- Management from the Metal to the Cloud
- Integrated Research
Hardware implies permanence and inflexibility. Metal a little more malleability. Software has the ability to transform both. You can put an entirely new program in the hardware and create an entirely new experience for the user. This is the way it is with virtualization.
But with this transformation, the physical elements increase in criticality because they're carrying a greater load and more will be asked of them. The right decisions need to be made quickly because more people or processes are affected. If mean times to identify, convince and repair are not rapid, the overall quality of the user experience will suffer and service levels can be breached.
When hardware is virtualized, with multiple guests acting as individual servers it's critical to know that it's up to the job. When a guest running a continuity-critical application makes a request in real time it is without regard for other host activity. Hence both guests and hosts can come under performance pressure. With this type of environment problems can exist in any one of the layers. It can be within the physical hardware or the virtual machines as well as the applications themselves. Because of this, problem detection needs to be multi-layer, multi-vendor and multi-technology. A rich collection of UC and virtualization management metrics for the host, guests and UC applications will give you a high-level view as well as the granular detail you need to monitor and troubleshoot individual components.
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But with this transformation, the physical elements increase in criticality because they're carrying a greater load and more will be asked of them. The right decisions need to be made quickly because more people or processes are affected. If mean times to identify, convince and repair are not rapid, the overall quality of the user experience will suffer and service levels can be breached.
When hardware is virtualized, with multiple guests acting as individual servers it's critical to know that it's up to the job. When a guest running a continuity-critical application makes a request in real time it is without regard for other host activity. Hence both guests and hosts can come under performance pressure. With this type of environment problems can exist in any one of the layers. It can be within the physical hardware or the virtual machines as well as the applications themselves. Because of this, problem detection needs to be multi-layer, multi-vendor and multi-technology. A rich collection of UC and virtualization management metrics for the host, guests and UC applications will give you a high-level view as well as the granular detail you need to monitor and troubleshoot individual components.
Download Paper
(Webtorials registration required for downloads. Click here if you forgot your username/password.)
Over the past few years we've often addressed the challenge of managing VoIP and UC from multiple vendors. And even though the challenge was daunting, it was somewhat simplified by the fact that there were a known number of elements with known locations and characteristics.
It has become abundantly clear over the past year that moving VoIP and UC into the cloud is a most viable option. But, as always is the case with increased options, this also means that there are increased challenges.
For several years, Integrated Research has specialized in the unified management of multiple disparate systems, so moving this management to the cloud is a natural progression. Thus, I highly recommend this paper as an educational tool and benchmark.