Converting Existing Power into Cloud Terms

In the Comparing Costs Problem post I propose that it isn't easy to compare an organization's existing computing power costs with the cost of cloud.  Using an example I came up with $500 as the monthly cost of the existing computing power that cloud would replace.  So maybe if the cloud costs less than $500, it would be wise to move.

Hosting vs. Cloud

This sounds like the old Hosting scenario. Just move all the computers to a hosting facility and pay per month. You often pay a flat fee for hosting.

Cloud differs from hosting because you only pay for what you use. Your monthly cost should vary.

Converting the Existing Environment into Cloud Terms

To communicate clearly with the Cloud provider, the following information must be collected:

For each of the 4 servers in our example:

1. How much disk space is available?
2. How much disk space is used?
3. How much RAM is installed?
4. How many and what kind of CPU are installed?

For your environment:

1.  How much Internet bandwidth is used per month?
2. Do you have special requirements that may prevent you from moving to the cloud?

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Next Post: How to Get Info about your existing Computing Power 

Additional resources:

Identify Your CPU                   Measuring Bandwidth Usage