Cloud vs On-Prem vs Hybrid Cloud
Businesses nowadays have a number of great options to choose from for running data center applications. Choosing the best solution among on-premises data centers, cloud and hybrid cloud environments, however, tends to be a heated talking point in the IT community. Let's explore each type of environment and take a closer look at how the data center is trending.
Cloud computing
The cloud or “public cloud” is a mega cluster of virtualized servers that sits outside of the traditional office building and is run by third party cloud service providers (CSPs). The cloud bundles many of the traditional data center functions such as compute, storage, and network into a managed service and usually operates on a “pay as you go” or subscription-based pay model.
Advantages:
Cloud computing has become popular in large part because it offers a hands-off approach to data center management. Businesses can leverage the cloud for data center services without having to build an actual data center themselves or manage the maintenance costs.
The agility of the cloud also allows customers to set up services much quicker because the infrastructure is already established. Businesses can experiment on different types of setups to figure out what setup works best for them.
With the pay-as-you-go model, businesses are also able to ramp up cloud usage by adding more servers if needed or even scale back if utilization requirements are lower than expected.
Disadvantages:
On the flip side, the hands-off approach to the cloud also happens to be one of its biggest drawbacks. By using the cloud, businesses are relinquishing control of their data center. Any adjustments to the data center architecture is strictly up to the discretion of the CSP.
Businesses are also handing data over to a third-party entity when using the cloud, which may be disadvantageous in industries with stricter regulations on data sharing. Even the most sensitive data in the cloud is vulnerable to data leaks. This vulnerability has manifested in recent times as major corporations have been hit with far-reaching and costly cloud leaks.
A huge misconception for cloud proponents is that the cloud is more cost efficient than running a local data center. This is not necessarily true as the convenience of the cloud is simply baked into the operating expenses of its pay-as-you-go model. At the end of the day, the cloud is just somebody else's on-premises data center and the customer is paying recurring costs to “rent” these servers.
In what situations is moving to the cloud better?
The cloud is an excellent solution for small and medium-sized enterprises. It allows these businesses to focus on business operations without having to invest in infrastructural management. It is also a great option for startups and other businesses that do not have an existing infrastructure in place. Data migration and VM migration from old setups to the cloud are some of the more complex and cost laden processes that can easily go wrong without proper execution and guidance.
On-premises data center
The on-premises data center or “private cloud” is an independently owned and run data center located on site or on in the business offices itself. It has been one of the most commonly used options for small, medium and large-sized enterprises alike even before the inception of the cloud.
Advantages
In contrast to the cloud, an on-premises data center gives businesses full control of the data center infrastructure. For many businesses, this is a more reliable model because they can secure their data and fine tune their architectures to address application-specific needs.
The architecture of on-prem data centers is also beneficial to the business itself. Because the data is hosted locally, on-prem data centers tend to have lower latency, stable network connections. This is a major plus for businesses that constantly run intensive, high-bandwidth workloads.
In some industries such as finance, government, and healthcare, organizations often have compliances in place such as HIPAA, GLBA, etc. to protect valuable data. On-prem data centers can protect sensitive data in industries that prioritize data security with compliances.
Disadvantages
The obvious drawback with an on-premises data center is that businesses need to invest in their own hardware up-front to build an infrastructure. Managing the hardware refresh cycle can also be cost-prohibitive if not properly timed and budgeted for.
Scalability is also not as much of a strength for on-prem data centers, as rebuilding or re-purposing a part of the infrastructure for newer server requirements can incur higher costs.
Depending on scale, on-prem often requires constant upkeep to ensure that server hardware is functioning properly to keep the infrastructure up-and-running at all times.
In what situations is building on-prem better?
The on-prem data center is still the most reliable solution for businesses with a fixed workload and those with greater compliance requirements in industries such as finance, government, or healthcare. On-prem is a tried-and-true solution in keeping data secure. Manufacturing businesses also continue to favor on-prem setups as the manufacturing plants are typically located in more rural locations with limited connectivity. Positioning data centers closer to the manufacturing centers ensures low latency data center performance.
Hybrid cloud
As its name suggests, a hybrid cloud meshes the characteristics of both the on-premises data center as well as cloud computing. Compute, server, network are not locked into one particular deployment as businesses can choose to scatter functions across a mixture of on-prem deployments and cloud services.
Advantages
Among the three types of data centers, a hybrid cloud system offers the greatest flexibility. Businesses are able to utilize the on-premises portion for standard usage but can escalate and move tasks to the cloud for high-traffic situations in what's known as “cloud bursting.” This balances workloads and ensures that every part of the hybrid cloud can be utilized to its full extent.
Hybrid clouds also allow businesses to compartmentalize data more effectively without throwing everything at the cloud. More sensitive data can be kept on premises while less sensitive data can be allocated to the public cloud.
Having the option of both the on-prem data center and cloud service also provides the business with multiple contingencies in case of data center interruptions. Databases and servers can be backed up on both ends as a fail-safe to minimize potential downtime.
Disadvantages
The challenge in building a hybrid cloud lies in its complexity. Hybrid clouds involve moving workloads and data between multiple environments, which requires experienced IT personnel with a diverse group of skill sets and deep understanding of the different systems to manage properly.
Different cloud services utilize different layouts and file formats from each other, which can be a hassle for building a uniform infrastructure and migrating data between public and private clouds.
Moving data between different systems requires robust network connections. High latency systems slow down data transfer, which can degrade business operations and the user experience.
In what situations is moving to a hybrid cloud better?
Businesses that work with data-intensive workloads may be best served using a hybrid cloud, as it increases compute, storage, and memory allowing businesses to process, store and analyze data with greater precision and scale. An eCommerce platform may also benefit greatly from a hybrid cloud, especially during the holiday season when traffic will be much higher than usual. eCommerce businesses can fully leverage cloud bursting by using their on-prem servers for standard traffic and then escalate to the cloud for peak demand, high-traffic workloads when necessary.
Building a more robust data center solution with Axiom
As a data center solutions provider for over 25 years, Axiom is committed to helping customers build or utilize a more reliable and powerful data center solution that aligns with your organization's needs and business operations.
How Axiom can help businesses migrate to the Cloud?
Axiom has an experienced technical support team for cloud migration. Axiom Pro Services is Axiom's signature IT services division. Axiom Pro Services specializes in a variety of cloud migration tasks including data migration and VM migration to major cloud platforms such as AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, and more.
Axiom Pro Services provides technical support throughout the entire data system migration process from on-prem setups to cloud services. We provide assistance with implementation, migration and configuration, while confirming licensing, certifications, DNS, client bandwidth, and user security. We also offer verification of third-party services for configuration.
How Axiom can help businesses upgrade or build data centers for on-prem environments?
The hallmarks of a great on-prem data center are its reliability and security. Axiom has a complete lineup of robust data center solutions that are engineered with these principles in mind and to deliver the best performance in on-prem environments. Axiom solutions are manufactured using only tier one components from a closely vetted supply chain and undergo rigorous testing regiments to minimize potential failure rate and server downtime.
Axiom's full lineup of on-prem solutions includes:
Transceivers: Up to 800G optical/copper transceivers for building reliable and stable network connections
Cables: Fiber and copper cables with customizable lengths
Memory: DDR5 memory for faster multi-tasking and ECC for better data integrity
Storage: High-capacity SSD and HDD storage options with high-speed data transfer and full disk encryption to protect at-rest data. Select SSDs come with built-in AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) for improved data protection
Use our online configurator to find OEM equivalent upgrades for your data center.
Technical support
Axiom also has a maintenance services division, Axiom Maintenance Services, which provides post-EOL and EOSL support to extend hardware lifecycles and maintain the health of legacy data center equipment to ensure that your datacenters are running at all times.
How can Axiom optimize performance for hybrid cloud?
Connectivity is a key priority for hybrid cloud deployments as businesses are moving data and workloads back and forth between the on-prem data center and public cloud. As such, network upgrades are highly sought after for hybrid environments.
Axiom's connectivity division, Axiom Connectivity, offers advanced solutions such as 800G QSFP+ transceivers with silicon photonics as well as DWDM, PON, and tunable transceivers/optical equipment to bolster network connectivity between the on-prem data center and the cloud deployments.
Axiom offers DCI -- Data Center Interconnection using 100G DWDM DCO or 400G ZR/ZR+ transceivers to optimize the hybrid cloud.
Network Optimization
Load Balancing: Use load balancers to distribute traffic evenly across multiple servers and cloud instances. This ensures high availability and optimal performance.
WAN Optimization: Implement WAN optimization techniques to improve data transfer speeds and reduce latency. This can include data compression, deduplication, and protocol optimization.
Axiom transceivers such as 100G DWDM DCO transceivers and 400G ZR/ZR+ paired with Multiplexers/Demultiplexers (MUX/DEMUX), Erbium-Doped Fiber Amplifiers (EDFA), and Dispersion Compensation Modules (DCM) optimize WAN for hybrid cloud environments.
Axiom offers compute, memory, storage upgrades for all top OEM server systems, tested and ready for hybrid cloud deployments.
From cloud to on-prem to hybrid cloud, Axiom powers the data center. To learn more about building with Axiom today, contact our team