Patent ID: 7739380

Claim:
A method comprising: storing, in a memory, instructions for performing the method; executing the instructions on a processor; according to the instructions being executed: separating a plurality of computers at a co-location facility into a plurality of clusters via a landlord operations management console located at the co-location facility, wherein the landlord operations management console monitors and controls hardware operation of the computers at the co-location facility; leasing the clusters to a plurality of tenants; allowing secure communications channels to be established between the computers in the cluster leased to the tenant and an application operations management console of the tenant, wherein the application operations management console: is remote from the co-location facility; implements cluster sub-boundaries to restrict the ability of computers within a particular cluster to communicate with other computers within the particular cluster; monitors execution of software on the cluster leased to the tenant; and wherein the monitoring and controlling of the hardware operation of the computers by the landlord operations management console is performed independent from the monitoring of the execution of software on the cluster leased to tenant by the application operations management console; wherein the method further comprises: allowing secure communications channels to be established between the computers in the cluster leased to the tenant and the landlord operations management console; wherein, for each of the plurality of tenants, the secure communications channels between the computers in the cluster leased to the tenant and the operations management console of the tenant are established using a first public/private key pair, and the secure communications channels between the computers in the cluster leased to the tenant and the landlord operations management console are established using a second public/private key pair.