Proprietary Cloud Service: Self Data Center

Sparkle Self Data Center service is based on world’s top performing vendor technologies and provide our Customers with top class integrated IaaS, PaaS and SaaS services available in next generation DCs located in Italy, Turkey and Greece.

Leveraging TIM Group technical expertise and management know-how, Self Data Center support Customers in tailoring and optimizing their IT architecture and cost of services. The offering includes top security and reliability, easy and fast implementation, a high level of scalability, great flexibility in service configuration as well as in pricing model and contractual solutions.

Characteristics

The service portfolio includes comprehensive and modular solution of servers and computing resources such as vCore, RAM and disk space on cloud infrastructure.

The portfolio provides also a standard catalogue ("Public Catalogue") of vApp templates, including, but not limited to, Microsoft Windows operating system software and Microsoft SQL Server Standard Edition. Support to the templates containing Microsoft software on the public catalogue is performed by SPARKLE. Upon vApps instantiation process, the vApps management (eg. Patching of the operating system, support of Linux Red Hat or Suse distributions, ...) is performed by the Customer only.

The service allows Customers to build their Virtual Data Center in a stand-alone mode, accessible from any device through a web console, to safely handle data and business applications and ensure that it works even when peak usage is used.

Furthermore, Customers can benefit of full autonomy in the Virtual Data Center management of the following features:

  • Configuring Virtual Servers
  • Configuring antivirus services
  • Restore the backup as described on IO9
  • Network configuration (Firewall, DHCP, NAT, VPN)

Management, monitoring and maintenance of the physical delivery platform in all its components, as well as the Public Catalogue updates, are of Sparkle's responsibility.

Customers have access to specific sets of metrics available through Sparkle (vCloud Director) web portal and can view resources’ consumption. The available metrics are related to the following parameters: Disk Usage (disk space allocated on Virtual Servers), GHz (CPU cycles used by Virtual Server), RAM (Amount of RAM allocated to virtual servers), Windows OS (Quantity of Virtual Servers with Windows OS), SQL Server DBMS (Quantity of Virtual Servers that use MS SQL Server).

Virtual Servers

Customers can create their own Virtual Servers starting from templates provided by Sparkle inside the Public Library. The licenses of Microsoft Windows Operating Systems are:

  • available for a fee on consumption basis: using Virtual Servers with Microsoft Windows operating systems, regardless if instantiated from Library Public or ISO images own, always involves the invoicing of the operating system by Sparkle
  • included in the monthly fee for the Pool Allocation Profile

The use of Linux template involves no licenses billing by Sparkle. Buyers shall sign contracts for such support autonomously with software vendors, if necessary. For stand-alone installation of the product Microsoft SQL Server and, more generally, any other product not pre-installed and activated on the Sparkle template made available, Customers will take care to check and agree in advance with the respective manufacturers/distributors possibility, mode and limits of use of the products on virtual systems made available by Sparkle in the service.

Pricing Model

Pay-as-you-go

Totally Usage based Profile: Pay Only Resources and Features You Actually Use Depending on Your Server Status (On/Off)

Allocation Pool

An all-inclusive fixed fee: guaranteed computing resources, backup and antivirus capabilities, and Microsoft Operating Systems licenses

Data Classification

As an ISO27001 and a PCI-DSS Certified company, Sparkle has in place an appropriate Data Classification and Handling Policy and associated procedures; ICT Installation, Management Policies and Procedures enforce the use of special IT and Network Configuration Hardening Standards on all Cloud systems and network appliances which stores and/or process confidential data. Sparkle has no access to customer data as this are regarded as confidential.