Elastic On-Prem & Colo — Secure-by-Default, Cost-Smart, and Proven Daily
Private Cloud gives you public-cloud speed with on-prem/colo sovereignty—self-service compute, storage, and networking delivered through APIs, GitOps, and policy-as-code.
SolveForce designs and operates private cloud as a complete operating model—fabric (EVPN/VXLAN), platforms (HCI/OpenStack/Kubernetes), storage (SAN/NVMe-oF), Zero-Trust access, observability & evidence, chargeback/FinOps, and continuity—so the binder matches the build every single day.
Related pages
• Foundations → /private-cloud • Virtual DCs → /virtual-data-centers • DC Fabric → /networks-and-data-centers
• Optical & Interconnect → /wavelength • Cloud on-ramps → /direct-connect • Edge Sites → /edge-data-centers
• Security → /ztna • /waf • Keys/Secrets → /key-management • /secrets-management
• Storage & DR → /san • /backup-immutability • /draas
• Ops & Evidence → /siem-soar • Spend/Gov → /finops • /grc
🎯 Outcomes We Optimize
- Agility without surprise— environments in minutes via IaC/GitOps; guardrails (deny-public, CMEK-required, tags enforced) and drift watchers protect day-2.
- Deterministic performance— EVPN/VXLAN leaf/spine, right storage tiers (NVMe-oF/SSD/HDD), predictable latency for DB/VM/AI/VDI.
- Zero-Trust by default— ZTNA for consoles/SSH/RDP, workload identity (no long-lived keys), WAF/API signing on portals.
- Evidence on demand— configs/changes/approvals/tests/drills stream to /siem-soar for QBRs/audits.
- Cost that behaves— showback/chargeback, capacity boards, reservation plans; unit economics ($/VM, $/vCPU, $/GB, $/GPU-hr).
🧭 Reference Architecture (colo/on-prem + hybrid)
1) Fabric & Interconnect
- EVPN/VXLAN leaf/spine with Anycast gateways, QoS classes (EF/AF/BE), OOB network; MACsec on uplinks.
- Metro DCI with wavelength/ROADM where needed; Direct Connect/ExpressRoute/Interconnect to public cloud for hybrid.
→ /networks-and-data-centers • /wavelength • /direct-connect
2) Platform Choices
- HCI (VMware/Nutanix)for turnkey VM stacks; vSphere/vSAN/vDS or AHV equivalents.
- OpenStackfor open IaaS (Nova/Neutron/Cinder/Glance/Keystone).
- Kubernetesas the universal runtime (on bare metal or atop HCI/OpenStack) with GitOps, admission policies, image signing/SBOM, NetworkPolicy default-deny.
→ /virtual-data-centers • /kubernetes
3) Storage
- SAN/NVMe-oF for DB/VM low-latency; file/NAS for shared repos; object for backups/analytics with Object-Lock (WORM).
- Metro replication (sync/async), snapshots, consistency groups; archives off-site or into cloud.
→ /san • /backup-immutability
4) Security & Access
- SSO/MFA federation, PIM/JIT admin, ZTNA to consoles & management jump boxes (no flat VPNs), WAF/Bot for portals/APIs.
- HSM/KMS CMKs, vault secrets; rotation ceremonies recorded; email trust (SPF/DKIM/DMARC/BIMI) for ops comms.
→ /ztna • /waf • /key-management • /secrets-management • /email-auth
5) Observability & Evidence
- Telemetry (logs/metrics/traces) + config diffs → SIEM/SOAR; SLO boards; synthetic tests; change CAB hooks; automated evidence packs.
→ /siem-soar
6) Continuity
- Immutable backups, cross-site replicas, DR runbooks with screenshots/checksums/timings; quarterly drills.
→ /draas
📦 Private-Cloud Service Catalog (what we build & run)
1) Landing Zone (Private)
- Tenants/projects, quotas, roles/profiles, image/patch pipelines, baseline networking/DNS, logging/retention.
2) Compute
- VM catalogs (GP/CPU/MEM/Storage-optimized), GPU pools (MIG/partitioning), autoscaling groups, golden images with SBOM/signatures, CIS/STIG baselines.
3) Storage & Data Protection
- Block/file/object tiers; snapshot/replication policy; NVMe scratch for AI/analytics; application-consistent backups with Object-Lock.
4) Network & Security
- EVPN/VXLAN leaf/spine, Private VLANs/VRFs, firewalls/inspection zones, ZTNA for management, WAF for portals, IPAM/DNS/DHCP hygiene.
5) Kubernetes Platform
- Cluster-as-code, GitOps, admission policy (OPA/Gatekeeper), NetworkPolicy default-deny, signed images/SBOM, autoscale, ingress + WAF, OpenTelemetry.
6) Automation & Policy
- Infrastructure-as-Code modules, policy-as-code gates (deny-public, CMEK-required, tags), CI lint/tests, drift detection.
→ /infrastructure-as-code
7) Observability & Runbooks
- Logs/metrics/traces, SLO dashboards; SOAR playbooks (isolate/revoke/rekey/rollback/patch) with approvals and artifacts.
8) Continuity & DR
- Snapshot/replica policy, immutable backups, DR tiers (pilot-light → hot), quarterly drills with artifacts; clean-point catalogs.
9) Compliance & GRC
- SOC2/ISO/NIST/HIPAA/PCI/FedRAMP-aligned controls; POA&M tracking; assessor exports.
→ /grc
10) Chargeback/FinOps
- Tags/labels enforcement, budgets/alerts, reservations, unit economics ($/vCPU, $/GB, $/GPU-hr), capacity forecasts, optimization backlogs.
→ /finops
🔢 Quick Planning Tables
A) Compute Profiles (rule of thumb)
| Profile | When to use | Tips |
|---|---|---|
| General Purpose VM | Mixed web/app/DB | Default fleet; scale horizontally |
| CPU-Optimized | API gateways, compression, small batch | High clock cores; NUMA awareness |
| Memory-Optimized | In-memory DB, caches, analytics | Huge pages; pinning; noisy-neighbor guards |
| Storage-Optimized | Backup/media movers, sequential IO | Use 10/25/100G uplinks; jumbo MTU |
| GPU | Training/inference/render | Plan NVMe scratch; consider MIG/partitioning |
B) Storage Choices
| Type | Latency | Best For | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| NVMe-oF (TCP/FC) | Very Low | High-IOPS DB/AI | Queue depth & MTU 9000 end-to-end |
| Block SSD/HDD | Low | VM/DB volumes | Snapshots & replication; IOPS sizing |
| File (SMB/NFS) | Low-Med | Shared repos, profiles | Metadata perf matters |
| Object | Med | Backups/logs/analytics | Versioning + lifecycle + Object-Lock |
C) Network Patterns
| Pattern | Use | Tips |
|---|---|---|
| Leaf/Spine EVPN | Scalable campus/DC | ECMP, Anycast gateways, QoS |
| Security Zones | Segmentation | VRFs, microseg allow-lists |
| Private On-Ramps | Hybrid | DX/ER/Interconnect + SD-WAN |
| Anycast Edges | UC/API ingress | Health-gated withdraws |
🔐 Security That Sticks (private baseline)
- Identity-firstSSO/MFA; PIM/JIT for admins; workload identity for apps; no long-lived keys.
- BoundaryWAF/Bot/DDoS for portals/APIs; token- & schema-validated calls; secure bastions behind ZTNA.
- CustodyCMKs in HSM/KMS; vault secrets; rotation ceremonies logged; S/MIME/DMARC for ops communications.
- Policy-as-codedeny-public, CMEK-required, tag enforcement, region & tenancy controls; CI checks + drift watchers.
- Evidencelogs/configs/approvals/tests to SIEM; SOAR automations with approvals.
📐 SLO Guardrails (private cloud you can measure)
| Domain | KPI / SLO (p95 unless noted) | Target |
|---|---|---|
| Fabric | Leaf↔leaf latency | ≤ 10–50 µs |
| Policy | Policy deploy → enforced | ≤ 60–120 s |
| Identity | Role/perm propagation | ≤ 60–120 s |
| Compute | Auto-heal/scale reaction | ≤ 60–180 s |
| Storage | p95 read/write latency | ≤ 0.5–1.5 ms / ≤ 1–3 ms (workload-dep.) |
| Network | On-ramp (colo→cloud edge) | ≤ 2–5 ms |
| Security | ZTNA admin attach | ≤ 1–3 s |
| Backups | Immutability coverage (Tier-1) | = 100% |
| DR | RTO / RPO (Tier-1) | ≤ 5–60 min / ≤ 0–15 min |
| Evidence | Logs/artifacts → SIEM | ≤ 60–120 s |
| Change | Unapproved prod changes | = 0 |
Breaches auto-open a case and trigger SOAR (rollback, re-key, reroute, scale, tighten policy) with artifacts attached.
🧪 Acceptance Tests & Artifacts (we keep the receipts)
- Fabric— EVPN/VXLAN validation, leaf/spine latency/jitter, QoS class tests, MACsec enablement; OTDR/light levels for inter-building links.
- Compute— image integrity (SBOM/signatures), auto-heal/scale exercises; kernel/driver posture.
- Storage— fio/VDbench (mixed read/write, sequential/random), snapshot/restore screenshots & checksums, replica lag; NVMe-oF queue/MTU checks.
- Security— ZTNA admits, WAF/Bot events, KMS/vault rotations, DMARC/TLS-RPT headers.
- DR— documented failover/failback timings; clean-point catalog; DR runbook screenshots.
Artifacts stream to /siem-soar and assemble into QBR/audit packs.
💸 Showback/Chargeback (Private-Cloud FinOps)
- Govern— mandatory tags/labels; budgets & alerts; policy stop on untagged resources.
- Account— meter vCPU/RAM/IOPS/GB/GPU-hr, network egress; publish unit costs per team/service.
- Optimize— rightsize VM flavors, storage tiering/lifecycle, consolidation & placement rules, reservation pools, energy-aware scheduling.
- Forecast— capacity curves for compute/RAM/IOPS/GPU; quarterly planning with lead time for optics/UPS/racks.
🧰 Solution Bundles (choose your fit)
- Foundation Pack (Private)— EVPN/VXLAN core, landing zone (tenants/quotas/roles), ZTNA/WAF, logging + SIEM/SOAR, chargeback basics.
- Kubernetes Platform Pack— on bare metal or HCI; GitOps; admission policy; signed images/SBOM; ingress + WAF; autoscale; OTel.
- Regulated Enclave Pack— no public ingress, Private Endpoints only, PIM/JIT, HSM keys, immutable logs/backups, assessor artifacts (SSP/POA&M).
- Hybrid Hub Pack— colo VDC with dual cloud on-ramps, Anycast edges, SD-WAN policy, replication/DR across metro.
- Edge Private Cloud Pack— rugged edge data centers, GPU nodes for vision/AI, brokers & time-series DB, ZTNA vendor access.
→ /edge-data-centers
🧱 Design Notes & Best Practices
- Guardrails firstpolicy-as-code + drift watchers catch most mistakes before production.
- Routed access > spanning treebound L2 domains; extend L2 only when justified.
- NVMe-oF on IP?Use MTU 9000 end-to-end; size buffers; keep ECMP balanced.
- Image disciplineSBOM & signatures; bake agents; refresh cadence.
- Anycast for UC/API ingresshealth-gated withdraw; test periodically.
- Workload identityreplace static keys; rotate everything else with proof.
- Quarterly drillsbackups restore, DR failover, ZTNA revoke, WAF rule rollback—with artifacts.
📝 Private Cloud Intake (copy-paste & fill)
- Sites/colo(addresses, power/cooling, rack space), on-ramp POPs, diversity needs
- Fabric(EVPN/VXLAN vs L3 core, QoS, MACsec scope, MTU)
- Platforms(HCI/OpenStack/K8s; VM/GPU needs; image OS/versions)
- Storage(SAN/NVMe-oF; block/file/object; IOPS/throughput; replication/tiers)
- Identity/Security(SSO/MFA, PIM/JIT, ZTNA, WAF, KMS/HSM, vault, email auth)
- Observability(logs/metrics/traces, drift watchers, SIEM destination)
- Continuity(snapshot/replica policy, Object-Lock, DR tiers & RTO/RPO)
- Compliance(SOC2/ISO/NIST/HIPAA/PCI/FedRAMP), BAAs/DPAs needed
- Chargeback(tags/labels, unit costs, budgets), reporting cadence
- Operations(managed vs co-managed, change windows, escalation matrix)
- Timeline & budget, success metrics (SLOs, cost & capacity goals)
We’ll return a design-to-operate plan with architecture, provider options, SLO-mapped pricing, compliance overlays, and an evidence plan for audits and QBRs.
Or go straight to /customized-quotes.
📞 Launch or Level-Up Your Private Cloud — Securely, Efficiently, and With Proof
- Call: (888) 765-8301
- Email: contact@solveforce.com
From HCI and OpenStack to Kubernetes and NVMe-oF, from EVPN cores to DR drills, we’ll deliver a private cloud you can operate, optimize, and prove.
Key terms in plain language
Open a term for a concise explanation of language used on this page.
Latency
The time it takes data to travel between two points. Lower latency improves voice, video meetings, cloud applications, gaming, and other real-time services.
SD-WAN
Software-defined wide area networking. It manages multiple connections and chooses paths based on application needs, performance, and policy to improve resilience and control.
VPN
A virtual private network creates an encrypted connection across another network, commonly allowing remote users or offices to access private resources securely.
Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
Cloud-based servers, storage, and networking that customers configure and manage without owning the underlying data-center hardware.
Disaster Recovery (DRaaS)
A plan and service for restoring applications, data, and operations after an outage or disruption. DRaaS provides recovery infrastructure through a managed cloud service.
Zero Trust
A security model that does not automatically trust a user or device because of its location. Access is continuously verified and limited to what is necessary.
Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
A login control requiring more than one form of verification, such as a password plus an authenticator app, security key, or biometric factor.
API
An application programming interface is a defined way for software systems to exchange data or request functions from one another.