Overview -

XCLOUD – Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)

Cloud solution options explained: Public, Private, and Hybrid — designed and supported by XSTRA.

Overview

XCLOUD provides Clients with infrastructure products and services to host compute workloads in secure, enterprise-grade data centres. This is commonly referred to as Cloud Computing or IaaS – Infrastructure as a Service.

XSTRA offers three Cloud solution types

Choose the model that best matches your workload profile, cost expectations, and risk posture.

Public Cloud

Best suited to highly elastic workloads requiring hyperscale capacity and premium availability targets.

Azure (Microsoft) — Public Cloud

Microsoft-operated public cloud platform designed for scale and availability
Broad IaaS and PaaS service catalogue
Consumption-based pricing; predictable costs typically require commitments
Web-based management and automation tooling
Managed disk abstraction with platform-imposed size and expansion constraints
Platform-managed storage resilience and integrity protections
Enterprise-grade Azure Australia infrastructure (region-based)
Diverse and redundant connectivity within Microsoft’s global cloud network
Service Level Agreement (SLA): 99.9% (service-dependent)

Infrastructure, backup & DR considerations

Hyperscale providers refresh hardware as part of ongoing operations. Hardware refresh timing is managed internally by the provider and is not usually exposed as a contractual guarantee.

Azure does not include a complete Disaster Recovery Plan (DRP) or historical point-in-time backup strategy by default. Services such as Azure Backup and Azure Site Recovery are available but must be explicitly designed, enabled, configured, and billed separately.

XCLOUD as an independent backup & DR target

XCLOUD Private Cloud can provide a secure, cost-effective, independent destination for backing up Azure-hosted workloads and data — supporting recovery outside the Microsoft control plane.

Service delivery model

XSTRA can supply and support Microsoft Azure environments directly for Clients. In most cases, Azure services are procured via authorised distributors (such as Ingram Micro) and provided to Clients as part of a consolidated XSTRA-managed solution.

This approach enables consistent commercial management, consolidated billing, and access to additional technical resources where required. XSTRA remains responsible for solution design, implementation, and support, while underlying platform infrastructure and SLA commitments remain with Microsoft.

Private Cloud

Best suited to low-elasticity, predictable workloads where performance and cost control matter most.

XCLOUD by XSTRA — Private Cloud

XCLOUD is XSTRA’s managed Private Cloud platform, purpose-built for budget-friendly, low-elasticity, high-performance workloads.

Private Cloud – logical single-tenancy

XCLOUD uses logical isolation. Each Client is provided with dedicated VLANs, independent routing and firewall domains, and isolated virtual machines. While underlying physical compute hardware may be shared, no networking, identity, or security boundaries are shared between Clients.

Built – not bought

XCLOUD is engineered and operated by XSTRA, not resold from a public hyperscaler.

XSTRA-managed, Australian-hosted infrastructure designed for performance and direct control
Transparent capacity increases using local object storage
End-to-end chain of custody: you always know where your data is physically located
Turn-key Disaster Recovery Planning (DRP) options
Hot and warm replication options
Hosted in an Aussie Broadband Tier III facility
Independent carrier-grade MikroTik virtual router per VLAN
24×7 Pro-Support included
Highly cost-competitive compared to public cloud alternatives such as Azure and AWS (workload-dependent)
No lock-in contracts — best pricing on a month-to-month basis
Supports dynamically expanding disks that exceed 2TB (unlike certain public cloud limits)
Service Level Agreement (SLA): target 95% availability (Historical service performance has exceeded >99.9% availability; however, this is indicative only and does not form part of the SLA or any contractual guarantee.)

Hardware lifecycle & reliability model

XCLOUD infrastructure follows a repair-and-maintain lifecycle model. Systems remain in service as long as they meet performance and monitoring standards. Components (disks, PSUs, memory, controllers) are monitored and replaced on fault or degradation.

Data protection – built in, not optional

Protecting Client data is paramount within XCLOUD. Backup and disaster recovery are designed as a core platform capability. XCLOUD supports recovery to multiple historical time points (including incremental restores), with retention periods of up to 13 months or more (service-dependent).

Hybrid Cloud

Purpose-built solutions combining Azure + XCLOUD into one cohesive architecture.

Designed – not packaged

Hybrid solutions are engineered by XSTRA to balance performance, cost, availability, security, and compliance.

Elastic or globally distributed workloads hosted in Azure
Performance-critical or cost-sensitive workloads hosted in XCLOUD
Secure interconnect between environments
Unified networking, access control, and monitoring
Data residency and compliance requirements respected

On-premises infrastructure with cloud-based protection

Hybrid Cloud solutions can also incorporate client-owned, on-premises infrastructure, with systems hosted locally and protected via secure backup and replication to XCLOUD or Azure.

This approach reduces reliance on centralised data centre infrastructure and mitigates risks associated with power, connectivity, switching, and upstream dependencies. It is now a practical option given the widespread availability of high-speed internet services at Client premises.

While this model typically involves higher upfront capital investment in hardware, it can reduce ongoing operational costs by minimising reliance on continuous data centre resource consumption.

Hybrid Cloud is ideal where some workloads require hyperscale availability, while others demand predictable costs and consistent performance and availability.

Comparison

Category	Public Cloud (Azure)	Private Cloud (XCLOUD)
Best suited for	Highly elastic, globally distributed workloads	Predictable, performance-critical workloads
Elasticity	Very high; rapid scaling on demand	Planned and controlled scaling
Performance	Shared by default; dedicated options available	Shared infrastructure with controlled resource allocation designed for consistent and predictable performance
Backup & DR	Native services available; configured separately	Integrated, multi-layered backup and recovery
Data residency	Region-based (selected geography)	Known, fixed physical location
Hosting standard	Tier III+ hyperscale facilities	Tier III facility
SLA	Typically 99.9% (platform-level SLA) – (~8.8 hours total downtime per year)	95% availability target – (~18 days total downtime per year)
Commercial model	Consumption-based; cost varies with usage	Predictable monthly pricing; no lock-in

Comparisons are general in nature and may vary depending on configuration, architecture, and selected services. Any reference to availability or performance outside of the stated SLA is indicative only and does not constitute a contractual guarantee.

We are the experts

XSTRA specialises in designing private cloud solutions tailored to each Client’s unique requirements
Clients may self-manage their infrastructure or engage XSTRA for fully managed services

Ready to discuss your cloud requirements?

Contact XSTRA to confirm which model (Public, Private, or Hybrid) best fits your workload, budget, and compliance needs.

5.1. Overview