The Cloud is Virtualization’s Next Frontier

Customers look to Cloud Computing for a broad spectrum of capabilities that will introduce a new generation of flexibility and cost benefits:

   Lower cost of service delivery

   Dynamic scalability for demanding applications

   New business models, including infrastructure as a service

Because of its strengths in collaborative, standards-based innovation, Open Source software holds great promise for moving the cloud forward. Building on the foundations of mature hypervisor technologies such as those in Xen* and KVM*, open Cloud Computing infrastructures will advance the ecosystem as a whole. For example, Eucalyptus and Tashi leverage the hypervisors to deliver cloud functionality using Open Source.

Cloud Software Stack

As customers consider moving workloads to public clouds, they need to trust that their applications and data are protected in an environment where they will share hardware with unknown third parties. That type of infrastructure is often known as a "trusted multi-tenant environment." As a key step toward that goal, Intel is working on the forthcoming Intel® Trusted Execution Technology for Servers (Intel® TXT for Servers).

Using Intel TXT for Servers, customers can verify that their hypervisor has not been tampered with. This technology provides an added measure of protection against rootkits and provides a signature that can verify that the expected versions of the hypervisor are in fact loaded onto the server. Ongoing work by Intel and the rest of the Open Source ecosystem will enable major software cloud components to take advantage of Intel TXT.

Read more about Open Source Cloud Computing in the Intel® Server Room blog:
 Open Cloud – Where it Makes Most Sense

The Ecosystem is Gravitating Toward the Intel® Xeon® Processor

The Intel processor 5500 series is extremely well suited to the massively distributed workloads associated with Cloud Computing. Along with the cost/performance balance achieved by mainstream two-socket servers, this processor platform achieves outstanding results using a unique combination of next-generation features and benefits:

   Intelligent performance. Cloud platforms work with the hardware platform to deliver higher throughput on demand
      with real-time adjustments to processor frequency and Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology.

   Automated energy efficiency. Solution stacks dynamically tune power consumption on a per-core basis to the
      lowest level available while still meeting performance requirements.

   Flexible virtualization. High consolidation ratios are joined by the ability to extend virtualization pools to include
      multiple generations of server platforms.

Intel shares its technical expertise to advance standards and make contributions to the Open Source Cloud Computing ecosystem that help customers get the most out of these capabilities. That enablement work will continue to make Intel® architecture the platform of choice for an increasing number of customers as they adopt Open Source Cloud Computing.

Dynamic Power Management at the Server, Rack, and Data Center Levels

Of particular note in decreasing operating costs, Intel adds to the native power efficiency of the Intel® Xeon® processor 5500 series with advanced dynamic power management. By allowing cloud operators to dynamically manage power at the server, rack, and data-center levels, the platform decreases power consumption, as well as lowering cooling requirements.

The flexibility, efficiency, and performance of the Intel Xeon processor 5500 series make it an excellent choice for Cloud Computing. Combined with the ongoing enablement efforts underway for this platform by Intel and the rest of the Open Source community, customer value continues to grow.

Read more about Intel, Open Source, and Cloud Computing in the Intel® Server Room Blog:
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