An Overview of Cloud Technology Components
The right cloud technology can accelerate your digital transformation. Whether you’re using public cloud services, on-premises infrastructure, a hybrid cloud, or a multicloud approach, Intel® technologies give you consistent, reliable performance you can count on.
Our platform technologies and engagement with the cloud and ISV ecosystem help you reduce complexity, accelerate time to market, and avoid lock-in with Software Defined Infrastructure (SDI). You’ll experience seamless application portability, data mobility, and potential cost savings benefits across broad range of workloads and services.
Cloud Computing Technology Checklist
To build a best-of-breed cloud platform, consider your needs around the following components:
- Cloud servers powered by Intel® Xeon® Scalable processors provide the foundation for your hybrid cloud, both as part of your on-premises infrastructure and at the heart of many of the most popular public cloud instances.
- Intel® Optane™ DC persistent memory provides a new class of memory, while solid state drives (SSDs), including Intel® Optane™ SSDs do more than simply store your data—they keep it moving quickly and efficiently.
- Cloud computing and orchestration platforms, including software for cloud API integration, help you manage hybrid and multicloud environments, deploy cloud containers, and support microservices architecture.
- A blockchain cloud solution based on Intel® Xeon® Scalable processors can help enhance security and protect transactions across the cloud.
Cloud Processors
A strong cloud infrastructure starts with a foundation of optimized processors capable of handling the most demanding applications, including analytics, AI, and high performance computing.
Intel® Xeon® Scalable Processors
Intel® Xeon® Scalable processors deliver consistent performance for diverse workloads. A cloud based on this platform helps minimize complexity with compatible virtualization infrastructure, so you can deploy new applications quickly and get fast response times. In addition, 2nd Generation Intel® Xeon® Scalable processors feature Intel® Deep Learning Boost (Intel® DL Boost) with VNNI for enhanced AI performance.
Intel® FPGA Acceleration
When combined with Intel® Xeon® Scalable processors, Intel® FPGAs can deliver dramatic data center acceleration with incredible performance per watt. These flexible, multipurpose devices can be reconfigured and customized for a variety of functions that are becoming more common in the cloud, such as search and machine learning.
Intel® Xeon® Scalable processors deliver high reliability and uptime for Software Defined Infrastructure (SDI), so you can achieve a more performant, agile cloud.
Cloud Storage
Legacy storage is a major bottleneck in cloud service delivery. By adopting the latest cloud storage solutions, you can bridge critical gaps in storage and memory hierarchy and deliver persistent memory, large memory pools, fast caching and fast storage.
Intel® Optane™ SSDs
Intel® Optane™ SSDs help eliminate storage bottlenecks and enable bigger, more affordable data sets by bridging gaps in storage and memory hierarchy in the data center. As a result, you can accelerate applications, lower costs for latency-sensitive workloads, and improve your overall TCO for the data center.
Intel® Optane™ and Intel® SSDs deliver enhanced agility and performance in the data center. These drives are efficient, high performing, robust, and security enabled. In addition, Intel® SSDs are built on standards-based technologies, providing the flexibility to implement the cloud models of your choice across multiple vendors or open source solutions.
Cloud Virtualization Solutions
To get your cloud up and running, you’ll need software to virtualize and abstract computing and other hardware resources. The successful management of your hybrid cloud relies on these software tools.
Your IT team will need to evaluate cloud computing platforms such as AWS Outposts*, Google Anthos*, Microsoft Azure Stack*, Red Hat OpenStack*, and SUSE OpenStack*, cloud virtualization platforms like VMware vSphere*, and container application platforms like Red Hat OpenShift*. These software tools can help your IT team virtualize resources, deploy containers, and gain a single view of all the workloads in your hybrid cloud environment.
Part of a Comprehensive Cloud Strategy
Your on-premises infrastructure is just one part of a comprehensive cloud strategy—one that also takes into account cloud management platforms and how to integrate with resources from cloud service providers.
Intel® products are designed with the big picture in mind. With industry-standard servers and technologies that run on Software Defined Infrastructure (SDI), Intel helps you seamlessly manage an environment of workloads on secure private clouds while also integrating with public clouds, many of which already run on Intel® architecture. All this helps you unlock the full capabilities of hybrid cloud computing.