A cloud operating system is a new category of software that is specifically designed to holistically manage large collections of infrastructure – CPUs, storage, networking – as a seamless, flexible and dynamic operating environment.
Analogous to the operating system that manages the complexity of an individual machine, the cloud operating system manages the complexity of a datacenter. Although alternative approaches may be pursued, VMware believes that virtualization is the key underpinning technology to enable cloud computing.
Why Do You Need A Cloud Operating System?
The traditional IT stack with its tight coupling of software and hardware falls short of supporting customers’ needs. IT departments are pressured to adapt to rapid changes in business requirements, meet the demand for 24X7 business resiliency, and drastically reduce costs. But they also have the opportunity to leverage the immense power and attractive economics of x86 hardware and maturing virtualization technologies. They have a broader choice of application architectures, and vast new clouds of cheap and readily accessible computing power are now available.
The Cloud OS Simplifies Computing
The cloud OS allows the IT professional to:
Automatically manage applications to pre-defined SLAs by providing built-in availability, security and performance assurance for all applications.
Run applications on a highly unified, reliable, efficient infrastructure made up of industry standard components that can be easily replaced
Move applications with the same service level expectations across on premise or off premise computing clouds for the lowest TCO and highest operational efficiency.
The cloud OS enables a dramatically simpler and more efficient model of computing. In this new model, customers define the desired outcomes and the computing infrastructure guarantees these outcomes precisely. IT professionals can provision applications, for example, specify service levels, response times, security policies and availability, and the cloud OS delivers on these specifications at the lowest possible cost with minimal maintenance.
