Radware Cloud Solutions for Enterprises How to Capitalize on Cloud-based Services in an Enterprise Environment - White Paper
Table of Content Executive Summary...3 Introduction...3 The Range of Cloud Service Providers...4 Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)...4 Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS)...4 Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS)...4 Cloud Deployment Models...5 Public Cloud...5 Private Cloud...5 Hybrid Cloud...5 Empowering Enterprises in The Cloud with Radware s Solutions...5 Cloud Elasticity...5 Cloud Bursting...6 Self-Serving On-Demand Application Delivery Resources...8 Cloud Access Gateway...9 Conclusion...10 Smart Network. Smart Business. 2
Executive Summary Recent surveys have shown a steady increase in enterprise adoption of cloud-based services, with numbers reaching as high as eighty-three percent in the US alone. In parallel, some enterprises have begun the process of deploying private clouds as a way to benefit from having cloud-based services in an on-premise data center. However not all is so rosy in the cloud, and while the benefits derived from migrating to cloud-based services abound, challenges still exist - namely reducing IT operation expenses and ensuring enterprise employees can access the now remotely hosted applications and services. As the leading provider of integrated application delivery and security solutions for business-smart networking, Radware has developed solutions that specifically address these challenges. Radware s cloud solutions incorporate a variety of business benefits, providing the most focused offering on the market for enterprises utilizing cloud-based services or private clouds: Ensured end-user QoE and optimal application performance. Reduction of IT OPEX, as well as server hardware and software licensing CAPEX. Optimal performance assurance, by automatically and elastically allocating additional computing resources, both per a single data center and across multiple data centers. Guaranteed 24*7 connectivity to cloud-based applications and services. WAN connectivity cost reduction. Guaranteed solution ROI through Radware s on-demand approach, which allows cost effective scaling for future growth in users, applications, and traffic. This document is designed to provide only a brief background of Radware s solution for enterprises using cloud technology. For more detailed information, please visit www.radware.com. Introduction The year 2009 has seen an increase in cloud services adoption, with accelerated growth expected during 2010. A survey conducted by web-based service provider ReliaCloud 1 indicated eighty-three percent of top decision-makers at U.S. firms of all sizes said that they are already using cloud computing services, or that they have plans to do so within the next year. The relatively high adoption rates of cloud-based services are rooted in clear business and IT benefits derived from migrating services and applications to the cloud. According to IDC 2, these business benefits include: CAPEX and OPEX reduction, faster time-to-market of new services, infrastructure standardization, disaster recovery assurance, etc. The benefits gained by migrating services and applications to the cloud greatly depend on the type of cloud service the enterprise is planning to use. Enterprises today use a variety of cloud-based services, such as cloud software services (SaaS) for CRM (e.g. SalesForce), office applications (e.g. Google Apps, Gmail), HR management (PlanIt), supply chain management, and more. In addition, cloud-based services include development services (PaaS, e.g. Force.com), network infrastructure services (IaaS, e.g. GoGrid), cloud backup services, Disaster recovery cloud services, and more. 1 http://www.reliacloud.com/aboutus/press/20100114.php 2 New IDC IT Cloud Services Survey: Top Benefits and Challenges, December 15, 2009 Smart Network. Smart Business. 3
In parallel to the trend of migrating to the cloud, some enterprises have started the process of deploying Private clouds. This enables IT managers to maintain control over network infrastructure while benefiting from a completely virtualized IT network infrastructure. The Range of Cloud Service Providers The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) defines the following common cloud service providers 3 : Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) The capability provided to the consumer is to use the provider s applications running on a cloud infrastructure. The applications are accessible from various client devices through a thin client interface such as a web browser (e.g., web-based email). The consumer does not manage or control the underlying cloud infrastructure including network, servers, operating systems, storage, or even individual application capabilities, with the possible exception of limited user-specific application configuration settings. Examples of SaaS providers are Google Apps, Gmail, SalesForce, and more. Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) The capability provided to the consumer is to deploy onto the cloud infrastructure consumer-created or acquired applications created using programming languages and tools supported by the provider. The consumer does not manage or control the underlying cloud infrastructure including network, servers, operating systems, or storage, but has control over the deployed applications and possibly application hosting environment configurations. Examples of PaaS providers are Google App Engine, Force.com, Windows Azure, and more. Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) The capability provided to the consumer is to provision processing, storage, networks, and other fundamental computing resources where the consumer is able to deploy and run arbitrary software, which can include operating systems and applications. The consumer does not manage or control the underlying cloud infrastructure but has control over operating systems, storage, deployed applications, and possibly limited control of select networking components (e.g., load balancers, IPS, host firewalls). Examples of IaaS providers are Amazon EC2, Terremark, Savvis, AT&T s Synaptic Compute as a Service, and more. In addition to the three types of cloud service providers mentioned above, other types of less common cloud service providers have started to emerge providing cloud recovery services. Such providers provide services such as 4 : Storage-as-a-Service Service provider acts as cloud target for an existing premise-based deployment of backup or replication software (its own or another vendor s). Also referred to as a disk to disk to cloud (D2D2C). Examples of Storage-as-a-Service providers are Amazon S3, EMC Atmos, and more. Backup-as-as-Service Service provider acts as cloud target for an existing premise-based deployment of backup or replication software (its own or another vendor s). Also referred to as a disk to disk to cloud (D2D2C). Examples of Backup-as-a-Service providers are EMC Mozy Pro, IBM BCRS, and more. 3 The NIST Definition of Cloud Computing, 2009 4 Balaouras, Stephanie. How The Cloud Will Transform Disaster Recovery Services. Forrester. July 24, 2009. Smart Network. Smart Business. 4
DR-as-a-Service Fully managed, subscription-based service. Customers download an agent, or the provider deploys a local appliance; data is replicated over the WAN to the service provider. Examples of DR-as-a-Service providers are i365, SunGard Virtual Server Replication, and more. Cloud Deployment Models NIST also defines the following cloud deployment models: Public Cloud The cloud infrastructure is made available to the general public or a large industry group and is owned by an organization selling cloud services. All aforementioned cloud types (IaaS, SaaS, etc) are categorized as public clouds. Private Cloud The cloud infrastructure is operated solely for an organization (i.e. enterprise). It may be managed by the enterprise itself or a third party and may exist on premise or off premise. In a sense, private clouds are the evolution of a Virtualized data center. In addition, private clouds usually adopt the same data center architecture from public clouds. Hybrid Cloud The cloud infrastructure is a composition of two or more clouds (private, community, or public) that remain unique entities but are bound together by standardized or proprietary technology that enables data and application portability (e.g., cloud bursting for load-balancing between clouds). In this paper we will focus on three cloud deployment models Public, Private and Hybrid. Empowering Enterprises in The Cloud with Radware s Solutions As discussed above, the move towards using cloud-based applications or services (whether they are located in a private or public cloud), provides different business and IT related benefits. However, some of the benefits gained from migration to the cloud can be amplified by employing automatic and dynamic tools to replace manual tasks associated with managing applications in the cloud. Radware s application delivery solution provides enterprises that have moved to using applications or services located within a cloud, with unique capabilities allowing them to better manage their now virtualized computing resources as well as traffic load distribution between these resources. By employing Radware s solution, IT managers gain new business and IT benefits, such as the reduction of the OPEX of managing virtualized infrastructure, improved end-user QoE, assured access to cloud-based services, and more. Cloud Elasticity Enterprises implementing a private cloud do so for various reasons, one of which is new virtualized network infrastructure elasticity. This means the network infrastructure can easily expand to accommodate more users, handle more traffic, and scale down when traffic loads are reduced. However, without any application level intelligence, provisioning or removal of resources (computing or network) must be handled manually by the IT manager. The result is potentially high operational expenses for the IT team due to ongoing virtual network infrastructure maintenance. Smart Network. Smart Business. 5
Radware s dynamic ADC solution is well integrated into the private cloud s resource management system, facilitating elastically adding and removing computing resources on demand when application SLAs are below adequate levels. By monitoring the performance levels of an application, Radware s solution manages provisioning of computing resources elastically. This works when applied both to a single data center and across multiple data centers, while taking into consideration the available capacity within each data center. Radware s ADC solution plays a critical role in optimizing the usage of the available virtual resources, redirecting user transactions in between virtual resources and distributed data centers in a way that guarantees the best response time for the end user. Overall, the Radware solution offers the best Quality of Service for cloud customers with the most optimized usage of resources. This unique capability provides IT managers with the ability to define network, application, and business KPIs (Key Performance Indicators), which, when triggered, will cause the ADC to send out an alert and if required, add new virtual resources. This ensures that performance degradations are handled automatically in zero time while facilitating OPEX reductions by freeing IT resources. KPI Based Elasticity vcenter Private Cloud Data Center 2 Step #1 Identify better user proximity to Data Center 1 Step #2 Redirect User to Data Center 1 vadapter INFRASTRUCTURE AppDirector Local/Global TR Front Tier Virtual Infrastructure (VI) Database Servers Internet Step #3 Breach of SLA due to lack of server resources is detected KPI Based Elasticity vcenter Private Cloud Data Center 1 Step #4 Dynamically add computing resources to application vadapter Step #5 Inform AppDirector about the new resource INFRASTRUCTURE AppDirector Local/Global TR Front Tier Virtual Infrastructure (VI) Database Servers Figure 1 - Radware Cloud Elasticity Solution Cloud Bursting The use of Cloud Bursting by enterprises provides the ability to add additional computing resources in a remote cloud data center in case the local computing resources are exhausted. It is important to note that the remote cloud data center need not necessarily be limited to a public cloud, but can be implemented as a private cloud or a combination of both. Smart Network. Smart Business. 6
Whether bursting to a public or private cloud, the end result should be new computing resources to which excess traffic can be automatically redirected. However, without any means of automatically measuring the end-user QoE and application performance, and bursting to a cloud upon QoE degradation, the IT manager must continuously monitor the performance and manually initiate a Cloud Burst. This means potentially high operational expenses for the IT team due to the ongoing monitoring and manual provisioning. Radware s solution provides IT managers with an automatic means of monitoring the load of the data center s computing resources as well as the end-user QoE. The IT manager can define KPIs and thresholds for performing a burst, and once a KPI or threshold is reached in the main data center, the ADC solution intelligently and automatically determines what is the best solution in order to alleviate the load. The ADC s decision can be to redirect traffic from the main data center to a remote data center (private or public) which has free computing resources, or even adds additional computing resources in a remote data center (Private or Public) and redirects new traffic to the remote resources. Once the QoE in the main data center reaches adequate levels, the ADC solution automatically redirects all users to the main data center and if needed removes the previously added computing resources from the remote data center. Using Radware s solution, IT managers can ensure that performance degradations are handled automatically and that the required resource level is always maintained. Thus reducing the OPEX derived from maintaining standby resources as well as reducing IT OPEX by freeing IT resources. Step #1 Peak in Application traffic identified and local capacity limit reached VirtualDirector (optional) vcenter Private Cloud Data Center 1 Step #2 Redirect User to Data Center 2 INFRASTRUCTURE INFRASTRUCTURE AppDirector Local/Global TR Front Tier Middle Tier Database Servers Virtual Infrastructure (VI) Internet Step #3 Peak in application traffic identified Add new VM resource to app VirtualDirector (optional) vcenter Private Cloud Data Center 2 Step #4 Redirect traffic to new resource INFRASTRUCTURE INFRASTRUCTURE AppDirector Local/Global TR Front Tier Middle Tier Database Servers Virtual Infrastructure (VI) Figure 2 - Radware Cloud Burst Solution Smart Network. Smart Business. 7
Self-Serving On-Demand Application Delivery Resources One of the benefits of a private cloud is the ability of IT manager to provide application teams within their organization with a self-serving means of adding new resources on demand and removing them when they are no longer needed. In order for this elastic approach to resource self-serving to be truly self-service and free the IT manager s resources, application teams should be able to provision not only computing resources but also networking and application delivery resources. Each of these resources should also support monitoring of its allocated resources, for metering and billing purposes (in case application unit billing is performed). Radware s Application Delivery Controller (ADC) supports all the capabilities required from a self-served network element, providing the private cloud s IT manager with the ability to provide application teams with the option of personally managing their own ADC. Thus reducing the IT manager s team s operational expenses derived from managing application delivery resources for the whole organization. Radware s ADC includes capabilities such as advanced traffic redirection and application acceleration capabilities; a north-bound interface (i.e. API) to the virtual infrastructure management systems, via which the ADC can be provisioned by each team on a per need basis; monitoring, metering, and reporting capabilities; as well as role based access which guarantees users can only access their assigned resources. In addition, using Radware s dynamic ADC offering, self-serving Radware s ADC becomes even easier. This is due to a unique capability which allows users to add/remove VMs within the virtual infrastructure and automatically synchronize the ADC with the new required configuration. Thus reducing any operational overhead derived from managing a virtual infrastructure and ADC solution. In addition, Radware s unique on-demand ADC allows to easily add additional throughput and application delivery services on the existing ADC without the need to replace the hardware (all is needed is a simple license upgrade). This allows to cost effectively accommodate the future growth in the number of users, applications, and traffic served by the ADC. Thus increasing the return on investment (ROI) and reducing the CAPEX, of the application delivery infrastructure. Private Cloud Data Center Step #2 The Self Service Portal creates application VMs through the VI Management Step #3 The Self Service Portal creates Farm-1 on AppDirector and assigns the VMs to the farm Step #1 Application Team 1 adds new application via Self Service Portal Self Service Portal Application Team 1 VI Management Internet AppDirector INFRASTRUCTURE INFRASTRUCTURE Application 1 Farm 1 Application 2 Farm 2 Figure 3 - Radware Self Service OnDemand ADC Solution Smart Network. Smart Business. 8
Cloud Access Gateway As discussed above, many enterprises have started to adopt cloud-based services as a replacement for running business applications or IT processes locally. Such services include SaaS (e.g. SalesForce, Google Apps), Backupas-a-Service (e.g. EMC Mozy Pro, IBM BCRS), and others. The use of such services provides many benefits, however it poses a unique availability issue that such enterprises might not have needed to bother with previously. Take for example an enterprise which switched from using a locally located CRM application to using SalesForce CRM. Previously the CRM s application availability was guaranteed by the IT manager and the access was done over the LAN, so everything worked smoothly. However, with the migration to using SalesForce, the access is now done over the WAN to a remote location. This means that in the case of a WAN connection performance degradation, access to the SalesForce CRM cannot be effectively achieved which may result in the inability to process sales orders and the loss of revenue. Using Radware s Cloud Access Gateway multi-homing solution, enterprises can now guarantee the availability of their Internet WAN links ensuring uninterrupted access to remote applications (e.g. SalesForce), data centers, remote locations and the Internet. Radware s Cloud Access Gateway lets enterprises maximize the effectiveness of their WAN by bypassing bottlenecks and service-provider outages, manage bandwidth consumption, and decide which links are used for which applications and users and when. In addition Radware s Cloud Access Gateway utilizes Radware s on-demand technology which means it fits both the current and future enterprise s WAN link load balancing needs and lets IT managers effortlessly add, manage and load-balance multiple ISP connections while mixing-and-matching VPNs, private and public links for back-up or in response to growing bandwidth needs. ISP3 Router Enterprise Branch Saas Provider Data Center 3 LinkProof Branch Employees MPLS Router Saas Provider Data Center 2 Internet MPLS Router Enterprise HQ Router ISP1 LinkProof Employees Saas Provider Data Center 1 ISP2 Router Figure 4 - Radware Cloud Access Gateway Solution Smart Network. Smart Business. 9
Conclusion To summarize, Radware is the only application delivery and security vendor in the market which allows enterprises utilizing cloud services or who have deployed a private cloud to reduce the costs of maintaining a virtualized infrastructure, ensure end-users always receive the best QoE, and guarantee continues access to local and cloudbased business critical applications and services. Using Radware s solutions enterprises can now address all emerging and future challenges while accommodating future business growth. 2010 Radware, Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Radware and all other Radware product and service names are registered trademarks of Radware in the U.S. and other countries. All other trademarks and names are the property of their respective owners. Printed in the U.S.A. Smart Network. Smart Business. 10