Orchestration

Read a new post (Cloud Orchestration starts to play its tune!) on 'how to build a cloud' about orchestration pointing on the systems named or aimed as orchestrators. Interesting and wise read. I recommend the site (orchestrated ;) by @BuildaCloud) for those who like to read about cloud and trends.

Short break out:

"Think of cloud orchestration as an amazing CTO with a wand standing at the front of the IT room directing his team of IT people through the symphony of 24/7 consumer facing IT service. The difference is no amount of people and no size wand is ever going to direct the symphony as well as a nice tidy piece of software specifically written for the job.

Orchestration of your cloud is only part of the puzzle, a big part granted but there is more cool stuff I like to see in my clouds, specifically around reporting and billing so I’m going to stick with cloud enablement as my main catch phrase until such time I find something better!"

As you might know I focus more on the assignment than systems when I talk about orchestration so my comment to this was:

"I get your point.

Orchestration to me is when you have control on all parts and get all things to happen, so an orchestrator which doesn’t is not really an orchestrator. As you say; Orchestration: an arrangement of events that attempts to achieve a maximum effect.

I'm using orchestration when talking about arranging IT on an IT department- and Solution Provider-assignment and not a system role. IT departments and Solution Providers should be the orchestrator to its customers (IT department > the company, Solution Providers > its customers) and arrange the deliverance of the complete IT solution, containing on-prem, XaaS (cloud or not) from several providers. Solutions where processes, federation, bridges and billing-, provisioning-, management- and orchestration systems are some of the keys. The orchestrator is a trusted advisor, promoter and organizer in IT.

So I'm looking at it more on an assignment than a system role. But, I agree (if I understand your point correct); an orchestrator should make it all happen, not some parts of it. Therefore I think orchestration is more possible to surmount as an assignment than as a single organizer system role.

I wrote a post about this some months ago on inmaxmind.com called 'the Orchestrator' http://inmaxmind.blogspot.com/2011/09/orchestrator.html"

What's your opinion about orchestration?