Cloud Computing: Automating the Virtualized Data Center (Networking Technology) 1st Edition

Cisco Press released Cloud Computing, Automating the Virtualized Data Center, in December, 2011. This book covers both conceptual workflows and tested implementations of data center automation practices. It does a good job walking you through the complex frameworks and technologies involved in automating both enterprise and service provider data centers.By building up the technology layers and showing how they fit together, the book provides a clear path to creating value for your customers, whether they be end users in a corporation or corporate consumers of SP based services. Of course, the view is based on Cisco best practices, products, and Cisco Validated Designs (CVDs), but that is still a valid framework to discuss how the solution stack is layered and the connection points are integrated.As an example of the complexity of the solutions discussed, the Appendix B Terms and Acronyms runs 21 pages. For new adopters or those researching a potential solution, it's great to have these technologies laid out for you with the appropriate standards referenced. I also appreciated the Cloud Design Patterns and Use Cases that relate common operations and techniques and provide common ground for discussion. While this book would prove most useful to architects and directors who are building out a VMware based Infrastructure as a Service offering, the framework and vocabulary are useful to other stacks. Everyone can benefit from the financial models and governance discussions, even those who resist the ITIL methodology, although many of the discussions are grounded in ITSM. Overall, a valuable addition to the library if you're working on building or specifying Cloud Services based on the IaaS model for public, private, or hybrid cloud models.