AO Cloud has created a new network architecture for cloud platform services with "Convergent Cloud" solutions based on Brocade(NASDAQ:BRCD) VCS Fabric technology. With its low-latency, high-availability onshore hosting environment, AO Cloud meets data sovereignty needs in keeping corporate data within New Zealand borders. Delivered by local Brocade partner, Connector Systems, the new infrastructure will enable AO Cloud to pioneer the country's first active-active cloud data center based on Brocade solutions.
In its data centers, AO Cloud has deployed 10 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) Brocade VDX 6740 Switches, featuring VCS Fabric technology, to create single-layer 10 GbE fabrics. The fabrics are automatically aware of all devices (servers, switches, appliances) within their domain, and AO Cloud can add and remove switches from any VCS fabric without manual configuration.
"AO Cloud is differentiating its cloud services offering with a new network architecture we have branded 'convergent cloud'. Our plans always encompass fast compute and storage facilities that could talk to multiple production data centers, capable of isolating customer traffic in VLANs and producing an extremely secure environment," said Jeff Herbert, Director, AO Cloud Ltd.
"The automated fabric environment that AO Cloud has constructed provides a key technical benefit of allowing it to manage customer services, rather than focussing on managing infrastructure. Not very long ago, the concept of virtual machine mobility between data centers was just a theory, but AO Cloud is now leveraging it to offer a range of services with a strong value add." said Gary Denman, Senior Director for Australia and New Zealand, Brocade.
The overall Brocade solution has removed the need to manually reconfigure network infrastructure, simplifying network configuration and management, as well as streamlining the ongoing operations for AO Cloud. The company can now focus on deploying and managing cloud services for its clients with a hypervisor-agnostic network and a selection of VM technologies, which is a strategic benefit in meeting individual client cloud services requirements.
