Cloud-Based App Development Tools

Skytap, the self-service cloud peddler, claims its users can now provision a self-service hybrid cloud in less than 10 minutes using a secure, two-way connection between their data center and Skytap's virtual public infrastructure.

Usually setting up a hybrid cloud is a complex, time-consuming, pricey exercise, requiring days of coding, altogether a barrier to adoption.

Skytap says it's reduced the hocus-pocus to a point-and-click GUI used to set up, test and configure IPSec connections between Skytap and the private data center.

Administrators can use it to set security perimeters including or excluding specific remote subnets and configurations. Configuration reportedly takes an hour plus testing and verification.

Authorized users, usually dev and test guys, since that's Skytap shtick, can then connect Skytap cloud environments to their in-house systems.

Hybrid cloud environments usually don't persist connectivity parameters without complex programming. In this case, Skytap says it provides persistent connections across its templates, configurations and snapshots. Users can create multiple parallel environments with secure IPSec VPN connections using a template-driven set-up process and persist those connections across suspend/resume operations.

The network connections can also be switched dynamically. Cloud machines don't have to stop.

Figure $1,000 a month to start for 20-25 users and 20-25 VMs.

Skytap supports VMware and Xen.