Educational Tracks: Optimizing the Cloud
Track 3: Optimizing the Cloud
SPONSOR
As demand for interactive communications and computer-intensive applications continues to rise, performance in the Cloud becomes increasingly important. Speed matters. Availability is business critical. Security is paramount. But not all Clouds are created equal.
Service providers regard their networks as a strategic asset capable of driving incremental revenue and increased profitability, but how do they extract maximum value from that asset? The network is the connection fabric that builds the Cloud for Cloud computing, but a bunch of servers on a network and a Cloud are distinguished from one another by the effectiveness with which you can allocate the resources from the pool to support the mission of the application.
At TIA 2012, service providers will gain the information they need to insert themselves into the cloud services value chain by redefining their roles to expand beyond connectivity and provide Web-based application delivery services.
DAY ONE: Wednesday, June 6, 2012
8:00 - 8:25 am
The Network Makes the Cloud
Dor Skuler
Dor Skuler, VP, Cloud Solutions, Alcatel-Lucent
As demand for interactive communications and compute-intensive applications continues to rise, performance in the cloud becomes increasingly important. Speed matters. Availability is business critical.
But not all clouds are created equal. The public Cloud, for instance, cannot provide access to any application, any content, anywhere, at any time with guaranteed performance. Today, this inhibits the adoption of the public Cloud, as a recent survey of nearly 3,500 enterprise IT decision makers found that their biggest Cloud concerns are performance, followed by security. Thus, a new class of Cloud is needed.
Alcatel-Lucent has entered the Cloud by taking a totally different approach than all those before it. It’s introduced CloudBand -- the industry's first management system for the carrier Cloud market, combining the computing power and flexibility of the Cloud with the high performance, reliability and security of communications networks. CloudBand enables service providers to deliver services to customers quickly with low latency, better bandwidth control and guaranteed QoS - all of which are necessary to meet the stringent performance demands of consumers and enterprise.
8:30 - 8:55 am
Testing the Cloud
Eddie Arrage
Eddie Arrage, Market Development Manager, Ixia
Cloud computing is an innovative means of providing flexible, cost effective services, but it radically alters the assumptions used to test service performance. Because the Cloud is a distributed set of resources composed of several components including computing, services, storage and networking components, it is essential that each component’s performance is measured individually before fine-tuning the overall performance of a Cloud environment.
For example, networking infrastructure is a key component of a Cloud environment. While switches and routers deployed throughout the infrastructure are fairly well understood, the nature of virtualized data centers changes the nature of the traffic. No longer composed solely of client-server interactions, data center traffic is now a mix of north-south, east-west traffic as well as storage traffic in converged environments and other networks. As a result, new Cloud-specific test methodology and performance benchmarks are required in this environment. Providers will be able to answer the tough questions like, “How does VM mobility impact the end user?” and “How many VMs can you stuff inside a server before application responsiveness is compromised?”
In this session, Ixia will look at the ins and outs of Cloud computing, and assess new models and techniques required to measure true Cloud performance. Attendees will learn the importance of verifying performance of the Cloud ecosystem prior to deployment to determine how well different devices work together to support a large Cloud infrastructure. They will also gain an understanding of the best practices and tools for validating the performance of virtual infrastructure, how to pinpoint and resolve problems, and ultimately how to minimize cost while maximizing performance.
9:00 - 9:25 am
Open Source and Open Stack Technologies Driving Network Applications
Chad Andrews, Vertical Marketing Manager, Telco, Media & Entertainment, Dell Inc.
Researchers agree that the consumer of the future will expect media and entertainment to be delivered precisely when and where they want it, across devices. But just as the technology that supported Search had a far more profound effect, Dell believes that there is a coming cultural revolution accompanying next generation content delivery networks (and federations thereof.)
Sooner-than-you-think, Joe Consumer will be able to interact with content in ways that have previously been relegated to Science Fiction. Rather than merely watching content, consumers will be able to ask their devices questions such as, “What are the records of these teams and who have they lost to?” or “Who makes the suit the protagonist is wearing?” and receive answers as immediate and relevant as when you ask Google, “How does a BMW 3 Series compare to an Audi A4?”
The key concept that will enable endless interaction is metadata. Currently, a life of data exists around content, from information as simple as when something was shot and the technical details, to sentiment about content across media and social networks, to detailed customer preference profiles. Just as Google can make disparate data across repositories instantly and infinitely useful, so too will the networks that are evolving around Telco, Media & Entertainment.
When metadata is structured intelligently and made accessible across repositories, then custom apps can tailor world-changing interactions by filtering and delivering metadata per the consumer’s precise preferences and tastes. Building these networks relies on shared infrastructure beginning at concept past distribution, and Dell will talk about what it is doing to make this happen with partnerships and Open Source/Open Stack technologies.
Dell is taking a leadership position in the design and implementation of efficient networks that provide value throughout the content lifecycle. These networks will utilize optimized datacenters, Virtualization and Public and Private Clouds to forever change the way that consumers relate to their devices, and that content will be created, stored, delivered and monetized.
9:30-10:25 am
Best Practices in Cloud Services Delivery, Infrastructure and Ownership
Moderator: Andy Castonguay, Principal Analyst, Informa Telecoms & Media
Tim Harden, President of Supply Chain and Fleet Operations for AT&T Services
Will Ulaszek, Vice President, Marketing and Strategy, IBM Global Telecommunication
Pat Adamiak, Senior Director, Cloud Solutions Marketing, Cisco Systems Inc.
Service providers looking to leverage Cloud technologies to deliver services profitably must make some careful decisions up front in order to avoid expensive and irreversible pitfalls. By leveraging the efficiencies of automation, shared infrastructure and pre-integration, a service provider can deliver Cloud-based business services at extremely low, predictable costs. By leveraging centralized service delivery, management and virtualization of network infrastructure, the service provider can deliver a more robust, lower cost security and infrastructure solution in every respect as compared to on-premise, traditionally managed or multi-vendor counterparts with much more predictable service and ownership costs – particularly with regard to minimizing start up and integration costs. Finally, service providers need to consider the option that gets them to market quickly and profitably and the new Cloud services paradigm accomplishes this in every respect.
This roundtable session helps to identify the best plan to market, and the practical aspects of customer use cases and implementation.
DAY TWO: Thursday, June 7, 2012
2:30 – 3:25 pm
Panel: Components for a Successful Cloud Service Offering
From big telecom providers to midsize service providers, the race is on to build Cloud services for end customers. But it’s not too late to get into the race. This panel session will discuss the key components communications service providers need to embrace to make their Cloud offering successful.
- People: Focus on the user experience. Great technology blends into the background and allows the user to focus on the experience.
- Globalization: Understand your core competency. Where does your company drive value? Maximize your profit by amortizing investments in your core competency across service supply chains in multiple vertical segments.
- Technology: The technology to accomplish #1 and #2 is complicated. A company must pick the right core competency, defend that core competency with regular investment, and enter new markets to improve profitability. It requires discipline, structure and a willingness to reinvent the business.
3:30 – 3:55 pm
Migration of Communications to the Cloud – From App Provider to Service Provider
Tom Schroer
Tom Schroer, Director of Service Provider Marketing, Dialogic
There are many communications services in use today that have been premise-based or hosted including Contact Center, IVR, PBX and Conferencing Services. The migration of these services to the Cloud provides the enterprise user with an OPEX model. More interestingly, however, this migration also delivers opportunities to the application/service provider to expand their current customer base and become increasingly capable of competing in the larger marketplace.
In this presentation, attendees will receive insight as to which migration strategies – from private Clouds to Public cloud-based systems – will enable service providers to best expand on new business opportunities, while continuing to maintain their existing customer base.
Learn about different migration strategies from private Clouds to public Cloud-based systems, and the steps that need to be taken to ensure providers’ current customer bases are maintained while new customers are acquired.
4:00 - 4:25 pm
Unified Communications in a Virtual Cloud: Not Your Father's Voice Service
Laurie Shook, Portfolio Leader, Verizon Business
A cloud is an ephemeral concept. How do you translate the “fluffiness” of the cloud vision into tangible new services that deliver on the promises of reduced costs, faster service enablement, and cost-effective reliability? Verizon recently launched a Cloud-based unified communications service based on virtualization of traditional premise-based UC applications, using a UC as a Service model. This talk addresses some of the lessons learned as a result of that service development, as well as real-life challenges when delivering traditional premise-based services as well as new applications from a Cloud-based infrastructure. Address issues associated with:
- Implementing and managing a virtualized infrastructure
- Ensuring security within a hosted environment
- Defining role of traditional telco requirements like CALEA and e911 in the cloud
4:30 - 5:00 pm
Infrastructure-as-a-Service: Expediting Cloud Service Revenue
Darryl Brown
Darryl Brown, SVP of Global Sales & Marketing, Appcore
Do you want new products and services to augment your revenue stream? Are your competitors leaping ahead? Would you like ways to encourage your customers to consume "premium" bandwidth over traditional Internet? Does the prospect of reaching a new geographic footprint, markets and opportunities seem daunting? Do you think a Cloud offering is the way to do all this, but you don't ahve the skills, resources or time? In this session, understand how to expedite your time to market and expand your georgraphical reach through cloud Infrastructure-as-a-Service.
