Cloud & the Datacenter Flashcards
Virtual Servers
Multiple virtual instances exist on a single physical server.
Multiple Windows & Linux servers running simultaneously.
Considerable cost savings for an IT budget
Allows for consolidation of physical servers
Multiple NICs increase bandwidth available
Hypervisor
Specialized software that enables virtualization to occur.
Hypervisor is the software that emulates the physical hardware.
Also called a VMM (Virtual Machine Monitor)
VMWare ESXi | VMWare Workstation
Hyper-V
Virtual Box
SAN
Storage Area Network:
Specialized LAN designed for data transfer/storage
Transfers data at block level with special protocol
SAN: Fibre Channel (FC)
Special purpose hardware providing 1-16Gbps
FCoE (Fibre Channel over Ethernet)
Removes need for specialized hardware
Runs over your Ethernet networks
SAN: iSCSI
IP Small Computer System Interface:
Lower cost, built using Ethernet switches (<10Gbps)
Relies on configuration allowing jumbo frames over the network
Infiniband (Virtualized Storage)
Switched fabric topology for high-performance computing.
Very high throughput (>600Gbps) with very low latency (0.5 microseconds)
Direct or switched connection between servers & storage system
Virtual Firewalls & Routers
To fully virtualize your network, you need a firewall/router.
Virtualized firewall/routers provide the same features as their physical counterparts.
Virtual Switches
Overcomes the problem of all virtual servers being on one broadcast domain.
Layer 2 control provides VLANs & trunking
Provides QoS & security
Virtual Desktops
User’s desktop computer is run in a browser
Used from web, laptop, tablet, or phone
Easier to secure & upgrade for the admins
SDN
Software-Defined Network:
Provides the admin with an easy-to-use front end to configure physical & virtual devices throughout the network
All the configurations are automatically done
Provides admin an overview of the entire network
VoIP
Voice over IP:
Digitizes voice traffic so that it can be treated like other data on the network.
Uses SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) to setup, maintain, & tear down calls.
Can save a company money & provide enhanced services over a traditional PBX solution
Virtual PBX & VoIP
Virtual Private Branch Exchange & VoIP:
Ability to outsource your telephone system
Utilizes VoIP to send all data to provider, then provider connects it to telephone system.
Public Cloud | Private Cloud | Hybrid Cloud
Private: Systems & users only have access with other devices inside of the same private cloud or system.
Public: Systems & users interact with devices on public networks, such as the Internet & other clouds
Hybrid: Combination of private/public
NaaS
Network as a Service:
Allows outsourcing of a network to a service provider
Hosted off-site at the service provider’s data center & the customer is billed for usage
Charged by hours, processing power, or bandwidth used like utility services.
Examples: Amazon’s VPC or Route 53
IaaS
Infrastructure as a Service:
Allows outsourcing of the infrastructure of servers or desktops to a service provider.
Hosted off-site at the service provider’s data center & customer is billed for usage
Examples: AWS, Azure
SaaS
Software as a Service:
User interacts with web-based application
Details of how it works are hidden from users
Examples: Google Docs, Office 365
PaaS
Platform as a Service:
Provides a development platform for companies that are developing applications without the need for infrastructure.
Examples: OpenShift, Apprenda
DaaS
Desktop as a Service:
Provides a desktop environment that is accessible through the internet in the form of a cloud desktop or virtual desktop environment.
VDI (Virtual Desktop Infrastructure)
Cloud Concepts: Elasticity
Attempts to match the resources allocated with the actual amount of resources needed at any given point in time
Focused on meeting the sudden increases/decreases in the workload
Cloud Concepts: Scalability
Handles the growing workload required to maintain good performance/efficiency for a given software/app
Elasticity: Short-term +/- of resources
Scalability: Long-term planning & adoption
Cloud Concepts: Vertical Scaling (Scaling Up)
Increasing the power of the existing resources in the working environment.
Cloud Concepts: Horizontal Scaling (Scaling Out)
Adding additional resources to help handle the extra load being experienced.
Vertical - Scalability
Horizontal - Elasticity
Cloud Concepts: Multitenancy
Allowing customers to share computing resources in a public/private cloud.
(Better storage/access, better use of resources, less overall cost)
May cause data to be hosted on the same physical server as another organization.
(May impose a security risk if one organization on same server fails to secure its virtual environment)
Cloud Concepts: VM Escape
When an attacker breaks out of one of the isolated VMs & begins to directly interact with the underlying hypervisor.
Host virtual servers on the same physical server as other VMs in the same network
IaC
Infrastructure as Code:
Enables managing/provisioning of infrastructure through code instead of through manual processes
(Virtual machines/devices, scripted automation/orchestration)
IaC: Orchestration
Process of arranging/coordinating the installation & configuration of multiple systems
(Lower costs, speed up deployments, increase security)
IaC: Snowflake Systems
Any system that is different form the standard configuration template used within your organization’s IaC architecture.
Keeping things consistent & using carefully-developed & tested scripts
Cloud: Connectivity Options
VPN:
Establishes a secure connection between on-premises network, remote offices, client devices, & provider’s global network
Ex: AWS Direct Connect Gateway
Azure Private Link
Private-Direct Connection:
Extends preexisting, on-premise data center into the provider’s network to directly connect to your virtual private cloud network
(Cheaper than VPN)
Community Cloud
Collaborative effort where infrastructure is shared between several organizations from a specific community with common concerns
Private-Direct Connection
Extends preexisting, on-premise data center into the provider’s network to directly connect to your virtual private cloud network
Datacenter 3-Tier Hierarchy: Core
1st Layer:
Biggest, fastest, most expensive routers
Backbone of network
Merges geographically separated networks into one logical unit
At least 2 routers operating in redundant configuration
Datacenter 3-Tier Hierarchy: Distribution/Aggregation
2nd Layer (Under Core):
Boundary Definitions: Implements ACLs/Filters
Define policies for network; Layer 3 switches
Needs to ensure packets are properly routed between subnets
Datacenter 3-Tier Hierarchy: Access/Edge
3rd Layer (Under Distribution): Used to connect to all endpoint devices
SDN Layers: Application Layer
Focuses on the communication resource requests or info about the network as a whole
SDN Layers: Control Layer
Uses the information from the applications & decides how to route a data packet on the network
SDN Layers: Infrastructure Layer
Contains the network devices that receive info about where to move the data & then perform those movements
SDN Layers: Management Plane
Used to monitor traffic conditions & the status of the network
Spine & Leaf Architecture
An alternative type of network architecture that focuses on the communication within the datacenter itself
Can give fasters speeds/lower latency than the traditional 3-tiered hierarchy
Top-of-Rack Switching
Installing 2 switches in each server
Switches physically installed at the top of the rack
Each server on that rack will have a connection to both switches
Switches = leaves in the Spine & Leaf Architecture
Traffic Flow: North-South
Traffic that enters/leaves the datacenter from a system physically residing outside the datacenter
North: Exiting datacenter
South: Entering datacenter
Traffic Flow: East-West
Refers to data flow within a datacenter
On-Premise Datacenter
A traditional, private data infrastructure usually located in the same building as the main offices
All other offices = branch offices
Branch Office Datacenter
If you have slower connections with on-premise, you may need to host some of the datacenter in the branch offices too
Co-Located Datacenter
A datacenter environment owned by another company
NAS
Network Attached Storage:
Disk storage is delivered as a service over TCP/IP
