Webinar Series
Cloud-y with a
Chance of
Infrastructure
OIT Behind the Scenes
Lights!
Camera!
Action!
Cut!
• Participatory Activities
• Q & A
• Camera & Audio
• Recorded Session
Setting Expectations
• General overview of cloud services
• Learn about cloud services at UC Merced:
where we started, how it’s going, and how we
TODAY’S AGENDA
help bring them to campus
• How to engage with OIT to get cloud services
What Do You
Think?
What is the Cloud?
JD Bingham
Endpoint Security and Automation
Engineer
Storytime with JD
WHAT IS “THE
CLOUD” AND WHY
SHOULD I CARE?
”The Cloud” is a way
for OIT to achieve
redundancy
and efficiency.
As a redundancy
example, let’s take
CrashPlan.
CrashPlan safeguards
the user’s work and
data against
catastrophic events.
As a cloud-based
system, CrashPlan’s
backups exist outside
your system in case
your computer or files
get corrupted.
PSA: Install your
CrashPlan today!
As for the cloud’s
efficiency….
Let’s imagine that your
team has a computer
that is left on
continuously in order to
run a necessary digital
service for the campus.
Essential Digital Service Setup Costs
Item Cost
Computer…………………..$1000
Though your computer
is ON all the time, the
application only uses
20% of the available
computing resources.
You don’t necessarily
need the equipment,
you just need its
computing power.
Removing hardware
from the solution
means you have fewer
things that can go
wrong…
…and fewer delays
when they do.
Now let’s put our heads in
the cloud for a moment…
Your team’s essential
service needs to be:
always available
easily recoverable
accessible anywhere
Instead of buying that
$1,000 computer, your
team sends a request to
OIT to create a virtual
computer for your service.
A virtual computer can run
the essential service with
just enough processing
power and storage to get
the job done.
Your virtual system has
dynamic resource
expandability, so you can
keep up with spikes in
resource demand as they
happen.
And you can make mirrors
of your virtual computer in
different locations to
prevent down time due to
disasters.
Cloud computing =
lower cost, more
reliability, expandability,
and no hardware to get in
the way.
It makes for an efficient,
agile IT solution.
THE END
What Do You
Think?
Chuck Aby
Operations Management
Benefits of the Cloud
Redundancy
Redundancy
Redundancy
Availability
Redundancy
Availability
Five Nines = 99.999% ‘uptime’
90% agreement=
Downtime
Redundancy
Availability
36 days/year or 16 hours/week
5.25 minutes/year or 6 seconds/week99.999% agreement=
Redundancy
Availability
90% agreement=
Downtime
9 hours/year or 10 minutes/week
36 days/year or 16 hours/week
99.9% agreement=
5.25 minutes/year or 6 seconds/week99.999% agreement=
Redundancy
Availability
Reliability
Redundancy
Availability
Reliability
Reliability = measurement of
consistent behavior
Redundancy
Availability
Reliability
Scalability & Elasticity
Redundancy
Availability
Reliability
Scalability & Elasticity
Data Storage
Capacity
Processing
Power
Networking
Redundancy
Availability
Reliability
Scalability & Elasticity
Scalability
Elasticity
Processing Power
Networking
Data Storage
Redundancy
Availability
Reliability
Scalability & Elasticity Mobility
Redundancy
Availability
Reliability
Scalability & Elasticity Mobility
Access to applications
& data
UC Merced
CrashPlan
Word
Excel
PowerPoint
Email
Box
Teams
One Drive
Connect
Zoom
Twitter
CatCourses
TurnItIn
Pitfalls of the Cloud
Shane Middleton
UC Merced IT Cloud Engineer
CLOUD SERVICES,
CLOUDY SECURITY
• Complexity & visibility can cause
inadvertent security vulnerabilities
• Cloud security is inherently difficult
What We Do:
• Follow industry- and vendor-
specific best practices
• Maintain a well-architected
framework
VENDOR LOCK-IN
• Not unique to cloud services
What We Do:
• Evaluate potential cloud
services carefully
• Ensure data mobility
• Keep important data backed
up in multiple locations
What We Do:
• Stay up to date on the specifics of the
outage
• Only worry about what we can control
• Align cloud architecture with our cloud
service needs
OUTAGES
HAPPEN
INTERNET NOT
INCLUDED?
What We Do:
• Consider hosting important
data locally
• Develop backup plans for
accessing cloud applications
and resources
• Plan accordingly
Current
Efforts
Cloud Services Efforts
• Windows patching
• Bitlocker encryption
• Windows server upgrades
• Linux administration
• Network configuration
Windows Encryption Effort
Spring 2022 goal: Encrypt all campus-managed
Windows desktops & laptops with BitLocker
• Develop code for deployments
• Testing & verification cycles
• Communications plan
• Pilot
• Review & adjust
• Finalize schedule
• Deploy
Windows Encryption Effort
Learn more:
https://ucm.edu/encryption
2014: UCMSTOR crash
• Emergency migration of data
• Unlimited capacity for educational customers
2019: Box announces storage caps & additional
charges for educational customers
2021: Box announces semi-retraction of 2019 plans
Box: Configuration & Integration
• Configured for access via UC Merced email address
• Integrated with UC Merced Single Sign On
Box: Administration
Capacity
• Users – nearly 25,000
• Storage
2014 – UCMSTOR: 27 terrabytes
2022 – Box: 491 terrabytes
250k
photos
250
movies
6.5 mil
documents
Estimated 1% growth each month
Box: New Processes
• Address maturing growth
• Avoid escalating costs
• Who is licensed?
• What happens to files?
• Use group/department Box folders
Box: Other Data Storage
• Alternative Paid Options
• CatDrive
• AWS FSX
• AWS S3
• Free to UC Merced users
• Microsoft One Drive
• 5 terabyte cap
• 250 gigabyte file limit
What Do You
Think?
Requesting Services
• Need help? Visit:
https://servicehub.ucmerced.edu
Search for:
• Amazon Web Services
• Box
• Crashplan
• Storage (CatDrive)
Q&A
COMING SOON
Mar 14 – Research IT
Apr 14 – Technology Procurement
http://ucm.edu/v/oitbehindthescenes
OIT Behind the Scenes: Cloudy with a Chance of Infrastructure was created on
location at the University of California, Merced in Merced, California!
Thanks to all the OIT folks
who put hard work into this webinar!
Chuck Aby, Subject Matter Expert
created such detailed notes that it was easy to manage his absence
Feel better, Chuck!
Katie Adams Arca, Webinar Coordinator
tries to rein in the madness
JD Bingham, Subject Matter Expert
his ipad sketch slide background series is epic
Edson Gonzales, Webinar Support
we make him do a lot of stuff at the last minute
Nick Hansard, Webinar Support
has the most iconic profile picture of all time
Preethi Merugumala, Student Technology Consultant
That’s all, folks!
2/15/2022
WebPOET
Zoom
Christian Ortiz
1
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