Do or die?

There is an increasing focus on the implementation of private cloud computing, and this leads, necessarily, to IT organisations re-examining the health of their underlying network and its readiness to support the stressors that accompany such implementations.

As with Web 2.0, cloud computing inherently increases the use of the network - from the increase in application packaging due to virtualisation, to its reliance on collaboration and integration across the entire infrastructure.

While this may lead to re-engineering of processes and re-architecture of the core network that improves its general performance and reliability, it can also lead to increased stress on every layer of the network, and negatively impact access and utilisation of both existing and new application deployments.

There is no way to avoid the increase in network utilisation that comes from a private cloud computing implementation. Not only are there generally more devices communicating with one another, they do so more often - at least in a well-designed cloud implementation that properly leverages automation and orchestration for operational efficiency.

This leads to greater stress on the core network, as well as individual infrastructure components that must manage the increase in traffic, and higher rates of change in configuration and policy management due to more frequent changes in the application infrastructure.

If the network itself is not capable of providing the same level of service to customers while handling this additional communication and traffic, it can effectively kill the network. It can leave operations and customers alike frustrated by poor response times, both for applications and the infrastructure, as the latter needs to respond to changes in the infrastructure sooner rather than later to assure availability and access to customers.

A cloud computing implementation can quickly become a catch-22 situation in which prioritisation of customer requests versus infrastructure communication is impossible without degrading the performance of one or the other or both.

A cloud computing implementation can quickly become a catch-22 situation.

Lori MacVittie is technical marketing manager for Application Services at F5 Networks.

If it sounds like a lose-lose proposition, it's not. The key to curing the network with a cloud computing endeavour is with a clear implementation strategy, which includes evaluation of existing operational processes and ability of the core network to support increases in traffic flow.

Core network readiness is important. It may be the case that the company will need an upgrade in bandwidth capability - from 100Mbps to 1Gbps or 10Gbps, depending on the size of the data centre. And while examining each infrastructure component for readiness, it is an appropriate time to look at consolidation possibilities in the infrastructure.

Can the company combine the caching solution with its load balancer? What about the IPS and the HIPS? Does the business need both, or can it reduce to one solution? Streamlining the flow of data through the core network can drastically improve performance of applications and reduce the impact of integration by eliminating unnecessary touch points in the network.

Evaluating the operational processes tied to infrastructure components and delivery of applications is a critical factor in whether cloud computing will kill or cure a network. By closely evaluating these processes before codifying them with automation and orchestration, redundancies can be identified and removed, and more efficient methods of accomplishing necessary tasks will be discovered. This reduces the strain placed on infrastructure in general, while handling a higher volume of change and improving the efficiency of the overall infrastructure.

Without a plan, it is likely the implementation of a private cloud computing environment will kill the network.

Perhaps it won't die immediately, but eventually the strain of a constantly growing and changing environment will drive components into the ground and failures will occur. A strategy to address the readiness of the network is necessary to ensure the benefits of cloud computing will be enjoyed by the organisation.

Employing a strategy that considers both physical andoperational readiness will go a long way towards ensuring a cloud computing implementation will cure the network, not kill it.