# Cloud is the How not the What **URL:** \ **Category:** F5 Technical Articles\ **Tags:** design, availability, virtualization, data-center, management, dynamic-infrastructure, infrastructure, infrastructure-2.0, cloud, us\ **Created:** [March 9, 2011, 10:51am UTC](https://community.f5.com/t/cloud-is-the-how-not-the-what/66271 "2011-03-09T10:51:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lori\_MacVittie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7feea3/32.png) [@Lori\_MacVittie](https://community.f5.com/u/Lori_MacVittie)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2011, 10:51am UTC](https://community.f5.com/t/cloud-is-the-how-not-the-what/66271/1 "2011-03-09T10:51:19Z")
_The “what” is a dynamic data center infrastructure. Cloud is “how” to get there._ [![image_281687.gif](https://d20hrnpixdzcsd.cloudfront.net/original/2X/2/2da94a72f0cc4d3c33d71f788589b312835433d6.gif)](http://www.cloudconnectevent.com/) Admist the chatter and sound bites on [Twitter](http://search.twitter.com/search.atom?q=%23ccevent) coming from [Cloud Connect](http://www.cloudconnectevent.com/) this week are some interesting side conversations revolving around architecture and how cloud may or may not change the premises upon which those architectures are based. Architecture is, in the technology demesne, the “fundamental underlying design of computer hardware, software, or both.” A data center architecture is the design of a data center, the underlying fundamental way in which compute, network and storage resources are provisioned and ultimately delivered to support the goal of delivering applications. Of supporting the business. But note that “cloud” is not the goal, it’s not what we’re hoping to achieve, it’s _how_ we’re hoping to achieve. ### CLOUD is ABOUT HOW we MANAGE RESOURCES Naysayers of private/enterprise cloud, who firmly stand in the “it’s merely a transitory architecture”, believe that the economy of scale and thus the efficiency and cost savings associated with cloud can only be realized by the complete adoption of a public cloud deployment model. From the perspective of [raw costs of resources](http://devcentral.f5.com/s/weblogs/macvittie/archive/2010/12/06/itrsquos-called-cloud-computing-not-cheap-computing.aspx) – whether [![image_281687.jpg](https://d20hrnpixdzcsd.cloudfront.net/original/3X/d/a/da36a7c1eaa72c869ea2258bf6217632ec083d35.jpeg)](http://devcentral.f5.com/s/weblogs/images/devcentral_f5_com/weblogs/macvittie/WindowsLiveWriter/CloudistheHowofanArchitectureNottheWhat_2D74/cloud-maturity-model_2.png) compute, network or storage – that view may be right. But this view, too, supports the underlying premise that public cloud is _how_ you achieve economy of scale. The goal is not cloud, it’s efficiency. The same is true of a private/enterprise cloud – the goal is efficiency through aggregation and automation and ultimately liberation of the data center. The goal is a dynamic infrastructure designed to combat the rising costs and increasing gap between IT’s budget and its need to manage core data center resources. Cloud is the means by which resources can be dynamically leveraged and scaled. It is part of a larger architecture – a data center design, one which has a goal of delivering applications, not clouds. The _what_ is a data center architecture that is efficient, manageable, and less complex than its traditional predecessors. The _what_ is processes that make it possible to achieve an economy of scale not just in growth of physical resources, but in virtual resources and human capital as well. The _what_ is a dynamic infrastructure. How may be in part or in full a [cloud computing](http://www.f5.com/solutions/cloud-computing) framework that integrates private and public cloud computing _resources_ as well as traditional (legacy) frameworks. Cloud is about how resources are provisioned and managed, about how those resources are used to deliver the applications and services necessary to support IT as a Service. It’s not _what_ we’re trying to do, it’s _how_ we’re trying to do it. > [![image_281707.gif](https://d20hrnpixdzcsd.cloudfront.net/original/1X/ca67350daf56f6e3757c6442d9f557ed4feeab19.gif)](http://devcentral.f5.com/s/weblogs/images/devcentral_f5_com/weblogs/macvittie/125/o_quote-badge.gif) > Respondents were asked to rate their motivations to use cloud providers on a scale of one to five and the results ranked as follows: Elasticity 4.0; deployment speed 3.75; lower costs, 3.5;  and a wide array of services offered by cloud providers, 3.25. > > --  [Survey Shows Businesses Interested, But Still Conflicted, About The Cloud](http://www.networkcomputing.com/virtualization/survey-shows-businesses-interested-but-still-conflicted-about-the-cloud.php), Network Computing Magazine (March 2011) Notice the “motivations” – not one is “build a cloud.” Organizations are looking at cloud as a means to achieve operational goals – elasticity, rapid provisioning, and lower costs. Organizations aren’t trying to build a cloud for cloud’s sake; they’re trying to build an underlying framework and architect a data center that can adapt and support the increasing dynamism inherent in applications, in users, in clients, in business requirements. The entire ecosystem of the data center is changing, becoming more volatile day by day, pushed into supporting new and often unvetted technology due to consumerism of technology and a need to reduce costs across the entire data center – up and down the stack and across every business application. Cloud is _how_ we can address the challenges that naturally occur from such rapid changes, but it’s not _what_ we’re trying to do. We’ll debate private cloud and dig into some obstacles (and solutions) enterprises are experiencing in moving forward with private cloud computing in the [Private Cloud Track](http://www.cloudconnectevent.com/cloud-computing-conference/private-clouds.php) at [CloudConnect 2011](http://cloudconnectevent.com). That’s today (March 9) – don’t miss it! - [![image_281177.gif](https://d20hrnpixdzcsd.cloudfront.net/original/1X/5e1125de47345ef6610f2c2f7c5689fc0b4590a0.gif) Hybrid Cloud: Fact, Fiction or Future?](http://blog.cloudconnectevent.com/2011/02/15/hybrid-cloud-fact-fiction-or-future/) - [![image_281177.gif](https://d20hrnpixdzcsd.cloudfront.net/original/1X/5e1125de47345ef6610f2c2f7c5689fc0b4590a0.gif)](http://blog.cloudconnectevent.com/2011/02/15/hybrid-cloud-fact-fiction-or-future/) [Data Center Feng Shui: Process Equally Important as Preparation](http://devcentral.f5.com/s/weblogs/macvittie/archive/2011/01/19/subway-cloud-computing-and-application-delivery.aspx) - [![image_281177.gif](https://d20hrnpixdzcsd.cloudfront.net/original/1X/5e1125de47345ef6610f2c2f7c5689fc0b4590a0.gif)](http://blog.cloudconnectevent.com/2011/02/15/hybrid-cloud-fact-fiction-or-future/) [The Gluten-free Application Network](http://devcentral.f5.com/s/weblogs/macvittie/archive/2009/06/05/the-gluten-free-application-network.aspx) - [![image_281177.gif](https://d20hrnpixdzcsd.cloudfront.net/original/1X/5e1125de47345ef6610f2c2f7c5689fc0b4590a0.gif)](http://blog.cloudconnectevent.com/2011/02/15/hybrid-cloud-fact-fiction-or-future/) [Knowing is Half the Battle](http://devcentral.f5.com/s/weblogs/macvittie/archive/2010/02/22/knowing-is-half-the-battle.aspx) - [![image_281177.gif](https://d20hrnpixdzcsd.cloudfront.net/original/1X/5e1125de47345ef6610f2c2f7c5689fc0b4590a0.gif)](http://blog.cloudconnectevent.com/2011/02/15/hybrid-cloud-fact-fiction-or-future/) [Putting the Cloud Before the Horse](http://devcentral.f5.com/s/weblogs/macvittie/archive/2009/08/14/putting-the-cloud-before-the-horse.aspx) - [![image_281177.gif](https://d20hrnpixdzcsd.cloudfront.net/original/1X/5e1125de47345ef6610f2c2f7c5689fc0b4590a0.gif)](http://blog.cloudconnectevent.com/2011/02/15/hybrid-cloud-fact-fiction-or-future/) [If You Focus on Products You’ll Miss the Cloud](http://devcentral.f5.com/s/weblogs/macvittie/archive/2009/08/25/if-you-focus-on-products-yoursquoll-miss-the-cloud.aspx) - [![image_281177.gif](https://d20hrnpixdzcsd.cloudfront.net/original/1X/5e1125de47345ef6610f2c2f7c5689fc0b4590a0.gif)](http://blog.cloudconnectevent.com/2011/02/15/hybrid-cloud-fact-fiction-or-future/) [The Zero-Product Property of IT](http://devcentral.f5.com/s/weblogs/macvittie/archive/2011/01/12/the-zero-product-property-of-it.aspx) - [![image_281177.gif](https://d20hrnpixdzcsd.cloudfront.net/original/1X/5e1125de47345ef6610f2c2f7c5689fc0b4590a0.gif)](http://blog.cloudconnectevent.com/2011/02/15/hybrid-cloud-fact-fiction-or-future/) [What is a Strategic Point of Control Anyway?](http://devcentral.f5.com/s/weblogs/macvittie/archive/2010/06/17/what-is-a-strategic-point-of-control-anyway.aspx) - [![image_290651.png](https://d20hrnpixdzcsd.cloudfront.net/original/1X/9e7aefedd159048d5e0d6a657fb8cba1e8debabf.png) Why You Need a Cloud to Call your Own | F5 White Paper](http://www.f5.com/pdf/white-papers/ibm-cloud-computing-wp.pdf) - [![image_290651.png](https://d20hrnpixdzcsd.cloudfront.net/original/2X/4/4ed2e92e1c5ff4acb4c65941ce1d51ece5c61389.png) The New Network](http://www.slideshare.net/f5dotcom/the-new-network)