customer FAQs
Compute AS A SERVICe
Service
Q What is the service?
Compute as a Service from UKCloud is an Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) offering which enables organisations to rapidly provision and scale secure virtual machines (VMs) in minutes, in a flexible and autonomous manner.
UKCloud provides this service across two security domains, Assured OFFICIAL (formerly PGA IL2) and Elevated OFFICIAL (formerly PGA IL3), and with a range of service levels offering up to 99.99% availability. This choice allows customers to precisely match application and user needs to an appropriate security domain, service level and cost, instead of designing to the highest level which may not always be needed.
Q Can VMs have different characteristics?
Yes. We offer three VM Types: Essential, Power and Priority.
VM characteristics are inherited from the vDC the VM is deployed in. It is not currently possible to have a vDC that has mixed VM types.
However, customers can have multiple vDCS to deliver their solution.
Q Are VMs contended?
Essential VMs are contended: VMs contend for memory and processor resources.
Power & Priority VMs: UKCloud has implemented a combination of technical and process controls (for example, an ISO20000-certified capacity management process) to ensure thatthese VMs don't contend for memory or processor resources.
Power VMs operate where automated rebalancing is enabled to pre-emptively optimise performance and availability.
Priority VMs differ from other VM types. Automated rebalancing is configured to reduce workload movement around the platform, reducing workload disruption.
Q Can a VMs communicate to another VM at of a different type?
Yes. VMs can communicate with each other. In some cases, customers may need to use the built-in self-service IPsec VPN functionality to create a virtual private network within our Assured cloud platform.
Q Can VMs types be changed?
Yes, but the customer must first export the VMs, then import them back into the virtual data centre (vDC) that has been created with the target VM type.
Q Can I convert from one VM type to another, without having to move VMs between vDCs?
Customers can manage the migration between VM types. Customers can also move vApps and VMs between vDCs as long as they're in the same assurance domain, for example Assured to Assured.
More complex migrations, from the Assured to the Elevated platform, must be managed by UKCloud.
If you want to migrate a vApp larger than 1.5TB, you'll need to engage the UKCloud support team to facilitate the process. To do so, please raise a Service Request on the UKCloud Portal.
Q What hypervisor do you use?
UKCloud’s environment is built using VMware vSphere, the most ubiquitous and mature hypervisor available. Secure multi-tenancy is achieved with VMware vCloud Director.
Q Can I have a read-only account in vCloud for monitoring?
This is available on the UKCloud Portal under permissions that can be set by your account admin.
Virtual machines (VMs)
Q Do I get root access onto the local VM?
Yes, as this is a true IaaS cloud service, you have complete control and autonomy over each VM, and so have full ‘root’ or administrative access.
Q What VM sizes are available?
UKCloud offers a variety of 'T-shirt sizes' to meet customers' needs. The smallest configuration is 512MB and 1vCPU. The largest is 96GB memory with 8vCPU.
Check the Compute service description for more details on the currently available sizes.
Dedicated Compute provides the flexibility to build custom-sized VMs.
Q Can I resize a VM?
Yes, you can change processor, memory and storage allocations via the self-service UKCloud Portal and API.
Processors and memory can be added to or removed from VMs if the OS supports the 'hot add' capability.
Increasing CPU or memory allocations may result in the VM being billed at a higher rate.
Additional VM storage can be allocated instantly and will be billed on a per GB basis.
Q What is the speed of each vCPU?
This is set at 2GHz for all VMs except Micro sized VMs, which can be restricted to run at 500MHz.
Q What is the fastest way of importing large amounts of data onto the UKCloud platform?
The speed of data transfer to the UKCloud platform isn't guaranteed. However, during tests of the upload and download speeds, an average of 8 Mbit/s was achieved for VM import/export and 40 Mbit/s for data transferred over FTPS.
For a transfer time calculator, go to: http://techinternets.com/copy_calc?do
If you use FTPS to upload data to or download it from your environment, you can transfer up to 1TB of data in a day.
Alternatively, we offer the Mass Transfer Facility option enabling customers to import large quantities of data via HDDs or NAS devices that are plugged directly into your environment. Please check the Mass Transfer Facility service scope on the UKCloud Knowledge Centre or the price guide further details.
Q Does UKCloud offer encryption on the VM?
Not by default but, if it's required, you can implement it using technology of your choice.
Q Is UKCloud’s encryption service available for compute?
Not currently, but we are looking into options for GCloud 9.
Q Is it possible to non-fast-provision vApps, and to convert current vApps into non-fast provisioned ones?
Fast provisioning is done only by customer request – by default, all vApps are non-fast-provisioned. Customers can right-click on a VM and consolidate. This can also be done via a Service Request.
Q What is Dedicated Compute?
Dedicated Compute comprises of physical blades assigned to a customer for their sole use. They're managed using the standard tools and services in the UKCloud Assured cloud platform.
Dedicated Compute allows customers to:
· Comply with legacy licensing requirements from software suppliers whose licensing is based on a physical CPU (such as Oracle or desktop OSs)
· Build bespoke sized VMs on the UKCloud Assured cloud platform
Dedicated Compute uses the same storage infrastructure as the shared compute platform
There's a longer deployment lead time for Dedicated Compute, as well as a longer contractual commitment than our shared cloud platform (three months rather than one hour).
For more details please see the Compute service description available via the Digital Marketplace.
Networking
Q How many IP addresses do I get?
You're initially allocated five external IP addresses with a new compute service.
You can ask for more external IP addresses via a Service Request.
There's no limit to the number of internal IP addresses (RFC1918) you can allocate.
Q How many PSN IP addresses do I get?
Customer organisations are initially allocated one external PSN IP address.
Additional external PSN IP addresses can be requested via a Service Request should a valid business requirement arise.
There's no limit to the number of internal IP addresses (RFC1918) customers can allocate.
Q What firewall services are available?
UKCloud controls and manages a perimeter firewall on the edge of our Assured cloud platform which securely segregates traffic. Within the Compute environment, we provide you with a dedicated self-managed virtual firewall which delivers typical firewall functionality such as access control lists and network address translation, as well as basic load balancing and support for VPNs.
You can also use your preferred firewall and security appliances, as long as they're compatible with the VMware virtual infrastructure used to power the UKCloud Assured cloud platform.
Q How do I create and manage firewall rules?
Your UKCloud-provided dedicated virtual firewall is managed exclusively by you. You can set and manage firewall rules via the UKCloud Portal and API.
On-boarding guides and associated video tutorials are available to help customers configure and manage their firewalls.
Q Can I bring my own firewall?
Customers can choose to deploy the firewall technology of their choice.
This service, how to order it, and the constraints it may place on operation, is fully documented within our knowledge centre on the UKCloud portal.
Q How does UKCloud provide urgent maintenance notifications and incident reports?
You can view these on the notifications page on the UKCloud Portal. In addition, Service Status reports are published on the service status page.
Q When using fault tolerance on vCNS devices, is the TCP session state replicated between the devices?
Yes, the TCP session data/connection tables are replicated, but there's no replication of the load-balancer.
Q Do you offer dynamic or static IP addresses?
The external IP addresses are static. Internal IPs can be assigned statically from a pool, manually or dynamically via DHCP.
Q Are external Domain Name System (DNS) services available?
No, we don't currently offer this service. You can implement your own DNS servers within your solution, or configure your virtual firewall to enable connectivity to an externally hosted DNS server — for example, one hosted on a government secure network such as PSN, JANET or N3; or one available on the Internet such as Google 8.8.8.8.
Q Are domain name registration services available?
No, we don't currently offer this service. Some government secure networks (such as PSN and N3) offer domain name registration and DNS hosting as part of their service.
For internet-facing services a third-party DNS provider will be required.
Q Is Network Time Protocol available for time synchronisation?
Yes this is available for Assured OFFICIAL and Elevated OFFICIAL. See the Compute as a Service onboarding guide for details.
Q Can UKCloud provide SSL certificates or can existing SSL certificates be used?
UKCloud doesn't provide SSL certificates, but you can use your existing ones.
Some government secure networks (such as PSN and N3) provide SSL certificates as part of their service.
Q Do you offer load balancing?
Yes. Load balancing can be configured within the service and is included within the price.
· Supported protocols: HTTP, HTTPS, TCP.
· Supported algorithms: Round Robin, IP Hash, URI, Least Connected.
Q Can I deploy my own load balancer?
Yes, you can deploy your own load-balancing virtual appliance (for example, F5, Stingray, Zeus) if support for other algorithms is required.
In addition, UKCloud offer Global Load Balancing from Neustar which can be customised for your own specific requirements. An FAQ and Service Scope are available in the Knowledge Centre.
Storage
Q How much storage do I get with a VM?
The default amount of storage which comes with a VM is 60GB of Tier 2 storage.
The exception is Micro sized VMs. These have a fixed 10GB allocation which cannot be increased.
Q Can I reallocate storage across VMs?
No, storage pooling isn't possible. Each VM must have a minimum of 60GB (except Micro VMs).
You can quickly and easily allocate additional storage via the self-service UKCloud Portal or API. Additional storage is charged on a per-GB basis as listed in the UKCloud pricing guide.
Q Is storage persistent?
Yes, unlike some other cloud platforms, storage is persistent.
This means that your data and VM configuration remain available to you even if the VM is switched off or restarted.
Q What is the Tier 1 storage solution?
Tier 1 storage (formerly Optimised) is designed for the following scenarios:
· Applications that require improved performance when accessing stored data such as high activity databases
· Applications that have irregular usage patterns that require a consistent performance such as data warehouses or batch process applications
Existing applications can take advantage of Tier 1 Storage. A migration process maybe involved.
Tier 1 Storage is available for use with all VM types and compatible with all protection technologies – with the exception of those using Synchronous protection (which has a specific requirement to use geo-resilient storage).
Talk to your UKCloud Account Director or Cloud Architect to understand if Tier 1 storage can benefit your solution.
Management
Q How do I access my systems?
You can access your VMs using:
· The remote console through the UKCloud Portal
· Remote access protocols (RDP/SSH) over a VPN or secure network
Q What reports can I get about VM performance?
You can monitor their performance using standard tools within the operating system.
Additionally, UKCloud provides retrospective performance information via its Portal API.
Q Does UKCloud patch the VMs?
No, customers are responsible for the patching of their services. We make a patch repository available to customers for VMs on the Elevated OFFICIAL cloud platform (which cannot connect to the internet) for common operating systems that we provide.
Q How do I find the latest patches to the UKCloud infrastructure?
UKCloud maintains a Knowledge Centre article advising the current patch level of the UKCloud infrastructure.
Q How do I access support and patches for operating systems that UKCloud licenses?
UKCloud provides a repository of patches for common operating systems for customers to access and update from. Please refer to the onboarding guide or the UKCloud Portal's Knowledge Centre for details.
For support, you'll need to log a request with UKCloud, who will log the ticket with the relevant supplier. UKCloud will then inform you about any updates. However, UKCloud isn't responsible for the actual resolution of non-IaaS issues.
Q Do you have a Key Management System (KMS) for activating Windows?
Yes. A step-by-step guide on configuring and using this service is included in the onboarding guide, available from the UKCloud Portal's Knowledge Centre. In addition, there are additional supporting documents regarding the registration on VMs targeting the UKCloud KMS.
Q How do I control a VM?
You control a VM via the UKCloud Portal or API. Controls include stop, start, restart, load media, clone, snapshot, and so on.
Q Do you monitor VMs?
UKCloud monitors the underlying platform but doesn't monitor customers' OSs or applications. Customers can implement their own application performance monitoring solutions within the VDC.
Q Do you offer autoscaling?
There's no standard product offering for autoscale, but the platform API can be used to do this with a little developer effort. UKCloud provides blueprints in the Knowledge Centre on the UKCloud Portal which offer guidance on this.
Q How quickly can I scale my service up or down?
Horizontal scale can be achieved quickly by adding additional VMs (usually in just a few minutes). Vertical scaling can be achieved by 'hot adding' CPU or RAM to a VM (where supported by the guest OS). This operation usually takes seconds.