The cloud at a glance - what you need to know

As technology continues to evolve, cloud computing solutions are becoming more sophisticated. Today, there are several cloud options available for every business, including public cloud, private cloud and hybrid cloud. Find out all about our offerings here!

But what are the differences and how do I find the right service for my business? One of the most important things to remember is that there is no one solution for all sizes. The best cloud service is the one that delivers the operational and cost efficiency you want.

When choosing a cloud computing solution, organizations are typically expected to achieve the right balance between three critical factors: security, performance and affordability. There are also secondary concerns that include scalability, potential migration, maintenance and regulatory compliance.

Private Cloud vs. Public Cloud vs. Dedicated Servers vs. Hybrid Cloud

Public cloud

The public cloud uses a highly scalable, shared infrastructure that can be rented according to your needs. It allows you to purchase computing and storage resources from anywhere in the world almost instantly over the Internet without infrastructure investment.

Advantages:

• Flexible resource booking
• High availability and reliability
• Simple and cost-effective scalability
• No investment required

Cons:

• Compliance can be a problem
• Is subject to the regulations of the respective country in which the data center is located or the operating company has its headquarters
• No control over the hardware, limited access to HyperVisor

Private cloud

Private Cloud is a solution that combines the advantages of the public cloud and dedicated hardware. You have all the flexibility you need, but do not share your resources with multiple parties. This model is highly recommended for large environments with clearly defined compliance requirements.

Advantages:

• Cost effective with efficient virtualization
• Convenient management of the IT infrastructure
• Individual security and architecture options
• Compliance requirements can be fulfilled
• Unrestricted access to HyperVisor functions

Cons:

• Investment costs at the beginning
• Increased resource setup and expansion time

Dedicated server

With a Dedicated Server I do not share the infrastructure but I get a complete server for the operation of my application or website. This gives me the power I need to run my application or website smoothly, especially for computationally intensive applications.

Advantages:

• All resources are available to me alone
• Complete control over the server

Cons:

• Needs a little know-how to handle the lifecycle of the server
• single point of failure
• No web-based management suite
• I may be paying an overhead of resources that I do not permanently use

Hybrid cloud

In a hybrid solution, I outsource various systems to a public or private cloud and combine them with a dedicated server, for example, for a computationally intensive application. Often companies also combine the cloud with an on-premise server that is still in your office.

Advantages:

• Increased reliability as there is no single point of failure
• Step-by-step outsourcing to the cloud possible
• Individual guidelines can be observed
• More cost effective for certain architectures
• Better flexibility

Cons:

• More complex constructions also have a higher complexity in management
• Depending on the architecture, a certain amount of transparency is lost
• Performance between systems must match

What is what: public, private and virtual private clouds

A brief overview of the definitions of public, private and virtual private clouds.

The public cloud is a multi-tenant hyperscale platform on which computer resources can be rented on demand. These resources are available worldwide over the Internet, enabling customers to immediately deploy and scale services without the need for capital investment in a dedicated infrastructure.

In contrast, the private cloud is a completely personal pool of resources for a single client, running on a dedicated infrastructure on site or in a dedicated off-site data center. While the public cloud is agile and scalable, the private cloud requires a fixed infrastructure. The advantage of the private cloud is control. There are no clients to share hosted resources with.

Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) is an option that combines both and offers the best of both cloud models. VPC works like a private cloud running in a virtually isolated environment on public infrastructure. Simply put, a shared hardware environment, thanks to virtualization, guarantees multi-tenancy for individual customers. This model allows you to take advantage of the benefits of the private cloud - such as complete control over virtual networks and an isolated environment for confidential workloads, while continuing to use external public cloud resources in a highly scalable pay-as-you-go model.

Advantages of the Private Cloud:

• Full control over virtual networks
• Isolated environment for sensitive workloads

Advantages of the Public Cloud:

• Outside the business premises (no investment costs)
• Highly scalable
• Pay-as-you-go model

Advantages of the Virtual Datacenter

Our Virtual Datacenter is a flexible, scalable and highly available cloud environment. It is available in both a public and a private cloud setup. The term Virtual Private Cloud is not very common, but it describes the standard setup of Xelon vDC quite well. It is a cluster of infrastructure resources that provides you with all the basics for building your IT infrastructure.

Here are the main advantages of VDCs:

• Cost reduction - you do not have to invest in the purchase and maintenance of server hardware, which can be quite expensive. You also avoid regular IT investments in hardware that needs to be updated every few years.
• Pay-as-you-go model - you only pay for what is effectively used.
• Greater efficiency - Virtualization helps you achieve operational efficiency by making the best use of both hardware and resources.
• Enhanced security - Our server clusters provide enhanced security, business continuity and disaster recovery.
• Scalability - Due to the fast moving business environment, your IT infrastructure needs flexibility and scalability

Focus on the business - With our VDC, you can also outsource the responsibility for the availability and management of your IT infrastructure to a cloud provider, giving you more time to focus on your business. To take even more of the burden off you, we also offer Managed Solutions.

Who should use a Virtual Datacenter?

The following are some factors you should consider to determine whether your organization can benefit from a virtual datacenter:

• If you're looking for an easily scalable solution that gives you more performance and storage resources in just a few clicks.
• When you want high-end, multi-tiered redundancy to ensure reliable backup of your business data.
• If you are looking for reliable security and your data and systems are protected from cyber criminals and hacking attempts.
• If you are looking for a cost-effective data center solution where you only pay for the resources you actually use.
• When you want exceptional performance with highly effective failover technology to take control in times of crisis

What features does Xelon vDC offer?

Xelon is one of the leading providers of virtual data centers in Switzerland, offering its customers virtual, dedicated and managed cloud solutions. Some of the key features include:

Scalable and flexible

Whether you rely on a single Linux web server or extensive Windows environments, Xelon vDC's user-friendly interface lets you choose the environment you're looking for.

Latest backup technology

Xelon vDC offers advanced technology with enterprise SSD clustering, automatic failover, and cluster replication on premise for reliable data protection with three storage nodes.

Secure connection

The virtual datacenter allows you to connect to your websites via a Layer 3 link or VPN for added security. In addition, corporate security is ensured by firewall, WAF, VPN as well as IPS and Co.

Offsite replication

Xelon offers extremely convenient and fast offsite replication, giving you the ability to replicate your cloud for easy migration to another location.

Automatic failover

The data center has an automatic failover. This means that there is a duplicate system that takes over as soon as the system detects an error or fault.

Accessible life cycle

Xelon understands that business requirements can change at any time. That's why it enables unrestricted management of resources and servers from anywhere at any time.

Pay as you go

With Xelon vDC, only the costs for the hourly billing of resources are incurred, i.e. CPU, RAM and memory. There are no minimum fees or setup fees, which is a great advantage for a small business with fewer requirements.

Excellent performance

Xelon vDC features multiple server clusters that combine automatic failover and low-latency redundant networking to ensure consistently reliable performance with no risk of failure.

Swiss data protection culture

The computer centre capacities are physically located in Switzerland. This means that your data is protected by Swiss law in accordance with EU data protection regulations.

Migration to a Virtual Datacenter

It's easy to sign up for the Xelon vDC service. All you need to do is sign up via the trial mode and you can try all virtualization features for free and explore the user interface and functionality right away!

Xelon vDC offers consulting and support during the migration process from the beginning to the complete move of your infrastructure. If you are not sure exactly what your business needs, our professional experts can evaluate your business and determine the requirements. We provide comprehensive technical support while you complete the migration to the virtual data center.

What's the first step? Our team is always at your disposal if you have any problems or concerns. You can also simply send us a mail at contact@xelon.ch.