In our experience, almost all organizations approach OpenStack with the following three steps:
- An individual, usually a Linux or Cloud Architect, installs OpenStack on a single machine to verify that the software can be deployed without too much effort.
- The Architect enlists the help of other team members, typically Network and Storage Architects or Engineers to deploy a multiple-node installation. This will leverage some kind of shared ephemeral or block storage.
- A team of Architects or Engineers craft the first deployment of OpenStack, which is customized for the organization's use cases or environmental concerns. Professional services from a company, such as Red Hat, Mirantis, HP, IBM, Canonical, or Rackspace, are often engaged at this point in the process.
From here on out, it's off to the races. We'll follow a similar pattern in this book. In this first chapter, we'll start with the first step—the all-in-one deployment.
