Private cloud environment and its utilization in a real-world scenario

Abstract

The goal of my thesis, which was a continuation and expansion from my previous project, was to implement a private cloud system based on the Microsoft System Center tools. At the base, there was a virtualization infrastructure with three main components: computing hosts, storage providers and a flexible, reconfigurable network fabric controlled by Virtual Machine Manager. The environment had a web interface provided by Microsoft Azure Pack, based on the old portal of Microsoft Azure. This interface would simplify the view on the system and the process of provisioning virtual machines as well as other resources for students; at the same time, it would help system administrators and teachers manage student usage more efficiently through plans and subscriptions, compared to providing a multi-tenant environment directly on Virtual Machine Manager.

Another goal of this thesis was to enable cooperation with other degree programs and provide a platform for software development. The environment was equipped with on-demand virtual machine provision, website hosting that supports multiple modern web technologies as well as source control methods and custom SQL/MySQL databases. With this, any student in our school can start developing his/her own application anywhere on campus without wasting time setting up a necessary environment from scratch. Finally, because this environment would be a duplicate of the public Microsoft Azure service, I wanted to observe the usage of private cloud in campus activities and to make a comparison of the pros and cons between public and private services.