Use Cases for OpenMetal’s Large Hosted Private Cloud Hardware

Trying to figure out the best cloud hardware to match your needs? We’re here to help with our use case series! OpenMetal’s Large Hosted Private Cloud Hardware offers a versatile and scalable variety of hardware tiers for businesses wanting the control and performance of a private cloud without the big upfront investment and overhead of on-premises infrastructure.

These configurations, all featuring high-core-count CPUs, generous RAM, and NVMe SSD storage, on three hyperconverged servers running OpenStack + Ceph (referred to as the OpenMetal Private Cloud Core), support diverse workloads requiring dedicated resources and high performance.

Per Server Specs:

Large v1

• Two Intel Xeon Silver 4210R CPUs – 10 cores/20 threads, 2.4GHz base and 3.2GHz turbo
• 512GB DDR4 2933MHz RAM
• 3.2TB Intel DC-P4610 NVMe SSD for storage with a 256GB boot disk
• 20Gbps private bandwidth and 1Gbps public bandwidth included

Price: $2,548.80/month with no agreement or as low as $1,682.21/month with a 5 year agreement.

Large v2

• Two Intel Xeon Silver 4314 CPUs – 16 cores/32 threads, 2.4GHz base and 3.4GHz turbo
• 512GB DDR4 2933MHz RAM
• Two 3.2TB Intel DC-P4610 NVMe SSDs for storage with a 480GB boot disk
• 20Gbps private bandwidth and 1Gbps public bandwidth included

Price: $2,980.80/month with no agreement or as low as $1,967.33/month with a 5 year agreement.

Large v2.1

• Two Intel Xeon Silver 4314 CPUs – 16 cores/32 threads, 2.4Ghz base and 3.4Ghz turbo
• 512GB DDR4 2933MHz RAM
• Two 6.4TB Micron 7450 MAX NVME SSDs for storage with a 960GB boot disk
• 20Gbps private bandwidth and 1Gbps public bandwidth included

Price: $3,736.80/month with no agreement or as low as $2,466.29/month with a 5 year agreement.

Large v3

• Two Intel Xeon Silver 5416S CPUs – 16 cores/32 threads, 2.0GHz base and 4.0GHz turbo
• 512GB DDR5 4400MHz RAM
• Two 6.4TB Micron 7450 MAX NVME SSDs for storage with a 960GB boot disk
• 20Gbps private bandwidth and 1Gbps public bandwidth included

Price: $4,082.40/month with no agreement or as low as $2,694.38/month with a 5 year agreement.

Large v4

• Two Intel Xeon Gold 6526Y CPUs – 16 cores/32 threads, 2.8 GHz base and 3.9GHz turbo
• 512GB DDR5 5200MHz RAM,
• Two 6.4TB Micron 7450 MAX NVME SSDs for storage with two 480GB boot disks
• 20Gbps private bandwidth and 1Gbps public bandwidth included

Price: $4,082.40/month with no agreement or as low as $2,694.38/month with a 5 year agreement.

***Note that all prices are subject to change at any time. Prices shown above were gathered on December 6, 2024.

Key Advantages of OpenMetal’s Large Hosted Private Cloud Hardware

• Hyperconverged Infrastructure: Benefit from the efficiency and resilience of hyperconvergence with three servers running OpenStack and Ceph, providing integrated compute, storage, and networking resources.
• High-Core Count Processors: Features dual Intel Xeon processors with high core counts (ranging from 10 cores in Large v1 to 16 cores in v2, v2.1, v3, and v4) to handle demanding workloads that need a lot of processing power.
• Generous Memory Capacity: Equipped with 512GB of DDR4 RAM (in v1, v2, and v2.1) or DDR5 RAM (in v3 and v4) per server, to efficiently handle memory-intensive applications and large datasets.
• Fast NVMe Storage: Contains high-performance NVMe SSDs (Intel DC-P4610 or Micron 7450 MAX) for rapid data access and low latency, improving application performance and responsiveness.
• High Storage Capacity: Offers various storage options, ranging from 3.2TB in Large v1 to 12.8TB in v2.1, v3, and v4 per server, providing plenty of space for data storage and application needs.
• High-Bandwidth Networking: Includes 20Gbps private bandwidth for fast communication between servers within the cluster and 1Gbps public bandwidth for external connectivity.
• Redundancy and Resilience: Built with redundant components and a distributed architecture (Ceph storage) to ensure high availability and fault tolerance, preventing downtime and data loss.
• Latest Generation Hardware: Offers access to the latest Intel Xeon processors (Scalable series) and DDR5 memory technology (in v3 and v4), delivering cutting-edge performance and efficiency.
• Flexible Configuration Options: Provides a range of hardware tiers (v1 to v4) with varying processor, memory, and storage configurations to meet specific workload requirements and budget considerations.
• Open Source Foundation: Built on OpenStack and Ceph, providing the flexibility, scalability, and cost-effectiveness of open source software without vendor lock-in.

Considerations

• NVMe Storage Performance: While NVMe drives offer fantastic speeds, consider whether your applications truly require this level of performance. For less demanding workloads, alternative storage options might provide cost savings.
• CPU Selection and Core Counts: Evaluate your processing needs carefully. The higher core counts in Large v3 and v4 excel for heavily parallelized tasks, but may be less crucial for applications that don’t fully utilize multiple cores.
• Memory Type and Frequency: DDR5 RAM in Large v3 and v4 offers increased bandwidth, but assess if your applications will benefit significantly from this upgrade over DDR4 in earlier versions.
• Storage Capacity Planning: Accurately estimate your storage needs, factoring in both current usage and future growth. Consider the varying capacities across different Large versions to optimize cost-efficiency.
• Network Bandwidth Limitations: The included 1Gbps public bandwidth might be a limiting factor for applications requiring high external network throughput. Evaluate your needs and consider upgrading if necessary.
• Hardware Compatibility: Ensure compatibility of your chosen hardware tier with your operating systems, applications, and other software components to avoid integration challenges.

Customers Using Our Large Servers: Diverse and Integral Real World Use Cases

OpenMetal’s Large Hosted Private Cloud hardware is actively powering businesses across many industries. Here’s a glimpse into how some of our customers are using this capable infrastructure:

• Lowry Solutions: This leading provider of barcode, RFID, and mobility solutions relies on OpenMetal’s Large hardware to host their inventory asset tracking system. This mission-critical application serves customers in demanding industries like warehousing, retail, automotive, and manufacturing, where real-time inventory visibility and accuracy are requirements.
• Plutus Group: In the competitive financial services sector, lead generation is key, but can be tough to do effectively. Plutus Group uses OpenMetal’s Large hardware to power their custom-built lead generation system, efficiently identifying and qualifying leads for their financial clients. This demanding application requires robust processing and storage capabilities to handle large volumes of data and complex algorithms.
• CloudVantage, MoonQube, and similar cloud and hosting providers: Many of our public cloud provider clients rely on OpenMetal’s Large hardware to offer public cloud services to their customers. A well-known web hosting provider trusts OpenMetal’s Large hardware for their own central infrastructure, demonstrating the platform’s reliability and performance even for managing the complex demands of a large-scale hosting operation.
  By running on OpenMetal’s infrastructure, these companies can deliver VPS hosting, storage solutions, and other cloud services with the performance, scalability, cost-effectiveness, and personalized support their customers can’t get from the mega providers.
  Read our case study with MoonQube

So what are some additional ways you could effectively use this hosted private cloud hardware in your organization? Here are some use cases and applications that are particularly suitable for this setup:

1. High-Performance Computing (HPC)

Ideal Tiers: Large v3, Large v4

Scenario: Organizations working on things like scientific research, financial modeling, or engineering simulations that require significant computing power.

Powerful Processors

• High Core Counts: Large v3 and v4 feature dual Intel Xeon Scalable processors with 16 cores each (Xeon Gold 6526Y in v4 and Xeon Silver 5416S in v3). These high core counts are essential for HPC applications that can use parallel processing to accelerate computations.
• High Clock Speeds: The processors in Large v3 and v4 boast high clock speeds, reaching up to 4.0 GHz in the 5416S and 3.9 GHz in the 6526Y. This translates to faster execution of individual instructions, further enhancing overall performance.

Lots of Memory

• Large Capacity: All Large configurations include 512GB of RAM per server, providing substantial memory capacity to handle the large datasets and complex calculations typical in HPC workloads.   
• Fast DDR5: Large v3 and v4 utilize DDR5 RAM, offering higher bandwidth and lower latency compared to DDR4 found in earlier versions. This provides the rapid data access and efficient memory operations required for HPC.

High-Performance Storage

• NVMe SSDs: All Large configurations utilize NVMe SSDs, known for their fantastic speeds and low latency. This ensures rapid data reads and writes which minimizes storage bottlenecks and maximizes application performance.
• Large Capacity: Large v2.1, v3, and v4 offer 12.8TB of NVMe storage per server (two 6.4TB Micron 7450 MAX drives), providing lots of space for storing large datasets and intermediate calculation results.

High-Bandwidth Networking

• 20Gbps Private Network: The 20Gbps private network within the cluster facilitates fast communication between the three servers, enabling efficient data exchange and coordination in parallel computing tasks.
• 1Gbps Public Network: While the 1Gbps public network might be a limiting factor for some HPC applications requiring high external bandwidth, it’s enough for many research and development scenarios.

Hyperconverged Architecture

• OpenStack and Ceph: The integration of OpenStack and Ceph in the OpenMetal Private Cloud Core provides a highly capable and scalable platform for managing HPC workloads. OpenStack facilitates resource allocation and orchestration, while Ceph is known for data resilience and efficient storage management.

2. Big Data Analytics and Machine Learning

Ideal Tiers: Large v2.1, Large v3, Large v4

Scenario: Businesses involved in business intelligence and real-time analytics, machine learning model training, AI, and large-scale data warehousing and data lakes.

Fast, Scalable Data

• Storage that Grows with You: With options ranging from 3.2TB in Large v1 to a massive 12.8TB in v2.1, v3, and v4 per server, you have the capacity to handle the constantly expanding volume of data generated by modern businesses.
• NVMe for Speed: No storage bottlenecks here! NVMe SSDs across all Large configurations support rapid data access, enabling real-time analytics and accelerating complex queries.

Powerful Processing

• Parallel Processing Unleashed: Dual Intel Xeon processors, with up to 16 cores each in v2, v2.1, v3, and v4, excel at parallel processing. This is key to efficiently handling the complex computations required for big data analysis.
• Memory to Match: 512GB of RAM per server ensures that your data and analytical models reside in memory for lightning-fast processing, whether you’re performing statistical analysis, predictive modeling, or training machine learning algorithms.

Hyperconverged Architecture

• OpenStack for Control: OpenStack provides the foundation for managing your big data environment, offering flexibility and a high level of control over resource allocation and orchestration.
• Ceph for Resilience: Ceph’s distributed storage architecture guarantees data redundancy and high availability, protecting you from hardware failures.

Advanced Hardware and Networking

• High-Bandwidth Networking: A 20Gbps private network facilitates seamless communication between servers within the cluster, enabling efficient data sharing and collaboration during analysis.
• Latest Generation Hardware: Large v3 and v4 leverage the latest Intel Xeon Scalable processors and DDR5 RAM, delivering high performance for the most demanding big data workloads.

3. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Systems

Ideal Tiers: Large v2, Large v2.1

Scenario: Organizations using ERP applications and databases that manage core business processes and require reliable performance and scalability.

 Performance for Demanding Workloads

• Processing Power: Large v2 and v2.1, equipped with dual Intel Xeon Silver 4314 processors (16 cores each), provide the necessary compute power to handle the complex calculations, database operations, and transaction processing demands of ERP systems.
• Memory Capacity: With 512GB of DDR4 RAM per server, these configurations provide sufficient memory for running resource-intensive ERP applications, databases, and supporting multiple concurrent users.

Storage Optimized for ERP

• NVMe SSDs: The Large v2 setup contains Intel DC-P4610 NVMe SSDs, while v2.1 uses Micron 7450 MAX NVMe drives. Both options deliver exceptional speed and low latency, important for accessing and processing critical ERP data quickly.
• Capacity for Growth: Large v2.1 offers 12.8TB of NVMe storage per server, providing plenty of space for storing growing ERP databases, transaction logs, and other related data.

High Availability and Reliability

• Hyperconverged Architecture: The OpenMetal Private Cloud Core, with its three hyperconverged servers running OpenStack and Ceph, provides built-in redundancy and fault tolerance. This ensures high availability for your ERP system, minimizing downtime and disruptions to business operations.
• Redundant Components: Each server within the cluster includes redundant power supplies and network connections, further boosting the reliability and resilience of the platform.

Scalability for Future Needs

• Flexible Configurations: OpenMetal offers the flexibility to scale your ERP environment by easily adding more compute or storage resources as your business grows. This ensures that your infrastructure can adapt to changing demands and support increasing user loads.
• OpenStack Integration: OpenStack’s scalability features allow you to easily manage and orchestrate resources within your private cloud, accommodating future growth and changes in your ERP requirements.

Security and Control

• Private Cloud Environment: Hosting your ERP system on a private cloud provides improved security and control over your sensitive data. You can implement strict access controls, security policies, and compliance measures to meet your specific requirements.  
• Dedicated Resources: With dedicated servers, you avoid resource contention and performance variability commonly found in shared public cloud environments, meaning consistent and reliable performance for your ERP system.

4. Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)

Ideal Tiers: Large v1, Large v2

Scenario: Organizations providing virtual desktops to employees, needing a robust infrastructure to handle multiple concurrent users and applications.

Processing Power for Multiple Virtual Desktops

• Multi-Core CPUs: Large v1 and v2 feature dual Intel Xeon processors with high core counts (10 cores in the 4210R and 16 cores in the 4314). These multi-core CPUs are essential for handling the simultaneous processing demands of multiple virtual desktops, ensuring smooth performance even during peak usage.
• High Clock Speeds: The processors in these configurations offer competitive clock speeds, supporting faster execution of applications and tasks within each virtual desktop.

Memory Capacity

• Ample RAM: Both Large v1 and v2 include 512GB of DDR4 RAM per server. This substantial memory capacity allows for effective allocation of resources to each virtual desktop for smooth multitasking and responsiveness even when running demanding applications.

Storage Optimized for VDI

• Fast NVMe SSDs: Large v1 and v2 utilize Intel DC-P4610 NVMe SSDs, providing high-speed storage for virtual desktop images, applications, and user data. This translates to faster boot times, application launches, and overall improved user experience.  
• Sufficient Capacity: While the storage capacity in Large v1 (3.2TB per server) might be sufficient for smaller VDI deployments, Large v2 offers 6.4TB per server, providing more room for larger deployments and growing storage needs.

Efficient Networking

• 20Gbps Private Network: The 20Gbps private network facilitates fast communication between the servers in the cluster. This is necessary for efficient data transfer and communication between virtual desktops and the central infrastructure.
• 1Gbps Public Network: While enough for many VDI scenarios, consider your bandwidth requirements for external access to virtual desktops and potentially upgrade if needed.

Hyperconverged Infrastructure

• OpenStack and Ceph: The OpenMetal Private Cloud Core, with hyperconverged architecture and OpenStack integration, provides a perfect platform for managing your VDI environment. Ceph’s distributed storage ensures data redundancy and high availability, minimizing downtime and data loss.

5. E-commerce Platforms

Ideal Tiers: Large v2, Large v2.1

Scenario: Online businesses with high traffic and transaction volumes that need to ensure a smooth customer experience, secure transactions, and efficient order processing.

Handling Peak Demand

• Powerful Processors: Large v2 and v2.1, with dual Intel Xeon Silver 4314 processors (16 cores each), provide the needed compute power to handle high volumes of concurrent users, process orders efficiently, and manage dynamic pricing and inventory updates.
• Ample Memory: 512GB of DDR4 RAM per server allows sufficient memory for running e-commerce applications, databases, and caching systems, leading to fast loading times and smooth browsing experiences even during peak traffic.

Storage for Product Data and Transactions

• Fast NVMe SSDs: Both Large v2 and v2.1 utilize NVMe SSDs (Intel DC-P4610 in v2 and Micron 7450 MAX in v2.1), delivering rapid read and write speeds. This is crucial for accessing product information, processing transactions, and managing customer data smoothly.
• Scalable Capacity: Large v2.1 offers 12.8TB of NVMe storage per server, providing space for storing product catalogs, images, videos, customer databases, and transaction logs, even for high-growth e-commerce businesses.

High Availability and Security

• Hyperconverged Architecture: The OpenMetal Private Cloud Core, with three hyperconverged servers and Ceph distributed storage, provides built-in redundancy and fault tolerance. This minimizes downtime and ensures business continuity, even during unexpected events or traffic surges.
• Secure Private Cloud: Hosting your e-commerce platform on a private cloud enhances security and control over sensitive customer data, payment information, and intellectual property. You can implement strict security protocols and compliance measures to protect your business and your customers.

Global Networking Capacity

• 20Gbps Private Network: The 20Gbps private network facilitates fast communication between the servers within the cluster, allowing for efficient data exchange and load balancing for optimal performance.
• 1Gbps Public Network: While the 1Gbps public network might be sufficient for many e-commerce businesses, consider your bandwidth requirements for handling high traffic volumes and potentially upgrade to a higher bandwidth option if needed.

Scalability for Growth

• Flexible Configurations: OpenMetal offers the flexibility to scale your e-commerce infrastructure by adding more compute or storage resources as your business grows. This ensures that your platform can handle increasing traffic, expanding product catalogs, and evolving customer demands.
• OpenStack Integration: OpenStack’s scalability features allow you to easily manage and orchestrate resources within your private cloud, easily accommodating future growth and changes in your e-commerce business’ needs.

6. Software Development and Testing

Ideal Tiers: Large v1, Large v2

Scenario: Agile development teams that need a flexible and scalable environment for building and testing applications, and to host development tools, code repositories, and testing environments.

Powering Development Tools and Workloads

• Multi-Core CPUs: Large v1 and v2 feature dual Intel Xeon processors with high core counts (10 cores in the 4210R and 16 cores in the 4314). These processors handle the demands of resource-intensive development tools, code compilation, and running multiple virtual machines for testing different software configurations.
• Ample Memory: 512GB of DDR4 RAM per server is plenty of memory for running most integrated development environments (IDEs), build systems, and testing frameworks concurrently, so developers can work efficiently without performance bottlenecks.

Storage for Code Repositories and Artifacts

• Fast NVMe SSDs: Large v1 and v2 use Intel DC-P4610 NVMe SSDs, providing high-speed storage for source code repositories, libraries, dependencies, and build artifacts. This accelerates code compilation, testing, and deployment processes.
• Sufficient Capacity: Large v2 offers 6.4TB of NVMe storage per server, providing lots of space for storing large codebases, test data, and historical builds, even for complex software projects.

Facilitating Collaboration and Testing

• 20Gbps Private Network: The 20Gbps private network facilitates fast communication between the servers within the cluster. This is crucial for collaborative development, sharing code repositories, and distributing testing workloads across multiple virtual machines.
• 1Gbps Public Network: While plenty for many development and testing scenarios, consider your bandwidth requirements for accessing external resources, collaborating with remote teams, and deploying applications to production environments.

Flexible Environment for Agile Development

• Hyperconverged Architecture: The OpenMetal Private Cloud Core, with its hyperconverged architecture and OpenStack integration, provides a flexible, customizable platform for managing development and testing environments. You can easily spin up new virtual machines, configure networks, and allocate resources as needed to support agile development practices.
• Open Source Tools: OpenStack’s open source nature allows for integration with a wide range of development tools and CI/CD pipelines, supporting automation and streamlining the software development lifecycle.

Cost-Effective Solution for Development Teams

• Reduced Infrastructure Costs: Eliminate the upfront investment and ongoing maintenance costs associated with building and maintaining on-premises development infrastructure.
• Scalable Resources: Scale your development environment up or down as needed to accommodate project requirements and team size, optimizing resource utilization and cost efficiency.

7. Data Backup and Disaster Recovery

Ideal Tiers: All tiers

Scenario: Organizations that need a secure and reliable platform to ensure smooth data backup and business continuity.

Storage Capacity and Performance

• Ample Storage: Large configurations offer a range of storage capacities, from 3.2TB in Large v1 to 12.8TB in v2.1, v3, and v4 per server. This is a good capacity for storing backups of critical data, including operating systems, applications, databases, and user files.
• NVMe SSDs for Speed: NVMe SSDs across all Large configurations provide fast speeds and low latency, enabling rapid backup and restoration processes. This minimizes downtime and ensures quick recovery in case of data loss.

Redundancy and High Availability

• Hyperconverged Infrastructure: The OpenMetal Private Cloud Core, with three hyperconverged servers and Ceph distributed storage, provides inherent redundancy and fault tolerance. This ensures that data is protected from hardware failures and remains available even if one server goes down.
• Redundant Components: Each server within the cluster includes redundant power supplies and network connections, further improving the reliability and resilience of the platform.

Facilitating Backup and Recovery Operations

• OpenStack Integration: OpenStack provides a powerful platform for managing and automating backup and recovery operations. You can leverage OpenStack’s APIs and tools to schedule backups, manage snapshots, and orchestrate recovery processes. 
• 20Gbps Private Network: The 20Gbps private network facilitates fast data transfer between the servers within the cluster. This is crucial for efficient backup and replication, ensuring that data is protected and readily available for recovery.

Flexible Backup and Recovery Options

• On-site and Off-site Backups: OpenMetal’s infrastructure allows for both on-site backups within the private cloud environment and off-site backups to external locations or cloud storage services. This provides additional layers of protection and ensures data availability even in case of a major disaster.
• Snapshot Capabilities: Ceph’s snapshot functionality enables you to create point-in-time copies of your data, providing a quick and efficient way to restore data to a previous state.

How to Get Started on an OpenMetal Large Hosted Private Cloud

OpenMetal’s Large Hosted Private Cloud hardware provides a balance of performance, scalability, and control for businesses seeking a powerful and customizable cloud infrastructure. With a range of configurations featuring powerful Intel Xeon processors, generous memory, high-speed NVMe storage, and a hyperconverged architecture powered by OpenStack and Ceph, these solutions cater to a diverse set of demanding workloads.

From high-performance computing and big data analytics to enterprise applications, e-commerce platforms, and software development, OpenMetal empowers businesses to optimize their IT infrastructure and grow successfully.

By offering dedicated resources, flexible configurations, and personalized support, OpenMetal’s Large Hosted Private Cloud offers an alternative to traditional on-premises infrastructure and public cloud offerings. Businesses can focus on their core tasks and goals while enjoying the benefits of a high-performance, scalable, and secure cloud environment.