CloudBolt C2 works under the hood to ensure efficient services
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CloudBolt cloud manager helps IT administrators proactively detect problems in workflow process during virtual machine and cloud services provisioning.
Whether you’re using a private or public cloud, many different tools are operating in the background in order for an organization’s workers to rapidly access virtual machines and services.
CloudBolt Software has released a new version of its cloud manager that helps IT administrators ensure the entire process of requesting, deploying and terminating the use of virtual machines and cloud services runs properly. CloudBolt’s Command and Control (C2) speeds up the delivery of private and hybrid clouds by including configurable options for on-demand, self-service capabilities. At the same time, C2 lets IT managers identify, track and control IT resources and manage software licenses.
Command and Control Version 4.0 includes the Cloud Supply Chain Validator, which detects problems with the subsystems that C2 uses to provision resources to end users, Justin Nemmers, vice president of marketing, told GCN.
Typically, different IT teams manage their own areas of expertise — applications, infrastructure, networking and storage. C2 can unify these different areas in a self-service IT portal. However, each IT administrator is still operating in his own world. For example, if an administrator of VMWare vCenter — which manages virtualized environments — changes the console password, vCenter would continue to operate normally but users would no longer have access to services in that environment, Nemmers said. CloudBolt C2 now can proactively notify administrators of problems occurring in workflows across external systems.
Additionally, the provisioning and management of IT resources involves a mix of tools, including orchestration tools (known also as runbook automation), public and private cloud frameworks, and data center automation and configuration management tools. Each tool that C2 connects with is part of the Cloud Supply Chain Validator, so if a process in the workflow fails, C2 administrators are notified with precise details and directed to where they need to intervene, Nemmers said.
Other capabilities added to the latest version of C2 include:
Multiportal support: C2 can now be configured to accept connections from multiple URLs, each of which may display a different user interface appearance, including logos, colors and authentication target.
Service catalog: C2 now has a built-in service catalog that lets administrators pre-create services, assign group and environment permissions, and make services available to other C2 users.
Abstraction layer 2.0: The abstraction layer lets administrators rapidly develop new connectors. The latest capabilities include connection to external orchestrators such as HP Operations Orchestration and a new open programing interface to allow user-written connectors.
C2 version 4.0 also supports the Puppet Configuration Management tool as well as Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization Management.
CloudBolt C2 is the cloud manager used in the recently announced Dell Cloud for U.S. Government, which provides automated workflow, provisioning, rapid scalability and metered pricing for organizations to become their own cloud provider. The Dell cloud offers agencies a variety of options to create on-premise, dedicated private and hybrid clouds as well as secure, multitenant cloud environments, according to Dell officials.