How will cloud computing affect the Windows server environment?

There are very few computing topics that are as promising and confusing as cloud computing. In fact, many IT professionals don't even think about the concept of "cloud" in their seats. But no matter how suppliers change the terms or position them to be suspicious and have a budget-conscious market contribution, it is clear that the shift to practical computing is gaining traction.

In a recent survey on the TechTarget website, more than 30% of IT professionals said they have or will adopt some cloud structure in the coming year. Since early adopters are struggling with public cloud security issues or considering investing in private clouds, this leaves a question for other industries that have not yet been adopted: Why cloud adoption, how it will affect my Windows server surroundings?

Trends in Cloud Computing

Any action toward a private or public cloud begins with a careful reflection of business needs, and there are many factors driving companies to consider cloud structures.

Let's start with a private cloud where the organization typically has the relevant hardware and software (or leases specific computing resources). Nearly 35% of respondents chose private clouds to maintain their existing infrastructure investments, while another 17% viewed private clouds as a tool for disaster recovery and business continuity. More than 14% of respondents chose a private cloud for greater security, and nearly 12% wanted auto-service and enterprise computing resources.

Industry experts have provided some more pragmatic views, pointing out that spending and business-related issues are the main drivers. James Staten, vice president and principal analyst at Forrester Research, said: "This is more driven than any other business or process. The drivers of the cloud are generally faster time to market and more developer self-service."

Interestingly, security ranks high among respondents who are interested in private clouds. In fact, 39% of IT professionals who do not consider cloud computing list security as the single most difficult factor to overcome. But experts point out that private clouds are not inherently safer than public clouds. The primary benefit of a private setup is that the IT department owns or controls the cloud infrastructure and can achieve security that is specifically tailored to that organization. This level of control is simply not possible in a public cloud.

The factors that drive users to consider public clouds are clearly different from those of private clouds, reflecting the ability to transfer costs, reduce staff, and remove infrastructure while maintaining computational scalability (rather than protecting it). The general desire. More than 31% of respondents consider public cloud computing to reduce their cost infrastructure, and another 26% are looking for a better consumption flexibility than traditional hosting services. About 20% of IT professionals want to gain the flexibility of practical computing without prepayment due to infrastructure acquisition and deployment, and 11% of respondents want to reduce the cost of IT staff. Phil Cox, Principal Consultant at SystemExperts, said: "This is a global concept that leverages a practical computing model to shift capital expenditures to operating expenses."

Adopters will place a variety of applications in the cloud. . Survey respondents indicated that testing and development (58%), web application hosting (53%), email (45%) and disaster recovery (35%) were among the top four in the cloud, but experts pointed out Almost all types of applications work fine in the cloud. Cox said: "The cloud provider's infrastructure can support databases and all such applications."

However, although almost all applications should work in existing cloud environments, it is periodic. Applications - or those that process load variables dynamically or instantaneously - will benefit the most from the "stretchability" of a practical computing model.

Microsoft Azure Platform and Microsoft Environment

So, what does this all mean for the Windows server environment? The public cloud is derived from a large group of major providers, including Amazon Web Services, Rackspace, GoGrid, Terremark, Microsoft, Google, Softlayer Technologies and Hosting.com. In addition, management service providers (MSPs) interested in infrastructure services (IaaS) are increasing. Similarly, organizations that maintain their infrastructure through elections can leverage solutions like the Microsoft Dynamic Infrastructure Toolkit to successfully implement in the private cloud to meet their changing business needs.

This gives organizations a number of competitive options that can be deployed with applications that use practical computing. However, moving any application to the cloud is not an easy choice—it requires a strong business background, mature spending judgments in cloud solutions, and a reliable security posture for business data. For a public cloud provider, a solid track record should also be considered.

Cox said: "I think Amazon is the cloud provider when it comes to it. They have become the oldest one. I think Azure is making a strong debut because it has Microsoft behind it." >

The recently announced Windows Azure Appliance (called "Azure-in-a-box") is an interesting move for Microsoft, but it is only suitable for today's largest companies that can validate Windows Azure Private Cloud. Windows-based data centers need only a private cloud that can go to the Microsoft Dynamic Infrastructure Toolkit or wait for Microsoft to release some new private clouds that provide these features in the future. Cox thinks this might happen, and points out: "Why are they doing this? Because big customers need and are willing to pay for it."

I hope to see Windows system management continue to develop with Microsoft System Center, Microsoft is working Invest heavily in their Windows management platform to achieve functional integration under a single interface. Staten hopes that this will eventually lead to more seamless management of cloud and cloudless application deployments, but more work will undoubtedly become a requirement for cloud technology to continue to enter the Windows organization.