Leading online travel platform builds massive, scalable internal cloud with Vates VMS

Olivier Lambert -

A global online travel company, renowned for its comprehensive search and booking services, faced the challenge of scaling its IT infrastructure to meet rapidly growing demand. In 2018, they adopted XCP-ng and Xen Orchestra to build their own internal cloud. By utilizing the Xen Orchestra (XO) API as a central point for managing all XCP-ng hosts, they streamlined automation and embraced a philosophy of disposable hardware. This approach allowed them to manage over 2,000 hosts across two continents, achieving scalability and flexibility comparable to major cloud providers like AWS but without the associated costs. Over six years, they expanded their infrastructure with unparalleled stability and zero major outages.

Challenges

Scalability and Flexibility Needs

The company needed a virtualization platform capable of handling large-scale deployments to accommodate fluctuating workloads, especially during peak travel seasons and holidays. Managing thousands of hosts efficiently was crucial to meet real-time demand and ensure a seamless user experience.

Cost Constraints

Relying on major cloud providers would have led to significant operational costs, impacting profitability. They sought a cost-effective solution that could provide similar scalability and flexibility without the hefty price tag associated with services like AWS.

Customization and Automation

Their specific operational workflows demanded a high degree of customization. Off-the-shelf solutions lacked the flexibility to meet their unique needs, particularly in automation and integration with existing systems.

Reliability and Uptime

With millions of users depending on their platform 24/7, any downtime could result in substantial revenue loss and harm to their reputation. They required a rock-solid, secure solution to ensure continuous service availability across their vast infrastructure.

Solution

Adoption of XCP-ng and Xen Orchestra

Attracted by the open-source nature and proven stability, the company chose XCP-ng as the foundation of their virtualization stack. Xen Orchestra complemented this by providing a comprehensive management interface and centralized control over their extensive infrastructure.

Leveraging the Xen Orchestra API for Centralized Automation

A critical factor in their success was utilizing the Xen Orchestra API as the central point for managing all XCP-ng hosts. This API enabled them to streamline automation processes, making it easier to provision, configure, and manage resources across their entire infrastructure from a single point of control.

By building their automation on top of the Xen Orchestra API, they benefited from:

  • Simplified Management: A unified interface to control over 2,000 hosts across multiple datacenters on two continents.
  • Enhanced Automation: Easier scripting and integration with their existing tools and workflows.
  • Scalability: The ability to efficiently manage resource allocation during traffic spikes.

Building an Internal Cloud Infrastructure

Leveraging XCP-ng and Xen Orchestra allowed them to build their own internal cloud. This approach enabled them to emulate the philosophy of major cloud providers—such as treating physical hosts as disposable resources—without incurring high costs. The flexibility of XCP-ng and Xen Orchestra empowered them to provision and decommission hardware on-demand, perfectly aligning resources with real-time workload demands.

Global Deployment Across Two Continents

They established two major datacenters strategically located on two continents, each housing approximately 1,000 hosts. This setup ensured optimal performance, redundancy, and efficient management of a global user base.

Results

Massive Scalability and Flexibility

Treating physical hosts as disposable and provisioning resources on-demand allowed them to efficiently handle traffic spikes during high-demand periods. Centralized automation through the Xen Orchestra API enabled their infrastructure to scale seamlessly, ensuring a smooth user experience even during peak times.

Significant Cost Savings

By building their internal cloud infrastructure and leveraging the Xen Orchestra API for centralized management, the company avoided the significant costs associated with major cloud providers. They achieved similar scalability and flexibility, optimizing hardware usage and reducing unnecessary expenditures.

Unparalleled Stability and Reliability

Over six years, the company experienced no blocking issues or major outages with their XCP-ng and Xen Orchestra stack. The stability and reliability of the platform, combined with the ease of centralized management, were critical in maintaining continuous service and user trust.

Customized and Automated Operations

Custom automation built on top of the Xen Orchestra API enabled them to tailor their infrastructure precisely to their operational workflows. Automation reduced manual intervention, leading to faster deployment times, improved operational efficiency, and the ability to rapidly adapt to changing demands.

Strategic Independence and Control

By controlling their own infrastructure and utilizing the Xen Orchestra API for centralized management, the company gained strategic independence, avoiding vendor lock-in. They had the flexibility to innovate and adapt their systems as needed, aligning technology closely with business objectives.

Conclusion

By leveraging XCP-ng and Xen Orchestra—and specifically utilizing the Xen Orchestra API for centralized automation—the leading online travel company successfully built a massive, scalable, and cost-effective internal cloud infrastructure. Managing over 2,000 hosts across two continents, they achieved the benefits of major cloud providers without the associated costs.

The stability and reliability of the XCP-ng and Xen Orchestra stack, combined with the ease of centralized management, provided a rock-solid foundation for their operations. The company's ability to automate and manage thousands of hosts from a single point significantly enhanced operational efficiency and scalability.

Their success story demonstrates how organizations can build customized solutions on top of a secure and stable virtualization layer. It highlights the potential for significant cost savings, enhanced scalability, and operational efficiency when leveraging open-source technologies like XCP-ng and Xen Orchestra, along with their powerful APIs.

About Vates VMS

XCP-ng is an open-source virtualization platform offering enterprise-level performance, security, and stability. It provides a robust foundation for building scalable virtualization infrastructures, supporting a wide range of workloads and use cases.

Xen Orchestra complements XCP-ng by delivering a comprehensive, web-based management interface. It simplifies the control and monitoring of complex infrastructures, offering features like backup and disaster recovery, performance monitoring, and multi-site management. The Xen Orchestra API serves as a powerful tool for centralized automation, enabling streamlined management and integration with existing systems.

Together, XCP-ng and Xen Orchestra empower organizations to build scalable, customized, and cost-effective virtualization solutions without compromising on reliability. By utilizing the Xen Orchestra API for centralized management, businesses can achieve greater automation, efficiency, and control over their infrastructure, facilitating rapid innovation and operational excellence.