Continuing our dive into NetApp Cloud terminology, here’s another four buzzwords you need to know:
What is Data Migration?
At the most basic level, ‘data migration’ describes the process of moving your information stores from one location to another. In terms of the cloud, this could mean the migration is between your on-premises data centre and a cloud platform. It may also be used to describe the process of moving data between different cloud platforms, such as AWS to Azure or similar.
All of the major cloud vendors provide tools to assist with data migration, but you may need to re-skill your engineers to use them. NetApp also provides tools to assist with cloud data migration – particularly Cloud Volumes ONTAP – which may be more useful for businesses already invested in ONTAP data fabric.
What are Cloud Volumes?
Part of the NetApp ONTAP suite, Cloud Volumes allows you to have the same operating system running in the cloud and on-premises, extending your storage fabric and simplifying the process of managing your data. Cloud Volumes ONTAP is a software-only solution delivering enhanced control, protection, and efficiency to data with the flexibility of the public cloud.
For any business already invested in NetApp, this tool will be familiar, helping to reduce the learning curve and allowing your team to be more productive, and faster. Cloud Volumes are also invaluable for helping migrate ONTAP workloads to the cloud.
What is Public Cloud Storage?
‘Public cloud’ describes hosted services running on shared infrastructure, the default offering from most vendors including Oracle OCI, AWS, Google and Microsoft Azure. ‘Public cloud storage’ is any kind of data storage hosted by one of these multi-tenant services.
It is important to note that although data is stored on shared infrastructure, the architecture has been secured to prevent access by other tenants. The cloud platform sits on a layer above the physical hardware which exists as a shared pool of resources, ready to be used on demand.
What is The Private Cloud?
The private cloud defines fully segregated storage and services running in the cloud. Offering the same scalability and reliability, the private cloud runs on dedicated hardware – there is no multi-tenancy or sharing. A private cloud is typically used for highly-sensitive or resource-intensive mission-critical workloads that must not be affected by other tenants. A well-known example of a private cloud is Oracle’s Cloud@Customer offering.
The use of dedicated hardware tends to make private cloud deployments more expensive than public cloud equivalents. However, the enhanced security, availability and reliability offset these costs.
To learn more about and NetApp’s cloud offerings and how these tools and services can benefit your business (or for help understanding their next-generation terminology) – give the WTL team a call. We’re always happy to help!