Web Hosting Talk : Web Hosting Main Forums : Cloud Hosting : Cloud Software For Internal Enterprise Cloud

[KyleLC23]

Hello,

Based on out last forum post, it seems that the free versions of Citrisx XenServer and VMware vSphere Hypervisor based on VMware ESXi are fine for our internal use, but you aren't allowed to use either to sell VMs per their licensing. We are not interested in selling VMs, so it seems that both products will work fine for our needs.

I guess my question is which free solution is better? Which has the least limitations? Which has the easiest upgrade path? Which integrates with public paid clouds like Amazon where if our servers fail we could upload a backup to these online servers? Which supports jumping between hardware in real time?

[CloudWeb]

You're going to be missing some important Cloud features with the free licenses. I'd recommend talking to a provider like BirdHosting about getting hypervisor neutral Cloud software licenses so you can have a better solution and more flexibility. You also won't need to purchase any big expensive SANs either but still gain full true high availability and redundancy.

[RossH]

You are asking for ENTERPRISE cloud software for FREE? I think you need to go rethink your solution based upon your expectations. Work isn't free and plenty of companies have put a lot of work in their cloud software so that it fits their customer needs. There are plenty of great solutions out there but wanting something for nothing often leads to a dead end.

[MikeTrike]

You're going to want the Citrix XenServer Advanced licenses so you can get the High Availability feature. Which is something you'll generally want as a standard feature from any Enterprise Cloud. The licenses are per hypervisor, no matter how many sockets or how much RAM. About $850~ each from a reseller such as CDW or Insight ($1000 direct from Citrix).

Comparison Matrix
XenServer Licensing Model

I love XenServer and Hyper-V for that matter; I use both. (this next part is off-topic) Also I discovered (correct me if I'm wrong) that you need two Microsoft Server 08 R2 Datacenter Edition licenses even if you have a single socket server, they also offer a hypervisor agnostic Datacenter license so you can run Hyper-V, XenServer, VMware, etc. Can anybody confirm the two-license thing? I'll gladly call out my CDW "licensing specialist" if it's wrong. I have yet to call Insight or PC Mall though...

[crivera305]

Originally Posted by KyleLC23

Hello,

Based on out last forum post, it seems that the free versions of Citrisx XenServer and VMware vSphere Hypervisor based on VMware ESXi are fine for our internal use, but you aren't allowed to use either to sell VMs per their licensing. We are not interested in selling VMs, so it seems that both products will work fine for our needs.

I guess my question is which free solution is better? Which has the least limitations? Which has the easiest upgrade path? Which integrates with public paid clouds like Amazon where if our servers fail we could upload a backup to these online servers? Which supports jumping between hardware in real time?

The best free solution with enterprise level foundation would be PROXMOX.

Check it out its easy to use, easy to install, and works right out the box.



Once you download the ISO
Install it
Reboot the server
Access the ip address from a web browser to log in and manage your cloud.


They also built in the ability to download images from the web interface so you can get linux distros free at a click of a button such as:

• Fedora
• CentOS
• Debian

They even have pre packaged appliances as well.


So if you are looking for a free enterprise level software. Id strongly recommend PROXMOX. You get everything free except support. For free support you can goto their public forum where there developers actually provide free help. If you need instant help purchasing support will help.

[serverian]

There are lots of them.

Convirture
Proxmox
CloudStack
OpenStack
OpenNebula
Eucalyptus
OpenQRM

If this is for just managing a straight forward cloud infrastructure, Proxmox is the way to go.

[netfreak]

You might want to check on the XenServer licensing again. I did some research but I wasn't able to find anything particular in the agreement which would prevent reselling on the basic license. I know this is indeed the case with VMware, unless you become a partner.

Proxmox has a decent interface and would make a great solution if you're looking specifically for a free solution.