Various types of Hybrid Cloud Computing

Hybrid Cloud Computing

What defines the various types of Hybrid Clouds

One of the newest concepts in cloud computing (and one that is sure to provide many individuals / companies with a way of transitioning into full-bore cloud computing) is the hybrid cloud. A hybrid cloud is essentially a network that uses some combination of private and public networks (cloud or grid-based) to fashion an entirely new entity. However some individuals do not consider any type of networking which involves or utilizes a traditional grid network to be a true example of a hybrid cloud; it depends on who you talk to. Perhaps it would be best to simply define things more clearly for the purposes of this article:

• Pure Hybrid Cloud - utilizes some combination of public and private clouds together simultaneously in any number of ways.
• Divergent Hybrid Cloud - utilizes a combination of public and private clouds combined with one or more traditional grid-based networks.

Within these two forms of hybrid clouds, the resources of each component network can be utilized in any number of ways. Since the idea of a divergent hybrid cloud is synonymous with the typical user that's just beginning to explore and integrate cloud computing, we'll shift our focus toward Pure Hybrid Clouds.

The Pure Hybrid Cloud

There are essentially two types of pure hybrid cloud networks:

• Hybrid Cloud Type 1 - Any type of owned or provided private cloud network adds the resources of one or more public cloud networks. For example, a company or individual owns or pays for access to a private cloud network and they want to expand their capabilities; so they decide to utilize the services of public cloud provider(s) in addition to their current resources.
• Hybrid Cloud Type 2 - A public cloud provider forms an alliance with another party that provides one or more private cloud networks. An example: An individual or business pays for access to a public cloud and at some point decide to integrate private cloud networks; they can simply extend their current line of service or seek out one or more third parties to provide their private clouds.

There are many different reasons as to why an individual or organization might want or need to set up a hybrid cloud; they can range from simply needing to extend the power/resources of their current cloud to more complex solutions designed to securely store consumer data. In fact, many organizations that own and run their own private cloud networks frequently employ public clouds to increase their scalability whilst keeping costs low. This also allow them to keep critical data secure on their own system while at the same time adding additional resources to their existing network. In other words, hybrid clouds can be utilized to perform cloudbursting as well as joint security and management duties between more than one set of resources.

Hybrid clouds are quickly becoming the norm for many businesses; not so much an option, as an eventuality. Most institutions that become involved in cloud computing will initially seek the services of a dedicated and well respected cloud provider. Through this provider, an account will be established with its own perks and limitations. Over time, the business in question will arrive at a juncture where they will have to either, decide to build their own private cloud network or up their current level of service and resources. If they elect to not build a private cloud, a business may elect to integrate additional private cloud services from a third party. If however a business does decide to build and maintain their own private cloud they will still most likely reach an impasse at some point which will force them to either add additional hardware resources or seek out another public cloud provider for additional resources. This is the best course of action for businesses; it allows them to determine what they need in terms of additional resources without having to spend a lot of money in the process. And if they decide to eventually upgrade their own private cloud to compensate, the flexibility of cloud computing itself will allow them to easily copy and transfer all data, settings, applications and tools to their own hardware.

The layers of security and management of a hybrid cloud are also extremely flexible. Portions of a hybrid cloud network are capable of being managed from one or more locations and internal and external data/resources can be arranged in any number of ways to provide or limit access to certain users based on a wide range of varying criteria. Online retailing is one of the first areas of commerce to really take advantage of the inherent potential of a hybrid cloud; this is evidenced in their use of advanced payment processing technology (which online consumers access via a public cloud, while payment authenticity is verified by the private cloud, for example).

The real purpose of hybrid cloud computing is to provide the cloud computing industry at large with a method for consolidating the myriad types of networks and resources that are constantly emerging. In the future, it is estimated that businesses will want to integrate specific services and features from many different cloud computing providers. Maybe they like the features of this private network provider, but want the power found in the resources of this other public provider. And what if they also decide that they need specialized data storage and security apart from their current service providers? What about other types of cloud services like payment processing? What is needed is a comprehensive method for integrating and managing any and all current and future cloud services, hybrid cloud computing is a step toward realizing this possibility.

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