Cloud Computing : What is a Virtual Private Cloud?

What is a Virtual Private Cloud?

Author: OnlineTech

For many enterprises, the private cloud is the first choice when it comes to cloud computing. Private cloud computing offers a hardware and network environment that is dedicated solely to the enterprise.  Whether delivered through a hosted private cloud or internal private cloud, there is an assurance that the hardware, data storage and network security are dedicated to a single organization and not shared with other users.  When it comes to highly sensitive corporate data, personal customer lists, PCI or HIPAA certified environments, the private cloud is preferred.

 

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At the same time, businesses are recognizing the benefit of the public cloud for some of their applications.  Many small and mid-size businesses need the quality of an enterprise private cloud in terms of high availability, redundancy and security with the affordability of a shared cloud.  Enterprises need the ability to move non-critical, non-sensitive computing and development work out of their private cloud into a shared cloud but need to achieve a similar level of availability and security.

There are a number of public cloud options available.  Some like Amazon's EC2 are basic cloud servers designed to provide computing services for non-critical applications like web or development servers.  Others are designed to deliver the high availability and security that enterprises require in their private clouds.  The later, we call a Virtual Private Cloud.
Wikipedia defines a Virtual Private Cloud as 'a private cloud existing in a shared or public cloud'.

To expand on that, we consider a Virtual Private Cloud as one or more cloud servers in a shared environment that deliver the same level of data protection and network security as a dedicated private cloud.  The virtual private cloud can sit on same VLAN with a dedicated private cloud and managed servers to provide a completely integrated system.

In addition, by connecting a virtual private cloud into a hosted private cloud on a dedicated VLAN behind a dedicated firewall, the virtual private cloud provides a tremendous level of flexibility and expandability beyond the private cloud's dedicated hardware, without compromising the data integrity or network security of the private cloud.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/information-technology-articles/what-is-a-virtual-private-cloud-4252996.html

About the Author

Online Tech (www.OnlineTech.com) owns and manages premier Michigan data centers. Offering managed dedicated servers, private cloud hosting, IT disaster recovery, and Michigan colocation, Online Tech helps their clients dramatically reduce IT data center costs, operational risks and downtime. Industry leaders trust Online Tech's HIPAA Compliant, SAS 70 certified data centers to ensure their servers are always on, always online, and always safe.