Managed Private Cloud

Run your mission-critical applications on a Managed Private Cloud powered by VMware®, and enjoy all the flexibility and convenience that comes with virtualization.

Your virtual machines reside on your own secure, dedicated hardware managed by our certified support team and hosted on our blazing fast FastFiber Network™. Go ahead, run multiple operating systems on the same physical server, all at the same time - that's no problem. Or have us clone your existing virtual machine, for easy and quick setup. With the VMware vSphere™ client, you can directly manage and monitor your virtual data center too. It really doesn't get much better than this.

Features

• Enjoy high availability and business continuity without soaring IT costs.
• Design and deploy your Private Cloud configuration with assistance from our certified engineers.
• Rely on 24x7x365 FirstCall Support™ whenever you need it. Our support team regularly monitors and manages both your virtual machines and the physical servers they reside on.
• Manage and monitor your virtual machines directly through the vSphere client and enjoy unprecedented insight into your virtual data center.
• Customize your virtual data center to meet your rapidly changing needs. Whether it's one server or a pool of servers, you can build up business continuity and deliver high availability throughout your virtual data center.
• Provision your virtual machines fast, and turn them on and off as you desire.
• Develop and test new configurations without adding costly hardware.
• Enjoy peace-of-mind knowing your Private Cloud is running on our high performance, highly redundant FastFiber Network backbone - backed by our iron clad SLAs.

What is a Managed Private Cloud?

A managed private cloud is a computing cloud hosted and managed by a cloud Internet service provider (ISP) for use by a single client, not unlike a managed dedicated server. The ISP provides data center and networking infrastructure, deploys server hardware, cloud management tools and (virtual) server software stacks, monitors and manages the cloud and virtual servers. The tenant configures and uses the installed cloud servers applications, and provides content and customer service.

Cloud computing uses virtualization technologies to pool together resources of many physical servers (hosts), each of which contains multiple virtual servers (guests). Each guest has its own operating system and software stack and is insulated from all other guests. Cloud computing attractive features include dynamic allocation of memory, processing, storage and bandwidth to guests, user-controlled on-demand virtual server provisioning, rapid elastic scaling, and advanced configurations leading to stability, responsiveness and higher performance.

Unlike a public cloud where many different users share a single host, a managed private cloud is dedicated to a single user, and replaces the corporate data center. The managed private cloud eliminates the headaches and personnel associated with running a data center, managing hypervisors, supporting virtualization, provisioning and maintaining virtual servers. It lets users focus on the applications that run the business. The managed private cloud, like the one offered by PEER 1, provides secure environment and superior infrastructure at lower cost and with minimal capital expenses, and is equally attractive to start-ups and medium size enterprises.

Private Cloud vs. Managed Private Cloud

A Google search for the term private cloud definition comes up with no less than 7 million results. There are as many private cloud definitions as there are original authors, both because cloud computing is a still evolving paradigm that changes with every new technology and market segmentation twist, and because each author focuses on a different aspect of the cloud.

According to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), cloud computing is "a model for enabling convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications, and services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction." Characteristics of cloud computing include user-controlled on-demand provisioning, dynamic resource (storage, processing, memory, network bandwidth, and virtual machines) pooling and assignment, rapid elastic scaling, resource metering and control, and broad network (intranet or Internet) access.

A private cloud definition looks at what makes the cloud private, from infrastructure, security, marketing and management points of view. Thus, a private cloud definition will be one of the following instances of infrastructure that is dedicated solely for one organization:

• Cloud software managed and used on premises by an organization;
• A hosted (off premises) cloud, delivered as a service to a restricted set of customers within a single organization (e.g., PEER 1 managed private cloud);
• A firewall and VPN protected, access restricted, private cloud existing within a shared or public cloud (e.g., Amazon private cloud).

Private Cloud Computing

To understand private cloud computing, let's use Gartner's definition of (public) cloud computing as "a style of computing where scalable and elastic IT-enabled capabilities are delivered as a service to customers using Internet technologies". Cloud computing features include operating as a service offered through the Internet, easy scaling that can correspond to computational load (elasticity), using shared (pooled) computing resources, metering and charging for usage.

Public and private cloud computing employs similar technologies, but differ in the same ways dedicated hosting and shared hosting do. A user of public cloud computing, such as Amazon EC2, has access to a virtual server, but no control over the infrastructure, or the number of other users who share the physical server. Users of private cloud computing have hardware that is dedicated for their sole use. With private cloud computing, the user controls and specifies the cloud implementation, cloud platform and management tools, access to the cloud, and the software stack each cloud server runs. With public cloud computing, the vendors make the rules, and a user’s only alternative is to find another provider, of which there are few.

Private cloud computing increases data security and regulatory compliance, and thus is particularly attractive to enterprises that process financial information or medical data, and those concerned about information security. Security, scalability, stability, performance and cost are the advantages of managed private cloud, like the one hosted by PEER 1.

Why Virtualization?

Virtualization is a proven software technology that is rapidly transforming the hosting landscape and fundamentally changing the way businesses compute. VMware virtualization lets you move away from the traditional "one server, one application" model to running multiple virtual machines on a single physical server. Today's applications and operating systems use only a fraction of the resources available on a physical server. This means valuable computing power sits idle for long periods of time. VMware virtualization puts those untapped resources to work for you, and reduces your IT costs while you're at it.

What is Virtualization?

Virtualization is defined as the abstraction of objects ("things"), creating a virtual (rather than actual) version of objects - a server, a storage device, etc. For example, when you partition a hard drive into two partitions, C and D, you create virtual drives - the physical hard drive has not changed. Network attached storage (NAS), presents the user with an abstract storage space, a single point of access to data, though in reality NAS contains many drives and tapes hidden from the end user.

In server virtualization a software layer is inserted directly on the physical server (host) hardware, or on the host operating system. This software (also known as hypervisor or virtual machine monitor), which allocates hardware resources (CPU, RAM, storage and networking), allows a single server to run multiple operating system images at the same time. Each one of these operating system is a ‘virtual server’, a virtual machine is completely compatible with all standard x86 operating systems, applications, and device drivers.

Virtualization allows higher utilization of servers, which usually run at a fraction of their capacity. By replacing physical servers with virtual ones, and consolidating many (10-20) together, it is possible to reduce data center space, energy, hardware and maintenance personnel. It is easier to move virtual servers between hosts, form high availability, fault tolerance, or other virtual clusters, thus improving business continuity, performance and responsiveness.

Virtual Servers

Virtual servers are an abstraction of physical servers - they are objects that appear and behave just like a physical server, with all its resources (CPU, RAM, storage and networking) and features (root/admin access, a complete operating system, application stack, reboots, etc.). But in reality, multiple virtual servers run side by side on the same piece of hardware, the physical (host) server.

Virtual servers are created by virtualization - the insertion of software on the host hardware or its operating system that allows a single host to run multiple guest operating system images (guests, or virtual servers) concurrently, without affecting or interfering with each other. Each virtual server can run its own operating system and application stack, and be independently rebooted.

In web hosting, virtual servers play an important role between shared and dedicated servers. Virtual servers have the features of dedicated servers, including the complete control of the user over the server resources and applications, and the isolation from other servers and users. But because of their shared environment, they can be offered at a lower price than a dedicated server. Moreover, virtual server can be moved from host to host quickly, or configured to form virtual clusters for high availability, fail-over, fault tolerance, or advanced functions. All these features improve their stability and responsiveness, reduce down time, and offer end users a better value for a better price.

Virtualization Hosting

Virtualization hosting is the practice of using server virtualization for hosting virtual private servers (VPS, or VDS - virtual dedicated servers). It also refers to leasing servers running virtualization software in order to offer virtual servers to end users. Virtualization hosting falls between shared hosting and dedicated hosting, in that the features are identical to dedicated servers (albeit with fewer resources), but the hardware is shared between multiple users (though not as many as the 1000+ encountered in shared hosting), and prices fall between shared and dedicated.

Virtualization hosting is done by inserting a software layer, or hypervisor, directly on the server hardware (or on top the operating system), and creating slices known as virtual machines (VM) or virtual servers. The hardware is called the host, and the virtual machines are called guests. Each guest VM contains complete resources (such as CPU, memory, operating system and applications) and acts like a physical x86-compatible computer. However, instead of communicating directly with the host server for resources, the guest OS goes through the hypervisor. The host can safely run multiple operating systems at the same time, with the hypervisor allocating resources and monitoring VMs.

Virtualization hosting end users enjoy all dedicated hosting features at a much lower price. The host benefits from the ability to instantly add resources, run and lease any combination of Windows, Linux or Unix servers on one physical server, and from advanced features (such as high availability and virtual clusters) more readily available with virtual servers.

In-House VMware Experts and FirstCall Support™

We know you're going to enjoy the ease and simplicity that comes with a Managed Private Cloud. But in case you ever need help or run into an issue, we have seasoned IT pros available at a moment's notice to get it resolved fast. Our support team regularly monitors and manages both your virtual machines and the physical servers they reside on. They also perform any necessary patching, and virus or operating system (Windows or Linux) updates as needed. Our goal is to free you from spending so much time managing servers, so you can spend more time growing your business.

More About VMware

VMware Web Hosting

VMware web hosting refers to leasing servers running VMware's server virtualization software. Using VMware web hosting solutions, an ISP can offer servers with all the features of a dedicated server, but share the physical hardware with 10-20 other such servers. VMware web hosting allows for conversion of physical servers into virtual servers, enables server consolidation and hardware utilization (since most dedicated servers use only 5-10% of their resources), and cuts down energy consumption (thanks to server consolidation), without affecting server performance.

VMware is a leading provider of virtualization solutions, which take a physical server (host),adds a specialized piece of software and "slices" the server into multiple, independent, "virtual servers" (also known as virtual machines (VM), virtual private servers (VPS), virtual dedicated servers (VDS) or simply guests). Each guest VM can have its own customized software stack and unique, unshared, root access. The virtualization software, known as hypervisor or virtual machine monitor, monitors the guests, allocates resources to them as needed, and provide additional features and benefits. In essence, the (virtual) server communicates with the hypervisor, which is an added intermediate layer that connects with the physical server and manages its resources distribution.

For a host, VMware web hosting offers the benefits of dedicated hosting at a better price, the ability of the provider to instantly add resources, the benefits of advanced features available more readily with virtual servers (such as high availability and virtual clusters) and the comfort of helping conserve energy and reduce global warming.

VMware Image Hosting

Using virtualization, a physical server (host) can be divided into multiple "guests" - independent virtual private servers (VPS), each with its own software and admin/root access. Each guest is encapsulated as an image, a directory system with the operating system and configuration files needed for virtualization. A basic server image can be cloned and modified to generate many guests servers. VMware is a virtualization technology leader, and VMware image hosting is the practice of hosting virtual private server images compatible with VMware virtualization solutions.

VMware image hosting is the realm of specialized ISPs, which offer virtualization and cloud hosting solutions to web hosts, businesses, and end users. The VMware image hosting provider installs VMware's ESXi server on the physical hardware, and allows users to choose from many 32-bit and 64-bit virtual server images of Windows (2003/2008) and Linux (RedHat, CentOS, Ubuntu) servers, or to upload their own VMware compatible images. Virtual image hosting customers can run different operating systems concurrently on the same server, convert physical servers into virtual ones, consolidate and improve stability with high availability and live migration of servers.

For web hosts, VMware image hosting offers the ability to instantly provision servers and allocate resources, and cost effectively provide advanced dedicated server solutions. For businesses, the main benefits are server consolidation, easier management and higher stability and scalability. End users love the price/performance ratio. PEER 1, a VMware Partner, provides advanced virtualization and private cloud solutions for businesses and individuals.

Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery

With a Managed Private Cloud, we provide you solutions that will provide continuous uptime and eliminate costly disruptions to your business.

Private Cloud Plans

	Standard	Advanced	Enterprise Plus
Distributed Switch  Provides a central data center level aggregated control point for virtual machine networking. Enables the use of third party virtual switches in vSphere environments. Enhanced security and monitoring for virtual machines migrated via VMware vMotion through maintenance and migration of port runtime state. Required for functioning clusters.
DRS  Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS) continuously monitors virtual machines and physical servers to optimally align compute capacity to application requirements based on business priorities. DRS is fully supported by our support team - fully updated patching for clustered solutions without downtime. It also balances resource utilization for optimized guest resource utilization.
Storage vMotion  VMware Storage vMotion lets you relocate virtual machine disk files between and across shared storage locations while maintaining continuous service availability and complete transaction integrity.
Data Recovery  VMware Data Recovery is your first line of defense for data protection. It's fully integrated with VMware vCenter Server to enable centralized and efficient management of backup jobs, and also includes data de-duplication to save on disk storage for your backups.
Update Manager  Update Manager makes it easy to manage tracking and patching of VMware vSphere hosts, as well as select Windows virtual machine. Ensures you are secure and fully patched.
Fault Tolerance  Maximize uptime in your data center and reduce downtime management costs by enabling VMware Fault Tolerance for your virtual machines. VMware Fault Tolerance provides zero downtime, zero data loss and continuous availability for your applications. Requires using virtual machines with high limitations. Virtual machines can be configured to use this feature, but are not configured to support this feature by default. Our support team is able to change the configuration as needed.
Hot Add  Add virtual machines without impact to running environments - add CPU and memory to virtual machines on the fly to handle increasing demand.
vMotion  VMware vMotion keeps your IT environment running continuously by moving running virtual machines from one physical server to another with no impact to your customers. vMotion makes it possible to upgrade a virtual machine to higher performance SAN storage without taking it offline.
High Availability  Continuous monitoring of physical servers in a pool and automated restart of virtual machines on alternate servers in the event of hardware failures. Automated restart of virtual machines in the event of OS failures. Simple, cost-effective protection against hardware and OS failures. Pervasive protection for all applications, allowing protection of applications with no other failover options.
VMware ESXi  ESXi is the hypervisor architecture that sets the industry standard for reliability and performance. With ESXI, your Virtualized solution is built on a solid foundation.

Learn more about how PEER 1 Private Cloud powered by VMware can work for you. Talk to us or call 1.866.579.9690.

More About Private Cloud Pricing

Unlike shared, dedicated and cloud servers, private cloud pricing can be a little cloudy, and for a reason. Cloud servers have well defined specs - either a given price for so much RAM, CPU, storage and bandwidth (subscription pricing), or a given rate for RAM, CPU, storage and bandwidth actually used (utility pricing). Private cloud pricing varies widely because the hardware, the infrastructure, and even the cloud technology used, vary widely from vendor to vendor and customer to customer.

Private clouds' hardware, server count, power and bandwidth allotment change for each case, leading to price variations. Many ISPs have a number of private cloud configurations, and most customize the private cloud in accordance to customer’s needs and requirements, leading to even greater price divergence. Private clouds can be powered by commercial or open source (OS) technologies such as. Free and paid OS cloud software includes Eucalyptus, Linux KVM, and Xen. Cloud software is commercially available from Citrix, VMware, Microsoft, 3Tera (Applogic grid engine) and others. Each vendor offers several product (the familiar "good, better, best" paradigm) with different features and price points. Finally, ISPs have large variation in the quality and location of their data centers, network, bandwidth and power systems.

So what is a prospective client to do? Research the market well, select an ISP and data center known for stability, speed, and quality technical support, and choose a provider based on reputation and quality, not private cloud price alone.

VMware Hosting Pricing

VMware hosting refers to leasing a virtual dedicated server (VDS) from an ISP. The server has the characteristics of a dedicated server, but it resides on a single physical server, and shares resources with 10-20 other VDSs. VMware hosting pricing usually falls between shared hosting and dedicated hosting prices, but there are exceptions.

VMware hosting pricing and specifications vary wildly, for a reason. A quick search reveals hosting plans with 512MB to 4GB RAM, 10-50GB storage, 10GB to Unlimited bandwidth, 1 or 2 CPUs, and so on. Some providers charge extra for firewall and database hosting, while others do not. Some providers offer more sophisticated products than others, for example fail-over, high availability, storage replication and backups.

The points is that when evaluating VMware hosting pricing, one must avoid comparing apples to oranges. The lower end of VMware pricing and features resembles shared hosting, while the high end is closer to dedicated. Just because a provider can save costs using virtualization software, does not guarantee that the savings are passed along to the customer.

The last thing to consider when comparing VMware hosting prices is the quality of the ISP's data centers, technical support and connectivity. The most feature laden server won't do you much good if the bandwidth is slow, the data center has frequent outages, and problems take days to resolve. Invest in a quality ISP with a track record of stability and service quality, such as PEER 1 and other first tier hosting providers.