Cloud Engineer: Apache CloudStack - Install, Build and Run IaaS Cloud

Summary

This module introduces Apache CloudStack, an open-source IaaS platform from the Apache Software Foundation, which manages pools of computing resources to build public or private clouds. It covers CloudStack's history, core components, and key concepts, setting the stage for implementing cloud environments. The script discusses cloud computing basics, benefits, service models (IaaS, PaaS, SaaS), and deployment configurations (public, private, hybrid). It also highlights CloudStack's features, user interface, API, hypervisor support, and its role in job opportunities and professional growth in the cloud industry.

Takeaways

• 🌟 Apache CloudStack is an open-source IaaS platform that manages and orchestrates pools of storage, network, and computing resources to build a public or private cloud.
• 📚 The course introduces CloudStack's history, core components, key concepts, and terminology, serving as a foundation for implementing a cloud environment.
• 💻 Traditional IT infrastructure deployment was time-consuming and costly, often leading to energy waste and low hardware utilization.
• 🌐 Cloud computing offers on-demand access to a shared pool of computing resources, with benefits like reduced upfront costs, rapid scalability, and environmental advantages.
• 🚀 CloudStack supports various hypervisors, including KVM, VMware vSphere, XenServer, Hyper-V, and more, making it versatile for different virtualization needs.
• 🏢 The platform is written in Java and includes an API and web GUI for managing virtual machines and creating VM templates.
• 🌱 CloudStack originated as 'vm ops' in 2008, evolved through acquisitions, and became a top-level project of the Apache Software Foundation.
• 🏭 Notable users of CloudStack include Apple, Zynga, Nokia, and various major service providers, indicating its adoption in the industry.
• 📈 Knowledge of CloudStack is in high demand, offering job opportunities and professional growth within startups and large enterprises.
• 🛠️ CloudStack provides an out-of-the-box user interface and a powerful, well-documented API for easy integration and management of cloud resources.
• 🌍 The platform's infrastructure is organized hierarchically, including regions, zones, pods, clusters, primary storage, and secondary storage for efficient resource management.

Q & A

What is the basic concept of cloud computing?

Cloud computing is a platform that provides hosted services over a network, utilizing hardware virtualization to offer access to a shared pool of computing resources on a rental or lease basis.

What are some of the main benefits of cloud computing?

The main benefits of cloud computing include avoiding upfront infrastructure costs, rapid application deployment, scalability to meet fluctuating demands, and environmental advantages due to efficient data center management.

What are the three main service models of cloud computing?

The three main service models are Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS), and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS).

What is Apache CloudStack and what does it enable?

Apache CloudStack is an open-source IaaS platform that manages and orchestrates pools of storage, network, and computing resources to build a public or private IaaS compute cloud. It supports various hypervisors and can be used to deploy and manage cloud environments.

How did Apache CloudStack come into existence?

Apache CloudStack began as a startup project in 2008 known as VMOps, later renamed to Cloud.com, and was submitted to the Apache Incubator in 2012. It graduated from the incubator in 2013 and released its first major version 4 in the same year.

What are the key features of Apache CloudStack?

Key features of Apache CloudStack include a rich user interface, a powerful and easy-to-build-upon API, support for multiple hypervisors, automation of resource distribution, and security built upon open architecture.

What is the role of a management server in Apache CloudStack?

The management server in Apache CloudStack controls the allocation of virtual machines to hosts and assigns storage, IP addresses, and other resources to the virtual machines launched within the cloud.

What is the significance of regions, zones, and pods in Apache CloudStack's infrastructure?

Regions, zones, and pods in Apache CloudStack's infrastructure represent different organizational units for managing resources. Regions provide fault tolerance and disaster recovery, zones offer physical isolation and redundancy, and pods are collections of hardware resources configured in clusters.

How does the concept of a 'cluster' function within Apache CloudStack?

A cluster in Apache CloudStack is a group of identical hosts running a common hypervisor. It is contained within a pod and is limited by the underlying hypervisor's capacity, with each cluster having a dedicated primary storage device for hosting VM instances.

What is the purpose of primary and secondary storage in Apache CloudStack?

Primary storage in Apache CloudStack is where virtual machine instances are hosted, and it is dedicated to each cluster. Secondary storage is shared by all pods in a zone and is used for storing templates, ISOs, and snapshots.

Why are professionals with knowledge of CloudStack in high demand?

Professionals with knowledge of CloudStack are in high demand due to its popularity and the wide range of job opportunities it offers in both service provider companies running public cloud services and corporations building private cloud instances.

Outlines

00:00

🌟 Introduction to Apache CloudStack and Cloud Computing Basics

This paragraph introduces the concept of Apache CloudStack and provides an overview of cloud computing. It discusses the evolution from traditional IT infrastructure to cloud-based services, emphasizing the benefits such as reduced upfront costs, scalability, and environmental advantages. The paragraph also outlines the growth of cloud computing, driven by factors like high-capacity networks, low-cost hardware, and virtualization technologies. It sets the stage for the upcoming modules focused on implementing a CloudStack-based cloud environment.

05:01

🔐 Understanding Cloud Deployment Models and CloudStack's Role

The second paragraph delves into the different deployment models of cloud computing, namely public, private, and hybrid clouds. It explains the Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS), and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) models, highlighting their unique offerings and use cases. The paragraph introduces Apache CloudStack as an open-source IaaS platform that can be used to build and manage public, private, or hybrid cloud environments, emphasizing its capabilities in resource management and virtualization support.

10:01

🚀 History and Evolution of Apache CloudStack

This paragraph traces the history of Apache CloudStack, starting from its inception as a startup project known as VMOps in 2008. It details the transition to Cloud.com, the release of CloudStack under the GPL in 2010, and its acquisition by Citrix in 2011. The paragraph also covers CloudStack's submission to the Apache Incubator, its graduation, and the release of version 4 in 2013. It mentions notable users and the growing demand for CloudStack expertise in the job market.

15:04

🛠 Key Features and Benefits of Apache CloudStack

The fourth paragraph highlights the key features and benefits of Apache CloudStack, including its user-friendly interface, powerful API, support for multiple hypervisors, and integration capabilities with other cloud frameworks. It discusses CloudStack's automation of resource distribution, adherence to policies, and its secure, open architecture. The paragraph positions CloudStack as a popular choice among companies and professionals due to its comprehensive feature set.

20:06

🌐 Apache CloudStack Infrastructure and Core Concepts

The final paragraph in the provided script discusses the hierarchical structure of a CloudStack environment, including the concepts of regions, zones, pods, clusters, primary storage, and secondary storage. It explains the role of the management server and the importance of these components in managing a cloud infrastructure. The paragraph sets the groundwork for understanding the technical aspects of CloudStack deployment and configuration.

Keywords

💡Apache CloudStack

Apache CloudStack is an open-source cloud computing platform that manages and orchestrates pools of storage, network, and computing resources to build a public or private Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) cloud. It is a key focus of the video, which aims to educate viewers on its history, core components, and how it can be implemented to create cloud environments. The script mentions its evolution from a startup project to becoming a top-level project of the Apache Software Foundation.

💡Cloud Computing

Cloud Computing is a model for delivering hosted services over the internet, central to the video's theme. It involves hardware virtualization that allows for the sharing of computing resources on-demand. The script explains how cloud computing has enabled companies to avoid upfront infrastructure costs, scale resources rapidly, and benefit from the efficiency of cloud providers, which is a significant shift from traditional IT infrastructure deployment.

💡Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)

IaaS is a fundamental concept in cloud computing, defined as a service model where an organization outsources physical computing infrastructure to a third-party cloud provider. In the script, IaaS is exemplified by the services provided by major cloud providers like Amazon, Microsoft, and Google, and is the specific focus of Apache CloudStack's capabilities.

💡Virtualization

Virtualization is a technology that allows multiplexing of computer resources, creating virtual versions of hardware platforms, storage devices, and network resources. The script emphasizes the importance of virtualization in cloud computing, as it is the core technology that enables the sharing of a pool of computing resources.

💡Public Cloud

A Public Cloud is a cloud service provided over the public internet by companies like Amazon, Microsoft, and Google. The script discusses public clouds as an option for individuals or businesses to pay a fee for the required services without controlling the underlying infrastructure.

💡Private Cloud

Private Cloud refers to a cloud environment that is deployed in a private data center and is used exclusively by a single organization. The script explains that private clouds offer more control over infrastructure and are suitable for companies that require a higher degree of customization and security.

💡Hybrid Cloud

Hybrid Cloud is a cloud computing environment that combines both public and private cloud services. The script describes the hybrid cloud as a configuration where companies can use both types of cloud infrastructures, connected via secure network links, to take advantage of the benefits of each.

💡Platform as a Service (PaaS)

PaaS is a cloud service model where a cloud provider delivers a platform and environment for developers to build and deploy applications. The script mentions PaaS as one of the three service models in cloud computing, providing tools and runtime environments for application development.

💡Software as a Service (SaaS)

SaaS is a software delivery model in which software is hosted by a provider and made available to customers over the internet. The script identifies SaaS as a model where users gain access to application software and databases, with the cloud provider managing the underlying infrastructure.

💡Regions, Zones, Pods, and Clusters

These terms are part of the hierarchical structure of an Apache CloudStack environment. The script explains that a region is the largest organizational unit, made up of multiple zones, which are equivalent to data centers. Zones contain pods, which are collections of hardware resources, and each pod contains clusters of hosts running on a common hypervisor. These concepts are crucial for understanding the organization and management of resources in a CloudStack deployment.

💡API

API stands for Application Programming Interface, which is a set of rules and protocols for building software applications. The script highlights the importance of CloudStack's API for its functionality, stating that it is well-documented, extensible, and allows for the automation and integration of cloud services.

Highlights

Introduction to Apache CloudStack, an open-source IaaS platform for building public or private compute clouds.

Overview of cloud computing basics, including the evolution from traditional IT infrastructure to virtualized cloud environments.

Benefits of cloud computing such as avoiding upfront costs, rapid scalability, and environmental advantages.

The growth of cloud computing driven by high-capacity networks, low-cost hardware, and virtualization technologies.

Deployment models of cloud computing: public, private, and hybrid clouds, each with its control and flexibility trade-offs.

Cloud service models: IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS, explaining the differences and examples of each.

Focus on Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) and the role of Apache CloudStack in managing cloud infrastructure.

Historical development of Apache CloudStack from its inception as VMOps to becoming a top-level Apache project.

Notable users and service providers leveraging Apache CloudStack for their cloud services, including Apple, Zynga, and Dell.

Job opportunities and demand for professionals skilled in Apache CloudStack in both startups and large enterprises.

Key features of Apache CloudStack, including its user interface, API, support for multiple hypervisors, and integration capabilities.

Technical aspects of deploying Apache CloudStack, starting with setting up a management server and managing resources.

Infrastructure hierarchy in CloudStack, explaining the roles of regions, zones, pods, clusters, primary, and secondary storage.

The concept of a region in CloudStack, providing fault tolerance and disaster recovery across geographical locations.

Zones in CloudStack, equivalent to data centers, and their role in organizing resources and providing physical isolation.

Pods as a collection of hardware resources within a zone, and their significance in the CloudStack infrastructure.

Clusters within a pod, groups of identical hosts running a common hypervisor, and their function in resource allocation.

Primary and secondary storage in CloudStack, their purposes, and how they are utilized within the cloud infrastructure.

Transcripts

you

[Applause]

hello and welcome to this module of this

course on Apache CloudStack in this

module we will introduce you to Apache

cloud stock we will go over its history

in brief speak about the core components

and key concepts and terminology

associated with Apache cloud stack this

module forms the foundation for the

upcoming modules where we will start to

implement our own cloud environment

using a patchy cloud stack before we

talk about Apache cloud stack let's

quickly try to understand the basics of

cloud computing traditional methods of

hosting and deploying IT infrastructure

meant we had to deploy monolithic data

centers and physical servers the lead

time for this heavy infrastructure

deployment was few days to few weeks it

needed large amount of capital spending

upfront this model often led to energy

wastage low utilization and high efforts

for the administration of hardware

servers it was rather difficult to scale

these operations very quickly whether it

was to expand the operation to meet

growing demand or to shrink operations

due to reasons like seasonality cloud is

a generic term used for a platform that

provides hosted services over a network

at the core of cloud computing is

hardware virtualization because of this

cloud infrastructure can provide us

access to shared pool of computing

resources which could be rented or

leased on on-demand basis some of the

main benefits and drivers behind cloud

computing are cloud computing allows

companies to avoid upfront

infrastructure costs and focus on

projects that differentiate their

services and products in the recent

years this has enabled technology

startups to invent and come up with

innovative technologies and products

without worrying about spending a lot

on upfront fixed infrastructure cloud

computing allows enterprises to get

their applications up and running faster

with improved manageability and less

maintenance cloud computing enables us

to rapidly adjust resources to meet

fluctuating and unpredictable business

demand major cloud providers are vastly

trying to use renewable energy sources

to run their data centers and they're

also coming up with more efficient data

center designs to reduce energy

consumptions per unit of computing

resource this obviously has tremendous

advantages for the environment since

cloud providers can manage their data

centers more efficiently and cheaply

these savings can be passed on to the

cloud consumers the availability of high

capacity networks low-cost computers and

storage devices as well as the

widespread adoption of hardware

virtualization service-oriented

architecture and atomic utility

computing have led to a growth in cloud

computing companies can scale up as

computing needs increase and then scale

down again as demands decrease cloud

computing has become a highly demanded

service or utility due to the advantages

of high computing power cheap cost of

service high performance scalability

accessibility as well as availability

some cloud vendors are experiencing

growth rates of 50% year-over-year to

learn more about cloud computing and

services provided by the cloud providers

please check out some of our other top

rated courses cloud computing can be

deployed in multiple configurations the

most popular configuration is of course

the public cloud these cloud services

are provided by public cloud provider

companies like Amazon Microsoft Google

Rackspace and so on any individual or

we can pay appropriate fee and buy the

required services from these public

cloud providers the services are

isolated for the individual customer so

that they do not interfere with other

customers data or computing resources

but the consumers of the cloud do not

have any control over the underlying

infrastructure and hardware of the cloud

when companies need more control over

the infrastructure they deploy shareable

IT infrastructure in their private data

centers this provides the facility and

convenience of a cloud company to all

the consumers within the company at the

same time giving more control to the

company over their resources this is

called private clouds but in many

situations companies need to adopt a

hybrid approach where they make use of

both public and private cloud

infrastructure these two separate

segments are joined via secured network

links and the IT resources in both

public and private clouds can talk to

each other this configuration is called

hybrid cloud

cloud computing services are typically

provided in three different models

infrastructure-as-a-service

this is the most basic cloud service

model and under this model the cloud

provider offers computers physical and

more often virtual machines and other

resources IaaS refers to online services

that abstract the user from the details

of infrastructure like physical

computing resources location data

partitioning scaling security backup

etcetera platform as-a-service

paas offers a development environment to

the application developers in this model

the cloud provider typically develops

toolkits and standards for development

and channels for distribution and

payment in the paas model cloud

providers deliver a computing platform

typically including operating system

programming language execution

environment databases web servers etc

some examples of paas are AWS Beanstalk

as your websites etc and software as a

Service SaaS in this model users gain

access to application software and

databases cloud providers manage the

infrastructure and platforms that run

the application SaaS is sometimes

referred to as on-demand software and is

usually priced on a pay per use basis or

using a subscription fee some examples

of SaaS are Google Apps

Microsoft Office 365 etcetera in this

course we will focus on infrastructure

as a service or IAS and Apache cloud

stack

you

[Music]

so which option should you go with well

in most cases a public cloud provider is

a good option because it allows you to

get started very quickly and without any

capital expenditure but if you want to

deploy a private or hybrid cloud

infrastructure or say you want to start

a company which provides public cloud

infrastructure then you will need to

understand how to deploy these types of

environments that is exactly what Apache

cloud stack provides you can use cloud

stack to build a public private or

hybrid cloud environment

Apache cloud stack enables you to

implement cloud services and combine

disparate Hardware resources and manage

them as a single cloud infrastructure

platform

so what exactly is a patchy cloud stack

what is it used for and how can we

implement it a patchy cloud stack is a

top-level project of the Apache Software

Foundation Apache cloud stack is an

open-source infrastructure as a service

platform that manages and orchestrates

pools of storage network and computer

resources to build a public or private

IaaS compute cloud Apache cloud stack

supports all popular hypervisors for

virtualization such as KVM vmware

vsphere XenServer hyper-v Aleksey and so

on it could be used to deploy and manage

a public or private IAS compute cloud

environment Apache cloud stack is

written in Java and includes an API and

a web GUI that allows you to organize

and manage the virtual machines as well

as create virtual machine templates

let's quickly review the history of

Apache cloud stack and how it came into

existence the cloud stack project began

in 2008 as a startup project and its

first incarnation was known as vm ops

the startup company eventually changed

its name to cloud comm and it released

much of the source to cloud stack in May

2010 under the general public license

cloud comm was purchased in July 2011 by

Citrix and Citrix released cloud stack

3.0 in early 2012 in April 2012 Citrix

submitted cloud stack to the Apache

Incubator Apache cloud stack graduated

from the incubator in March 2013 and the

first major release version 4 was

released on March 25th 2013

Apache cloud stack is a mature and

feature-rich framework and it enjoys the

support of many well-known names in the

technology world in July 2012

provider of managed hosting services and

data centers for information technology

services called data pipe launched the

largest international public cloud to be

built on cloud stack this included six

data centers in Britain USA and Asia

among its notable users are Apple Zynga

Nokia Hugh I Bell Canada China Telecom

Taiwan Mobile Dell and many more now we

know Apache cloud stacked users include

many major service providers who run

cloud stack and offer public cloud

services on the other hand we also have

users and corporations using cloud stack

to build their own private cloud

instances this translates to a vast

variety of job opportunities for

individuals with knowledge of cloud

stack such professionals are in high

demand and are given outstanding

opportunities to work with this software

and professionally rise with these

influential organizations whilst working

with them professionals with knowledge

and experience in cloud stack are in

high demand within startups and large

enterprises alike as the demand

increases the salaries and consulting

rates for cloud stack opportunities are

also rising

you

a patchy cloud stock has a lot of neat

features and benefits almost too many to

list here but let's review some of the

key features cloud stack provides the

feature-rich out-of-the-box user

interface implemented on top of the

cloud stack API to manage the cloud

infrastructure it is a fully Ajax based

solution compatible with most of the

latest browsers and can also be easily

integrated within your existing portal

cloud stack provides a very powerful and

easy to build upon API we can use these

api's to easily build integrate and use

cloud stack the cloud stack api is well

documented and extensible cloud stack

also includes support for the Amazon AWS

ec2 and AWS s3 api's cloud stack is a

very powerful IAS cloud management

framework it completely automates the

distribution of compute network and

storage resources across the physical

infrastructure while adhering to defined

policies on load balancing data security

and compliance cloud stack is secure and

is built upon open architecture it

supports multiple hypervisors it can

integrate with other cloud frameworks

like OpenStack Amazon s3 etc with all

this and much more included out of the

box it should not be a surprise why a

patchy cloud stack is so popular amongst

many companies and personal preference

of many professionals let's get

technical now and answer some key

questions about Apache cloud stack how

does a patchy cloud stack work how can

we install Apache cloud stack and what

are the key terms and concepts related

to a patchy cloud stack generally

speaking a cloud stack environment

consists of

hierarchical structure that enables it

to manage thousands of physical servers

all from a single management interface

the minimum installation consists of one

machine that runs as a cloud stack

management server and another machine

that acts like cloud infrastructure as

you can see in this case we have a very

simple infrastructure consisting of

machine one acting as the management

server and machine two running the

hypervisor software so essentially for

deploying an Apache cloud stack instance

you need to first set up a management

server and then specify the resources

that need to be managed the management

server typically runs on a dedicated

physical or virtual machine it controls

the allocation of virtual machines to

hosts and assigns storage and IP

addresses and other resources to the

virtual machines launched within the

cloud the management server runs in an

Apache Tomcat container and requires a

my sequel database for persistence let's

explore Apache cloud stack

infrastructure further when it comes to

the cloud infrastructure there are

certain resources that need to be

managed by the management server as you

can see the resources that are managed

within the cloud infrastructure include

a region a zone a pod a cluster primary

storage and a secondary storage we will

go over these terms and understand what

they exactly mean in subsequent lectures

[Applause]

[Music]

next let's review some key components or

terminology related to a patchy cloud

stack which we just talked about these

are essential terms which you will need

to understand before we dive into the

installation and configuration demos in

the upcoming sessions the first core

concept we need to understand is the

region a region is the largest

organizational unit within a patchy

cloud stack deployment you can increase

the reliability of the cloud instance by

grouping resources into multiple

geographical regions a region is made up

of several zones where each zone is

equivalent to a data center each region

is controlled by its own cluster of

management servers running in one of the

zones using regions you can provide

fault tolerance and disaster recovery in

the patchy cloud stack environment the

next level down from the region are the

zones a zone is generally equivalent to

one data center a zone consists of one

or more pods and secondary storage it is

the second largest organizational unit

within a patchy cloud stack deployment

zones can be private or public private

zones are reserved for a specific region

whereas public zones are visible to the

other users and any user can create a

guest in that zone each zone consists of

one or more pods and each pod contains

one or more clusters of hosts and one or

more primary storage servers a zone may

contain one or more primary storage

servers which are shared by all the pods

in the zone also it includes a secondary

storage which is shared by all the pods

in the zone the benefit of organizing

infrastructure into zones is to provide

physical isolation

and redundancy going further deep into

the deployment hierarchy each zone

consists of one or more pods which

consists of a collection of hardware

resources configured to form clusters

typically a pod is a rack containing one

or more clusters and a layer 2 switch

architecture which is shared by all the

clusters in that pod and users are not

aware of or have any visibility of pods

a pod often represents a single rack and

hosts in the same pod are in the same

subnet pods contain one or more primary

storage servers a cluster is a group of

identical hosts running on a common

hypervisor for example a cluster could

be a XenServer pool a set of KVM servers

or VMware cluster pre-configured in

vCenter clusters are contained within

pods and pods are contained within zones

size of the cluster is limited by the

underlying hypervisor meaning more

resources you allocate to the hypervisor

the bigger the cluster could be each

cluster consists of a dedicated primary

storage device which is where the

virtual machine instances are hosted

Apache cloud stack allows you to create

multiple clusters in a cloud deployment

you

[Music]