Use hardware devices available in software form

Problem

Deployment of infrastructure involves physical resources such as servers, storage and network supported by hardware infrastructure functions, including a multiplexer, load-balancer, storage controller, etc. Consumers of a cloud-based solution should have the ability to provision, manage and consume all of these functions in a software form to take advantage of the benefits of a cloud computing environment.

Solution

Implement software-based forms that provide these infrastructure-functions:

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Application

• Where hardware devices are prohibitive due to cost, rack space and scalability
• Where software devices provide alternatives for virtualization and scalability

Impacts

• May require dedicated resources
• Potential for version churn and custom or community support if open source

Anti-Patterns

• Deploy physical hardware devices to provide infrastructure functions
• Pre-provision enough hardware or manually scale functions as required

Related Patterns

• IaaS Pattern
• PaaS Pattern
• SaaS Pattern
• Community Cloud Pattern
• Public Cloud Pattern
• Private/Hybrid Cloud Pattern