OpSource Fortifies Cloud Play With Network, Security Hardware Bundles

OpSource is bulking up its cloud computing services with the addition of hardware-based security and networking for its servers, a move the company said will give cloud users and cloud providers more agility and protection.

Santa Clara-based OpSource on Monday launched bundles that add hardware-based security and networking to its Cloud Servers offering to deliver secure cloud computing to more businesses. The company said ISVs, cloud providers, carriers and enterprises can leverage the bundles for secure cloud computing environments.

"While cloud computing can deliver cost savings of 70 percent, many organizations have been reluctant to migrate mission-critical applications to the cloud due to security concerns. Now with OpSource, businesses migrating away from dedicated Web hosting environments to the cloud can reduce cost without compromising data security," OpSource said.

OpSource said that now its Cloud Servers, a virtual machine on a physical server, will come with a Cloud Network, a dedicated virtual local area network (VLAN) that can be customized with various security controls. OpSource uses Cisco Data Center Business Advantage solutions, including Cisco Catalyst 6500 Switches for the core, and Cisco MDS 9000 Series Multilayer Directors for storage access. The Cisco Catalyst 6500 Switches contain Cisco ACE Application Control Engine Modules and Cisco Firewall Services Modules to provide multiple layers of defense against security threats such as hacking, worms, zombies and denial of service attacks.

"Our objective in developing these new cloud service bundles was to make it easy for all businesses to implement network security in the same way they do in their own data centers," OpSource CEO Treb Ryan said. "With this move, we are able to provide much more value than our competitors by including powerful, Cisco-based security capabilities as part of the service and for no additional charge. We're providing these features at a price point that makes it accessible for everyone."

The cloud networking features can be configured and customized via a Web-based interface or a RESTful API and include dedicated VLANs to isolate and segment cloud server and network traffic; dedicated firewalls to filter traffic with Access Control Lists on network, network segment or server; network address translation; VPN and data encryption for client-to-site and site-to-site secure networking; and load balancing and multicast to support clustered Web, application and database servers.

Along with launching the new network and security cloud computing bundles, OpSource said the new capabilities will go-to-market in three tiered service plans, along with a pay-as-you-go option that offers pricing from 4 cents per CPU hour. The new tiers are the $79 per month Express Bundle which includes 1 CPU, 2 GB of RAM and 80 GB of storage; the professional bundle, which runs $149 per month and offers 2 CPU, 4 GB of RAM and 160 GB of storage; and the $549 monthly growth bundle, which delivers 8 CPU, 16 GB of RAM and 640 GB of storage.