DoD Explores Vendors to Operating Inside Gov’t Private Cloud
The U.S. Federal Government is undoubtedly one of the most ardent supporters of cloud computing. In fact, the Department of Defense has recently noted that they have begun exploring options which will allow them to host government versions of popular cloud services from within the Department of Defense data centers. The plan is being described as DCLM which is an acronym for Data Center Leasing Model. Under the model, cloud vendors could directly rent out rack space within a DoD facility and in order for the application to be available to DoD employees.
The DoD is also exploring a second method in which services can be delivered and it refers to the bringing in of modular data centers that are already pre-built structures with all of the necessary cooling, power and network apparatuses attached. These modular data centers would literally sit outside of the main facility in which DoD server hardware is hosted. These prefabricated data centers could be easily delivered by a semi truck and trailer while being attached to DoD resources quick and easily after the modular data center is delivered. This method of delivery is being dubbed as OCPM which is short for On-Premise Container Model.
Of course each service will need to go through an exhaustive review to ensure the integrity of the hardware and software being delivered to the DoD workforce. The Defense Information Systems Agency mentioned it is “Exploring several possible ways to integrate commercial cloud services with DoD networks. These models are being considered as possible alternatives in providing cloud ecosystems and services to the DoD community.”
The DoD is still weighing the possible pros and cons of each delivery method. The Defense Information Services Agency mentioned that these expansions of cloud services could require a minimum of 10,000 virtual machines and up to 200,000 virtual machines on large scale deployments.
