Server Management
Server management is the organized management of cloud computing products and services that operate in the cloud. It refers to the processes, strategies, policies, and technology used to help control and maintain public and private cloud, hybrid cloud, or multi-cloud environments.
Almost gone are the days when companies had everything in one place. Most companies have moved away from proprietary hardware onto commodity hardware. Businesses have realized tremendous savings using commodity hardware which has more processing power than traditional systems. The chapter on server management is targeted towards ISP’s providing compute services to customers. Those customers range from individuals to large businesses. Here are the three most common types of environments in use today:
Public Clouds:
Public clouds are managed by public cloud service providers, which include the public cloud environment’s servers, storage, networking, and data center operations. Users may also opt to manage their public cloud services with a third-party cloud management tool.
Private Clouds:
A private cloud is a cloud computing environment dedicated to a single organization. Any cloud infrastructure has underlying compute resources like CPU and storage that you provision on demand through a self-service portal. In a private cloud, all resources are isolated and in the control of one organization.
Hybrid Cloud:
A hybrid cloud is a mixed computing environment where applications are run using a combination of computing, storage, and services in different environments—public clouds and private clouds, including on-premises data centers or “edge” locations.
Today, you are most likely using any combination of servers in any combination of cloud configurations. Depending on how you run your business determines what will work best for your business. We cover them all in our book. Maintaining security in these environments has its own challenges. Our book should provide a push towards decisions you will need to make.
