Logicalis thinks CVN architecture is restrictive

Logicalis' new cloud service does not appear to support the secure, multi-tenancy architecture announced to a great fanfare by Cisco, NetApp and VMware (CVN) yesterday.

It sounds like it should, as Logicalis describes its Cooperative Enterprise Cloud Service as being built on Cisco’s Unified Computing System (UCS) and NetApp storage products. It says it's the first cloud service "to offer a single reference blueprint for on-site and hosted cloud services, enabling enterprises and public sector organisations to flex and scale their cloud computing strategies while ensuring seamless interoperability".

OK, but what about virtualising the servers?

Simon Daykin, Logicalis UK's chief architect, said in a prepared statement: “We can now deliver ‘workload containers’ where all of the necessary resources to deliver an IT service, including its compute, storage, and network elements, can be mobilised between local and hosted clouds.

"Because both the on-site and hosted clouds are architecturally matched, these containers can be moved back and forward as logical constructs."

Yes, yes, but what about the server virtualisation component?

"Customers can continue to use their own hypervisor software and platform of choice, such as VMWare or Microsoft Hyper-V, to virtualise the infrastructure layer without the constraints of rigid public clouds.”

The Logicalis release says the "on-site services will be delivered with Logicalis’ Bespoke On-Site Cloud Service (BOCS), a right-sized computing and storage infrastructure utilising Cisco’s UCS stateless computing platform to enable virtualised and non-virtualised applications to coexist on the same platform."

Why has Logicalis chosen not to adhere to the CVN architecture, the secure multi-tenancy architecture flatpack?

Daykin said the CVN architecture on its own is not flexible enough. "It's absolutely part of what we offer but we want to have a level of flexbility. Talking to customers there is no one of these flatpacks that meet all their needs. The flatpacks don't solve every customer's problems."

He said there was a need for different tiers or levels of multi-tenancy which the Logicalis service can offer plus the ability to incoporate VMware and Hyper-V virtualised servers as well as non-virtualised servers.

The CVN architecture on its own is too restrictive.

Logicalis’ Cooperative Enterprise Cloud Service is available from the second quarter of this year as a contracted service. ®