Cloud computing from the ground upBased in Los Angeles, dinCloud is a cloud transformation company that helps organizations migrate to virtual data-center services such as hosted virtual desktops, hosted virtual servers, as well as data backup and disaster recovery. Their subscription-based services are tailored for reduced cost and enhanced security, control, and productivity for today’s small-to-medium businesses.

Cloud technology has been generating a great deal of buzz in business circles. As Ali Din, Chief Marketing Officer and Senior VP at dinCloud, says, “CEOs are asking their CIOs ‘What’s this cloud thing and how’s it going to work for us?’” While it’s clear that there can be many advantages to cloud transformation, not all solutions on the market are created equal.

“When we designed our architecture, we started with the cloud in mind. So everything we’ve developed in our data center is virtual — including security and firewall protection. Everything can migrate from one cloud to another very easily. Some of our competitors were previously in the data center business, so they’re locked in to the ‘heavy iron’ of physical servers. They have to make the transition over time,” says Kevin Schatzle, President at dinCloud.

Virtual business with actual benefitsdinCloud’s initial focus was on hosted virtual desktops (HVD), where desktop client systems – applications, file storage, and security – all operate remotely from a server within the cloud infrastructure.

“We’ve gone through significant research and development to deliver a high-performance service that’s very focused on the end-user experience, so that as people transition from their physical desktop to a virtual desktop, it’s seamless and they don’t have any issues with performance. It should be as good as, if not better than, their current experience,” says Schatzle.

In addition to their successful HVD service, the company also offers business provisioning as a full cloud provider. “We provide hosted virtual servers as well as storage, backup and disaster recovery systems. It’s everything a company needs to rapidly migrate their current IT infrastructure into the cloud,” says Din.

The services dinCloud offers have made an immediate impact with clients in markets such as health care, transportation, retail, and financial services. Companies in transition — via spin-offs or mergers — have benefited from the ability to rapidly establish a stable IT infrastructure. “We’ve helped companies very quickly migrate into the cloud over a long three- or four-day weekend,” offering 40% savings to traditional IT infrastructure acquisition and operations costs, says Din.

dinCloud’s technology team evaluated a full spectrum of available products to establish their cloud infrastructure. That process led them to servers featuring AMD Opteron processors for scalable performance, dependable multi-core design, and true value for today’s businesses.

AMD and dinCloud take businesses to a higher level

CUSTOMER:dinCloudwww.dincloud.com

INDUSTRYCloud Service Provider

CHALLENGES• Establish a high-performance

cloud hosting environment• Support security and

manageability for virtual computing• Maximize business value and

control infrastructure costs

SOLUTION • Multi-core AMD Opteron™

processor-based servers

• 2U rack-mount servers featuring four 12-core AMD Opteron™ processors (48 cores per server)

RESULTS• Able to support customers on

scalable server technology within a smaller footprint

• Scored #1 in Network World’s hosted virtual desktop (HVD) May 2012 provider ratings*

• Chosen by Ingram Micro as its HVD offering to 40,000 resellers in the U.S.

AMD TECHNOLOGY AT A GLANCEAMD Opteron™ Processors

“ We evaluated a lot of different types of products — everything from servers, to networking, to storage. Through that process we chose servers powered by AMD Opteron™ processors because they could deliver the density and performance we needed to offer the right kind of Hosted Virtual Desktop to an end user.”

Kevin Schatzle President, dinCloud

AMD Customer Success Story

Dense, scalable multi-core performance To launch their services, dinCloud purchased 56 servers featuring AMD Opteron™ processors. “We’re using a 2U rack-mount server that has 4 CPUs with 12 cores each, meaning 48 cores per server,“ says Schatzle.

One of the key considerations for the company’s IT decision makers was density – high processor core counts within each server unit. Schatzle explains, “The reason it’s important is that we wanted to keep our management and operations costs low while offering our customers superior performance and control.

“Based on the design that AMD offered us, we were able to generally allocate one server to one customer, so it’s almost as though they are getting dedicated support on the HVD side. This gives us the ability to offer semi-private clouds to our customers.”

The high-performance core density of AMD Opteron processors also was a key business consideration in terms of scalability. “Because of the smaller footprint as well as how many customers we’re supporting on a single physical server, we’re able to rapidly scale up. So from a cash-flow perspective, it’s been beneficial,” says Schatzle.

Security and rock-solid dependabilityWhen a business entrusts its daily computing operations and sensitive information to a cloud host, protection becomes a primary function of the service. As Schatzle explains, “We put a lot of emphasis on security. It starts at the physical level and extends through multiple layers.” At the processor level, AMD Opteron’s proven and dependable architecture features standards-based Trusted Platform Module (TPM) security optimizations.

AMD Opteron processors also include enhanced AMD Virtualization™ (AMD-V™) technology to heighten virtualization efficiency. Virtualization is the fundamental technology that enables cloud services such as hosted virtual desktops and servers.

Built on a foundation of reliable hardware solutions, dinCloud’s data backup and disaster recovery services help ensure that critical files and data are always safe. Clients who prefer higher levels of control can take advantage of their dinManage remote management tool. The complete package of service, technology, and support demonstrates a premium placed on dependable performance for today’s business.

True business valueThe bottom-line benefit of offering cloud-based, virtual computing solutions is value. “Cost savings is there because now you don’t necessarily have to spend money on buying new equipment or maintaining it. In a managed cloud environment, you can have a service provider handle a lot of that heavy lifting, so businesses can just focus on the applications and what they’re delivering,” says Din.

The agility to launch a new venture or expand a company without time spent provisioning, assembling, and troubleshooting in-house technologies can offer an additional value advantage. Din explains, “There’s also a time-to-market benefit. In a cloud environment, you can instantly turn up a new project and start working on something that can help your business immediately.”

Even at the processor level, cost-savings is a serious consideration in balancing performance with power efficiency. Over time, cooling and system operation costs can take a toll. “We do get charged for how much energy we’re using, so it’s important to have very low wattage consumption. That was another factor in choosing the AMD Opteron processor,” says Schatzle.

Sunny days ahead for dinCloudIt hasn’t taken long for dinCloud to make an impact in the marketplace. Ingram Micro, the world’s largest IT distributor, recently announced dinCloud as the provider of hosted virtual desktops to their 40,000 resellers in the U.S.

“That’s a huge vote of confidence for us. We’re really expecting to grow significantly,” says Din. “Another big accolade for us was that Network World did a head to head benchmark test between us and four other of the top desktop providers and we came out as Number 1 in that.*”

As the accolades and accounts stack up, the dinCloud team can depend on its AMD-powered cloud infrastructure to keep their business — and all their customers’ businesses — going and growing.

For more information about AMD Opteron products, please visit www.amd.com/opteron

*Network World article available at http://www.networkworld.com/reviews/2012/052112-desktop-as-a-service-test-259090.html?page=1

© 2012 Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. All rights reserved. AMD, the AMD arrow logo, AMD Opteron, AMD Virtualization, AMD-V and combinations thereof, are trademarks of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. All other names are for reference only and may be trademarks of their respective owners. PID# 52597A

“�What�I�like�about�the�AMD�Opteron�processor�is,�first,� its low power consumption. The other piece is that its quad-processor performance was a big deal for our technology�team.�All�that�compute�power�is�definitely� a big plus. We’re very happy we made that decision.”

Kevin Schatzle President, dinCloud

Ingram Micro presents dinCloud as a new vendor at the distributor’s annual Cloud Summit.