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Tag: software-defined infrastructure

  • Cisco Moves ACI Strategy Forward

    Cisco Moves ACI Strategy Forward

    Cisco is advancing its hybrid cloud computing strategy with release of version 5.0 of Cisco Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI), a software-defined networking (SDN) that can be deployed on cloud platforms or networking equipment deployed in an on-premises IT environment.

    The latest version of Cisco ACI adds support for a transit gateway between virtual private cloud (VPC) instances on the Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud to provide a more efficient means of routing traffic across east-west and north-south cloud computing environments.

    Cisco is also extending the networking services it provides for the Microsoft Azure cloud to include VNET peering within the Azure Virtual Network, shared service deployments, additional service automation functions.

    Via ACI 5.0, IT teams are now provided a centralized view of cloud resource inventory within AWS and Microsoft Azure along with status indicators and a set of wizards to simplify configurations.

    Cisco also has deepened the level of integration between Cisco ACI and Kubernetes as well, to increase the level of scale that can be achieved in IT environments based on platforms such as VMware vSphere.

    Finally, Cisco has added support for role-based access control (RBAC) in multi-tenancy environments along with two-factor authentication (TFA) capabilities enabled by the Cisco DUO platform. Cisco also added a more flexible policy construct, dubbed Endpoint Security Group (ESG), that can be employed to group endpoints based on L3 attributes and apply contracts between ESGs.

    Srinivas Kotamraju, senior director for product management for Cisco ACI, said the latest update to the SDN platform provides IT teams with the equivalent of many of the same networking services that Cisco historically has provided in an on-premises IT environment.

    Cisco has been making the case for a hybrid cloud computing approach to delivering network services that enables IT teams to manage those services via a central console. Rather than having to manage networking services provided by each cloud service provider, Cisco ACI makes it possible to deploy the same SDN across multiple clouds and on-premises IT environments. Cisco contends that approach ultimately serves to reduce the total cost of delivering networking services by both centralizing management and making it easier to automate the management of networking services across multiple IT environments.

    There are two primary ways Cisco exposes those networking services. DevOps teams can take advantage of application programming interfaces (APIs) to programmatically invoke ACI services. Alternatively, Cisco provides network managers access to a graphical user interface (GUI) through which they can access a command-line interface (CLI) to configure a specific router or switch.

    Kotamraju said with the rise of DevOps the number of organizations giving developer programmatic control over networking services continues to rise. It’s too early to say to what degree NetOps and DevOps teams might ultimately converge; however, Kotamraju said finding ways to meld those two groups is being discussed more frequently within many IT organizations as applications become more distributed.

    Of course, the biggest challenge when it comes to achieving that goal will be more cultural than technical. However, as networking services become more accessible via APIs, it’s now more a question of when and how than if.

  • Mirantis Modeling Tool Extends SDI Scope and Reach

    Mirantis Modeling Tool Extends SDI Scope and Reach

    Mirantis has added a modeling tool to its portfolio that enables users to allocate IT infrastructure that has been distributed across multiple data centers to a common set of workloads.

    Company CEO Adrian Ionel said the latest edition of the Mirantis Cloud Platform (MCP) for building provide clouds on OpenStack or Kubernetes platforms now includes a Mirantis Infrastructure Model Designer tool that makes it possible to manage IT infrastructure residing in multiple data centers as though they were one logical resource. In effect, slices of distributed data centers can be allocated to run specific classes of application workloads, he said.

    The Mirantis tool is based on open source software spanning Cookiecutter, Reclass and Salt projects that Mirantis is employing to enable users to apply management templates across multiple distributed data centers. The goal is to make it possible for IT organizations to employ a software-defined framework that makes it easier to not only manage distributed IT environments, but also change the configuration of those environments as the nature of application workloads change over time, Ionel said.

    The Mirantis modeling tool provides a declarative approach to managing software-defined infrastructure that doesn’t require IT operations teams to learn how to program, he added.

    Ionel said that as IT organizations invest in IT infrastructure, they need to deploy multiple classes of application workloads on the same systems. Each of those application workloads has distinctly different attributes and requirements. For example, a big data application running on Hadoop today has different infrastructure requirements than an analytics application infused with machine learning data that might be deployed tomorrow. That said, most IT organizations won’t be able to replace IT infrastructure as application workloads evolve, he said, noting the Mirantis tool provides a means to easily reconfigure IT infrastructure from a central location without requiring IT personnel to be present in each local data center.

    Virtualization of servers and now storage and networks is a concept that has now permeated data centers for decades. Mirantis is effectively taking that concept to its next logical conclusion by making it possible to maximize utilization of data centers. In fact, Ionel noted, templates can be configured to prioritize the running of different workloads on the same infrastructure.

    As software-defined infrastructure (SDI) continues to mature, it’s becoming apparent that data centers soon will be managed at much higher levels of abstractions than they typically are today. Instead of trying to navigate individual compute, storage and networking silos, IT organizations will be able to manage data center resources on demand. The implications of the level of automation go well beyond simply enabling IT organizations to be more agile—the entire organizational structure of IT organizations will need to evolve.

    Obviously, organizations that have embraced DevOps are further down than the SDI path than most. But as SDI continues to be able to automate IT infrastructure at levels of unprecedented scale, it’s clear there’s still a long road ahead in terms of how just how extended those DevOps processes can become.

    — Mike Vizard

  • Why DevOps Success Depends on the Right Infrastructure

    Why DevOps Success Depends on the Right Infrastructure

    Do you remember building with LEGOs? You could follow the directions that come in the box down to the letter, or you could go off-script to create something totally your own and evolve and refine it over time. Regardless of your level of creativity, if you had one of those classic green base plates to build from, then LEGO cities were in your grasp.

    In many ways, a DevOps methodology aligns with the block-building process. While the tools and processes can change, a solid foundation is the backbone for fast and repeatable success. Developers and IT operations are beginning to reap the benefits: According to RightScale’s “2016 State of the Cloud report,” DevOps adoption increased to 74 percent in 2016 from 66 percent in 2015.

    But even though adoption is on the rise, some DevOps teams still struggle to extract the full range of benefits from a DevOps model. Why? Because they’re more concerned about the LEGOs without first having considered the base plate. DevOps requires a flexible and modular foundation, a software-defined infrastructure (SDI) built with open-source technologies to be successful. Here’s why.

    Infrastructure: The Path to Agile Business

    The goal of a DevOps approach is to speed the entire application delivery life cycle (initial development, testing, delivery to market), enabling the business to quickly respond to consumer demands (deliver new services, fix bugs, add new features, etc). However, for the DevOps teams to successfully execute this, they need a flexible and modular cloud infrastructure that easily adapts and extends to meet their needs.

    SDI provides easier access to resources via a self-service interface so developers can quickly get the resources they need.  It also gives the DevOps team the capability to standardize services so that applications built in the development environment will easily deploy and run in the test and production environments, speeding their delivery to market. SDI also offers a flexible and modular approach that provides timely and easy access to the latest technologies, such as containers, where innovation is occurring at a rapid pace and easy integration is available via standard open protocols.

    SDI provides the best LEGO base plate to support your DevOps processes that improve application lifecycle management.

    Automation to Support Strategic Collaboration

    Routine deployment and management tasks are the Achilles heel of every IT organization. The best way to improve efficiency, reduce costs and quickly respond to infrastructure demands is with automation.

    As a key component of an SDI, automation and orchestration of the application life cycle including deployment of hardened VM or container templates ensures faster, consistent and repeatable provisioning and configuration. Additionally, the SDI automation and monitoring tools can intelligently sense and respond to infrastructure demands, automatically optimizing and adapting the infrastructure in real time. This frees time for the team to focus on strategic initiatives versus backend tasks.

    The DevOps movement is all about collaboration and constant innovation, which is made possible by having your infrastructure automate the mundane tasks and automatically respond to infrastructure demands.

    Visibility Down to the Base Level

    One challenge facing successful DevOps adoption today is lack of visibility into application delivery. As developers rely on constant innovation through a loosely coupled chain of events, understanding how each link operates is crucial to keeping the chain moving in the right direction.

    In the case of open source, there is no infrastructure more transparent or collaborative. The infrastructure itself is built on openness and exchange of code, leading to a natural transition to its use in a developer environment. As DevOps uses CI/CD to stay refined, so do the open-source projects that contribute to its infrastructure. Constant innovation is what keeps the infrastructure and development tools up to date, supporting the entire DevOps team.

    The Solution to Cultural Challenges

    Successful DevOps adoption doesn’t solely involve changes to existing technology. It also requires a cultural shift within an organization. A software-defined infrastructure that utilizes open-source technologies is built on the same concept: growth through collaboration. Businesses aren’t committed to using a single vendor or propriety solution, giving them an expanded network of resources and tools to optimize their IT needs and business operations. DevOps is a marriage of technology and people, and an SDI environment allows that union to succeed.

    The world has seen many great LEGO projects over the years, both the small-scale private home projects and large-scale public exhibitions. But the common thread for their success is the base plate, allowing innovators everywhere to build LEGO masterpieces more rapidly and effectively. For DevOps professionals, a software-defined infrastructure built using open-source solutions is the base plate for success. SDI environments improve efficiency with automation, refine visibility into application performance, enable innovative and agile business models, and create stronger cultural alignment.

    About the Author / Terri Schlosser

    Terri Schlosser, head of SUSE product and solution marketing, has 20 years of experience in the IT software industry.  She has held roles in marketing, software development, product management and strategy in many different IT software areas including cloud, networking, storage, management and operating systems.  Most recently her focus has been on open-source software defined infrastructure solutions. Follow her on Twitter.