Private Cloud Hosting

eUKhost's Private Cloud is a dedicated cluster of highly available, scalable, secure and redundant web servers deployed in a VMware Cloud Architecture. Compared to the traditional approach of purchasing, provisioning and managing the architecture, eUKhost Private Cloud solution is an all-inclusive solution which includes provision, setup, licensing, monitoring and complete management of the cluster. Our enhanced security, improved back-up options, experienced technical support for maintenance, enhanced equipment and a high availability are suitable for very large requirements and those wishing to sell their own Cloud products.

Private Cloud Setup Architecture

A typical private cloud setup consists of the following components :-

• 1 x VIcenter Server (Windows 2008)
• 1 x NFS Storage Server (Centralized Shared Storage)
• 4 x ESX Host Servers (These can be added or reduced based upon individual requirements)

eUKhost can build a VMware based private cloud architecture with multiple ESX host servers dedicated and configured to your needs along with a centralized shared storage. eUKhost is able to offer the full spectrum of VMware features such as High Availability (HA), Fault Tolerance (FT), Distributed Resource Scheduling (DRS) and VMotion.

VMware High Availability (HA) and Fault Tolerance :

VWware Cloud Architecture offers 100% uptime with 'High Availability (HA)' and 'Fault Tolerance' features. Both these features have the ability to offer continuous availability for hosted virtual machines in case of a host failure.

VMware High Availability provides a base level of protection for hosted VMs by restarting them in the event of a host failure. VMware Fault Tolerance provides a higher level of availability, allowing users to protect any VM from a host failure with no loss of data, transactions, or connections. Fault Tolerance uses the VMware vLockstep technology on the ESX/ESXi host platform to provide continuous availability. This is done by ensuring that the state of the Primary and Secondary VM is identical at any point in the instruction execution of the virtual machine. vLockstep accomplishes this by having the Primary and Secondary VMs execute identical sequences of x86 instructions. The Primary VM captures all inputs and events from the processor to virtual I/O devices and replays them on the Secondary VM. The Secondary VM executes the same series of instructions as the Primary VM, while only a single virtual machine image (the Primary VM) is seen executing the workload. If either the host running the Primary VM or the host running the Secondary VM fails, a transparent failover occurs whereby the host that is still functioning seamlessly becomes the host of the Primary VM. With transparent failover, there is no data loss and network connections are maintained. After a transparent failover occurs, a new Secondary VM is automatically respawned and redundancy is re-established. The entire process is transparent and fully automated and occurs even if vCenter Server is unavailable.

Distributed Resource Scheduling (DRS) and VMotion :

VMware's VMotion technology is the process by which a running Virtual Machine is migrated from one ESX host to another without incurring downtime. Distributed Resource Scheduling moves the virtual machines with VMotion based on pre-determined rules, customized for your business.

SAN Storage Server :

As illustrated in the diagram, we use SAN storage server for a VMware Cloud Architecture which is shared among all ESX servers. It is essential to opt for SAN storage if you wish to implement High Availability as that requires the VMs to be stored on shared storage available to all the hosts. Even though there are a few other storage options available, we recommend SAN Storage as it is capable of meeting the IO requirements of the VMs.

VIcenter Server :

Centralized Control and Deep Visibility into Virtual Infrastructure :

• An improved user interface allows for easier navigation. Access different parts of the vSphere Client from a vCenter Home Page featuring a new dashboard and navigation bar. Inventory search puts the entire vCenter inventory including virtual machines, hosts, datastores, and networks at your fingertips from anywhere within vCenter.
• New hardware monitoring with CIM SMASH enable alarms when hardware failures of key components such as fans, system board and power supply occur, providing an integrated view of physical and virtual server health.
• New storage maps and reports convey storage usage, connectivity and configuration. Customizable topology views give you visibility into storage infrastructure and assist in diagnosis and troubleshooting of storage issues.
• Improved alerts and notifications support new entities, metrics and events such as datastore- and VM-specific alarms. These alarms can trigger new automated workflows to remedy and pre-empt problems.
• Improved performance graphs monitor virtual machines, resource pools and server utilization and availability with more detailed statistics and graphs that can be viewed in real time or across a specified time interval.

Please contact our sales department through 24x7 helpdesk or 24x7 Live Chat to discuss your requirements and request a quotation.