Unleashing global connectivity with InterCloud Autonomi
Imagine this: Your company just acquired a business halfway across the world. Their infrastructure is on Azure, yours is on AWS, and now you're tasked with integrating everything—securely and efficiently, quickly. Oh, and you need to ensure that your applications maintain low latency for users on three continents. Sound like a nightmare? It doesn't have to be.
In today's hyper-connected world, scenarios like this are increasingly common. DevOps teams are routinely challenged with managing applications and infrastructure that span multiple cloud providers and global regions.
The real challenge? Ensuring seamless, high-performance connectivity across this complex landscape without getting bogged down in provider-specific configurations or geographical limitations.
The global cloud connectivity challenge
Traditional approaches to global cloud connectivity often leave DevOps teams grappling with:
1. Lack of consistency in provider-specific networking configurations
2. Limited geographical reach due to physical infrastructure constraints
3. Inconsistent performance across regions and cloud providers
4. Time-consuming setup and management of multicloud environments
These challenges can significantly hamper your ability to deploy and manage applications globally, turning your CI/CD pipelines into a series of hurdles and limiting your organization's agility.
InterCloud Autonomi: Your global connectivity powerhouse
InterCloud Autonomi addresses these limitations by offering a unified platform for managing global cloud connectivity at the Layer 2 level. Here's how:
1. Global reach through strategic presence
InterCloud Autonomi boasts 8 physical locations strategically positioned across the globe:
- Amsterdam
- Frankfurt
- Paris
- London
- Singapore
- Hong Kong
- Washington DC
- Silicon Valley
But InterCloud Autonomi's reach extends far beyond these physical locations, thanks to its virtual access nodes.
2. Virtual Access Nodes: Connectivity without borders
Virtual access nodes are InterCloud Autonomi's secret weapon for truly global reach. Here's what they offer:
- Global Connectivity: Connect from any location where Megaport or Equinix are present, as well as accessing InterCloud’s own private backbone.
- Expanded Network: Leverage the vast footprint of major underlay providers.
- One point of contact: Utilize multiple network providers through the InterCloud Autonomi platform.
- Rapid Deployment: Set up connections in new regions quickly.
- No Physical Constraints: Establish connections without waiting for physical infrastructure.
In practice, this means you can spin up a Layer 2 connection between your on-premises data center in Sydney and a cloud resource in London just as easily as connecting two resources within the same city.
Technical deep dive: Virtual access nodes
Virtual access nodes leverage the existing infrastructure of underlay providers like Megaport and Equinix. When you create a virtual access node in InterCloud Autonomi, it generates a unique service key. This key can be used in the underlay provider's portal to establish a connection with InterCloud Autonomi. This process abstracts away the complexities of different underlay providers, giving you a consistent experience regardless of the underlying infrastructure.
3. Simplified multicloud connectivity
- InterCloud Autonomi simplifies your multicloud connectivity strategy:
- Support for AWS, Azure, and GCP connectivity through a single interface
- Consistent Layer 2 configuration process across all cloud providers and regions
- Simplified setup of multi-region application infrastructure
Let's look at a real-world example:
Case study: Rapid post-acquisition integration for an expanding tech company
When a fast-growing tech company acquired a startup using a different cloud provider, they faced the daunting task of integrating two disparate cloud environments.
Using InterCloud Autonomi, they were able to:
- Set up cross-cloud Layer 2 connectivity in minutes, compared to an estimated hours using traditional methods, and longer still if equipment was required.
- Test different connectivity options (Megaport and Equinix) to find the optimal performance.
- Monitor bandwidth utilization in real-time to ensure smooth data transfer during the integration process.
The result? A significantly streamlined integration process that accelerated their ability to realize value from the acquisition.
4. DevOps in a globally connected world
For DevOps professionals, InterCloud Autonomi's global connectivity capabilities translate into tangible workflow improvements:
- Simplified management of global Layer 2 connectivity for CI/CD pipelines
- Consistent network configuration across all environments (dev, test, prod) regardless of geographical location
- Ability to quickly spin up temporary connections for short-term projects or events
As you might have already seen, recently we communicated about InterCloud Autonomi's Terraform provider integration. This feature allows you to manage your InterCloud Autonomi resources using infrastructure-as-code practices, further streamlining your global network management.
As we continue to enhance InterCloud Autonomi, you can expect rapid improvements designed to deliver greater automation across your processes and provide more insights into your network performance. We're excited to share more with you soon about how these developments will support your DevOps workflows and global connectivity needs. So, DevOps professionals, what are you waiting for? Dive into the InterCloud Autonomi platform today and discover what it can do for you.
5. Ensuring business continuity and performance
InterCloud Autonomi empowers you to optimize and maintain your global network:
- Real-time monitoring of network performance across all connections
- Quick identification and resolution of Layer 2 connectivity issues, regardless of geographical location
- Tools for implementing robust disaster recovery strategies across regions
Let's look at InterCloud Autonomi's monitoring capabilities:
Figure 1: InterCloud Autonomi's metrics panel provides real-time and historical bandwidth utilization data, allowing DevOps teams to monitor and optimize network performance effectively.
This dashboard provides at-a-glance insights into your network's performance, allowing you to proactively manage your global infrastructure. You can view:
- Real-time bandwidth utilization
- Historical bandwidth trends (up to 2 years)
- Operational status of all elements
While InterCloud Autonomi currently focuses on bandwidth metrics, future updates will include latency, packet loss, and BGP stability metrics to give you an even more comprehensive view of your network's health.
6. Security in a borderless network
In a globally connected environment, security is paramount. InterCloud Autonomi contributes to your security strategy by:
- Providing a secure, isolated Layer 2 network for your inter-cloud communications
- Integrating with your existing security policies and tools
- Offering detailed logs and monitoring to help you maintain compliance across regions
7. Future-proofing your global infrastructure
As your business grows and evolves, InterCloud Autonomi grows with you:
- Easily scale your network to new regions as needed
- Flexibility to adapt your cloud strategy without being locked into specific providers or regions
- Our roadmap is delivering rapid improvements designed to enhance your network performance and operational efficiency
As you seek to deliver greater automation across your processes and gain more insights into your network, InterCloud Autonomi will be there to support your journey.
Your passport to global cloud connectivity
In a world where business knows no borders, your cloud connectivity solution shouldn't either. InterCloud Autonomi empowers DevOps teams to think and operate globally, simplifying the complexity traditionally associated with multi-region, multicloud Layer 2 connectivity.
Ready to unleash the power of truly global cloud connectivity? Here are your next steps:
- Explore our documentation to understand how InterCloud Autonomi can fit into your existing infrastructure here
- Sign up for a 7-day trial to explore the InterCloud Autonomi platform with easy read-only access and fully evaluate its capabilities here
Experience InterCloud Autonomi today and take your DevOps practices to the next level.