Cloud Computing

XS23 Cloud Server

Todd Brannon, Dell Data Center Solutions — Tue, 13 May 2008 20:55:39 GMT

There has been some recent press around some of the equipment we’ve developed in our cloud computing group. The core of our business is essentially a consulting and design service and developing new products for customers is a big part of the fun. Because these aren’t mainstream PowerEdge systems, we don’t get the chance to show them off as much as we’d like. Our group has been talking for some time about “optimized designs” for cloud and hyperscale computing without showing what that can really mean, so it’s time to unveil something that’s come out of the lab. Pictured here is one of our favorites: the XS23.

XS23 front – twelve 3.5” SAS or SATA drives; 3 per server

This product was designed for a customer that needed maximum compute density, a healthy amount of local disk and, of course, lowest power draw possible. Our architecture team threw all that in the blender and out came a 2U standard rack mount chassis that houses four dual-socket servers and twelve 3.5” hot plug drives.

XS23 exploded view: two dual-socket servers mounted in chassis bottom; two in a mezzanine above. Industry standard rack-mount chassis.

Density of this type is certainly not unheard of (half depth or twin 1U’s), but by going to a 2U chassis we were able to fit it with larger, more efficient fans and stack 3 rows of full 3.5” drives across the front. So, even with a 25% higher density than general purpose blades, it provides three local spindles of 3.5” SAS/SATA disk to each server. Of course there are tradeoffs. This was expressly designed for an environment with high node failure tolerance - a cloud application. By designing out a lot of the capabilities that weren’t required (like redundant power) we were able to deliver the performance and power profile required. Efficiencies are gained by shared resources - as seen in a lot of general purpose designs available today. We think the key to designing the perfect cloud server is knowing where to stop and also what not to build in. This is a function of each customer’s unique design goals. Applications truly capable of foregoing high availability in hardware are somewhat rare, but customers in this space have it – as well as a laser focus on their business levers. So in this case we took the problem statement and made the tradeoffs to yield highest efficiency and density within the performance parameters of the application.

It’s important for me to emphasize that the XS23 is not generally available. This system is qualified and supported for only a handful of specific customer applications and locations; it’s not completely productized to bear a PowerEdge badge. I hope you’ll watch this space for more unique designs and the discussion on cloud taxonomy and architecture that Jimmy's leading.

Layer 1....

Jimmy Pike, Director—System Architecture — Mon, 05 May 2008 21:31:13 GMT

I’d like to continue on our journey and build out the model that we have described starting at the bottom of my model and moving towards the top. The first thing we should do is change the name of layer 1. Some have pointed out to me that while the facilities is an important element, this block is going to cover a lot more than just the facilities and we should change its name. I’d like to propose physical plant (which is a very familiar term to facilities folks) and see if this encompasses what lies ahead.

Figure 1 – Cloud Computing Layered Model

The first aspect to consider as part of this layer is what I am going to call ”macroscopic containment” or MC for short. Most folks would simply refer to this as the building, but I want to make a distinction here as there are many functions we can get from the MC.

· The simplest form of MC is of course NONE. This is the case for equipment where the cabinetry is designed to sit out in the open. We see this in the telecom and perhaps the military industries, but not in this space. (although there are some interesting discussions ahead and a debate where “container” based solutions should go.)

· Next we find a very simple MC or what I am going to refer to as temporary devices. The best example of this is a tent. Not very practical in most cases (in fact it almost sounds like a joke), but I know there are people considering them for areas where all they need is a bit of protection from the elements and some light physical security.

· The next level is a fairly major transition to an actual building. This is probably where we are going to see most cloud installations and is what I think will ultimately prove to be most cost effective. I will refer to this as a utility building which is best described as a simple shell with a concrete floor (no raised floor). It provides controlled separation from the IT environment and outside environment. (I’ve seen these for about $38/sq ft. depending on the way you want the building finished-out.)

· The final MC type is more along the lines of conventional data centers with raised floors and the works. This provides a very clean and well controlled solution and is probably overkill for most cloud environments. A reasonable rule of thumbs for this type of MC is about $500 per sq ft.

We may want to add something describing this as owned, leased, or co-located space, but I have omitted this for now. I have also added MC to the schematic model we are going to build, but it isn’t much to look at. We’ll have to get a bit further in the definition for it to start having meaning.

As always, your comments are welcomed. Next up, Utilities!

Welcome to the party!

Todd Brannon, Dell Data Center Solutions — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 21:51:00 GMT

Today marked the announcement of another entry into the foray of "new" systems designed for cloud computing. I make light of "new" as this is a space Dell has been serving for over a year now. And along the way we've found that the unique needs of hyperscale customers demand a hands-on (and often very discreet) co-development approach. Power and space savings vs. general purpose servers in the magnitude of those quoted in the press today are really just the ticket to entry into these environments. I'm glad IBM shares Dell's appreciation for that.

One element of today's announcement I'd like to call into question is what is being presented to customers as "entirely new" - things like door panel cooling, half-depth servers and proprietary racks. Who are these "innovations" really benefitting when they're not built on industry standards in the end? Is it the customer or the system provider's bottom line? Cooling is an incredibly complex topic - that heat has to be rejected somewhere and there are no silver bullets. The best solutions are often rooted in the basics - hot/cold air containment, higher return temps etc... and we have found that a lot can be done even in hyperscale cloud computing environments without adding a lot of unnecessary complexity.

From a marketecture standpoint I have to give a tip of the hat to the Blue Cloud initiative although I don't sense tangible benefits for any customers yet. Leadership is delivering. The top 5 search engines (in the U.S. market) are Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, AOL and ASK. It's widely known that Google builds their systems in-house. Of the remaining top five, three have worked with Dell in the past year to co-develop their servers with our Data Center Solutions team. Not a bad start considering the dawn of customized, build-to-order cloud computing servers just came today....

Cloud Computing Model

Jimmy Pike, Director—System Architecture — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 20:04:00 GMT

Probably the best next step for this discussion is to begin to build a top to bottom model of Cloud Computing. I think there are about 12 major pieces to it so this is going to take a while. As I mentioned earlier, “Cloud computing”, I believe, may in fact become the basis for most modern IT services in the next few years. We also put forth this definition with which most folks seem to agree……“Cloud computing” - packaging of computing resources in a manner that will provide lower acquisition cost of hardware and in a way that provides a set of optimized services to the end user via the Internet in the most cost effective, operationally efficient means possible. So I took a stab at the model for this which is shown here:

At this point it is certainly OK to disagree! …. In fact, I have found myself arguing with myself about it already. :o) So we’ll pause here and let folks take this in. Then we will start layer by layer to make sure is correct. My hope is not only can we build an agreeable model at the technical level, but a financial model from which we can get TCO and other information. Feel free to comment…

Infrastructure challenges for cloud platforms

Todd Brannon, Dell Data Center Solutions — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 15:41:00 GMT

One of the topic areas we'd like to talk about is the impact of power and cooling trends on hyperscale operations. As the size of scale-out platforms grows ever larger, server designs continue to drive for increased density. In this first post to our power and cooling section, Drew Schulke of the DCS Services team takes a look at some of the factors impacting organizations that house high-density systems in a co-location facility. If you house a large compute pool based on blades or other high-density solutions in a colo facility please take a look at Drew's post and tell us what you're seeing.

Welcome to In the Clouds

Forrest Norrod, VP & GM—Data Center Solutions — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 21:30:00 GMT

Hi, I’m Forrest Norrod - General Manager of the Data Center Solutions division here at Dell. We are very excited to launch this blog on the topic of cloud computing. In just one week we will celebrate the one year anniversary of the launch of our team – which is dedicated to the needs of those operating some of the largest computing platforms in the world. I hope this blog can become a forum for our customers, Dell’s technologists and those from across the industry to gather to talk about this new age of computing.

Since we are still getting questions on what cloud computing is and what sort of conversations we’re hoping to have here, here's a vlog where I explain.

View Video
Format: flv
Duration: 2:33

Cloud computing and SaaS

Jimmy Pike, Director—System Architecture — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 00:03:00 GMT

KR asked:

"What is the difference between cloud computing and software as a service?"

This is a really good question. Let’s explore this space for a bit and hopefully we can come to a good answer. (I am going to attempt to be brief here so please forgive me it this is not an exhaustive study and lacks some appropriate reference.)

If we look back far enough, we find most of the popular and modern terms describing advanced multi-computing are actually forms of distributed computing, which has been around since the early 1980s. (See A primer on distributed computing) There has been significant hype/spin as well as real advancements that have “clouded” :o) the whole concept (In fact, I am fond of asking; “Please tell me what you mean when you refer to one of these terms, because I can’t figure them out any more!”). There are many facets that have evolved in distinct ways which represent real value and when I get a chance, I am going to create some type of figure showing these interrelationships. For now, we’ll stick with the more recent concepts and I will give you my opinion. (I will say that If you want to know more now, there is a good reference all-be-it a couple of years old from the GGF I would send you to: The Different Faces of IT as a Service)

Most discussion these days involves grid, utility, and cloud computing to which we will add software as a service (SaaS).

Grid computing is a fairly all encompassing concept and as you probably know, can be generally defined as: “a system that uses open, general purpose protocols to federate distributed resources and to deliver nontrivial qualities of service.” Or in other words, it uses standard “stuff” to make many distinct systems work together in a way that makes them useful.
Utility computing or on-demand computing is the idea of taking a set of resources (that may be in a grid) and providing them in a way in which they can be metered. This idea is much the same as we buy electricity or a common utility today. It usually involves a computing or storage virtualization strategy.
Cloud computing is a subset of grid computing (can include utility computing) and as I mentioned in my opening post, is the idea that computing (or storage) is done elsewhere or in the clouds. In this model many machines (Grid) are orchestrated to work together on a common problem. Resources are applied and managed by the cloud as needed. (In fact this is a key characteristic of cloud computing. If manual intervention is required for management or operations, then it probably doesn’t qualify as a cloud.) Cloud computing provides access to applications written using Web Services and run on these Cloud Services.

Now let’s add to this discussion the idea of Software as a Service (SaaS). Usually this means a model where diverse applications are hosted by a provider and users pay to use them. So I would say the key distinction of SaaS and cloud computing is the service and business model provided as opposed to the architectural mechanism used to deliver it. In fact, I think it is also fair to say that a cloud computing architecture may be the key/best mechanism for delivering Software as a Service. Let’s look at a couple of today’s trends and see if this all fits. Probably the best known examples are of course search and mail. There are several companies that offer both freely, they are available via the web, and they are written using web services. (There is a growing set of additional capabilities that are becoming available.) For the most part, these are all free (fee based versions exist). Based on the scale and ubiquitous service they are able to deliver, it is fair to say that there is a cloud behind them. The Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud is noteworthy here. It is a virtual farm, allowing folks to host and run “their” diverse applications on Amazon's web services platform. It represents an excellent example of a business model where a company is providing “Cloud Services” to those who can and are willing to take advantage of them. Software as a Service is the logical next step in evolution. It is going to be very interesting to see how this motion will emerge. Ideally users will be able to “rent” the application and everything needed to apply them to their business in the form of Software as a Service.At some point, we should explore SaaS as it relates Application Service Providers (ASP) and On-Demand computing, but enough for now. I welcome your thoughts or comments...

Clouds in Context

Jimmy Pike, Director—System Architecture — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 16:55:00 GMT

In my view, the idea of cloud computing is perhaps one of the most exciting new directions the IT industry has taken in a long time. And it's becoming more real every day - as evidenced by recent announcements, with of course a lot of opinions on how it might work out. The realization that the Internet allows most computing to be performed elsewhere or "in the cloud" is a marvelous advancement from the perspective of the end user. The other side of the cloud is a different matter. There are a host of opportunities and complexities that must be provided and managed in alignment with the very different business models of those who provide the computing "beyond the cloud". Its worth mentioning that cloud computing has been closely related to the grid computing model (although it is distinct) or utility computing.

If we step back and look at larger IT landscape, there are several identifiable trends that are helpful to understand:

Briefly, from the bottom moving up:

Traditional DC: a rigid or perhaps purpose built model with a low degree of automation. It may be too strong to say that this segment is declining, but it is not growing at the rate of other motions.
Virtualized/Consolidate: An extension of the Traditional model, but using virtualization as a means of consolidating and save cost. This is indicative of an organization that is continuing to keep abreast of some technological developments but still may not be on the growing edge of IT.
Virtualization for Agility: In an attempt to get the greatest return possible on IT investments, those who use virtualization as a means to rapidly change or evolve their IT in support of their changing business model will excel. There is much growth and opportunity here, but it is not without complexity and potential expense.
Cloud Computing: This is the last motion I will mention (while there are at least 3 additional motions that may evolve as things progress) it is our current focus using web services to focus on flexibility and OpEx

Cloud computing I believe represents the greatest opportunity in the foreseeable future and may in fact become the basis for most modern IT services in the next few years.

As we begin this journey, I propose that we create a clean definition upon which we all agree and hopefully create an architecture reference model for it. I certainly don't want anyone to post anything they feel contains their IP or the key to their business, but such a vehicle will create a common reference and the opportunity to evolve the industry in the direction we want to see cloud computing evolve.

Here's my take at a definition for Cloud computing: packaging of computing resources in a manner that will provide lower acquisition cost of hardware, packaged in a way that provides a set optimized services to the end user via the Internet in the most cost-effective, operationally efficient means possible.

The team here is looking forward to a good discussion on Clouds and where they're headed so please jump in...

More Conversations: Dell Launches Cloud Computing Blog

Lionel Menchaca, Chief Blogger — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 16:30:00 GMT

For those keeping score, we launched Direct2Dell back in July 2006. IdeaStorm roared onto the scene in February last year. From there, we began expanding into other languages: Direct2Dell Chinese in March 2007, Spanish in May last year, and Norwegian in September, and there will be more in the future. Most recently, our Investor Relations blog called DellShares went live in November 2007.

From the beginning, the purpose of Direct2Dell has been to educate and to support our customers on a wide variety of topics that they care about. This blog has grown since those early days. And that growth has encouraged more Dell folks to want to have conversations with our customers. Up to now, I've added more categories on Direct2Dell to expand the topics of discussion. That strategy has worked to a point, but now it's time to evolve.

Starting today, members from our Data Center Solutions (DCS) team will support a group blog called In the Clouds. It will focus on cloud computing and the backend server, storage and architecture required to make it work. If you're not familiar with the concept of cloud computing, think using web-based e-mail from Yahoo, Google or AOL (see link for their slick integration with Silverlight), or uploading videos to YouTube, pictures to Flickr, or microblogging with Twitter. When you do those kinds of things you aren't storing them on your local device.. you're storing them "in the clouds," or to a remote location in the Internet.

So, why start with Cloud Computing? The short answer is there's a lot happening in this space right now. Take a look at what Adobe's doing with their AIR product (go Twhirl!) that they recently brought to market. Google continues to surge forward with their Google document apps (Spreadsheet Forms and Google Calendar synch are two recent enhancements that rock), and this week at MIX08, Microsoft is rolling out some cool stuff with Silverlight 2.0 and Internet Explorer 8.

What this all means is that we're at the beginning stages of a shift from the model of the past where applications and all the content created for them were stored locally. This shift has the potential to increase the types of Internet-connected devices we use to consume and create content (check out the good discussion Scoble has going about the battle for web-based content on mobile phones).

So, what does all this have to do with Dell and the kind of content you can expect to see in the cloud computing blog? These web-based activities require reams of server and storage hardware architected around complex custom networks. As such, these environments differ from traditional server/storage environments. Our DCS team's purpose is to help customers make sense of that complexity—see this PDF, or www.dell.com/cloudcomputing for more context. That's the kind of content you can expect from reading Dell's Cloud Computing blog.

If this sounds interesting, I encourage you to subscribe to the Cloud Computing RSS feed. If you'd rather access it directly, go here:

www.direct2dell.com/cloudcomputing