Facilitating the migration of private cloud hosting with the same elements that have brought success in the adoption of its public services, Joyent is debuting tools to let it seamlessly manage both public and private cloud content.
SmartData Center, its cloud management software, has served as the foundation of Joynet's public cloud services for years. The latest iteration of the software, SmartData Center 7, will help the startup deliver the private cloud management that has attracted enterprise clients.
Enterprise clients have been cautious and slow to migrate their tightly guarded data to any cloud configuration. Bryan Cantrill, chief technology officer of Joyent, believes his companies' software offers the security and quick deployment time needed to attract enterprise clients to his company's software.
"Despite all the hype, private cloud hasn't meaningfully made its way into the data center because the options are limited," said Cantrill. "Operators have to choose between a kit cloud that requires the team to spend months researching every decision before they see a result, or legacy enterprise software that views 'cloud' as a mere re-branding opportunity."
SmartDataCenter 7 has been promoted as an economical solution to managing private cloud servers. Its complete line of services is covered by one license and server capacity has been enhanced with a container-based structure and support commodity hardware.
"SmartDataCenter 7 is a complete product, and was designed from the ground up to provide the scalable, elastic, service-oriented infrastructure that today's developers have come to expect," said Cantrill. "Its architecture reflects our own experiences running the Joyent public cloud, and our customers find that it is refreshingly easy to install and operate within the enterprise."
Even behind the fortress walls of a private host, security concerns have served as some of the top issues that have made enterprise clients hesitant to move their data to the cloud. Joyent's SmartDataCenter 7 features container-based virtualization, which keeps tenants from moving beyond the areas to which they've been granted access.
Joyent's latest software also includes management tools for secure shell keys, a native firewall, network isolation and rights management controls.
Joyent has been structuring its software and business model to compete with Amazon's cloud services. Cantrill understands his company has a fight on its hands as it described Amazon as "kind of a vicious competitor."
While Joyent has been optimistic with the release of its new hybrid cloud management software, it ran into a bump on the server side in May. A simple input error brought one of its data centers to its knees, though the issue was corrected in just over an hour's time.
