92 lines
5.0 KiB
ReStructuredText
92 lines
5.0 KiB
ReStructuredText
User requirements
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Defining user requirements for a massively scalable OpenStack design
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architecture dictates approaching the design from two different, yet sometimes
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opposing, perspectives: the cloud user, and the cloud operator. The
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expectations and perceptions of the consumption and management of resources of
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a massively scalable OpenStack cloud from these two perspectives are
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distinctly different.
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Massively scalable OpenStack clouds have the following user requirements:
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* The cloud user expects repeatable, dependable, and deterministic processes
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for launching and deploying cloud resources. You could deliver this through
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a web-based interface or publicly available API endpoints. All appropriate
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options for requesting cloud resources must be available through some type
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of user interface, a command-line interface (CLI), or API endpoints.
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* Cloud users expect a fully self-service and on-demand consumption model.
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When an OpenStack cloud reaches the massively scalable size, expect
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consumption as a service in each and every way.
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* For a user of a massively scalable OpenStack public cloud, there are no
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expectations for control over security, performance, or availability. Users
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expect only SLAs related to uptime of API services, and very basic SLAs for
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services offered. It is the user's responsibility to address these issues on
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their own. The exception to this expectation is the rare case of a massively
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scalable cloud infrastructure built for a private or government organization
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that has specific requirements.
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The cloud user's requirements and expectations that determine the cloud design
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focus on the consumption model. The user expects to consume cloud resources in
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an automated and deterministic way, without any need for knowledge of the
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capacity, scalability, or other attributes of the cloud's underlying
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infrastructure.
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Operator requirements
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---------------------
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While the cloud user can be completely unaware of the underlying
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infrastructure of the cloud and its attributes, the operator must build and
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support the infrastructure for operating at scale. This presents a very
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demanding set of requirements for building such a cloud from the operator's
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perspective:
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* Everything must be capable of automation. For example, everything from
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compute hardware, storage hardware, networking hardware, to the installation
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and configuration of the supporting software. Manual processes are
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impractical in a massively scalable OpenStack design architecture.
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* The cloud operator requires that capital expenditure (CapEx) is minimized at
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all layers of the stack. Operators of massively scalable OpenStack clouds
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require the use of dependable commodity hardware and freely available open
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source software components to reduce deployment costs and operational
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expenses. Initiatives like OpenCompute (more information available at
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`Open Compute Project <http://www.opencompute.org>`_)
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provide additional information and pointers. To
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cut costs, many operators sacrifice redundancy. For example, using redundant
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power supplies, network connections, and rack switches.
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* Companies operating a massively scalable OpenStack cloud also require that
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operational expenditures (OpEx) be minimized as much as possible. We
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recommend using cloud-optimized hardware when managing operational overhead.
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Some of the factors to consider include power, cooling, and the physical
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design of the chassis. Through customization, it is possible to optimize the
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hardware and systems for this type of workload because of the scale of these
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implementations.
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* Massively scalable OpenStack clouds require extensive metering and
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monitoring functionality to maximize the operational efficiency by keeping
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the operator informed about the status and state of the infrastructure. This
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includes full scale metering of the hardware and software status. A
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corresponding framework of logging and alerting is also required to store
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and enable operations to act on the meters provided by the metering and
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monitoring solutions. The cloud operator also needs a solution that uses the
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data provided by the metering and monitoring solution to provide capacity
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planning and capacity trending analysis.
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* Invariably, massively scalable OpenStack clouds extend over several sites.
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Therefore, the user-operator requirements for a multi-site OpenStack
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architecture design are also applicable here. This includes various legal
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requirements; other jurisdictional legal or compliance requirements; image
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consistency-availability; storage replication and availability (both block
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and file/object storage); and authentication, authorization, and auditing
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(AAA). See :doc:`multi-site` for more details on requirements and
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considerations for multi-site OpenStack clouds.
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* The design architecture of a massively scalable OpenStack cloud must address
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considerations around physical facilities such as space, floor weight, rack
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height and type, environmental considerations, power usage and power usage
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efficiency (PUE), and physical security.
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