Cloud cost estimation using the public SIM-Cloud

In this case we will share how SIM-Networks specialists used the public SIM-Cloud to evaluate the expected workloads before building a private cloud for a business.

What kind of infrastructure did the client’s company need?

Our client was interested in the possibility of creating a private cloud and moving his existing services into it. However, the client wanted to estimate the amount of resources needed for the services to function effectively before moving to a new infrastructure.

We offered to use the scaling capabilities of cloud solutions as a tool for estimating the real strain on the resources. The plan was to deploy the client’s systems in the public SIM-Cloud beforehand. This way, the client could accurately predict the necessary volume of resources in the private cloud and avoid unnecessary expenses while ordering hardware and software. The cloud to cloud migration project consisted of 4 stages:

• start working in the public cloud;
• scale the resources along with the growth of the business and the client base;
• stabilize the infrastructure and audit the workloads;
• finalize the specifications, order the resources for the private cloud and migrate.

The resources of the private cloud can be scaled and optimized as the business grows. The client mentioned these benefits of the private cloud that led him to choosing this solution: a dedicated pool of resources, flexible management, high physical and legal security, as well as the ability to store backups in a remote data center in Germany.

Client’s requirements:

• deploy virtual machines in the public cloud and scale the resources as the business grows;
• prepare OS images not included in SIM-Networks’ standard list;
• dedicate a pool of IP addresses (IPv4 + IPv6);
• create and set up a reserve copying system using BaaS;
• migrate the infrastructure from the public cloud to the private cloud.

How did we test the infrastructure in the cloud?

Our technical specialists learned the specifics of the client’s day-to-day operations and carried out an audit of the existing services. We prepared a detailed cloud infrastructure creation plan based on this information. We deployed the client’s IT infrastructure in the public SIM-Cloud on the first stage of the project. The client’s business processes started running.

The base cloud project uses Floating IP for access to the instances, since it works with NAT – network address translation. This technology transforms the private IP addresses of client subnetworks into public IP addresses when accessing the internet. The SIP service used by the client often runs into issues while working with NAT, which is why we dedicated a pool of direct IPv4 + IPv6 addresses for this project.

The second stage of the project was flexible scaling as the business grew and the client base expanded. We added computing resources from the cloud pool on-demand: CPU cores, RAM and storage space, IP addresses for the virtual local network. We also set up backups for the client’s data using SIM-Cloud BaaS.

On the third stage, he company’s processes were stabilized and the client was satisfied with the performance of his new infrastructure. We then audited the company’s resource usage and calculated the maximal amount of resources needed in the nearest future. These resources were a guarantee that the business could provide its services to the client base with no interruptions. We offered to optimize the way the client’s data is processed and stored, which helped the company reduce expenses.

The fourth stage of the project was creating a private cloud using the information gathered on the previous stage. We then migrated the client’s IT infrastructure from SIM-Cloud to the private cloud.

The cloud hardware configuration proposed by SIM-Networks engineers

The main benefits of the private cloud mentioned by our client:

• flexible management and more functions due to exclusive resource usage;
• full isolation from the public cloud and other users;
• high level of security during data processing and storage.

How did SIM-Networks’ solution help the client?

The client received accurate data on resource usage and could accurately predict the scaling needs for the business’ rate of growth. This became possible due to our use of SIM-Cloud as a tool for estimating the expected workloads in the private cloud.

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