Utility computing

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Under Utility computing refers to techniques and business models that allow a service provider to its customers IT services provides and it settles on consumption. Examples of such services are computing power , storage capacity and applications . A company's data center can also be used as a service provider ; in this case its divisions would be the customers.

term

The term utility refers to utilities such as electricity, water and gas, which are provided by a utility company. Similar to the electricity or telephone network, with utility computing the customer receives the computing power via a shared computing network; his consumption is measured and billed.

properties

Most utility computing definitions focus on the following five characteristics.

Scalability
In utility computing it must be ensured that sufficient IT resources are available under all conditions. If the demand for a service increases, its quality (e.g. response time) must not suffer.
Usage-dependent price
Up until now, companies had to buy hardware and software when they needed computing power. This IT infrastructure usually has to be paid for in advance, the intensity of later use is irrelevant. In the case of utility computing, on the other hand, the costs depend on the use of IT services. For this purpose, the provider makes z. B. The leasing rate for a server depends on how many CPUs the customer has activated. If it can be measured in a company how much computing power the individual departments use, the IT expenses can be allocated to the individual departments in internal cost accounting. Other forms of linking IT costs with usage are conceivable.
Standardized services
The provider offers a catalog of standardized services. These can be linked to different service level agreements (agreement on the quality and price of an IT service). The customer no longer has any influence on the underlying technology, such as the server platform.
Virtualization
Virtualization techniques are used so that IT resources can be used jointly . These divide the network into logical instead of material resources. No specific server or memory is assigned to an application, but any server or memory from the pool that is free at runtime.
Automation
Repetitive administration tasks, such as setting up a new server or installing updates, are automated. In addition, the allocation of resources to services and the administration of IT services are automatically optimized. Service level agreements and the operating costs of IT resources must be taken into account.

Types

Utility computing can be divided into two types, internal utility and external utility .

Internal utility means that the computer network is only used jointly within a company. If several companies use the computer pool of one provider, this is called an external utility . Mixed forms are conceivable.

advantages

Utility computing lowers IT costs as resources can be used more effectively. In addition, the costs become more transparent and can be assigned directly to the departments of a company. Fewer employees are required in the IT department.

Companies achieve greater flexibility because they can adapt their IT resources more quickly and easily to fluctuating needs. Overall, it becomes easier to manage the IT structure because a special IT infrastructure is no longer provided for each application.

development

In 2005 utility computing was still in its infancy. The providers are in the process of developing the necessary technology. In addition, there is a lack of standards for resource interfaces and metrics that measure the consumption of IT resources.

See the current offers z. B. in such a way that the customer gets a server delivered, on which he can activate other already installed CPUs if necessary, and he only pays for the activated CPUs.

With other offers, you can subscribe to CPU hours in a computer grid that is accessed via the Internet.

There is still no real consumption billing and scalability of the services as with classic utilities.

Similar or related terms

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