Democratizing Cloud Computing with Platform9

Madhura Maskasky, Co-Founder and VP of Product at Platform9 Systems, introduces Platform9, the main offerings of the company, and a discussion about the “cloud engine” which forms the unique IP that wraps around open-source software to simplify operations with “Always-On Assurance”. The session will further outline the proactive operations methodology, which includes Comprehensive Monitoring, Proactive Issue Identification, Automated Alerting and Ticket Generation, Enhanced System Reliability. The session will end with a review of how a full stack is deployed across 1000s of location in an automated and repeatable way.

The session covers an overview of Platform9, its mission to democratize cloud computing, and the unique services it offers to enterprises. Platform9’s approach involves using open-source software like Kubernetes, OpenStack, and other components, which are then packaged and deployed through a SaaS model. This is coupled with their “Always-On Assurance” guarantee, which ensures high operational efficiency and reliability for cloud infrastructures at scale.

The proactive operations methodology includes comprehensive monitoring, proactive issue identification, automated alerting, and ticket generation. This methodology is powered by a “hidden product” that operates 24/7, monitoring infrastructure, collecting metrics, and analyzing data to maintain a 99.9% SLA for enterprise customers.

During the session, Madhura explains how Platform9 manages customers’ infrastructure remotely, configuring hardware, installing operating systems, deploying Kubernetes or OpenStack, and providing a layer of PaaS services for applications. The discussion also touches on technical aspects such as the use of Prometheus for metrics, Loki and ELK for log aggregation, and Vault for secret management.

Questions from the audience address the intervals at which data is collected, the use of other tools like Splunk and Dynatrace, and the role of Platform9’s support team in application-level monitoring. It is clarified that while Platform9 is responsible for platform-level SLAs, customers can still use their own tools for application-level monitoring and can request access to Platform9’s collected data if needed.

The session concludes with Madhura mentioning some of Platform9’s customers, such as Juniper Networks, Rackspace, Cloudera, and SambaNova, and noting that they manage over 15,000 active nodes worldwide. An attendee inquires about HPE’s use of Platform9, and Madhura confirms that an HPE team uses their OpenStack product for DevTest private cloud purposes.