Prioritizing Security Without Sacrificing Cloud Performance
Security is a critical priority for enterprises engaged in digital transformation. With large amounts of data flowing in and out of cloud servers and daily headlines reminding IT teams of the likelihood of a breach, the pressure to create an adequate security strategy can be formidable. When applied generously, security measures can also significantly hamper cloud performance.
Because a high level of cloud function is a baseline requirement for being able to compete in the digital marketplace, there’s a need for strategies that secure data without creating a bottleneck for cloud applications. There are two basic approaches for addressing security without compromising performance:
Scaling out: This technique refers to the strategy of improving performance by increasing the quantity of instances of a solution. Cloud users can simply expand the firewall automatically as traffic loads rise, with an equally simple means of retracting the instances and the firewall as demand decreases. Enterprises employ this technique to expand out to the cloud in cases where seasonality or a spike in demand requires them to quickly expand, and then return to normal capacity when the spike has passed.
The strategy of scaling out isn’t just about performance, because it is important to take into account the price of this performance as well. Before adding this element to your cloud structure, you’ll want to compare the performance of various solutions first.
Scaling up: In this method, you’ll improve cloud performance by increasing the capacity of existing virtual hardware. You’ll need to find out performance per core in order to determine the size of virtual machine (VM) you’ll need. If you find that it’s necessary to use a large, multi-core central processing unit VM, you’ll want to see how much throughput you’ll get for each core that you’re paying for.
It’s important to look carefully at the options you’re considering, because what looks similar on the surface may offer different cloud performance in practice. For instance, you may purchase a two-core system, only to find out that one of the cores is used solely for management by the vendor, leaving you with only half of your expected resources for processing data and traffic.
Another example in which expected cloud performance comes up short involves architectural design. If a vendor pins a single session to a single core, rather than allowing you to use multiple cores to distribute traffic, it causes a bottleneck.
When you’re selecting a cloud security solution, the most challenging aspect of your choice is ensuring you’re choosing between systems that are truly comparable. You need the solution to function across a variety of cloud environments, and you also should know the performance level of your systems with the security solution in place.
At One Connect, we assist you in choosing a security solution for your systems that won’t negatively impact cloud performance. To get started with an evaluation of your security requirements, contact us at One Connect.