IBM Cloud Professional

Certification Program
Study Guide Series

Exam C5050-287 - IBM Certified Solution

Advisor - Cloud Reference Architecture V5
Purpose of Exam Objectives 2
High-level Exam Objectives 2
Detailed Exam Objectives 4
Section 1 - Cloud Computing Concepts and Benefits 4
Section 2 - Cloud Computing Design Principles 14
Section 3 - IBM Cloud Reference Architecture 25
Section 4 - IBM Cloud Solutions 38
Next Steps 44
Purpose of Exam Objectives

When an exam is being developed, the Subject Matter Experts work together
to define the role the certified individual will fill. They define all of the tasks
and knowledge that an individual would need to have in order to successfully
implement the product. This creates the foundation for the objectives and
measurement criteria, which are the basis for the certification exam.

The Middleware Certification item writers use these objectives to develop the
questions that they write and which will appear on the exam.

It is recommended that you review these objectives. Do you know how to

complete the task in the objective? Do you know why that task needs to be
done? Do you know what will happen if you do it incorrectly? If you are not
familiar with a task, then go through the objective and perform that task in
your own environment. Read more information on the task. If there is an
objective on a task there is about a 95% chance that you WILL see a question
about it on the actual exam.

After you have reviewed the objectives and completed your own research,
then take the assessment exam. While the assessment exam will not tell you
which question you answered incorrectly, it will tell you how you did by
section. This will give you a good indication as to whether you are ready to
take the actual exam or if you need to further review the materials.

Note: This is the high-level list of objectives. As you review these objectives,
click for a more detailed level of how to perform the task.
High-level Exam Objectives
Section 1 - Cloud Computing Concepts and Benefits
1.1 Define the cloud computing business advantages.
1.2 Demonstrate knowledge of Cloud architecture characteristics.
Describe considerations such as risk, cost and compliance around cloud
1.3
computing.
1.4 Define automation and orchestration as it pertains to cloud computing.
1.5 Define why standardization is important to cloud computing.
1.6 Define service catalog as it pertains to cloud computing.
1.7 Define a hybrid cloud.
Define the difference between a private cloud, a public cloud, and a
1.8
hybrid cloud.
1.9 Define PaaS, Containers and Microservices.
1.10 Define Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS).
1.11 Define DevOps as it pertains to cloud computing.
1.12 Explain the benefits of patterns as description of cloud services.
1.13 Define software defined environments as they relate to cloud.
 Section 2 - Cloud Computing Design Principles
Demonstrate base knowledge needed to advice on creating a cloud
2.1
infrastructure.
2.2 Explain Cloud networking principles
2.3 Explain Cloud storage principles (block object file, SAN).
2.4 Describe security strategies in a cloud computing environment.
Design principle for cloud ready applications (patterns, chef/puppet, heat
2.5
templates).
Design principles for cloud native applications (open standards,
2.6
microservices, 12 factor app).
Design principles for application development/DevOps (lean, continuous
2.7
delivery, agile, shift left test, test automation).
Designing consumable applications for the cloud (UI, UX, design
2.8
thinking, innovation).
Define hybrid integration capabilities (data, network, services,
2.9
management, integration).
2.10 Explain the role of the API Economy in the Cloud.
Define how solutions in the cloud can be more effective (scalability, high
2.11
availability, service delivery).
Describe popular methods for billing, usage and accounting in the Cloud.
2.12
Describe principles of Cloud governance, compliance, and service
2.13
management.
Section 3 - IBM Cloud Reference Architecture
3.1 Explain the five defining principles of IBM Cloud.
3.2 Explain the benefits of using the IBM Cloud Reference Architecture.

Explain the Cloud Platform Services for ICRA (this would include the
3.3
Containers, foundational services, and services taxonomy of Bluemix).
Explain the Hybrid Cloud patterns represented in IBM’s Cloud
3.4
Reference Architecture ICRA.
Articulate issues for connectivity of off-premise cloud with on-premise
3.5
workload in support of hybrid cloud environments.
3.6 Describe high availability and disaster recovery for cloud computing.
Describe actors and roles as defined in IBM’s Cloud Reference
Architecture (ICRA). Specifically, Cloud Service Consumers, Cloud
3.7
Service Creators, Cloud Service Providers, Cloud Services, and the
Common Cloud Management Platform.
Describe how IBM Service Management can manage a cloud
3.8
environment.
Describe the Integration and Extensibility models of cloud solutions
3.9
using API management.
Describe non-functional requirements (NFRs) in the context of a cloud
3.10
solution.
 3.11 Explain the mobile patterns in Cloud as part of the ICRA.
3.12 Explain the IOT patterns in Cloud as part of the ICRA.
3.13 Explain the DevOps patterns in Cloud as part of the ICRA.
3.14 Explain the BD&A patterns in Cloud as part of the ICRA.
Section 4 - IBM Cloud Solutions
4.1 Describe the IBM capabilities for Cloud Managed Services.
4.2 Describe the IBM capabilities for Hybrid Integration.
4.3 Describe the IBM capabilities for Video services.
4.4 Describe the IBM capabilities for Cloud Brokerage.
4.5 Describe the IBM capabilities for DevOps.
4.6 Describe the IBM capabilities for Cloud native applications.
4.7 Describe the IBM capabilities for Service Management.
4.8 Describe the IBM capabilities for Storage.
4.9 Describe the IBM capabilities for Business Process Management.
4.10 Describe the IBM capabilities for IBM Marketplace.
Detailed Exam Objectives
Section 1 - Cloud Computing Concepts and Benefits
1.1. Define the cloud computing business advantages.
Cloud computing is the latest major evolution in computing. It is a paradigm
where computing resources are available when needed, and you pay for their
use in much the same way as for household utilities. Just as water is piped to
your home and you pay for as much or as little as you use, cloud computing
resources are available whenever needed and charges are based on how
much you use them. When you turn it off, the water that you would have used
is available for use by others and, in the same way, shared cloud resources
can be used by others when not used by you.

Widespread cloud computing is made possible by the Internet, and this is the
most common way of accessing cloud resources. Intranets and dedicated
networks are sometimes used too, in the case of a private cloud, for example.

1.1.1. Cloud computing provides the ability to make use of computing

resources on an immediate basis, rather than a need to first invest time
and skilled resources in designing and implementing infrastructure
(hardware and middleware) and/or applications, and then deploying
and testing it. This leads to faster time to value which may mean
enhanced revenue, larger market share, or other benefits.
1.1.2. Describe how cloud computing can be a disruptive influencer
1.1.3. Describe the Business Drivers for adopting Cloud Computing
1.1.3.1. Agility
1.1.3.2. Innovation
1.1.3.3. New business models
1.1.3.4. Velocity
1.1.3.5. Self Service
1.1.3.6. Cost reduction
1.1.4. Define and classify systems in typical IT landscape into each category
1.1.4.1. Systems of Record
1.1.4.2. Systems of Insight
1.1.4.3. Systems of Engagements
1.1.5. Choose the target operating environment for system categorized as
SOE, SOR, SOI, explain supporting rationale and business advantages
1.1.6. Define Two Speed IT, the characteristics of each and how would they
co-exist
1.1.6.1. Industrialized Core
1.1.6.2. Agile Edge
1.1.7. Describe the top five benefits realized from Cloud Computing
1.1.7.1. Achieve economies of scale
1.1.7.2. Reduce CapEx by moving to OpEx
1.1.7.3. Improve access
1.1.7.4. Implement agile development at low cost
1.1.7.5. Leverage global workforce References;http://www.cloud-
council.org/deliverables/CSCC-Practical-Guideto-Cloud-Computing.pdf
http://www.thoughtsoncloud.com/2015/05/the-cloud-as-a-disruptive-forcejohn-
hagel-of-the-deloitte-center-for-the-edge/

1.2. Demonstrate knowledge of Cloud architecture characteristics.

1.2.1. Cloud computing is a model for enabling ubiquitous, convenient,
ondemand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing
resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications, and services)
that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management
effort or service provider interaction. This cloud model is composed of
five essential characteristics, three service models, and four
deployment models.
1.2.2. Cloud architectures typically leverage Internet-accessible on-demand
services. Applications built on cloud architectures are such that the
underlying computing infrastructure is used only when it is needed (for
example to process a user request), draw the necessary resources
ondemand (like compute servers or storage), perform a specific job,
then relinquish the resources and often dispose themselves after the
job is done. While in operation, the application scales up or down
elastically based on resource needs.
1.2.3. Characteristics:
1.2.3.1. On demand self service
1.2.3.2. Omni-channel access
1.2.3.3. Resource pooling
1.2.3.4. Rapid elasticity
1.2.3.5. Measured service
1.2.4. References: http://www.cloud-council.org/deliverables/CSCC-
PracticalGuide-to-Cloud-Computing.pdf

1.3. Describe considerations such as risk, cost and compliance around

cloud computing.
1.3.1. Typical risks that should be considered and mitigated during a cloud
deployment may include the following; 1.3.1.1. Loss of governance
1.3.1.2. Compliance and legal risk
1.3.1.3. Responsibility ambiguity
1.3.1.4. Isolation failure
1.3.1.5. Data protection
1.3.1.6. Insecure or incomplete data deletion
1.3.1.7. Handling of security incidents
1.3.1.8. Service unavailability
1.3.1.9. Management interface vulnerability
1.3.1.10. Vendor lock-in
1.3.1.11. Business failure of the provider
1.3.1.12. Malicious behavior of insiders
1.3.2. Cloud solutions typically allow to shift costs from capital expense
(servers, storage, buildings, infrastructure) to operational expense
(people, software, consumption based services). This is achieved by
moving services to external cloud vendors that offer ‘their product’
based on consumption based pricing – or pay as you go. Large scale
cloud vendors can exploit economies of scale to offer their services at
lower price points than individual enterprises can achieve.
1.3.3. Consumption based pricing is attractive to consumers as it allows costs
to be scaled to business volumes, providing certainty of cost-model and
also avoiding significant up front costs (typically required for capital
investment in traditional IT projects).
1.3.4. Cost savings are achieved largely through automation, standardization,
and higher utilization of resources resulting in much higher efficiencies
of the cloud provider, that can then be passed onto the cloud
consumer.
1.3.5. References;
1.3.5.1. Platform-as-a-Service: An IBM Perspective
http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/abstracts/redp5041.html?Open
1.3.5.2. Securely Expose Business Assets and Fuel Innovation
http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/abstracts/redp5262.html?Open
1.3.5.3. Hybrid Cloud for Dummies
http://public.dhe.ibm.com/common/ssi/ecm/ku/en/kum12354us
en/KUM12354USEN.PDF
1.3.5.4. Security for Cloud Computing Ten Steps to Ensure Success
http://www.cloud-council.org/deliverables/CSCC-Security-
forCloud-Computing-10-Steps-to-Ensure-Success.pdf

1.4. Define automation and orchestration as it pertains to cloud

computing.
1.4.1. Automation and orchestration are the abilities to rapidly facilitate,
simplify, provision and enable management and integration of
computing resources with minimal administration effort or service
provider interaction.
1.4.2. Automation is a key infrastructure management for cloud computing
because without the benefits of automation, the complexity of a cloud
environment is increased significantly and thus generate added costs -
costs high enough to cancel out the cost savings derived from cloud
computing in the first place.
1.4.2.1. Provides standardization and automation for deployment and
management of IT services.
1.4.2.2. Provides the ability to maintain or improve quality and cost per
IT service.
1.4.2.3. Provides a management stack that is easier to handle and
provides for smoother workload migration.
1.4.2.4. Provides the ability to be audit proof and integrated with
process governance.
1.4.2.5. Provides the ability to reduce costly manual interventions.
1.4.2.6. Provides the ability for IT to reduce the skill requirements
needed for deploying and managing IT services.
1.4.2.7. Reduces errors caused by manual processes.
1.4.3. Orchestration provides the ability to integrate business processes and
other systems into the fulfillment of services and resources.
1.4.3.1. Provides the ability to coordinate complex actions within a
computing environment
1.4.3.2. Provides the ability to integration with external systems
1.4.3.3. Provides the ability to request approvals

1.5. Define why standardization is important to cloud computing.

1.5.1. Consolidating and standardizing the business processes in use in the
environment reduce the number of manual actions both physical and
electronic required to deploy a serviceand ensures a consistent
process flow is used.
1.5.2. A small set of standardized software builds ensure consistency across
the cloud environment, encapsulate the best practices for deployment,
and reduce the time and effort required to maintain the software builds.
1.5.3. Helps maximize repeatability, compatibility, and interoperability. It also
drives commoditization and increases quality.

1.6. Define service catalog as it pertains to cloud computing.

1.6.1. A cloud service catalog:
1.6.1.1. Contains a set of cloud services that an end user can request
(usually through a web self-service portal).
1.6.1.2. Acts as the ordering portal for cloud end users, including
pricing and service-level commitments and the terms and
conditions for service provisioning.
1.6.1.3. Can also be used as a demand management mechanism,
directing or incenting customers toward particular services or
service configurations or away from legacy or declining
services, as well as making sure of alignment with governance
and standards through default configurations and service
options.
 1.6.1.4. Has a self-service look and feel; that is, it provides the ability to
select service offerings from the cloud service catalog and
generate service requests to have instances of those offerings
fulfilled.
1.6.1.5. Is useful in developing suitable cloud-based solutions, thus
enabling other IT and business services, which in turn create
the value propositions for the investments in cloud
architectures.
1.6.1.6. Contains features and characteristics (atomic items that can be
configured and preferably priced based upon a "cloud
chargeback" mechanism) to fulfill a particular need.
1.6.1.7. Serves as the provisioning interface to automated service
fulfillment using a cloud orchestration subsystem.

1.7. Define a hybrid cloud.

1.7.1. A hybrid cloud is connection of one or more clouds with each other or
with traditional data centers. While these are independent, they are
connected together through technologies that enable data and
application integration.
1.7.2. A hybrid cloud model may enable enterprises to achieve substantial
savings in service delivery and service management through the
infrastructure and resources provided via the public cloud.
1.7.3. A hybrid cloud enables the cloud consumer to segregate workloads
based upon security and compliance requirements.
1.7.4. Describe how hybrid cloud impacts existing roles such as Lines of
Business owners, Solution Designers, Infrastructure and Operations
owners
1.7.5. Understanding of hybrid integration patterns
1.7.6. Understanding of cloud application maturity and gains at each level
1.7.6.1. Cloud enabled
1.7.6.2. Cloud Centric/Ready
1.7.6.3. Cloud native
1.7.7. Understanding of portability of workloads in a hybrid cloud
1.7.8. Describe the relevance of Cloud Brokerage in Hybrid Cloud
1.7.9. A hybrid cloud model provides an accessible and valuable solution for
enterprises which require data and application security and control
within a private cloud improving elasticity and minimizing resource
overcapacity and application balancing, while moving peak-loads and
less critical applications and data to the public cloud to improve service
delivery and cost of computing.

References: http://www.cloud-council.org/deliverables/CSCC-Practical-Guide-
to-HybridCloud-Computing.pdf
IBM Cloud Architecture Center/hybrid
http://www-935.ibm.com/services/multimedia/IBM_Future_of_Cloud_WEB.pdf
1.8. Define the difference between a private cloud, a public cloud, and a
hybrid cloud.

1.8.1. Define a private cloud.

1.8.1.1. In a private cloud, the cloud infrastructure is provisioned for
exclusive use by a single organization comprising multiple
consumers (e.g., business units). It may be owned, managed,
and operated by the organization, a third party, or some
combination of them, and it may exist on or off premises.
1.8.2. Define a public cloud.
1.8.2.1. In a public cloud, the cloud infrastructure is provisioned for
open use by the general public. It may be owned, managed,
and operated by a business, academic, or government
organization, or some combination of them. It exists on the
premises of the cloud provider.
1.8.2.2. Public clouds are where IT activities/functions are provided as
a service over the Internet, which allows access to
technologyenabled services without knowledge of, expertise
with, or control over the technology infrastructure that supports
them.
1.8.3. Define a hybrid cloud.
1.8.3.1. In a hybrid cloud, the cloud infrastructure is a composition of
two or more distinct cloud infrastructures (private, community,
or public) that remain independent entities, but are bound
together by technology that enables data and application
integration (e.g., cloud bursting for load balancing between
clouds).

1.8.3.2. Hybrid clouds are where the external and internal service
delivery methods are integrated. Rules and policies are
established by the organization based on factors such as
security needs, criticality and underlying architecture, so that
activities and tasks are allocated to external or internal clouds
as appropriate.
1.8.4. References: http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/nistpubs/800-
145/SP800145.pdf

1.9. Define PaaS, Containers and Microservices.

1.9.1. Explain PaaS.
1.9.1.1. The capability provided to the consumer is to deploy onto the
cloud infrastructure consumer-created or acquired applications
created using programming languages, libraries, services, and
tools supported by the provider. The consumer does not
manage or control the underlying cloud infrastructure including
network, servers, operating systems, or storage, but has
control over the deployed applications and possibly
configuration settings for the application-hosting environment
1.9.2. Explain how PaaS related to computing platform.
 1.9.2.1. A computing platform describes some sort of hardware
architectureor software framework (including application
frameworks), that allows software to run. A PaaS delivers a
computing platform as a service.
1.9.3. Explain Microservices.
1.9.3.1. A microservice is a basic element that results from the
architectural decomposition of an application’s components into
loosely coupled patterns consisting of self-contained services
that communicate with each other using a standard
communications protocol and a set of well-defined APIs,
independent of any vendor, product or technology.
Microservices are built around capabilities as opposed to
services, builds on SOA and is implemented using Agile
techniques. Microservices are typically deployed inside
Application Containers.
1.9.4. Explain Containers
1.9.4.1. An Application Container is a construct designed to package
and run an application or its’ components running on a shared
Operating System. Application Containers are isolated from
other Application Containers and share the resources of 
 the
underlying Operating System, allowing for efficient restart,
scale-up or scale-out of 
 applications across clouds.
Application Containers typically contain Microservices. 

1.9.5. References:
1.9.5.1. Definition of PaaS at NIST:
http://www.nist.gov/itl/cloud/index.cfm
http://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/Legacy/SP/nistspecialpublicatio
n800-146.pdf
http://dx.doi.org/10.6028/NIST.SP.800-145

1.9.5.2. Definition of Microservices and containers at NIST:

http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/drafts/800-180/sp800-
180_draft.pdf

1.10. Define Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS).

1.10.1. Explain IaaS
1.10.1.1. The capability provided to the consumer is to provision
processing, storage, networks, and other fundamental
computing resources where the consumer is able to deploy
and run arbitrary software, which can include operating
systems and applications. The consumer does not manage
or control the underlying cloud infrastructure but has control
over operating systems, storage, and deployed applications;
and possibly limited control of select networking components
(e.g., host firewalls).
1.10.2. Explain how IaaS related to utility computing.
 1.10.2.1. Utility computing relates to the business model in which
application infrastructure resources, hardware and/or
software are delivered. While cloud computing relates to the
way we design, build, deploy and run applications that
operate in a virtualized environment, sharing resources and
boasting the ability to dynamically grow, shrink, and self-heal.
1.10.3. Explain the difference between a private IaaS and a public IaaS
1.10.3.1. Private IaaS are deployed, operated and consumed within
the boundaries of the internal datacenter; in this model the
IT organization standardizes the set of infrastructural
services that it provides and develop the automations to
deploy these services rapidly. The consumers of these IaaS
services are business lines of development organizations in
the enterprise that request these services through a
servicecatalog. Public IaaS clouds allows to deliver the
same ser of infrastructural services, but outside of the
enterprise boundaries to other companies, to managed
accounts, or even to consumer users. Public cloud for
delivering IaaS services combine both the IaaS and cloud
service provider models.
1.10.4. List some examples of IaaS offerings.
1.10.4.1. Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud.
1.10.4.2. CenturyLink.
1.10.4.3. SoftLayer.
1.10.5. References:
1.10.5.1. Definition of IaaS at NIST:
http://www.nist.gov/itl/cloud/index.cfm
http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/nistpubs/800-145/SP800-
145.pdf
1.10.5.2. Definition of IaaS at Wikipedia.org:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud_computing

1.11. Define DevOps as it pertains to cloud computing.

1.11.1. DevOps is an approach based on lean and agile principles in which
business owners and the development, operations and quality
assurance departments collaborate to deliver software in a continuous
manner that enables the business to more quickly seize market
opportunities and reduce the time to customer feedback. Indeed,
enterprise applications are so diverse and composed of multiple
technologies, databases and end-user devices, and so-on, that only a
DevOps approach will be successful when dealing with these
complexities.
1.11.2. References;
http://www.ibm.com/ibm/devops/us/en/resources/dummiesbooks/

1.12. Explain the benefits of patterns as description of cloud services.

1.12.1. Describe the concept of patterns as description for cloud services:
 1.12.1.1. Patterns (aka service templates) describe how cloud
services and applications are deployed, managed and
scaled by an engine supporting the format (domain specific
language) of the cloud service.
1.12.1.2. Patterns describe the structure and topology of a cloud
service, i.e. the infrastructure and application components,
resources and relationships and related management
processes required to deliver the cloud service.
1.12.1.3. Pattern components are for instance definition of network
and storage elements, image, software binaries, install
scripts and recipes.
1.12.1.4. Patterns can either be described in a declarative (e.g.
expressed by relationships) or imperative manner (e.g.
express by a management plan).
1.12.1.5. Patterns can be composed out of other templates, e.g. an
application pattern may use an infrastructure pattern.
1.12.2. Describe the components supporting pattern based deployment:
1.12.2.1. The pattern language (domain specific language) defines
the format in which a cloud service is described. There are different
formats of patterns available today: standardized, proprietary, open-
source and open community formats.
1.12.2.2. Tools like pattern editors support the authoring of patterns.
1.12.2.3. The engine supporting the template language is used to
deploy the service template on to a platform (e.g. a private
or public cloud, or a specific type of hypervisor).
1.12.2.4. The service template may be published by the provider to a
marketplace to make it available to a broader community
and other consumers.
1.12.3. Describe the benefits of patterns:
1.12.3.1. Patterns codify best practices, promote standardization and
reuse, enable faster time-to-value and reduced costs
1.12.3.2. Service templates are portable across different technology
platforms supporting the same template language
1.12.3.3. Open standard pattern formats enable ecosystems and
avoid vendor lock-in for consumers.

1.12.4. References:
1.12.4.1. IBM Redpaper: Cloud Computing Patterns of Expertise:
http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/abstracts/redp5040.html?Ope
n
1.12.4.2. OASIS TOSCA standard:
https://www.oasisopen.org/committees/tc_home.php?wg_ab
brev=tosca
1.12.4.3. TOSCA Simple Profile in YAML Version 1.0:
https://www.oasis-
open.org/committees/download.php/52571/TOSCA-
SimpleProfile-YAML-v1.0-wd01-Rev-38.pdf
 1.12.4.4. OpenStack Heat: https://wiki.openstack.org/wiki/Heat
1.12.4.5. OpenStack HOT:
http://docs.openstack.org/developer/heat/template_guide/hot
_guide.html
1.12.4.6. PureApplication System:
http://www.ibm.com/ibm/puresystems/us/en/pf_pureapplicati
on.html
1.12.4.7. PureApplication Services on SoftLayer Beta:
https://www304.ibm.com/software/brandcatalog/puresystems
/centre/clo ud/PureApp-SL.html
1.12.4.8. PureSystems Centre / Pattern Catalog:
https://www304.ibm.com/software/brandcatalog/puresystems
/centre/bro wse
1.12.4.9. SmartCloud Orchestrator: http://www-
03.ibm.com/software/products/en/smartcloud-orchestrator/
1.12.4.10. UrbanCode Deploy: http://www-
03.ibm.com/software/products/en/ucdep

1.13. Define software defined environments as they relate to cloud.

1.13.1. A software-defined approach holistically automates network,
computing and storage capabilities and opens the lines of
communication between them. Essentially, software-defined
environments break down the silos between network, storage and
computing capabilities. Software-defined environments also offer a
more secure universe for servers and services to operate in. By
centralizing the infrastructure to one location, organizations are less
vulnerable to attacks on multiple locations.
1.13.2. Software defined environments can be composed of software-defined
data center (SDDC), software-defined network (SDN),
softwaredefined compute (SDC) and software-defined storage (SDS).
1.13.2.1. SDDC is a vision for IT infrastructure that extends
virtualization concepts such as abstraction, pooling, and
automation to all of the data center’s resources and services
to achieve IT as a service
1.13.2.2. SDN is an approach to computer networking that allows
network administrators to manage network services through
abstraction of lower level functionality.
1.13.2.3. SDS is a term for computer data storage technologies which
separate storage hardware from the software that manages
the storage infrastructure.
1.13.3. Another term out there is software-defined infrastructure (SDI). This
refers to the collective of compute, storage and network and the
intelligence for managing the infrastructure.
1.13.4. Use of the term software-defined environment (SDE) is the ability to
capture information about workloads and the way information is
processed, so we can set levels or objectives from a workload
perspective, and manage these according to service level agreements
(SLAs).
1.13.5. The SDE consumer and SDE providers.
1.13.5.1. An SDE consumer is someone who has a workload they
want to deploy and they want to specify policies and
nonfunctional requirements.
1.13.5.2. An SDE provider is a person building an infrastructure to
serve these consumers, that could be internal IT, which is
moving IT to the Cloud.
1.13.6. Understand the relevance of Open source in SDN, SDE, SDS.
1.13.7. OpenStack is a place where vendors come to build a consistent view
and see how their products would plug into this API-driven behavioral
model of an environment. It is a good framework for getting some
consistency in thinking and the approach to doing software-defined
everything and can be used as the foundation for a cloud computing
environment.
1.13.8. References:
http://www-01.ibm.com/common/ssi/cgi-
bin/ssialias?subtype=BK&infotype=PM&appname=STGE_DC_ZQ_U
SEN&htmlfid=DCM03004USEN&attachment=DCM03004USEN.PDF
http://www-935.ibm.com/services/us/en/it-
services/networkingservices/software-defined-network/
Section 2 - Cloud Computing Design Principles
2.1. Demonstrate base knowledge needed to advice on creating a cloud
infrastructure.
2.1.1. The creation of a cloud infrastructure requires an environment that
needs to address the following areas. A tester must be able to address
many of these topics
2.1.1.1. Hardware/platform: A cloud environment needs to select
hardware that can run virtualization technology. This includes
distributed servers and mainframe solutions with an operating
system that supports virtualization software.
2.1.1.2. Virtualization technology such as KVM, VMWare, zVM, etc.
2.1.1.3. Network topologies that supports the virtualization design,
WAN/LANs/MPLS, etc., as well as a topology in support of a
public, public and/or private cloud.
2.1.1.4. Security framework that meets the requirements of the public,
private and private cloud environment at a minimum. If the
application(s) that will run on the infrastructure is known, the
security requirements can be used to augment that design.
2.1.1.5. Storage and archival needs to manage the data and backup
needs
2.1.1.6. Provisioning and orchestration to manage, deploy, spin up,
etc., environments
2.1.1.7. Monitoring to provide visibility and management of the
environment
2.1.1.8. Capacity, availability and performance topics can be addressed
as it relates to creating a cloud infrastructure.
2.1.2. References:
 2.1.2.1. Overview of all the service models:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud_computing

2.2. Explain Cloud networking principles.

2.2.1. Cloud computing networks -- whether they support public, private, or
hybrid clouds – must be able to:
2.2.1.1. Burst up and turn down bandwidth on demand.
2.2.1.2. Provide extremely low latency throughput among storage
networks, the data center and the LAN.
2.2.1.3. Allow for non-blocked connections between servers to enable
automated movement of virtual machines (VMs).
2.2.1.4. Function within a management plane that stretches across
enterprise and service provider networks.
2.2.1.5. Provide visibility despite this constantly changing environment.
2.2.2. Capacity and planning:
2.2.2.1. Network capacity is defined in two dimensions, vertical and
horizontal capacity:
2.2.2.2. Vertical capacity relates to the forwarding and processing
capacity—in this case, a matrix such as bandwidth, packet rate,
concurrent sessions, and so on.
2.2.2.3. Horizontal capacity involves the breadth and reach of the
network-in this case, a matrix such as server port counts,
external connectivity bandwidth, and so on.
2.2.3. Describe the network performance implications of building data center
clouds.
2.2.3.1. Data center clouds are formed by connecting two or more data
center cloud networks over a wide area network(WAN). Due to
the inherent nature of WANs, network data loss and latency
must be closely examined to make sure that sufficient
bandwidth is allocated.
2.2.4. Identify the network performance issues related to creating
multinetwork data centers.
2.2.4.1. The latency accumulated in networks largely in proportion to the
number of interfaces a packet transits from source to
destination, and each switch that handles packets poses risk of
loss and delay. Network should be planned as flat as possible.
2.2.5. Software Defined Networking (SDN)
2.2.5.1. In Software Defined Networking the Control planes and Data
planes are separated in order to allow management using
software.
2.2.5.2. Software Defined Networking provides multi-tenancy and
supports network services required by a Cloud deployment
model. SDN has two models including the Overlay model and
the Network model.
2.2.6. Reference:
2.2.6.1. Cloud Computing Network Primer:
http://searchnetworking.techtarget.com/tutorial/Cloudcomputing
-network-primer
 2.2.6.2. Reference: The role of Software Defined Networking in Cloud
computing:http://searchcloudcomputing.techtarget.com/tip/Ther
ole-of-software-defined-networks-in-cloud-computing
2.2.6.3. Reference: IBM Data Center Networking Planning for
Virtualization and Cloud Computing
redbook:https://www.redbooks.ibm.com/Redbooks.nsf/Redpiec
eAbstracts/sg247928.html?Open

2.3. Explain Cloud storage principles (block object file, SAN).

2.3.1. Compute storage is traditionally either Block storage or File storage.
These storage models address specific uses cases that cover the needs
of most compute based workloads.
2.3.2. Object Storage is an extension of the File storage model that provides
additional capabilities in a Cloud deployment model.
2.3.3. Software Defined Storage capabilities provide various advanced
functions like thin-provisioning, compression, encryption, etc.
2.3.4. References;
2.3.4.1. Reference:
http://searchcloudstorage.techtarget.com/feature/How-
anobject-store-differs-from-file-and-block-storage
Reference:
http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/abstracts/redp5121.html

2.4. Describe security strategies in a cloud computing environment.

2.4.1. Knowledge of security for a cloud computing environment including
understanding of roles and responsibilities (who is responsible for what,
otherwise known as “who’s who in the zoo”).
2.4.2. Roles and responsibilities: cloud provider is always responsible for (at
least) physical and environmental security of the data center and the
provided cloud offering; solutions must take into account who does what
from a security point of view and how/when lines of communication are
maintained to address security concerns.
2.4.2.1. Evaluate cloud provider’s security posture. Cloud providers
should have ongoing audit process conducted by independent,
third-party auditors resulting in customer-accessible audit
reports and compliance/certification statements. These reports
will provide the insight needed to evaluate the cloud provider’s
security best practices and operational controls.
2.4.2.2. Understand scope of cloud provider’s roles and
responsibilities. As cloud offerings move up the stack, the
cloud provider assumes more responsibility for security
including data security. Understanding where the
responsibilities shift is critical to understanding where
responsibility and liability lie.
2.4.2.3. Understand lines of communication between cloud
provider, third parties (if any) and customer. Customer
deployed cloud workloads may involve additional services
(beyond the IaaS/PaaS provided by the Cloud provider)
 including third party or “marketplace” services and/or support
from business partners and ISVs who manage the Cloud
workload for a customer. In the case of an incident (security,
performance, other), clear lines of communication must be in
place so that issues can be addressed in a timely manner.
2.4.3. Cloud Hosted Workload Security Best Practices. The following security
measures represent general best practice implementations for security.
The scope of roles and responsibilities for each will depend on what
type of cloud infrastructure (IaaS, PaaS, SaaS, XaaS) is being
leveraged.
2.4.3.1. Implement and maintain a security process. A security
process can provide the structure for managing information
security, and the risks and threats to the target environment. In
the event of a security breach, the security process can provide
crucial information as to how the cloud is protected, responses
to threats, and a line of accountability for management of
events.
2.4.3.2. In an IaaS environment, the cloud provider will typically not
have access to the customer’s data/workload and is not likely
to detect any events within the customer’s environment that
may impact the customer’s data/workload. In this case, the
detection of an event (such as a data breach or loss) will
primarily lie with the customer, who must then understand
when and how to involve the cloud provider in any incident
process management.
2.4.3.3. In a SaaS environment, the cloud provider will have
responsibility for management of the application and data and
will have prime responsibility for breach prevention and
remediation. The SaaS provider and customer must
understand when the SaaS provider will notify of a suspected
breach and how they will involve the customer in any incident
response process.
2.4.3.4. In a PaaS environment it is (rule of thumb) equally likely that
either party will notice an event; the two parties should agree
on the types of events and communication and response
requirements related to the customer’s deployed workload
given the nature of the PaaS services selected.
2.4.3.5. Implement a vulnerability and intrusion management
program. As in any environment, in a trusted cloud
environment, you are required to implement a strict vulnerability
management program. Depending on the type of environment,
you may also be required to implement mechanisms such as
intrusion detection systems and intrusion Prevention Systems
to ensure that IT resources (servers, network, infrastructure
components, and endpoints) are constantly monitored for
vulnerabilities and breaches.
2.4.3.6. In a cloud environment, the cloud provider will be responsible
for vulnerability and intrusion management for the cloud
 infrastructure itself. This will typically be detailed and reported
in the cloud provider’s SOC2 or equivalent audit reports.
2.4.3.7. For the customer’s cloud hosted workload, the customer is
responsible for the appropriate operational management,
including vulnerability and intrusion management as required
by their environment. As an example, if a customer’s hosted
workload does not have any Internet-facing connectivity,
intrusion protection strategies may differ from a workload that
represents a web-facing retail store.
2.4.3.8. Build and maintain a secure cloud infrastructure. A secure
infrastructure helps provide cloud resiliency and the confidence
that the information stored in the cloud is adequately protected.
2.4.3.9. In a cloud environment, this means that customer must rely on
the secure cloud infrastructure provided by the Cloud provider
and must then build their deployed workload to also provide
security, performance, usability. Strategies for customer
defined workload resiliency will depend on the model of the
cloud provider; some providers will move a customer’s
workload across data centers to ensure continued availability;
others will not touch a customer’s workload.
2.4.3.10. Ensure confidential data protection. Data protection is a
core principle of information security. All of the prevalent
information security regulations and standards, as well as the
majority of industry best practices, require that sensitive
information be adequately protected in order to preserve
confidentiality. Confidentiality of such data is required no
matter where that data is resident in the chain of custody,
including the cloud environment.
2.4.3.11. In a cloud environment, at the IaaS/PaaS level, the customer
will typically retain full control of their workload data, and thus
the responsibility for data protection techniques including data
encryption, access control including logging/monitoring, and
data deletion.
2.4.3.12. In a SaaS environment, the SaaS provider will have
responsibility for data protection for the data managed by the
SaaS offering. The customer is responsible for ensuring that
the SaaS provider’s data protection controls are adequate for
the offering provided.
2.4.3.13. In all XaaS, the XaaS provider will have responsibility for the
data protection of the business data used to identify and bill
the customer. This may or may not include credit card data, in
addition to email, phone and address information. The XaaS
provider must demonstrate adequate controls on this data
including conformance with international regulations as
imposed for example in the European Union by local Data
Protection Agencies.
2.4.3.14. Implement strong access and identity management. Access
and identity management controls are critical to cloud
 security. These controls limit access to data and applications
to authorized and appropriate users.

2.5. Design principle for cloud ready applications (patterns, chef/puppet,

heat templates).
2.5.1. Identify workloads that are “cloud ready” from a risk, compliance, and
infrastructure perspective.
2.5.2. Given a list of workloads, be able to choose which are most likely to
benefit from porting to a cloud infrastructure.
2.5.3. Be able to identify benefits of leveraging pattern technology, i.e.,
portability, reuse, speed to market.
2.5.4. Identify common cloud pattern technology, e.g., HEAT Orchestration
Templates (HOT), IBM Pattern technology.
2.5.5. Identify common opensource automation tooling that supports cloud
application deployment including CHEF, Puppet, Ansible, Salt.
2.5.6. Identify common software appliance formats.
2.5.7. References;
2.5.7.1. Developerworks Article-
https://www.ibm.com/developerworks/cloud/library/cl-get-
themost-out-of-cloud-1-trs/
2.5.7.2. Upguard Article- https://www.upguard.com/articles/the-7-
configurationmanagement-tools-you-need-to-know
2.5.7.3. OpenStack HEAT- https://wiki.openstack.org/wiki/Heat

2.6. Design principles for cloud native applications (open standards,

microservices, 12 factor app).

2.6.1. Understand Cloud Native applications.

2.6.1.1. In general, a native app is an application program that has
been developed for use on a particular platform or device.
Cloud native apps are designed to take advantage of cloud
computing frameworks, which are composed of looselycoupled
cloud services. That means that developers must break down
tasks into separate services that can run on several servers in
different locations. Because the infrastructure that supports a
native cloud app does not run locally, cloud native apps must
be planned with redundancy in mind so the application can
withstand equipment failure and be able to re-map IP
addresses automatically should hardware fail.
2.6.1.2. The design paradigm is cost-effective, however, because
services and resources for computation and storage can be
scaled out horizontally as needed, which negates the need for
over-provisioning hardware and having to plan for load
balancing. Virtual servers or containers can quickly be added
for testing and production deployment and can be brought to
market on the same day it's created.
2.6.2. Understand12-factor applications
 2.6.2.1. The Twelve-Factor App outlines a methodology for developers
to follow when building modern web-based applications.
2.6.2.1.1. Codebase - One codebase tracked in revision
control, many deploys.
2.6.2.1.2. Dependencies -Explicitly declare and isolate
dependencies.
2.6.2.1.3. Config -Store config in the environment.
2.6.2.1.4. Backing Services -Treat backing services as
attached resources.
2.6.2.1.5. Build, release, run -Strictly separate build and run
stages.
2.6.2.1.6. Processes -Execute the app as one or more
stateless processes.
2.6.2.1.7. Port binding - Export services via port binding.
2.6.2.1.8. Concurrency - Scale out via the process model.
2.6.2.1.9. Disposability - Maximize robustness with fast startup
and graceful shutdown.
2.6.2.1.10. Dev/prod parity - Keep development, staging, and
production as similar as possible.
2.6.2.1.11. Logs - Treat logs as event streams.
2.6.2.1.12. Admin processes - Run admin/management tasks
as one-off processes.
2.6.3. Explain Microservices
2.6.3.1. A microservice is a basic element that results from the
architectural decomposition of an application’s components into
loosely coupled patterns consisting of self-contained services
that communicate with each other using a standard
communications protocol and a set of well-defined APIs,
independent of any vendor, product or technology.
Microservices are built around capabilities as opposed to
services, builds on SOA and is implemented using Agile
techniques. Microservices are typically deployed inside
Application Containers.
2.6.4. References:
2.6.4.1. Definition of Microservices and containers at NIST:
http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/drafts/800-180/sp800-
180_draft.pdf
2.6.4.2. Redbook - Microservices from theory to practice
http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/abstracts/sg248275.html?Open&
ce=ism3129&cmp=IBMSocial&ct=C43202QW&cm=h&IIO=BSY
S&csr=blog&cr=casyst&ccy=us&s_tact=C43202QW&s_pkg=ov
xxxx
2.6.4.3. Building Cloud Native Applications
http://ryanjbaxter.com/2015/07/13/building-cloud-
nativeapplications/
2.6.4.4. IBM & OpenSource https://www.ibm.com/cloud-
computing/bluemix/open-source/
 2.6.4.5. 12-Factor App http://12factor.net/
http://www.clearlytech.com/2014/01/04/12-factor-apps-
plainenglish/

2.7. Design principles for application development/DevOps (lean,

continuous delivery, agile, shift left test, test automation).
2.7.1. DevOps is all about how quickly can you get an idea to production @
scale;
2.7.1.1. Accelerate software development and delivery - by enabling
collaboration between customers and enterprises and
eliminating organizational silos;
2.7.1.2. Balance speed, cost, quality and risk- By automating manual
processes and eliminating waste;
2.7.1.3. Improve client experience - By speeding the customer
feedback loop by being agile.
2.7.2. In the DevOps delivery pipeline Collaborative Development and
Continuous Integration automates the delivery and building of the
code upon check-in by the developers. Automated tests are also run by
the build server and upon passing the completed package is ready to
for deployment to an environment for more rigorous tests.
2.7.3. Continuous Integration enables DevOps teams to quickly integrate and
validate changes and prepare those changes for testers automatically.
2.7.4. In the DevOps delivery pipeline, Continuous Delivery is the
automation of deployment, testing, and delivery of changes to
progressively more rigorous testing environments.
2.7.5. Continuous Delivery enables DevOps teams to quickly deploy,
orchestrate, and assure testing criteria are met at each stage in the
delivery pipeline. Deployments are made frequently and all deployment
steps are consistent throughout the delivery pipeline.
2.7.6. In the DevOps delivery pipeline, Shift Left Testing involves creating
production-like environments where more realistic tests can be done
earlier in the delivery lifecycle. Techniques such as service
virtualization, emulation of production data, and production-like
simulated load are used to create environments with low overhead.
2.7.7. Shift Left Testing enables DevOps teams to find and fix problems much
sooner because the systems under test more closely resemble the
conditions in production.
2.7.8. In the DevOps delivery pipeline, Shift Left Ops involves integrating the
Operations functions as part of the overall DevOps team. “If you build
it, you run it” is a mantra of many DevOps teams. Environment
provisioning, configuration, deployment, go-live, management, and
monitoring are all responsibilities of the DevOps team.
2.7.9. Shift Left Ops enables DevOps teams to deploy to all stages including
production with confidence and understanding of all details for
successful delivery.
2.7.10. In the DevOps delivery pipeline, Lean Application Delivery combines
agile practices and Lean principles to enable enterprise DevOps
teams to orchestrate complex multi-application releases in a
 continuous and efficient manner. DevOps teams use Lean principles
to eliminate bottlenecks and continuously improve delivery processes
with an end goal of providing Speed to Value for the business.
2.7.11. References;
2.7.11.1. DevOps for Dummies
www.ibm.com/ibm/devops/us/en/resources/dummiesbooks/

2.8. Designing consumable applications for the cloud (UI, UX, design
thinking, innovation).
2.8.1. Understand the common design thinking tools
2.8.1.1. Understand the purpose of a playback
2.8.1.2. Understand the purpose of an empathy map
2.8.1.3. Understand the purpose of hills
2.8.1.4. Understand the purpose of a scenario map
2.8.2. Understand the difference between user interface design and user
experience design.
2.8.2.1. User Experience Design describes increasing customer
satisfaction and loyalty by improving the usability and ease of
use in the interaction between the customer and the product
2.8.2.2. User Interface Design describes the graphical layout and
format of the interfaces used within a product.
2.8.3. Understand what companies are trying to accomplish by adopting an
innovation agenda
2.8.4. Reference: http://www.ibm.com/design/thinking/

2.9. Define hybrid integration capabilities (data, network, services,

management, integration).
2.9.1. Hybrid integration bridges the gap between cloud and on-premises
applications quickly and easily.
2.9.2. Organizations need a capability to connect seamlessly hundreds of
endpoints to apps and data in the cloud and on premises.
2.9.3. A hybrid integration platform provides the ability to develop applications
rapidly, with intuitive & robust tooling to transform data to meet business
needs.
2.9.4. A hybrid integration platform provides the performance and scalability to
meet the SLAs for your business applications.
2.9.5. References:
2.9.5.1. Hybrid Cloud Data and API Integration: Integrate Your
Enterprise and Cloud with Bluemix Integration Services
2.9.5.2. IBM Reference Architecture for API management
developerworks article:
https://developer.ibm.com/apiconnect/documentation/api-
101/ibm-reference-architecture-api-management/

2.10. Explain the role of the API Economy in the Cloud.

2.10.1. The API Economy provides for the commercial exchange of business
functions, capabilities, or competencies as services using standard
web based interfaces.
2.10.2. An organization that uses APIs to deliver their services must choose
among a variety of business models in order to derive the benefits
they are seeking.
2.10.3. An organization that uses APIs to deliver their services must choose
among a variety of adoption models in order to satisfy the needs of
their consumers.
2.10.4. References:
2.10.4.1. API Economy Redbook
http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/abstracts/redp5096.html
2.10.4.2. API Management Concepts on DeveloperWorks
http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/middleware/services/ba
dges/badgeapim1.html
2.10.4.3. API for Dummies on DeveloperWorks
https://developer.ibm.com/apimanagement/2014/12/11/apisd
ummies/

2.11. Define how solutions in the cloud can be more effective

(scalability, high availability, service delivery).
2.11.1. Scalability in the cloud
2.11.1.1. IaaS offers capabilities to automate the manual scaling
process associated with adding or removing virtual servers
to support your business applications.
2.11.1.2. PaaS offers the capabilities for optimizing application
performance through both vertical and horizontal scaling.
2.11.2. High Availability
2.11.2.1. High availability (HA) and disaster recovery (DR) strategies
are challenges that many companies are attempting to
manage.
2.11.2.2. Cloud providers use multiple application instances and
availability zones to enable consumers to configure
infrastructure and application component clusters, and
determine the availability configuration for their application.
2.11.2.3. Local and global load balancing is provided to ensure no
single device gets overwhelmed, and to distribute traffic
between servers in one or multiple availability zones.
2.11.3. Service Delivery
2.11.3.1. Cloud computing is offered in multiple service models (IaaS,
PaaS and SaaS) and multiple deployment models (private,
public and hybrid).
2.11.3.2. Cloud may further be available as completely self-service,
partially managed or fully managed by the cloud provider
depending upon the workload requirements.
2.11.3.3. Several services are offered in the cloud to support wide
variety of workload such as monolithic applications, cloud
 foundry support, containers, Openstack and software
defined environments.
2.11.4. References;
2.11.4.1. SoftLayer Auto Scale:
https://knowledgelayer.softlayer.com/learning/introductionsoft
layer-auto-scale
2.11.4.2. Bluemix Auto Scaling:
http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/cloud/library/cl-
bluemixautoscale/

2.12. Describe popular methods for billing, usage and accounting in the
Cloud.
2.12.1. Subscription-based pricing
2.12.1.1. In this model customer pay to have access to the
product/service for a period of time – typically on a monthly
basis. The model was pioneered by magazines and
newspapers, but is now used by many businesses and
Websites. Rather than selling products individually, a
subscription sells periodic (monthly or yearly or seasonal)
use or access to a product or service. The model typically
allows for unlimited usage during the subscription period. So
that the customer pays the same amount regardless of the
amount of resources they used.
2.12.2. Elastic pricing or Consumption-based pricing model
2.12.2.1. In this model the cost is tied to what customer actually use.
Under these models you only pay for the amount of
resources/services you actually use such as service
functions, disk space, CPU time and network traffic.
2.12.3. Market-based pricing or Spot pricing for cloud
2.12.3.1. With market-based pricing there is a market price for a
service, the market price varies over time based on supply
and demand. Market forces govern the spot-pricing model
i.e., when computing and storage resources are in high
demand, the spot market will drive the price of services
higher. Conversely, when resources are in low demand, the
spot market will drive the price lower offering opportunities
for bargain hunters. On the other side as a customer you
can buy the service at the current price and use it straight
away. Or you can make a bid to use the service at a lower
price and if the market price reaches your price then your
workload will be activated and you will be charged at your
bid price.
2.12.4. Cloud chargeback/showback
2.12.4.1. In this model the consumer pay for the usage. It correlates
utilization back to cloud consumers or corporate
departments, so that usage can be charged if desired.
2.13. Describe principles of Cloud governance, compliance, and service
management.
2.13.1. One of the aspects of cloud that often escapes critical evaluation is
governance – the question of how all the loose associations upon
which cloud depends are to be maintained and operated in a way that
is reliable and trustworthy. It’s important for Cloud consumers to
recognize that they are responsible for ensuring regulatory
compliance.
2.13.2. An enterprise seeking to leverage services from a cloud environment
needs to understand, first, what qualities and characteristics and
dependencies are associated with the service; and second, how that
service can be best orchestrated into their existing environment.
2.13.3. Governance is about making good decisions regarding performance
predictability and requiring accountability. This is the case whether
you’re governing your own data center or thinking about the cloud. At
its most basic, governance is about applying policies relating to using
services. It’s about defining the organizing principles and rules that
determine how an organization should behave.
2.13.4. References:
2.13.4.1. http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/understanding-
itgovernance-in-cloud-computing.html
2.13.4.2. http://searchsoa.techtarget.com/definition/cloud-governance
2.13.4.3. http://searchcloudcomputing.techtarget.com/essentialguide/
Breaking-down-whats-in-your-cloud-SLA
Section 3 - IBM Cloud Reference Architecture
3.1. Explain the five defining principles of IBM Cloud.
These are the five guiding principles to think about in Cloud. Choice with
Consistency because where and how you develop and deploy data and
apps does matter. Hybrid Integration to build on what you have today &
only change what needs to change. DevOps Productivity to give you the
speed to innovate, experiment and continuously deliver the things you
need. Powerful, Accessible Data & Analytics to get closer to the
customer and to make smarter decisions in real time. Cognitive
Solutions to go to the next level in deeper human engagement and
deeper understanding of dark data.
3.1.1. Choice with Consistency means we need to put the right workload in
the right place, and knowing that data is growing exponentially,
customers are looking for options when it comes to web scale data.
Some data will need to be local for a variety of reasons. Other data can
be stored into the cloud to take advantage of flexibility and scalability.
3.1.2. Hybrid Integration and will represent the majority of workload because
you’re always going to be connecting to something else.
3.1.3. DevOps productivity. If you look at the number programmers out there
building applications their world is changing. Instead of simply coding
they have to be assembling and composing. They're going to take
API's and micro services and quickly put them together in new and
unique ways.
3.1.4. Powerful, Accessible Data & Analytics - The cloud has enabled us to
connect data and data sources that we've never seen before and were
simply not possible previously – or at the very least not practical
without cloud. And we are able to do things and gain insights that are
fundamentally transforming whole business models. It starts with
modern tools.
3.1.5. Cognitive Solutions - IBM made a deliberate decision to open up
Watson technology to the world. Watson APIs are the cognitive building
blocks to apply Watson’s capabilities. Watson APIs are available on
Bluemix, and with Watson, partners and clients can build cognition into
digital applications, products, and operations, using any one or
combination of APIs.

3.2. Explain the benefits of using the IBM Cloud Reference Architecture.
3.2.1. The ICRA saves your business time and money by providing detailed
documentation on the steps and components required for constructing
a Cloud implementation across all deployment models which are
proven and harvested from client experiences.
3.2.2. Your business can benefit from IBM’s experience in creating Public,
Private, and Hybrid Clouds solutions with one common architecture
with reusable assets and product recommendations.
3.2.3. It complies to Industry standards infact leads the way of getting the
vendor neutral architectures endorsed by CSCC.
3.2.4. Your business receives a quicker start to create an industrial strength
cloud architectures with pre-defined use cases and documentation on
the architectural functional and non functional requirements like for
security, services management, performance, HA/DR, scalability and
virtualization
3.2.5. The ICRA promotes a self serve model to utilize sound architectural
principles to speed development and reduce errors across the entire
cycle, ensuring designs can scale for efficiencies and can fulfill
important Cloud requirements such as elasticity, self-service and
flexible sourcing
3.2.6. It complies to Industry standards infact leads the way of getting the
vendor neutral architectures endorsed by CSCC.
3.2.7. Most important IBM Cloud architecture center provides a one stop shop
to get into details of cloud solutions addressing workloads like mobile,
Big Data analytics, hybrid solutions etc.

3.3. Explain the Cloud Platform Services for ICRA (this would include the
Containers, foundational services, and services taxonomy of
Bluemix).

3.3.1. Describe the roles – Consumer (Customer, Partner, Agent), Creator,

Provider and Broker;
3.3.1.1. Consumer represents any person or system that can interact
with the cloud computing environment, including customer,
partner, developer and provider employees.
 3.3.1.2. Creators create the applications, packaging and definitions that
become the Cloud Services offered by the provider.
3.3.1.3. Provider is the entity that makes the cloud services available
and manages the support systems that manage the cloud
services.
3.3.1.4. Broker is the entity to through API the user and the provider.
3.3.2. Describe the domains within the Provider – Access, Cloud Services,
Common Cloud Management Platform (BSS, OSS), Infrastructure.
3.3.2.1. The Access domain provides the edge of network infrastructure
for the Provider including security, routing, network optimization
and network protection functions
3.3.3. Describe the functional categories within Business Support Services
(BSS).
3.3.3.1. BSS categories are Customer Management, Product
Management, Partner Management, Subscription
Management, Metering, Billing, Rating and Charging, Financial
Management, Analytics and Reporting
3.3.4. Describe the functional categories within Operational Support Services
(OSS).
3.3.4.1. OSS categories are Service Automation, Package Onboarding,
Service Quality Management, Package Management, Service
Operations Management, VM
Management and Resource Management
3.3.5. Describe the five access interfaces – Customer Access, Storefront,
Customer Management, Partner Management, and Provider
Management.
3.3.5.1. Customer Access provides the interface (visual or non-visual)
for interacting with Cloud Services.
3.3.5.2. Storefront provides the interface for discovering, selecting and
ordering Cloud Services.
3.3.5.3. Customer Management provides the interface for managing
customer accounts, users/groups and existing subscriptions.
3.3.5.4. Partner Management provides the interface for managing
partner accounts and product management by partners.
3.3.5.5. Provider Management provides the interfaces for managing the
cloud and its systems by the provider and its agents.
3.3.6. Describe the aggregated patterns provided by the Platform Services.
3.3.6.1. The Platform Services adoption pattern describes methods to
provide application development and deployment
environments, middleware deployment and management
environments, and cloud integration services where the
consumer has access to the data and applications for the
platform, but not the underlying supporting infrastructure.
3.3.6.2. Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) - this pattern covers
the continuum of managing an application through governance,
development, and maintenance. Includes Analyze, On-Board,
 Develop, Test, Continuous Deployment, and Manage. Focus
areas: Continuous delivery and DevOps.
3.3.6.3. Middleware deployment and management (Elastic Services
and Applications Platform - ESAP) - this pattern covers the
ability to increase or decrease capacity dynamically to provide
latency optimization and redundancy for scalable and
faulttolerant applications and database infrastructure
deployable in a single VM or a cluster. Deployment of
middleware and applications including for example data and
applications like SAP. Focus areas: Deployment of cloud
enabled or cloud born applications; elasticity and resiliency
services; elastic data caching; and scale-out data (NoSQL) and
scale-up data.
3.3.6.4. Cloud Services and Operating Environment (CSOE) - this
pattern covers the APIs for various cloud integrations including
Private to Private, Private to Public, Private to On-Premise,
Public to On-Premise, Public to Public, and Public to Private
Clouds. Includes “Born on the Cloud” and SaaS
solutions.Focus areas: Hybrid Cloud, API management,
Private/Public PaaS integration, Platform linkage up to SaaS
and down to IaaS.
3.3.7. Describe how containers have change the way applications are
developed an deployed.
3.3.8. Describe how containers package applications and dependencies into
deployable standardized units.
3.3.9. Describe the general foundational services and the service taxonomy
provided by Bluemix.

3.4. Explain the Hybrid Cloud patterns represented in IBM’s Cloud

Reference Architecture ICRA.
3.4.1. Explain the benefits of leveraging IBM’s Cloud Reference Architecture
and how it can be leveraged to facilitate a Cloud deployment.
3.4.2. Be able to define Hybrid Cloud and identify the architectural differences
between Hybrid, Private, and Public clouds.
3.4.3. Understand the different deployment models for Hybrid Cloud.
3.4.4. Articulate brokerage services in the context of Hybrid cloud, i.e., why
are brokerage services necessary and what do they provide?
3.4.5. References;
3.4.5.1. IBM Cloud Reference Architecture (ICRA)
http://ibm.co/1P6TY8r
3.4.5.2. IBM Redguide: IBM SmartCloud: Building a Cloud Enabled
Data Center:
http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/abstracts/redp4893.html

3.5. Articulate issues for connectivity of off-premise cloud with

onpremise workload in support of hybrid cloud environments.
 There are three primary areas for consideration when we adapt our
approach to security to move from perimeter-based security controls to
security across (distributed) applications and data;

3.5.1. Identity - Manage identities and govern user access;

3.5.1.1. Continue focus on least privilege, separation of duty models in
all cases.
3.5.1.2. Continue to act as authoritative source of user status,
privileges
3.5.1.3. Use automation to ensure that users are properly permissioned
at Cloud Provider for access to Cloud Provider’s resources
(management portal, APIs).
3.5.1.4. Extend identity federation to Cloud deployed environment to
support continued control over privileged users providing
operational support of Cloud hosted environment.
3.5.2. Protection - Protect infrastructure, applications, and data from threats;
3.5.2.1. Cloud environments can use the same security tools, policies,
and procedures as traditional IT to satisfy the compliance
requirements of Cloud hosted applications and workloads.
3.5.2.2. Ensure appropriate firewalls, IDS/IPS, traffic monitoring
between environments.
3.5.2.3. Leverage IaaS/PaaS structure to move to a High Availability ==
Disaster Recovery == Business Continuity architecture.
3.5.3. Insight - Auditable intelligence on cloud access, activity, cost and
compliance;
3.5.3.1. Use move to cloud as a means to improve your overall IT asset
management: know where your servers and what they are
doing at all times.
3.5.3.2. Leverage cloud provider’s APIs and logs for complete visibility
into your cloud environment.
3.5.3.3. Learn how to use an IaaS/PaaS SOC2 or ISO27001/2
certification as basis for your workload compliance assertions
3.5.3.4. Learn how to evaluate SaaS security and compliance.

3.6. Describe high availability and disaster recovery for cloud

computing.
3.6.1. Describe High Availability as it relates to “manage from” and “manage
to” stacks in a cloud computing environment.
3.6.1.1. High Availability of “manage from” stack may be required to
ensure the cloud continues to perform despite component
failures.
3.6.1.2. High Availability of “manage to” components ensures the
workloads provisioned on the cloud are able to perform at the
SLAs desired by the organization.
3.6.2. Define the areas of considerations for high availability of a cloud
solution.
3.6.2.1. Resilient virtual infrastructure ensures the underlying hardware
that the workloads run on can withstand failures.
 3.6.2.2. Resilient Common Cloud Management Platform ensures the
cloud computing management environment is highly available
and builds on top of the resilient virtual infrastructure.
3.6.2.3. Resilient Cloud Managed Services from the perspective of a
Cloud Managed Service provider ensures the services
delivered via the cloud are configured to be highly available.
3.6.2.4. Resilient Cloud Managed Services being used together with
partner applications in an end-to-end composite solution scope
require all aspects of service composition to be highly
available.
3.6.3. Define RTO and RPO:
3.6.3.1. Recovery Time Objective (RTO) specifies the duration of time
within which a business process must be restored after a
disaster.
3.6.3.2. Recovery Point Objective (RPO) specifies the point in time to
which data must be recovered, measured backwards from the
time of occurrence of the disaster.
3.6.4. Define DR topologies and configurations as it relates to cloud
computing
3.6.4.1. Describe DR topologies that can be leverage to provide optimal
RTO/RPO. These topologies can be defined as Single Primary
/ Single Secondary, Multiple Unrelated Primary / Single
Secondary, Hybrid Cloud: Multiple Related Primaries and the
configurations as Frozen DR, Cold DR, Warm DR, Hot DR and
Active/Active DR.
3.6.5. References:
3.6.5.1. Building a Cloud Enabled Data Center
http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/redpapers/pdfs/redp4893.pdf
3.6.5.2. Becoming a Cloud Service Provider
http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/redpapers/pdfs/redp4912.pdf

3.7. Describe actors and roles as defined in IBM’s Cloud Reference

Architecture (ICRA). Specifically, Cloud Service Consumers, Cloud
Service Creators, Cloud Service Providers, Cloud Services, and the
Common Cloud Management Platform.
3.7.1. Explain the role of the Cloud service consumer:
3.7.1.1. Cloud service consumers require a simplified interface with
well-defined service offerings, pricing and contracts.
3.7.1.2. The cloud service consumer is the individual, organization or
system which consumes service instances delivered by a
particular cloud service.
3.7.1.3. Examples of service consumption are requests for virtual
servers, changes to CPU capacity, requests for storage based
on pre-defined templates, etc…
3.7.1.4. Cloud service consumers browse the service offering catalog
and trigger service instantiation requests.
3.7.2. Explain the role of the Cloud service provider:
 3.7.2.1. Cloud service providers are the owners of the CCMP, and are
responsible for providing cloud services to the cloud service
consumer.
3.7.2.2. The cloud service provider may itself be a consumer of the
CCMP (in a hosted SaaS offering for example), or they may be
running the CCMP themselves.
3.7.3. Explain the role of the Cloud service creator:
3.7.3.1. Cloud service creators are responsible for creating the services
being offering in the cloud services offering.
3.7.3.2. Cloud service creators produce their cloud services by
leveraging and enhancing functionality exposed by the cloud
service provider.
3.7.3.3. Cloud service creators would be responsible for the design,
testing, implementation and maintenance of management
artifacts specific to a cloud service.
3.7.3.4. The cloud service creator can be an organization (e.g., ISV
company) or an individual (e.g., business/technical specialists
in the ISV creating services)
3.7.4. Describe Cloud Services as defined by the IBM CCRA V4:
3.7.4.1. There are 4 categories of cloud services: IaaS, PaaS, SaaS,
BPaaS
3.7.4.2. In contrast to traditional IT services, cloud services have
attributes such as pay-per-usage, self-service usage, flexible
scaling and shared-usage.
3.7.5. Describe the CCMP:
3.7.5.1. The CCMP architecture is responsible for delivering instances
of cloud services of any category to cloud service consumers,
in an ongoing, self-service fashion.
3.7.5.2. The infrastructure element layer relates to the hardware
infrastructure such as facilities, servers, storage, and network
resources.
3.7.5.3. No software or hypervisor, or virtualization management
software is included in this infrastructure layer.
3.7.5.4. The infrastructure is managed by the OSS part of the CCMP.
3.7.5.5. The CCMP exposes a set of BSS and OSS:
3.7.5.5.1. BSS Examples – Customer account management,
service offering catalog/management,
contracts/agreement management, service request
management, order management, pricing,
entitlement management, subscription management,
metering, rating, billing, accounts payable, accounts
receivable, clearing and settlement.
3.7.5.5.2. OSS Examples – Service delivery catalog, service
automation management, service request
management, change & configuration management,
image lifecycle management, provisioning, incident
& problem management, IT service level
management, monitoring & event management, IT
 asset & license management, capacity &
performance management and platform &
virtualization management.
3.7.6. References;
3.7.6.1. IBM Cloud Reference Architecture (ICRA)
http://ibm.co/1P6TY8r
3.7.6.2. IBM Redguide: IBM SmartCloud: Building a Cloud Enabled
Data Center:
http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/abstracts/redp4893.html

3.8. Describe how IBM Service Management can manage a cloud

environment.
3.8.1. Describe the concepts of Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) at a high
level.
3.8.1.1. SOA is a set of components which can be invoked, and whose
interface descriptions can be published and discovered. It
defines how to integrate disparate applications for a web-based
environment while using various implementation platforms.
3.8.2. Describe how cloud computing supports efforts to establish a
serviceoriented architecture and to enhance service management.
3.8.2.1. SOA is the process of defining and IT solution or architecture,
while cloud computing is an architectural alternative. The
software services are supported by the SOA platform, which
typically include components such as ESB and a service
registry. The SOA platform is supported by the enterprise IT
infrastructure of systems, data and networks. These elements
of SOA also relate to different kinds of cloud services. The
software services relate to SaaS, the infrastructure to IaaS.
3.8.3. Describe the components of service management for cloud computing.
3.8.3.1. Service Delivery and Process Automation.
3.8.3.2. Service Availability and Performance Management.
3.8.3.3. Storage Management.
3.8.3.4. Security, Risk and Compliance.
3.8.3.5. Data center Transformation.
3.8.3.6. Asset and Financial Management.
3.8.3.7. Network and Service Assurance.
3.8.4. Describe the components and benefits of Service Management in terms
of visibility, control and automation.
3.8.4.1. Visibility – all elements and services (including assets, server,
storage network, virtual and logical elements and relationships
for configuration, availability, security and performance).
3.8.4.2. Control – policies to assure service delivery and compliance,
including the correlation of resources with desired compliance
patterns.
3.8.4.3. Automation – data center processes from element run-books to
broad provisioning and compliance scenarios.
3.9. Describe the Integration and Extensibility models of cloud solutions
using API management.
3.9.1. In a typical API model, APIs are accessed using the Representational
State Transfer protocol.
3.9.2. End to end API security is important and must take into consideration
protection of the message payload, authentication, authorization, etc.
3.9.3. In addition to publishing an API interface, a provided must also provide
a mechanism for API discovery and navigation.
3.9.4. Reference:
3.9.4.1. API Management Concepts on Developer Works
http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/middleware/services/badg
es/badgeapim1.html

3.10. Describe non-functional requirements (NFRs) in the context of a

cloud solution.
NFRs identify critical aspects of the cloud solution that are not
feature/function related. NFRs impact the solution design by clearing
identifying key characteristics of cloud operations.

3.10.1. Availability and serviceability includes characteristics such as high

availability, DR, acceptable downtime or degradation of services
during maintenance. The availability expectations of a system relate
to how many hours in the day, days per week, and weeks per year the
application is going to be available to its users and how quickly they
should be able to recover from failures. Since the system includes
Software (including applications), Hardware and Network
components, this requirement extends to all three types. The
serviceability expectations must integrate with existing support
structure and support processes, provide a ticketing system to
log/track problem tickets and that integrated with an existing ticketing
system, support automatic patch download and installation and
provide sufficient diagnostic information (logs, dumps, traces) to
expedite problem resolution and support service level agreements
often measured by key performance indicators (KPIs) like “98.5%
availability” or “Full restoral to service in < 4 hrs” or “Maintenance
window limited to a two hour window once per month on second
Saturday”.
3.10.2. Performance includes UI and VM expected performance. The cloud
infrastructure and services must be able to meet the response time,
throughput and scaling requirements as defined by the service level
agreements of the service offering. The cloud infrastructure must
provide manual and automated ways to optimize utilization in the data
center. Often measured by KPIs like “64 bit RHEL VM should be
available within eight minutes of user provisioning request” or “UI
responsiveness should render catalog options within 5 seconds”.
3.10.3. Scalability includes number of concurrent users and number of
number of managed workloads and number of VMs per minute/hour.
Scalability is the ability to expand the system architecture to
 accommodate more users, more transactions and more data as users
and data are added. This should allow existing systems to be
extended as far as possible without necessarily having to replace
them. Often measured in KPIs like “Needs to support 100 concurrent
users” or “Should have capacity to managed 10,000 RHEL VMs and
5,000 AIX LPARs” or “System should be able to provision 100 RHEL
VMs per/hour”.
3.10.4. Consumability includes UI usability, cloud infrastructure install time
and total cost of ownership. Consumability is a description of the
customer’s end-to-end experience with the solution. The tasks
associated with Consumability start before the consumer purchases a
service and continue until the customer stops using the product. By
improving the Consumability of the service, the value of that service to
the client can be increased. Often quantified as “UI should be intuitive
for new users without formal training” or “Installation of cloud
infrastructure should require no more than 80 hours”.
3.10.5. Extensibility includes 3rd party integration, UI extensibility,
application interfaces, and hypervisor support. The Cloud must be
extensible in order to address future functionality and changes without
having to be rewritten, support that the application may have access
to additional disparate back-end systems, support the ability to
integrate with existing security systems either on-premise or
elsewhere in clouds and be able to add/remove/relocate physical and
logical resources without disturbing running services. Often quantified
as “Cloud infrastructure should interface with existing problem
management system” or “Cloud infrastructure should support
Vmware, PowerVM, and HyperV” or “Self Service UI should be
invocable through RESTful APIs”.
3.10.6. Security includes Command & Control, Identity, Access, and
Entitlement Management, Data and Information Protection
Management, Software, System, and Service Assurance, Threat and
Vulnerability Management, Risk and Compliance Assessment and
Security Policy Management. Often driven by industry regulatory
compliance. Often quantified as “Must adhere to corporate standard
XYZ” or “Provisioned VMs must receive monthly security updates” or
“Cloud infrastructure should ensure network isolation between tenant
workloads”.
3.10.7. References;
3.10.7.1. IBM Cloud Reference Architecture (ICRA)
http://ibm.co/1P6TY8r
3.10.7.2. Non-Functional Requirements on Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-functional_requirement
3.10.7.3. Journal article
https://softwarearchitecturezen.wordpress.com/2015/04/24/n
on-functional-requirements-and-the-cloud/
3.10.7.4. Developerworks article-
https://www.ibm.com/developerworks/cloud/library/clbluemix-
nfr/index.html
3.11. Explain the mobile patterns in Cloud as part of the ICRA.
3.11.1. Whether it is revenue growth, innovation, customer satisfaction, or
improved organizational effectiveness, mobile plays a significant role.
For an enterprise to remain competitive, it needs to bring its entire
ecosystem on mobile (Transactions, Business Processes, Business
Process Performance , Collaboration within the enterprise,
Collaboration with its business partners, Commerce, Customer
engagement, marketing, business performance). In addition, mobile
device features like location awareness, drive new business models,
business processes, products, marketing etc.
3.11.2. The reference architecture as defined above enables the ecosystem of
an enterprise on mobile and helps in driving innovation, new business
models, business processes, products and marketing because of
mobile.
3.11.3. For enabling an enterprises’ ecosystem on mobile, you need a
foundation component that provides most of the basic functionalities
that are needed which includes connecting with business services,
processes, business performance and collaboration. This functionality
is provided by what we call as the Mobile Backend in the reference
architecture. Some of the capabilities that are integrated using the
mobile backend might be running in the Enterprises’ traditional data
center or private cloud or it might be services that run in different
vendors’ clouds. This requires integration with the enterprise systems
and the vendor cloud solutions. So, mobile backend provides API
connectivity, adapters to connect with enterprise systems or
connectivity through an Enterprise Service Bus. For connecting with
services provided through vendor cloud, Secured API connectivity is
needed. So as you can see in the architecture, the Mobile Backend
connects through the Transformation and Connectivity component.
Mobile Backend should also provide the capability to write new
business functionality as APIs.
3.11.4. When an enterprise exposes its ecosystem on the mobile device, we
need to provide a secured connection between the mobile device and
the mobile backend. In the reference architecture, this is achieved
using the Mobile Gateway which is the, Entry Point for Mobile App or
Mobile Web Authentication and API invocation. Mobile Gateway only
allows valid request by acting as a reverse proxy, it authenticates
certificates, applies security policies, invokes an API and authorizes
the request using the security services as shown in the reference
architecture. So, the Mobile Backend, Mobile Gateway, Connectivity
and Transformation and Security Services provide the foundational
capabilities on which an enterprises’ ecosystem can be brought on a
mobile device.
3.11.5. In addition, an enterprise can benefit from many capabilities because
of mobile. These capabilities are included in the business application
services component. This includes proximity services that monitors
 and analyzes a customers’ behaviour in a physical location using
beacons and mobile wifi’s. Mobile business applications also provides
advanced capabilities like mobile campaign management, marketing
campaigns and customer engagement designed for mobile, workflows
enabled on mobile and business reporting and analysis of customers’
behaviour. Also, a point to note here is that mobile backend might
provide functionalities of customer engagement through push
notifications or customer interaction, operational analytics to
understand what features, functions, links are broken or working.
Mobile backend also provides location awareness functionality for
driving business models because of mobile. However, the mobile
business applications provide additional services that are not
provided by Mobile backend.
3.11.6. Designed for mobile and because of mobile requires offline
capabilities where the information captured are encrypted and stored
on mobile devices and are synched to a data service in the cloud.
Data services also provide capabilities for storing information in the
cloud required for mobile applications that are not stored in the
enterprise data. These data can be replicated across geographies
and support SQL and non-SQL retrieval and provide file repository
and caching of information.
3.11.7. The mobile devices contain a wealth of information and hence these
mobile device end points needs to monitored, managed and secured.
Mobile device management component in the reference architecture
in addition to end point monitoring and security provide capabilities for
enterprise app distribution and device analytics.

3.12. Explain the IOT patterns in Cloud as part of the ICRA.

3.12.1. Understand an overview of the IoT pattern;
3.12.1.1. Understand the types of data commonly collected by IoT
devices
3.12.1.2. Understand the industries affected by the proliferation of the
IoT
3.12.1.3. Understand how cloud computing supports the IoT
revolution
3.12.1.4. Understand the relationship between edge services and the
IoT
3.12.1.5. Understand the information flow involved with the Internet of
Things, including sensors, collectors, data storage,
processing, etc.
3.12.2. Connect to IoT devices and quickly build scalable apps and
visualization dashboards to gain insights from IoT data, using Bluemix
IoT, Data, and Cognitive services. IoT is driving the following
outcomes;
3.12.2.1. Automate smart processes using strength in cognitive,
analytics, security, and cloud to catalyze and monetize the
transformation of global technology.
 3.12.2.2. Improve engagement by providing a rich programming
platform and exploring new business models with new
revenue opportunities.
3.12.2.3. Innovate and seize IoT growth opportunities by using the
insight from IoT data.
3.12.3. References; https://developer.ibm.com/architecture/iot

3.13. Explain the DevOps patterns in Cloud as part of the ICRA.

3.13.1. DevOps is an enterprise capability for software development and
delivery in rapidly changing environments such as cloud, mobile and
social will have a significant competitive advantage.
It enables clients to:
3.13.1.1. Accelerate software development and delivery - by
enabling collaboration between customers and enterprises
and eliminating organizational silos;
3.13.1.2. Balance speed, cost, quality and risk- By automating
manual processes and eliminating waste;
3.13.1.3. Improve client experience - By speeding the customer
feedback loop by being agile;
3.13.2. At a high level, cloud capabilities for DevOps support the lifecycle of
enterprise applications that are planned, developed, tested and
deployed on cloud or in hybrid model. These solutions allow
companies to leverage latest technologies to reinvent customer
relationships by engaging constantly and changing applications
according to the market needs. It is all about Agility.
3.13.3. There are five primary DevOps use-cases that will be used to shape
the reference architecture and, which will drive the business outcome
of business agility and speed to market;
3.13.3.1. Collaborative Development, and Continuous Integration
3.13.3.2. Continuous Delivery
3.13.3.3. Shift Left Test
3.13.3.4. Shift Left Ops Engagement
3.13.3.5. Lean Application Delivery
3.13.4. The DevOps use cases are broken down into a set of underlying
capabilities which can be organized into architectural layers, and an
overall reference architecture constructed.
The architecture has 3 tiers, each containing a subset of the
components:
3.13.4.1. Service Creator can be on cloud or on premises, and
contains the capabilities;
3.13.4.1.1. Continuous Business Planning
3.13.4.1.2. Collaborative Development
3.13.4.1.3. Continuous Testing
3.13.4.2. Service Provider Cloud environment, which connects the
provisioning, secure releasing and deployment of
applications as cloud services; 3.13.4.2.1. Continuous
Release
3.13.4.2.2. Continuous Deploy
 3.13.4.2.3. Provision
3.13.4.2.4. Security
3.13.4.3. The following capabilities may be offered as part of the
service creator view or the service provider view;
3.13.4.3.1. Continuous Feedback
3.13.4.3.2. Service Management Tools
3.13.4.4. Service Consumer, is the device or end user of the service
deployed through the DevOps process, which is depicted as
a Mobile Device, Enterprise Application or Cloud (native)
Application.
3.13.5. References;
3.13.5.1. DevOps Architecture Centre
https://developer.ibm.com/architecture/devOps

3.14. Explain the BD&A patterns in Cloud as part of the ICRA.

3.14.1. Understand an overview of the Big Data & Analytics in Cloud pattern;
3.14.1.1. Understand how cloud computing benefits big data &
analytics solutions
3.14.1.2. Understand the business drivers, functional and
nonfunctional requirements, and deployment considerations
for the use of cloud computing for big data & analytics
solutions.
3.14.1.3. Understand the capabilities provided by solution
components for big data & analytics in cloud and their
position in the ecosystem.
3.14.2. References;
3.14.2.1. CSCC paper on Big Data & Analytics in Cloud:
http://www.cloud-council.org/deliverables/CSCC-
CloudCustomer-Architecture-for-Big-Data-and-Analytics.pdf
3.14.2.2. How IBM leads building big data & analytics solutions in the
cloud - Developerworks article
http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/cloud/library/cl-
ibmleads-building-big-data-analytics-solutions-
cloudtrs/index.html

Section 4 - IBM Cloud Solutions

4.1. Describe the IBM capabilities for Cloud Managed Services.
4.1.1. Demonstrate understanding of differentiating CMS capabilities in the
areas of security, self-service, management services and disaster
recovery.
4.1.2. Demonstrate the CMS offerings and understanding of SLAs across the
offerings.
4.1.3. Cloud Managed Services (CMS) are designed for cloud-ready,
enterprise-class workloads, with the following key characteristics;
4.1.3.1. Enterprise-class, shared cloud available in 13 cloud centers
located in 11 countries across 5 continents.
4.1.3.2. Standard set of operating system images in fixed sizes.
 4.1.3.3. Service-level agreement (SLA) management starting at
the virtual machine level and up to and including the
operating system.
4.1.3.4. Security designed in and certified (compliance
International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 270001/2
and SSAE16 for IBM data centers); multiple isolation levels.
4.1.3.5. Not based upon, but may include Softlayer.
4.1.3.6. IBM System x® and IBM System p® hardware.
4.1.3.7. Standard, high-performance and flash storage options.
4.1.3.8. IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) lifecycle, asset, license, patch
and configuration management.
4.1.3.9. High-availability clustering, active directory integration, and
redundant network to support complex enterprise
applications.
4.1.3.10. Database and middleware management options.
4.1.3.11. Disaster recovery options for critical workloads that support
business functions.
4.1.3.12. Supports PCI and HIPAA workloads
4.1.4. Cloud Managed Services groups of offerings also includes IBM Cloud
for SAP and IBM Cloud for Oracle, which are managed cloud platforms
(leveraging CMS services), but fully optimized for the workloads of SAP
or Oracle applications.
4.1.5. References; https://www.ibm.com/marketplace/cloud/managed-
cloud/us/en-us

4.2. Describe the IBM capabilities for Hybrid Integration.

4.2.1. Understand API Management / API Connect
4.2.1.1. Assemble new APIs by mapping together data from multiple
back-end systems and cloud applications.
4.2.1.2. Monitor and manage API usage to help ensure service-level
agreements are met.
4.2.1.3. Empower developers to build engaging applications powered
by your APIs through your Developers Portal.
4.2.2. Understand Secure Gateway
4.2.2.1. Create encrypted gateways in the cloud to allow self-service
access to on-premises APIs and data.
4.2.2.2. Use a passport credential wallet to provide safe passage from
one cloud to the other, greatly simplifying access for
developers and knowledge workers.
4.2.2.3. Monitor and analyze how gateway is being accessed for
greater insight.
4.2.3. Understand MQ Light
4.2.3.1. To create an engaging, high performance experience with
customers, developers today are being challenged to build
responsive applications that can easily scale with demand.
4.2.3.2. IBM MQ Light, the application messaging designed for
developers, provides a flexible, easy-to-use messaging API to
 simplify development of scalable and responsive applications
on premise or in the cloud. MQ Light is based on AMQP and
uses a microservices framework for better scalability and
deployability.
4.2.3.3. Innovative apps built using MQ Light can be deployed on
premise or into the cloud using a fully managed messaging
service in Bluemix or plugged into your MQ infrastructure.
4.2.4. Understand Cast Iron Live
4.2.4.1. Cast Iron Live is a multi-tenant, cloud-based platform for
integrating SaaS and on-premises applications and enterprise
systems in a hybrid environment.
4.2.4.2. It helps you integrate applications both within the cloud and
between the cloud and the enterprise without embarking on
lengthy, costly and complex projects.

4.3. Describe the IBM capabilities for Video services.

4.3.1. Understand ClearLeap.
4.3.1.1. Clearleap is a video platform providing enterprise grade cloud
based multiscreen platform for the media and entertainment
industry. The platform offers multiscreen business opportunities
for premium content owners and pay TV providers. Its platform
also prepares and delivers video libraries to traditional TV
systems and multiscreen devices.
4.3.2. Understand Ustream.
4.3.2.1. Ustream is a video streaming platform that allows members to
broadcast live streaming video on the Internet. Members can
broadcast directly from the Ustream platform or from a mobile
device using Ustream's mobile broadcasting application.
Ustream members can also record and save videos for future
broadcast distribution. Ustream's video platform is known for its
ability to provide viewers with different ways to interact with the
presenter during a live broadcast, providing broadcasters with
chat and instant polling features, as well as allowing integration
with Twitter and Facebook news feeds.
4.3.2.2. The top industries taking advantage of Ustream's live
streaming are politics, entertainment and technology fields.
Ustream's searching feature allows visitors to filter through
video categories such as sports, entertainment, news, animals,
music, technology, games and education.
4.3.3. References:
4.3.3.1. ClearLeap http://clearleap.com/
http://clearleap.com/platform/
4.3.3.2. Ustream
http://www.ustream.tv/
https://www.ustream.tv/product/ustream-pro-broadcastingvideo-
platform?itm_source=home_bottom&itm_medium=onsite&itm_
content=learn_more&itm_campaign=cta_above_footer
4.4. Describe the IBM capabilities for Cloud Brokerage.
4.4.1. Describe the role of cloud brokerage in a multi-sourced operating
model.
4.4.2. Understand the building block capabilities in realizing IT as a Service
4.4.3. The Cloud Services Broker model is designed to deliver IT-as-aService
(ITaaS) centered on the concept of an Enterprise App Store as the new
IT front office. The Broker platform uniquely helps IT managers control
complexity, interoperability and total cost of ownership tradeoffs. The IT
department can continuously meet business demand through multi-
sourced delivery models while optimizing cost. This provides a
balanced approach to standardizing and automating IT management
and operational processes required to manage hybrid cloud portfolios.
4.4.4. References; http://www.gravitant.com/cloudmatrix-overview/

4.5. Describe the IBM capabilities for DevOps.

4.5.1. Explain the products and capabilities of the IBM DevOps Software
Portfolio and how key software offerings work in unison to provide full
end-to-end management of applications across the application delivery
pipeline.
4.5.2. Understand UrbanCode Deploy.
4.5.2.1. UrbanCode Deploy accelerates the application delivery pipeline
for cloud-native, cloud-enabled, and legacy applications
residing on-premise or off-premise.
4.5.3. IBM UrbanCode Deploy provides:
4.5.3.1. Automated, consistent deployments and rollbacks of
applications
4.5.3.2. Automated provisioning, updating, and de-provisioning of cloud
environments
4.5.3.3. Resource orchestration of changes across servers, tiers and
components
4.5.3.4. Configuration and security differences across environments
4.5.3.5. Clear visibility: what is deployed where and who changed what
4.5.3.6. Integrated with middleware, provisioning and service
virtualization
4.5.4. Understand IBM Cloud Orchestrator.
4.5.4.1. IBM Cloud Orchestrator is a cloud management environment
that provides an extensible self-service catalog and business
process orchestration.
4.5.5. BM Cloud Orchestrator helps you:
4.5.5.1. Quickly deploy and scale on-premise and off-premise cloud
services.
4.5.5.2. Provision and scale cloud resources.
4.5.5.3. Reduce administrator workloads and error-prone manual IT
administrator tasks.
4.5.5.4. Integrate with existing environments using application program
interfaces and tooling extensions .
 4.5.5.5. Deliver services with IBM SoftLayer, existing OpenStack
platforms, PowerVM, IBM System z, VMware or Amazon EC2.
4.5.6. References:
https://www.ibm.com/ibm/devops
https://www.ibm.com/ibm/devops/us/en/resources/dummiesbooks/
https://developer.ibm.com/urbancode/products/urbancode-deploy/
http://www-03.ibm.com/software/products/en/ibm-cloud-orchestrator

4.6. Describe the IBM capabilities for Cloud native applications.

IBM Bluemix. IBM Bluemix is a cloud platform as a service (PaaS)
developed by IBM. It supports several programming languages and
services as well as integrated DevOps to build, run, deploy and manage
applications on the cloud. Bluemix is based on Cloud Foundry open
technology and runs on SoftLayer infrastructure.

4.6.1. References:
4.6.1.1. Redbook - IBM Bluemix The Cloud Platform for Creating and
Delivering Applications
http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/Redbooks.nsf/RedbookAbstracts
/redp5242.html?Open
4.6.1.2. Redbook - Microservices from theory to practice
http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/abstracts/sg248275.html?Open&
ce=ism3129&cmp=IBMSocial&ct=C43202QW&cm=h&IIO=BSY
S&csr=blog&cr=casyst&ccy=us&s_tact=C43202QW&s_pkg=ov
xxxx
4.6.1.3. Bluemix https://www.ibm.com/cloud-computing/bluemix/what-is-
bluemix/

4.7. Describe the IBM capabilities for Service Management.

4.7.1. Explain the products and capabilities of the IBM IT Service
Management portfolio
4.7.1.1. Understand the capabilities provided by the IT service desk
system products including IBM Control Desk, IBM Endpoint
Manager for Software Use Analysis, IBM Tivoli
Netcool/Omnibus, IBM Cloud Orchestrator, and IBM Tivoli
Business Service Manager
4.7.1.2. Understand the capabilities provided by IBM Application
Performance Management
4.7.1.3. Understand the capabilities provided by the systems and
workload automation portfolio including IBM Tivoli Workload
Scheduler, IBM Workload Automation, IBM Tivoli Workload
Scheduler for z/OS, IBM Automation Control for z/OS, IBM
Tivoli System Automation for Multiplatforms, and IBM Tivoli
System Automation for z/OS
4.7.1.4. Understand the capabilities provided by the cloud management
portfolio including IBM Cloud Orchestrator, IBM SmartCloud
Cost Management, and IBM SmartCloud Patch Management
 4.7.1.5. Understand the capabilities provided by the IT operations and
network management portfolio including IBM Netcool
Operations Insight and IBM NetCool Network Management
4.7.1.6. Understand the capabilities provided by the IT operations
analytics portfolio including IBM Operations Analystics
Predictive Insights, IBM Operations Analytics Log Analysis,
IBM Netcool Operations Insight, and IBM Operations Analytics
for z Systems.

4.8. Describe the IBM capabilities for Storage.

The IBM Spectrum Storage portfolio provides Software Defined Storage
capability across both data and control planes.
4.8.1. IBM Spectrum Protect is an intuitive, intelligent, and transparent
software that provides a set of product features that allow you to design
adaptive and comprehensive data protection solutions. It is a
comprehensive data protection and recovery solution for virtual,
physical, and cloud data. Spectrum Protect provides backup, snapshot,
archive, recovery, space management, bare machine recovery, and
disaster recovery capabilities.
4.8.2. IBM Spectrum Control provides efficient infrastructure management
for virtualized, cloud, and software-defined storage by reducing the
complexity associated with managing multi-vendor infrastructures and
helps businesses optimize provisioning, capacity, availability,
protection, reporting, and management for today's business
applications without having to replace existing storage infrastructure.
With support for block, file, and object workloads, Spectrum Control
enables administrators to provide efficient management for
heterogeneous storage environments.
4.8.3. The control plane is a software layer that manages the virtualized
storage resources. It provides all the high-level functions that are
needed by the customer to run the business workload and enable
optimized, flexible, scalable, and rapid provisioning storage
infrastructure capacity. These capabilities span functions like storage
virtualization, policies automation, analytics and optimization, backup
and copy management, security, and integration with the API services,
including other cloud provider services.
4.8.4. IBM Cleversafe allows companies to implement storage-as-a-service
solutions that consolidate users and customers onto a single platform,
which helps streamline management and efficiently scale to meet
demands.
4.8.5. References;
4.8.5.1. IBM Software Defined Storage guide
http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/abstracts/redp5121.html 4.8.5.2. IBM
Cleversafe http://cleversafe.com/resources

4.9. Describe the IBM capabilities for Business Process Management.

4.9.1. Business Process Manager - Manage, execute and govern process
applications. Business Process Manager is a full-featured, consumable
 business process management (BPM) platform. It includes tooling and
run time for process design and execution, along with capabilities for
monitoring and optimizing work that is executed within the platform. It is
specifically designed to enable process owners and business users to
engage directly in the improvement of their business processes.
4.9.2. IBM Business Process Manager is available in on-premises and cloud
configurations. It is designed to support mobile devices, features case
management capabilities across its product editions and operates with
a single process server or in a federated topology.
4.9.3. Operational Decision Manager - Capture, manage, govern and
execute business events and rules across applications and processes.
4.9.4. Blueworks Live - True business collaboration to discover and
understand business process and decisions.
4.9.5. Case Management Framework - Handle highly complex, knowledge
worker ad-hoc processing typically driven by document capture and
analysis.
4.9.6. IBM Business Monitor - Drive operational real-time visibility across the
enterprise, beyond business processes and decisions.
4.9.7. References; http://www-03.ibm.com/software/products/en/business-
processmanager-family
https://www.blueworkslive.com/home

4.10. Describe the IBM capabilities for IBM Marketplace.

4.10.1. The IBM Marketplace acts as a ‘app store’ to provide one stop shopping
for self service cloud applications (SaaS) and services. Currently on
version 3, it is the place for all cloud functionality.
4.10.2. References; https://www.ibm.com/marketplace/cloud/us/en-us

Next Steps

1. Take the IBM Certified Solution Advisor - Cloud Reference Architecture

V5 assessment test. Use the promotion code 2018StudyAssess20 for
$20 off each assessment.

2. If you pass the assessment exam, visit pearsonvue.com/ibm to

schedule your testing sessions. Use the promotion code
2018StudyCert20 to receive 20% off the exam.

3. If you failed the assessment exam, review how you did by section.
Focus attention on the sections where you need improvement. Keep in
mind that you can take the assessment exam as many times as you
would like ($10 per exam), however, you will still receive the same
questions only in a different order.