What is a private cloud and what elements might be needed to successfully implement one?

Private Cloud Computing

What is a private cloud and what elements might be needed to successfully implement one?

The term 'Private cloud computing' is often used to describe different cloud computing scenarios; but in its truest meaning it should only refer to a cloud computing network that is built and maintained solely by the organization that will be using it. Yes, it is true that some service providers offer virtual private cloud networks that function in a similar fashion as dedicated private cloud networks. But virtual private cloud computing is still lacking in one important way, it isn't really private (the vendor as well as others that might be on the same public cloud could potentially gain access to a virtual private cloud network because its resources are on the same hardware stacks as theirs). There is also much debate concerning whether or not a private cloud network is truly a form of cloud computing as many attribute cloud computing to services offered by other organizations outside of their own data centers. A good analogy would be a company that installs its own closed telephone network/system.

Private cloud computing structure and concerns

Establishing a private cloud computing network is no easy undertaking, there are a great number of concerns that must be addressed before it should even be attempted. There are so many disparate types of technology that must converge in order to produce a private cloud computing network, for example:

• Virtualization management - There will be virtualized hardware in addition to processes that require a mechanism be in place to oversee or manage them. This is to ensure that conflicts (software and access) are avoided or quickly remedied.
• Standardization - With any computer network or system involving the use of software and hardware, there will need to be technical standards in place to assure proper operation(s). Basically, without standardization there would be inept chaos.
• Automation - All of the processes that occur within framework or infrastructure of a cloud computing network (which are needed for performance as well as functionality) cannot be performed in any other manner expect via automation. Automation is also very important in terms of security, with its ability to scrawl the infrastructure on a continuous basis looking for errors and inappropriate access.
• Cloud API's - Aside from allowing programmers to build applications to be used in a cloud environment, API's are also crucial in allowing networks to request data and services from outside sources. So for example, if your business wants to integrate a new a la carte cloud service from another organization to use on your private cloud computing network, you would need a Cloud API (application programming interface) to actually do this.
• Chargeback systems - A chargeback system is able to measure and assign a $ amount to all services used by all departments of an organization. It allows management to gain an accurate insight into what resources a company might be paying for that either no one is using or is simply redundant. For private cloud computing, a charge back system will identify how to best use the resources of the IT department, thereby saving a lot of money in the process and limiting unnecessary expenditures and upgrades.
• Self-service portals - Why assign every task to an IT professional when you can implement self service portals which allow individual users on a private cloud network to do some of the work themselves? Aside from their ability to trim IT costs, self service portals may also provide an organization with invaluable marketing info / angles, new methods for closing sales as well as function as 'one in all' portal for customer support representatives.

Instead of getting excited over the wealth of technologies available for private cloud networks, try to build your private cloud based on your actual requirements (from a business perspective). It is all too easy to become swayed by the myriad options out there concerning various apps, so instead try to envision what your long term goals for your network might be. This often necessitates the creation of a long term business plan which will also serve as the blueprint for your future private cloud computing network. The actual creation of a private cloud computing system should be done slowly. The first steps toward integration should involve only non-critical business processes, with more critical apps and processes being added to it after the integrity of the system has been firmly tested and established.

The very term 'cloud computing' implies remote access, according to a lot of industry experts. And they do have a point, the principles behind cloud computing do seem to strongly suggest that the more centralized hardware resources are, the 'cloud-like' a situation is. If every business deploys its own private cloud network, is it still cloud computing? If a business is running virtualization from hardware sources central to one location with a series of portals attached then it is indeed cloud computing. It matters not whether an organization is attached to a public cloud or is offering (or planning on offering) services to other groups or individuals. A lot of cloud computing purists and extremists probably want cloud computing to fulfill some far-reaching desire or purpose, but the truth is that it must first do the work that's already being done via grid computing, and then once it has proven itself, it can move on to bigger and better things. 'You have to learn to walk before you can take off running'.

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