Moving Windows to the Cloud Raphael Simon, Sr. Systems Architect

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Moving Windows to the Cloud

Raphael Simon, Sr. Systems Architect

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Windows in the Cloud without

Windows in the Cloud without RightScale

RightScale

• Windows images inconsistent

• Do not follow best practices

• Use root partition for everything

• Pre-install all required software

• Bake in license

• Custom configuration

• Long development iterations

• No consistent automation

• Trust relationships hard-coded

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Windows in the Cloud with

Windows in the Cloud with RightScale

RightScale

4

Moving Windows to the Cloud

• Windows images inconsistent

• Do not follow best practices

p

• Use root partition for everything

• Pre-install all required software

• Bake in license

• Custom configuration

• Long development iterations

g

p

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Windows

Windows RightImages

RightImages

• Consistent settings

• Across regions and clouds

g

• Firewall, file sharing, SQL Server install, ASP.NET install

• Follow best practices

• Bigger root partition

• Use volumes for database files

• Work in progress, keeps improving

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Work in progress, keeps improving

Windows

Windows MultiCloud

MultiCloud Images

Images

Combination of:

• 2003 / 2008

• 32 bit / 64 bit

• Bare / IIS / SQL Server Std

• RightLink installer for

installing RightLink on

pre-existing Windows

images

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Moving Windows to the Cloud

• Windows images inconsistent

• Do not follow best practices

p

• Use root partition for everything

• Pre-install all required software

• Bake in license

• Custom configuration

• Long development iterations

8

g

p

• No consistent automation

• Trust relationships hard-coded

• Ad-hoc orchestration

ServerTemplates

ServerTemplates: Built

: Built--to

to--Order Servers

Order Servers

Application

Modular – Portable – Reproducible

Storage volumes Networking SQL Server/ASP.NET… App Libraries

Cloud Portability

• Standard configuration Application

Applications

• Cloud independent

RightImages &

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RightScale ServerTemplates vs. Images

• Big & opaque

• Modular & flexible

Virtual Machine Images

RightScale ServerTemplates

• Complex to reproduce

• Static

• Not cloud-portable



Slow workflow



N t l

d

il

• Reproducible & maintainable

• Dynamic & agile

• Multi-cloud enabled



Dev-like workflow



D

i

fi

ti

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

Not cloud-agile



Dynamic configuration

ServerTemplates

ServerTemplates: A Closer Look

: A Closer Look

• Starts with a multicloud image

• Defines base software

• Adds:

• Boot, operational and decommission RightScripts and/or recipes for configuration

• Alerts definitions for automation

• ServerTemplates are

versioned

• Reproduce exact configuration

• ServerTemplates can be

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Monitoring and Alerts

• Monitoring recipe for CPU,

memory and disk space

• Create monitoring scripts to

monitor custom data

• Written in a ruby DSL

• Can leverage WMI

• Completely dynamic: Add/remove monitoring scripts at any time

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• Use monitored data to create Alerts

• Can use elaborate rules to define alerting conditions

• Alert escalations can send emails, reboot server, relaunch

server, run a RightScript or recipe, vote array grow and vote array shrink

Hands

Hands--On

On

Creating a Domain Controller

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Moving Windows to the Cloud

• Windows images inconsistent

• Do not follow best practices

p

• Use root partition for everything

• Pre-install all required software

• Bake in license

• Custom configuration

• Long development iterations

14

g

p

• No consistent automation

• Trust relationships hard-coded

• Ad-hoc orchestration

What is

What is RightLink

RightLink?

?

• Functions

• Receive commands from RS

RightScale Tag

store

• Query RightScale (instance API)

• Locate related servers

• Open-source Agent

• Extensible • Transparent

S

server1 RL server2 RL serverA RL serverB RL Production Development

• Secure

• Signed & encrypted AMQP transport

• Deployment scope

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Leveraging

Leveraging RightLink

RightLink

• RightLink provides the following Chef resources

• Log: appends to local log and audits (audits are visible in the dashboard) RightLink tag: Add or remove tags from instance

• RightLink tag: Add or remove tags from instance

• Remote recipe: Run recipes on remote instances (route by tag)

• Server collection: Query instances by tags

• RightLink-enabled images also include the following utilities

• rs_tag.cmd: Add or remove tags from instance

• rs run right script.cmd: Run RightScript on local instance. Starting with

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_ _ g _ p g p g

5.6 also run RightScripts on remote instances

• rs_run_recipe.cmd: Run recipes on local instance. Starting with 5.6 also run recipes on remote instances

• rs_server_collection.cmd: Starting with 5.6 query instances by tags

Hands

Hands--on

on

Automatic User Creation

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Where Are We?

• Underlying infrastructure in place

• RightImage 5.5 GA

• Time to build-up the stack

• Expect more production ready ServerTemplates in the near future

• What do you need?

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Windows Best Practices

• License keys registration

• Install software on boot: License key is an input that is used to generate the answer file

the answer file

• Bake software into image: Write Powershell script which registers key on boot