Editor's note: This article was originally published on OpenStack Superuser. CloudTech has the author's permission to re-publish here.

For many telecom service providers and enterprises who are transforming their data centre to modern infrastructure, moving to containerised workloads has become a priority. However, vendors often do not choose to shift completely to a containerised model.

Data centres have to support virtual machines (VMs) as well to keep up with legacy VMs. Therefore, a model of managing virtual machines with OpenStack and containers using Kubernetes has become popular. In an OpenStack survey conducted in 2018, it was seen that 61% OpenStack deployments are also working with Kubernetes.

Apart from this, some of the recent tie-ups and releases of platforms clearly show this trend. For example:

• AT&T’s three year deal with Mirantis to develop 5G core backed by Kubernetes and OpenStack
• Platform9’s Managed OpenStack and Kubernetes – providing required featured sets bundled in solution stack for the service provider as well as developers. They support Kubernetes on VMware platform as well
• Nokia’s CloudBand release – containing Kubernetes and OpenStack for workload orchestrations
• OpenStack Foundation’s recently announced Airship project aiming to bring the power of OpenStack and Kubernetes in one framework

The core part of a telecom network or any virtualised core of a data centre has undergone a revolution, shifting from physical network functions to virtual network functions (VNFs). Organisations are now adopting cloud-native network functions (CNFs) to help bring CI/CD-driven agility into the picture.

This journey is shown in one of the slides from the Telecom User Group session at KubeCon Barcelona in May, which was delivered by Dan Kohn, the executive director of CNCF and Cheryl Hund, the director of ecosystem of CNCF. (Image source).

According to the slide, presently, application workloads deployed in virtual machines (VNFs) and containers (CNFs) can be managed with OpenStack and Kubernetes, respectively, on top of bare metal or any cloud. The optional part that is ONAP is a containerised MANO framework, which is managed with Kubernetes.

As discussed in birds-of-a-feather (BoF) – telecom user group session delivered by Kohn –  with the progress of Kubernetes for cloud-native movement, it is expected that CNFs will be a key workload type. Kubernetes will be used to orchestrate CNFs as well as VNFs. VNFs will be segregated with KubeVirt or Virtlet or OpenStack on top of Kubernetes.

Approaches for managing workloads using Kubernetes and OpenStack

Let’s understand the approaches of integrating Kubernetes with OpenStack for managing containers and VMs.

The first approach can be a basic approach wherein Kubernetes co-exists with OpenStack to manage containers. It gives a good performance but you cannot manage unified infrastructure resources through a single pane. This causes problems associated with planning and devising policies across workloads. Also, it can be difficult to diagnose any problems affecting the performance of resources in operations.

The second approach can be running a Kubernetes cluster in a VM managed by OpenStack. This enables OpenStack-based infrastructure to leverage the benefits of Kubernetes within a centrally managed OpenStack control system. Also, it allows full-feature multi-tenancy and security benefits for containers in an OpenStack environment. However, this contributes to performance lags and necessitates additional workflows to manage VMs that are hosting Kubernetes.

The third approach is an innovative one, leaning towards a completely cloud-native environment. In this approach, Kubernetes can be replaced with OpenStack to manage containers along with VMs as well. Workloads take complete advantage of hardware accelerators and Smart NICs, among others. With this, it is possible to offer integrated VNS solutions with container workloads for any data centre, but this demands improved networking capabilities like in OpenStack (SFC, provider networks, segmentation).

Kubernetes versus OpenStack –  is it true?

If you looked at the recent VMworld 2019 US event, it was clearly seen that Kubernetes would be everywhere. There were 66 sessions and plenty of hands-on training that will focus only on Kubernetes integration in every aspect of IT infrastructure.

But is that the end of OpenStack? No. As we have already seen, the combination of both systems will be a better bet for any organisation that wants to stick with traditional workloads while gradually moving to a new container-based environment.

How Kubernetes and OpenStack are going to combine

I came across a very decent LinkedIn post by Michiel Manten. He stated that there are downfalls for both containers and VMs. Both have their own use cases and orchestration tools. OpenStack and Kubernetes will complement each other if properly combined to run some of the workloads in VMs to get isolation benefits within a server and some in containers. One way to achieve this combination is to run Kubernetes clusters within VMs in OpenStack, which eliminates the security pitfalls of containers while leveraging the reliability and resiliency of VMs.

What are the benefits?

• Combining systems will immediately benefit all current workloads so that enterprises can start their modernisation progress, maintaining high speed with much lower cost than commercial solutions
• Kubernetes and OpenStack can be an ideal and flexible solution for any form of a cloud or new far-edge cloud where automated deployment, orchestration, and latency will be the concern
• All workloads will be in a single network in a single IT ecosystem. This makes it easier to apply high-level network and security policies
• OpenStack supports most enterprise storage and networking systems in use today. Running Kubernetes with and on top of OpenStack enables a seamless integration of containers into your IT infrastructure. Whether you want to run containerized applications bare metal or VMs, OpenStack allows you to run containers the best way for your business
• Kubernetes has self-healing capabilities for infrastructure. As it is integrated into an OpenStack, it can enable easy management and resiliency to failure of core services and compute nodes
• A recent release of OpenStack software (OpenStack Stein) has several enhancements to support Kubernetes in the stack. A team behind OpenStack Certified Kubernetes installer made it possible to deploy all containers in a cluster within five minutes regardless of the number of nodes. It was previously 10-12 minutes. With this, we can launch a very large-scale Kubernetes environment in 5 minutes

Telecom service providers who have taken steps towards 5G agreed upon the fact that a cloud-native core is imperative for a 5G network. OpenStack and Kubernetes are mature, open-source operating and orchestration frameworks today. Providing agility is the key capability of Kubernetes for data centers and OpenStack has several successful projects for focusing on storage and networking of workloads, and support for myriad applications.

Editor's note: Download the Calsoft eBook – A Deep-Dive On Kubernetes For Edge –  focusing on current scenarios of adoption of Kubernetes for edge use cases, latest Kubernetes and edge case studies, deployment approaches, commercial solutions and efforts by open communities.

The post Analysis of Kubernetes and OpenStack Combination for Modern Data Centers appeared first on Calsoft Inc. Blog.

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Adam Shepherd

Microsoft is to acquire Movere, a SaaS platform which increases visibility on IT environments, the companies have announced.

Movere – whom industry watchers may remember until last year as Unified Logic – aims to ‘capture, integrate and analyse the data [companies] need to make smart decisions about their IT environment’, as the company puts it.

The company’s dashboard organically scans global environments at a highest rate of 1,000 servers per hour and focuses across multiple parts of the cloud migration journey, as well as cybersecurity.

Movere has been a partner of Microsoft for more than 10 years and will join the Azure team as part of Azure Migrate, according to a Microsoft blog post.

“We’re committed to providing our customers with a comprehensive experience for migrating existing applications and infrastructure to Azure, which include the right tools, processes, and programs,” wrote Jeremy Winter, partner director for Azure management. “As part of that ongoing investment, we’re excited to welcome the leadership, talent, technology, and deep expertise Movere has built in enabling customers’ journey to the cloud over the last 11 years.”

For Kristin Ireland, CEO of Movere, the acquisition was a time of reflection on the company’s journey to date.

“On our journey to cloud, we made mistakes that cost us valuable time and resources that we didn’t have,” Ireland wrote. “As we spread our wings in the cloud, we realised the cloud was the embodiment of Movere – the unleashing of business potential through migration – we knew we had to be part of that journey for as many customers as we could.

“We passionately believe the cloud journey is what opens the door to market disrupting ideas and opportunities; to be part of that journey with customers and partners is a privilege,” added Ireland. “Thank you to our partners and customers for allowing us to be part of that journey thus far; we are so excited to continue to be faster and better for you as part of the Microsoft Azure team.”

The move represents the first cloudy acquisition of 2019 for Microsoft, aside from investing in big data analytics platform Databricks back in February. This year has been relatively quiet thus far on the acquisition front from the big two; Amazon Web Services (AWS) acquired CloudEndure for a reported $250 million at the start of this year, with undisclosed offers for TSO Logic and E8 Storage since.

Google Cloud, meanwhile, has made more of a statement around its enterprise ambitions with three acquisitions. The company bought business intelligence platform Looker for an all-cash $2.6bn transaction in June, alongside deals for Alooma and Elastifile in February and July respectively.

Financial terms of the Microsoft and Movere deal were not disclosed.

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Keumars Afifi-Sabet

Rene Millman

Bobby Hellard

Cloud computing. Cloud-native computing. Software as a service. They're all secure and reliable. Except when they're not.

Recently, we've seen Microsoft Azure suffer an extended outage and Docker Hub get hacked. Organisations deploying SaaS applications often assume the vendor provides adequate data protection and they neglect the need for backup. However, the last few years have seen massive outages among some of the major cloud and SaaS providers that seem to have brought down the internet; service outages that might or might not have halted productivity within thousands of companies; and any number of SaaS start-ups shutting down, getting hacked or simply just losing data.

Higher standards of customer experience are driving demand among end-users for always-on services. As a result, end-user tolerance for disruption is at an all-time-low. Simultaneously, end-users now have the power to publicly vent their frustrations with disrupted organisations via social media, thus exacerbating the overall reputational damage of service outages.

Combined with the threat of disruption causing a breach of regulatory compliance and landing organisations with huge penalties such as those stipulated in the GDPR, it is understandable why some organisational leads may hesitate when migrating operational infrastructure to the cloud.

But, of course, clinging to the past would be crazy for any company that actually wants to remain competitive by using and building cutting-edge applications. For all but a small handful of companies (some of which actually run public clouds), there is no realistic vision of a successful future that doesn't involve some combination of clouds, containers and SaaS – probably all three.

The trick is adopting these things intelligently and accounting for the very real possibility that something will, at some point, go wrong. To support any cloud hosted applications, an effective back-up strategy needs to be put in place. The same goes for each SaaS application.

What the best solutions look like will vary widely based on the company, although it seems logical to settle for nothing less than cloud-native best practices around high availability and automated security patching. That means building resilience into the compute, storage and networking tiers, designing apps that tolerate component failure, and sometimes using multi-cloud platforms.

And while container security is a newer concern than, say, VM security, there are a lot of tools-from start-ups, large IT vendors and even open source communities-that can provide peace of mind. A SaaS application that doesn't let you export your data is probably not a SaaS application worth using, but the good news is there's no shortage of SaaS applications.

For example, application components can be automatically patched and upgraded, while application infrastructure should regularly be re-paved in order to expunge any system-level malware or advanced persistent threats. At the application level, a growing number of organisations are adopting tools that automatically scan code for vulnerabilities and offer guidance on how to remedy them.

Ultimately, the process of SaaS backup is similar to backing up a standard but complex on-premise application. Look at the whole service and ensure all the components and dependencies are covered in the back-up plan. When managing a SaaS application, the nature of the business is providing services to consumers, not internal staff. The stakes – in terms of both reputation and financial impact – can be significant. It is essential that, as a provider, any disruptive issues around providing the service are mitigated as much as possible. Backup is part of that continuity planning.

What businesses can't do is let fear and uncertainty get in the way of progress, which is what cloud computing, however defined and in all its forms, ultimately delivers. Getting things like security and reliability right might require spending a little more time and money on software, engineers, and maybe even lawyers, but the payoff over the long term should make up for any early investments many times over.

In today’s business environment, settling for the status quo isn't a viable option, thinking ahead is a much better option than rushing into the cloud and ending up on the receiving end of an outage, breach or other large-scale incident that could have been avoided with just a little forethought.

Interested in hearing industry leaders discuss subjects like this and sharing their experiences and use-cases? Attend the Cyber Security & Cloud Expo World Series with upcoming events in Silicon Valley, London and Amsterdam to learn more.

A survey of C-suite executives from Nominet has found that, for more than half of respondents, cloud security remains a concern – which becomes even more critical when multi-cloud comes in.

The study, which polled 274 CISOs, CIOs and CTOs, found 52% were at least moderately concerned about security with regards to cloud adoption. One in five respondents said they were ‘very’ concerned, compared to one in 10 who said they were not at all concerned.

Almost half (48%) of those polled said their organisation had a multi-cloud approach. Yet respondents using a multi-cloud approach were significantly more likely to have suffered a data breach – 52% affirmed this compared with only 24% of hybrid cloud users.

When it came to the specific threats organisations face, respondents were most concerned over exposure of customer data, increased threat surfaces, and improving cybercriminal sophistication.

Almost two thirds (63%) of those polled said they already outsourced certain security services to managed providers. CNI, hospitality and transport were industries less likely to outsource some of their security operations. “Most organisations are happy to outsource when it comes to security, and appear to believe the practice improves their security profile,” the report notes.

The report naturally went through the rigmaroles of cloud adoption statistics, of which a selection is presented herein. The most interesting aspect was that Google Cloud proved the most popular choice of the big clouds, with 56% saying they used it. AWS (32%), perhaps even more interestingly, finished flat last, behind Azure (36%), Oracle (44%) and IBM (49%).

88% of survey respondents said their organisation was either currently engaged in, or planning to, adopt cloud and software as a service (SaaS). 71% overall said they had adopted SaaS, compared with IaaS (60%), PaaS (30%) and business process as a service (BPaaS – 30%). A quarter of respondents said they had function as a service (FaaS) installed.

“The maturity of the cloud means that not only are businesses willing to use it for the delivery of operations and IT services, they are also embracing it for security tools and managed services,” the report notes. “And as businesses look at how the cloud can help make them more secure, ease of integration is top of mind – whether that’s with on-premise applications or other cloud services.

“The move to the cloud won’t be an all-encompassing migration,” the report adds. “Businesses will want to make the most of existing investments and only adopt cloud alternatives once these have reached the end of their product lifecycle.

“Organisations today therefore need cloud security tools that are flexible enough to secure the enterprise as it is today, and as it will be tomorrow.”

You can read the full Nominet report here (email required).

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Keumars Afifi-Sabet

Any regular reader of this publication will have noted the regularity in which the largest cloud players – Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud et al – post solid quarterly financial results. While Wall Street may not have been happy with all of the postings, growth has remained, albeit dipping from the three figure climbs in previous years.

This hyperscaler growth has often been backed up with strong spending across hardware assets. Yet two research companies have noted a decline in the most recent quarters across their industry segments. Both have blamed downturns in China for the change, although it will by no means be an irreversible decline.

Synergy Research, a long-time cloud infrastructure market analyst, noted in August that hyperscaler capex was down 2% based on year-by-year figures. The most recent quarter saw more than $28 billion in spending.  The first quarter of this year, although nearer $25bn, followed a similar pattern. Q118’s figure was still above it, even accounting for the one-off spend of Google buying Manhattan real estate for $2.4bn.

China’s expenditure declined by 37% year on year in Q2, Synergy noted, with Alibaba, Tencent, JD.com and Baidu all reluctant to spend. All other areas saw nominal increases; the US saw the most with 5% yearly, ahead of EMEA (3%) and the rest of APAC (2%). Taking China out of the mix would see overall figures jump 4% year on year.

Synergy’s figures come from the data centre and capex footprint of 20 of the world’s largest cloud and internet service firms. The ‘big five’, in this instance Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Facebook and Apple, usually dominate.

“Usually it is the big five that dictate the scale and trends in hyperscale capex, but the drop-off in spending in China has been so marked that an otherwise strong worldwide growth story has been transformed into a modest capex decline,” said John Dinsdale, a chief analyst at Synergy.

This situation is echoed when it comes to data centre switches. According to telecom and network analyst Dell’Oro Group, ‘weakness in China’ suppressed data centre switch market growth in Q219. The decline was the first seen in five years, down to both a slowdown in spending from cloud service providers and enterprise, as well as continued uncertainty over Huawei.

“In contrast, data centre switch market revenue in North America managed to grow despite a slowdown in spending by major cloud service providers,” said Sameh Boujelbene, Dell’Oro Group senior director. “Most of the slowdown was driven by reduced server purchases while data centre switches performance well. Large enterprises also contributed to the growth in North America as they accelerated their 100 GER adoption and helped Cisco emerge as the new leader in 100 GE revenue in Q219.”

“The situation in China is likely to be a short-term phenomenon, however, as the four Chinese hyperscale operators continue to grow revenues more rapidly than their US-headquartered counterparts,” Dinsdale added. “After some short-term financial belt-tightening, we expect to see Chinese capex rise strongly once again.”

Interested in hearing industry leaders discuss subjects like this and sharing their experiences and use-cases? Attend the Cyber Security & Cloud Expo World Series with upcoming events in Silicon Valley, London and Amsterdam to learn more.