Virtual Private Cloud OnDemand User's Guide

Hybrid Cloud Characteristics
Not all companies that use some public and some private cloud services have a hybrid cloud. A hybrid
cloud environment is not an environment where a few developers in a company use a public cloud service
to prototype a new application that is completely disconnected from their private cloud or on-premises data
center.
A hybrid cloud is an environment where the private and public cloud services are used together to create
value. Hybrid cloud computing began as a way to take advantage of the ability to move workloads between
private and public clouds. At different times of the month or year, certain workload requirements might
need extra capacity. In many cases, it was the idea that customers owned the applications and rented the
capacity spikes.
Customers built virtual private clouds for numerous reasons; for example, to handle dynamic scaling
requirements, to run workloads at lower costs, or to run workloads for limited time periods. The resources
ran in the public cloud but linked back to resources in their private clouds through VPN or other private
connections. Their workloads ran where it made the most sense but required visibility back to resources in
their private clouds, for example, to allow for authentication of users or archive data at set intervals into
secure storage.
Figure 1‑2. Hybrid Cloud Interconnection Between Private and Public Clouds
rent
own
VPN
Public cloudPrivate cloud
Hybridity
Over time, the characteristics of hybrid clouds have evolved. Today, hybrid cloud computing exists as a
private cloud and multi-public clouds. A customer leverages resources whether they are public and public,
multi-public, private and public, or any combination, and has a single way to orchestrate and provide
services to their business based on a multitude of criteria (cost, location, performance, or availability).
For example, a customer might need to keep legacy applications private but look to moving new
applications public to take advantage of geography, time zone, or for legal reasons. For example, in
Figure 1-3, public cloud “Public - West” might be in a required geographical location.
Figure 1‑3. Multiple Public Clouds with Single Point of View
Public cloud
Private cloud
Public - US
Public - West
Customers approach their hybrid cloud strategy by looking at all resources across all clouds. They want a
dashboard way of managing cloud resources whether they are private or public. In this environment,
customers do not think in terms of moving resources between public and private clouds, but rather as
operating them in environments that best solve their business needs to give them business advantages.
vCloud Air - Virtual Private Cloud OnDemand User's Guide
8 VMware, Inc.