CSI PowerCloud Expansion

Following major infrastructure investment, CSI is implementing a further 126 of the latest-generation POWER9 cores with the latest expansion phase of the CSI PowerCloud. This significantly increases the CSI PowerCloud compute capacity for IBM i, AIX, Linux, and OpenShift workloads providing a scalable platform for clients looking to adopt a hybrid multi-cloud strategy.

The CSI PowerCloud is deployed in state-of-the-art data centres and can be coupled with a range of high availability and disaster recovery solutions to meet the most stringent recovery point and recovery time objectives (RPO/RTO).

CSI Powercloud diagram

The platform provides support for a range of operating system releases on the latest technology, including IBM i V7R1 through to V7R4, plus various releases of AIX and Linux. Where needed the CSI PowerCloud also enables migration testing of earlier operating system versions for clients with challenges around older applications.

Flexible consumption

The new CSI PowerCloud is about much more than providing significant levels of compute capacity. It allows a move to a flexible consumption model for clients with unpredictable workloads, allowing capacity to burst and shrink depending on workload profile coupled with metered usage. This gives clients the ability to pay for “what they use” rather than “what they might use”.

Based on “IBM Power Systems Private Cloud with Shared Utility Capacity”, formerly known as Power Enterprise Pools 2.0 (see our previous blog), the CSI PowerCloud also provides flexible options for short-term workloads such as temporary test environments and disaster recovery testing.

PEP2.0 diagram

For example, CSI is currently working with a number of ISV partners to provide short-term performance test and templated “Test-as-a-Service” (TaaS) environments to their clients as a packaged service. For clients wanting to test applications on an upgraded version of the operating system, then CSI can provide customers with LPARs on a short-term basis.

Extending the CSI service

The evolution of the CSI PowerCloud is supported and underpinned by our experienced and skilled IBM Power managed service team who transition and operate these environments on a daily basis. Using state-of-the-art monitoring tools, our team ensures that the environment is always available and operating at optimum levels.

Hybrid is the future

Organisations are increasingly looking for flexibility in their IT operations, and this often involves a hybrid architecture combining on-premise, private and public clouds. As the public IBM Cloud Power System Virtual Server offering evolves, we are perfectly positioned to integrate the CSI PowerCloud offering with IBM’s public cloud offering.

Hybrid Capacity Credits for Power

IBM has announced a plan to introduce hybrid capacity credits allowing pay per use compute resource that spans Power Private Cloud and Power Systems Virtual Server (IBM Cloud). When this feature becomes available later this year CSI will be able to allocate capacity credits to the CSI PowerCloud infrastructure or use them to fund IBM Cloud usage, depending on where the workloads sit.

How CSI can help you explore the possibilities

As an IBM Power Systems Cloud Architect at CSI, I have seen our cloud resources evolve through generations of IBM POWER and storage technology. I spend time consulting with CSI clients to help provide the right cloud or hybrid cloud transformation, as well as architecting and developing the CSI PowerCloud expansion.

If you’ve found this blog insightful please get in touch to find out more about the ways we can help you explore the possibilities of the CSI PowerCloud and IBM Power Systems.

About the author

Matt Short

Solution Architect

Matt joined CSI in 1995 and is highly regarded by clients for his IBM capabilities.

CSI PowerCloud expanded with new IBM POWER9 Cores