Latest News from Omar Sultan

Services in a Cloud Computing Environment

Sun, 07 Dec 2008 15:50:00 EST

Once we cut through the cloud-hype and start looking at the practicalities of implementing things like workload portability, I think the lessons of the past will re-assert themselves, this time with things like security and L4-7 services.

Cloud Computing and the "Cloud Dining" Analogy

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 22:00:00 EST

I was chatting with a customer the other day who was struggling with some of the implications of cloud computing. The analogy that finally made sense to them is what I will call 'cloud dining.' I am the cook in the house and I am tasked with feeding the family. If my 10-year old is lobbying for Italian, I can cook at home or order out. The decision may also vary from day to day. For instance, I might not have all the ingredients and have to order out, or, like this weekend, it may be 103 outside and cooking at home is not all that appealing. Now, the same can be said for supporting a given application in a cloud computing environment.

Deconstructing Data Center 3.0

Tue, 09 Sep 2008 08:00:00 EDT

You may be wondering if there is anything to this “Data Center 3.0” thing beyond some clever marketing folks earning their paychecks. Well, clever marketing folks aside, the name was very explicitly chosen, so lets deconstruct it a bit. First of all, this is not LAN 3.0 or SAN 3.0, but Data Center 3.0.

Virtualization: Data Centers & The Joy of Lego

Sun, 27 Apr 2008 09:15:00 EDT

During customer briefings, I'll often use the concept of the Lego data center when talking about the vision behind Data Center 3.0. The joy of Lego (for me at least) is the ability to build something then, (sometimes violently) break it apart and build something else. This is the operational model we look to bring to the data center - sans most of the violence - with Data Center 3.0.