to the virtual workstation approach, an iSCSI-based Smart Client is also available. This version of the Smart Client does not rely on virtualization. Instead it is a fully-functional physical PC with a local CPU, memory and onboard video. Only the hard drive is removed from this client and is replaced by using iSCSI to mount a storage partition on the Private Cloud Computing platform. This iSCSI volume is presented to the Smart Client as if it were a local disk in the PC, and the client does a network (PXE) boot to this drive. This iSCSI-based Smart Client can be advantageous to users running moderately-intensive desktop applications because processing is done on the client side while storage remains with the server — providing the best of both worlds. The Smart Client, guest OS, and client applications recognize the network storage as a primary local disk. This allows users to log into their desktop directly from the Smart Client without additional login screens or applications.

For all types of Smart Clients, hardware failure is no longer an issue that requires tech support. If there is a hardware failure, the client can be replaced without needing to reimage a machine. Users can login to a new Smart Client and resume their working session.

Application and OS issues can also be addressed with the Private Cloud Computing’s advanced data snapshotting features. Data and OS configurations can be simply restored to an earlier point in time. With Private Cloud Computing computing, the user experience is improved, productivity and uptime are maximized, and system administration is streamlined!

Network switches

Two management switches are included with the Private Cloud Computing platform. The first switch connects each resource node to a gigabit Ethernet backplane for internal communication while the other switch connects the Private Cloud Computing platform to your network infrastructure. The internal switch is dedicated solely for the communication between nodes to ensure maximum performance. The Private Cloud Computing platform can easily integrate with an existing network or reside on a separate subnet.