Apache CloudStack vs. (EOL) Cisco CloudCenter

Whether our clients are VPS hosting providers or operate private cloud infrastructure for their internal enterprise requirements, CloudStack provides solutions in an easy to implement and operate way that is simple to provide training for. The learning curve for our customesr adopting CloudStack for the management of their cloud infrastructure is shallow, enabling our clients to come up to speed quickly without having to outsource their administrative functions any longer than necessary

It is well suited for large corporate entities, whether they are in manufacturing, sales, engineering, healthcare, supply or shipping. It is easy to understand and operate once it has been initially configured. Expansion of the system is likewise easy to do once expertise has been acquired. The only difficulty with this or any cloud scenario is ensuring where the data is located and managing that securely.

Incentivized

• Low-cost solution
• Open-source
• Engaged community
• Solid documentation
• Is a very reliable tool for orchestration with good usability

Incentivized

• We are able to automate deployment which has been a strength to the geographical distribution of the enterprise.
• We have been able to work with a wider variety of developer tools and haven't had to customize to fit CloudCenter.
• It is easier for us to allocate space and allow users to take advantage of the system directly with a minimum of overhead.

Incentivized

• Sometimes you can find undocumented bugs that can compromise the entire infrastructure.
• [If] you don't have an official support channel, you have try to find out the source of the problem by yourself.
• Volume size limitation. Other players allow you to create volumes up to 64TB while ACS allows only 2TB volumes

• The software and systems don't present a problem to us but the continued interaction with mid-level support teams and vendors can slow down implementation or correction of difficulties we experience.
• The continued overhead associated with peripheral training on systems we have purchased can cause delays.
• Language barriers sometimes show up but this, again, is due to remote middle agents that are themselves contractors of or sales agents of the main agency. It slows down communication and can introduce business difficulties.

Incentivized

The University, my first large implementation, had a big issue with 149 small data centers spread on São Paulo State, this data centers costs to university were very high, the consolidation idea in two data centers were awesome, but were worried with the management, so we adopted ACS to management of all 576 physical hosts. Now a days the university is delivering IaaS for all staff, students, teachers and researchers, they are using these resources to delivery services to their clients and have a great results in research area

We found that the cost advantages were greater by going with Cisco because of our present contracts and the materials and equipment we already had on hand. The reliability of the system, for us, outweighed any cost advantages we might have been realized by going with another provider. Certainly the service and support for the entire system is much better when handled by a single vendor with a good track record.

Incentivized

• Low-cost solution (free and open-source)
• More than 2000 users using it simultaneously
• Stable and reliable
• Up and running since 2012

Incentivized

• We have had a positive return on investment by adopting Cisco CloudCenter as the system is more mature than competitors. We have saved a lot by working with them rather than continuing to act as a defacto test location for other systems.
• We have been able to reduce the number of staff necessary to operate the system and turn them over to more profitable work.
• One negative impact we have seen is that it is difficult to map where the data is located at any specific instance.

Incentivized