Fix your gutters before looking at the clouds
September 2011, IP Communications & Network Technology

If everyone promises cheaper services, more up-time, and most importantly, a reduction in infrastructure costs when using cloud computing, what should the CIO in your company be looking at in preparation for this latest wonder of our IT world?

The answer lies in bottle-necks and redundancy. If I were to build a new house and be completely dependent on rainwater for all my requirements, the first thing I would do is to make sure that there are no bottle-necks in the transfer of water from the catchment area into some form of reservoir. From there, I would have to establish a redundancy system of new, large-diameter water pipes to those areas of my household that will be needing access to the water. In other words – fix up your gutters and increase the size of your water pipes. Remember, in order to run my household, I cannot go without water, and neither do I have my own borehole anymore. (I sold it to buy the new water pipes). So yes, tapping resources from an external provider is definitely more cost effective if you are starting out a new house. Converting an existing household’s water supply to accommodate this new network may require some noticeable investment.

Cloud computing is no different. Companies surrender their own boreholes
(client-based software licenses and services) in order to make use of a resource feed from within the ‘cloud’. As such, the days of using large power-hungry servers in an expensively run air-conditioned room may seem to be numbered. But, as with boreholes, you move the weakness from your own infrastructure to that of the service delivery mechanism. In this instance, your network supply.

Setting up your company with quality network infrastructure, from your local area networks, to your switching systems, domain servers, and routers, is a non-negotiable before committing to cloud services. Similar to tapping water resources from a catchment area via high quality – high capacity gutters, you have to concentrate on redundancy and distribution.

At the moment, there are a number of public cloud solutions that do not allow for online-offline redundancy. In other words, with the exception of a few experimental frameworks – including Google Gears – should one perform mission critical applications on a cloud service, and the connection to the cloud goes offline, you would need to resume on a local instance of that server until the network has been re-connected. And even if this was possible, is it feasible?

Why go to the cloud in the first place if you have to fork out some serious computing power to run the service locally?

So to summarise; initially, one should not see the utilisation of public cloud services as a money saver. Use that infrastructure savings (servers, software licenses, electricity, etc) to spend on upgrading your networking system.

This should span your feed from the Internet right through to the network adapters on your PCs.

One final point on the decision of when to adopt cloud computing: Until your infrastructure has proven itself, limit the usage to services that you can do without for short periods of time. I would be happy to run my mail server in the cloud, but mission critical services which may include accounting, CRM, ERP, etc, will have to wait until I am satisfied that my service provider can deliver on his promises.

http://www.accsys.co.za

Further reading:

• TOA N-8000 IP intercom system
  May 2013, IP Communications & Network Technology
  The TOA IP intercom system consists of IP to IP (standalone) stations and two and four-wire controlled 16-port exchange based systems, all of which can be integrated with each other to provide multiple ...
  
• Simple multipoint IP paging and intercom
  May 2013, IP Communications & Network Technology
  Barix has a new IP paging solution that allows end users and integrators to set up multi-point systems within minutes. The plug-and-play solution combines fixed and mobile paging to extend reach and capability, ...
  
• Getting the basics right
  April 2013, IP Communications & Network Technology
  Meyertech and Comnet have joined forces to deliver a complete CCTV control room network infrastructure and video management solution. Following a comprehensive programme of product compatibility testing ...
  
• G4S stays connected
  March 2013, IP Communications & Network Technology
  G4S relies heavily on being able to accurately manage all of its Cash In Transit (CIT) from the customer to the bank. The CIT management service forms part of a global cloud solution, which requires maximum ...
  
• Adding voice to video surveillance
  February 2013, IP Communications & Network Technology
  Barix AG is helping Goodwill Industries of East Texas reduce theft and vandalism at its stores by adding voice to its existing video surveillance systems. The security team reports a 99% donation retention ...
  
• Certified public address systems
  February 2013, Bosch Security Systems, IP Communications & Network Technology, Products
  The Premium-sound Cabinet Loudspeakers and XLA 3200 Line Array Indoor/Outdoor loudspeaker series from Bosch have been granted EN 54 certification by the relevant accredited bodies. Bosch Security Systems ...
  
• Smallest, highest capacity wireless Ethernet bridge
  February 2013, Duxbury Networking, Products, IP Communications & Network Technology
  An addition to Duxbury Networking’s portfolio of multi-gigabit wireless backhaul solutions is the Proxim Tsunami QB-62000, a 60 GHz wireless point-to-point Ethernet bridge solution. Designed to exceed ...
  
• Wireless redundancy from TruTeq
  January 2013, IP Communications & Network Technology, Industrial (Industry)
  TruTeq Devices, which focuses on providing wireless connectivity solutions to all market sectors, has extended its Smartoo modem and expansion units with the launch of its new HSPA + wireless Ethernet ...
  
• Ultra-high capacity wireless links
  January 2013, Duxbury Networking, Products, IP Communications & Network Technology
  Providing one of the highest capacity wireless transmission solutions available at millimetre wave frequencies, the FlexPort80-3000 is an addition to the BridgeWave family of high capacity wireless links ...
  
• Ramla is becoming city without violence
  January 2013, UTM Group, CCTV, Surveillance, IP Communications & Network Technology, Case Studies
  Ramla, an Israeli town centre with a population of 65 000, is located in Israel’s shore plain between Tel-Aviv and Jerusalem and in close proximity to the Ben Gurion International Airport. Founded in ...
  
• Synchronising security communications
  January 2013, IP Communications & Network Technology
  When it comes to inter-device communication, reliable and effective data transmission is critical, especially in security. According to security professionals, JIST, solutions that include asynchronous ...
  
• Public address for public transportation
  November 2012, IP Communications & Network Technology, Transport (Industry)
  Transportation authorities increasingly value public address system redundancy, flexibility, interoperability and lower cost of ownership because of the increased security threats and budget constraints. ...