Los Alamos National Laboratory is one of the largest science and technology multidisciplinary research institutions in the world. In anticipation of a large federal migration to a virtualized cloud environment, Los Alamos Lab built a sophisticated cloud platform which is now serving as a model for how data center managers should charge and entice users.
A key challenge facing the cloud service industry is determining best practices for charging users. Reoccurring questions include: how do we attach a price to virtual cloud services? How do we quantify energy savings accrued by moving to the cloud? How do we combine energy and monetary savings to create a cohesive incentivizing cost structure?
In response to the President’s Data Center Consolidation mandate, cloud service providers are grappling with many of these questions as agencies utilize cloud services at an unprecedented rate. The DOE’s Los Alamos Lab is paving the way for other cloud platforms with its innovative full allocation payment model and chargeback capability.
Los Alamos is focusing on user diversity while implementing the full allocation payment model. This model allows customers to know the total charges for supporting cloud migration, including infrastructure, licensing, personnel and maintenance costs - fees which are often hidden using a pay-as-you-go model.
Anil Karmel, management and operations CTO for the National Nuclear Security Administration praises the green IT smart meter invented by Los Alamos, a formula used to compute energy savings in the cloud. Additionally, it developed a life-cycle management feature giving data center managers the ability to decommission a system without leaving it vulnerable.
Today’s budget environment requires federal agencies make investments based on two things: cost saving estimates and the support of green technology. It is no surprise these are the two greatest arguments supporting cloud migration and Los Alamos Lab is leading the way in innovation.
To learn more, visit: http://www.lanl.gov/
