Without question Cloud computing has been the hot topic among global Technorati and computer geeks alike.
While the cloud has been welcomed by businesses, both large and small, the cloud still presents questions. Despite all the news articles and blog posts, a number of myths have developed that are simply not true. The most common myths revolve around Data Control, Network Performance, and Security.
Let’s take a look at each:
Myth 1: Your Will No Longer Be in Control of Your Data
For some reason, so many people think that they will not be able to actually see the physical drive or even a storage area network; they will not have access to their data on demand. This could not be further from the truth.
A major benefit of the cloud is that technology maintenance and support issues are in left in the hands of the provider, offering customers a high level of availability and data. The amount of capital that all large cloud providers spend on storage exceeds what their customers could design, acquire and implement.
Storage (or disk space) is the basis of any Cloud Computing Environment. ProfitBricks is different. As a 2nd Generation Cloud Computing IaaS Provider, we have spent a considerable amount of time and effort in developing a new generation of cloud data storage systems. The requirements for our storage system were focused on security, data replication and speed.
All virtual servers at ProfitBricks leverage storage units comprised of two sub-units, each located in separate buildings within the data center selected. Both sub-units synchronously mirror each other. Both sub-units then store the data again redundantly within the unit via RAID 10, this is known as ‘double redundant storage.’ For speed, each sub-unit utilizes SSD hard drives as cache and is connected to the virtual severs via meshed InfiniBand networking. The result is unmatched speed and secure cloud storage. ProfitBricks does not charge extra for making your data redundant and we do not charge for the internal data center network traffic between servers and storage.
Double redundant storage of your data combined with our meshed InfiniBand networking offers speeds that are several times faster than those found with conventional network storage. ProfitBricks offers better performance, free redundancy and free intra-data center networking.
Myth 2: Performance is a problem in the cloud
The two most important criteria of an Internet data center are speed and security.
The cloud makes it easy to add additional server and data center resources to a cloud environment. If deployed correctly, those resources will enable you to achieve a higher level of performance and redundancy. First generation Cloud Computing IaaS providers typically use an Ethernet fabric as their network platform. ProfitBricks opted to use the considerably faster and more efficient meshed InfiniBand interconnect platform running Ethernet.
With a current transmission speed of 80 GBit (achieved by using two network interface cards per device), InfiniBand is eight times faster than the current fastest Ethernet at 10 GBit. Most IaaS Cloud providers typically deploy 1 GBit Ethernet or even very slow 0.1 Gbit Ethernet in their data centers. Some providers even throttle the network of their customers without warning! Apart from the higher speed, InfiniBand is also considerably more efficient as network collisions – the one of the key design failures of Ethernet technology – cannot occur, even under high load situations.
In addition, ProfitBricks infrastructure hardware is equipped with dual InfiniBand network interface cards [NICs] and is architected in a meshed network design so that potential failure of any network interface card, connection, switch or a router can be avoided.
The result: ProfitBricks customers will immediately notice the high degree of infrastructure efficiency in the much faster speed accessing network storage and in the connection speeds between the individual virtual servers (i.e. web server and application server) and database server.
To learn more about the performance of IaaS Cloud Computing providers, check out the 3rd Party Performance Report written by cloud analysts Cloud Spectator.
Myth 3: Your Security is Compromised in The Cloud
Cloud computing security is a “hot topic” with traditional, “old-fashioned” ideas playing a major role in the conversation and research. The majority of the arguments fail to recognize that the physical presence of any device or server on the Internet is no longer a real threat. A server physically located in a secure room within your own office building is just as vulnerable to attack by hackers and saboteurs via the Internet as any Internet-connected PC. Physical walls, doors, and locks no longer prevent information from being hacked, at the most, they only prevent the server itself from being stolen.
Your safety of your data can only be guaranteed if the server is protected against Internet-based attacks. The best defense in this situation is a professionally maintained system with firewalls and 24/7 monitoring by well-trained, experienced system administrators. In-house data centers do not typically employ security engineers, thus providing hackers with greater opportunities to steal data or cause even greater harm.
The security of Internet applications is extremely complex and is dependent on the qualities of the network team, the hardware team, and the application developers themselves. Today a physical server’s geographical location is no longer a factor.
ProfitBricks, and typically all other IaaS providers, offer you the tools that enable better physical security than in-house data centers. And with ProfitBricks 2nd generation IaaS platform – customers are free to create an unlimited number of security domains and private networks.
Meet The New Cloud – IaaS 2.0
Today, in this new age of cloud computing, ProfitBricks places a great deal of effort focusing on cloud computing performance, reliability and security and solving them for our customers:
- Data replication –Double redundant storage of your data combined with our meshed InfiniBand networking offers speeds that are several times faster than those found with conventional network storage, and is included with ProfitBricks accounts for no extra charge!
- Fastest performance – ProfitBricks offers an incredibly high degree of infrastructure efficiency in the much faster speed accessing network storage and in the connection speeds between the individual virtual servers (i.e. web server and application server) and database server.
- Best platform for designing data security programs – In addition to providing physical security, ProfitBricks customers are free to create an unlimited number of security domains and private networks.
What are some of the “myths and legends” of the cloud that you’re heard?
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