As we all know, Microsoft Hyper-V is a virtualization solution that is mainly considered for Windows cloud computing infrastructure. As of now, Microsoft has two products for cloud solutions: Windows Azure and Hyper-V. However, Microsoft realized that they needed to offer a single package solution for cloud infrastructure, particularly for dedicated private cloud similar to VMware. Therefore, “Hyper-V Cloud Fast Track” was introduced to fill the gap in the cloud line.
Let’s see the details of Hyper-V Cloud:
- Shared Services.
- Scalability and Elasticity of Infrastructure.
- High Availability.
- Automation Work Flow.
- Portal and Service Catalog.
- Integration of security and identity
However, before we move ahead we need to understand, what is private cloud computing.
A private cloud transforms the data center, and servers in a flexible infrastructure for a service. The infrastructure can then expose a catalog of application services to the business. If the private cloud is based on virtualization technology, then the approach is different in the sense that the goal is to automate the availability and scalability. This requires the arrangement and provisioning of virtual machines, with or without connection to a public cloud.
Back to the main topic. Hyper-V Cloud is not a new product. It is in the market for a long time, but now it comes up with a new set of tools, such as architecture concepts, guidelines, and best practices to transform its existing infrastructure into infrastructure as a service for private cloud, etc… For this, it relies on Windows Server 2008 R2, Hyper-V, and System Center.
Although, the hyper-v cloud is not a one-pack solution. This means that, if a company wants to buy the tools involved in a hyper-v cloud, then there is no single package for it. Hence this is not a software suite like a VMware vsphere.
So the emphasis is on Hyper-V Fast Track, but it is intended for manufacturers. So they can offer pre-configured hardware and software solutions based on reference architecture, guides of consolidation, and validation configuration. Hence, each manufacturer gets the ability to include his own tools for administration, and management systems to increase performance.
This solution is actually intended to ease the deployment of a private cloud or conversion of existing infrastructure. Today, many manufacturers have announced or are already offering pre-configured hyper-v cloud: Dell, HP, and IBM are just some examples. These pre-configured solutions are certified by Microsoft. The main goal of this solution is to simplify the architecture and implementation of a private cloud.
In addition, HP is offering Fast Track in the full deployment phase to the customers. HP is actively working around with Fast Track as a platform in association with Microsoft and HP’s Cloud Foundation for Hyper-V is a reference architecture that is based on Fast Track.