Consider the following guidelines for your cloud-based iSCSI target solution:
In this example, access to files occurs across the public Internet. A production environment typically requires a more secure cloud solution. Other IaaS cloud environments provide secure solutions.
For example, the Amazon Virtual Private Cloud (Amazon VPC) extends your own network segment into the cloud across a VPN (virtual private network) connection. This allows you to use your own IP address ranges and keeps all communications secure in a VPN tunnel as files travel across the public Internet.
In a production environment, you should use IPSec for connections (or use a secure solution like the Amazon VPC) to ensure that your data cannot be snooped on the wire.
In this example, authentication is not configured for the iSCSI target device. In a production environment, you should configure and require authentication for each iSCSI target device so no one else can attach to your iSCSI target.
The Amazon EBS solution provides a snapshot option that you can enable to create snapshots in the cloud for your EBS volume.
You can also create a snapshot of your configured VM instance. It is easier to restore the VM from a snapshot than to re-create it.
Refer to the pricing information on the Amazon EC2 Web site to determine your potential costs for the cloud-based openSUSE Linux VM, EBS volumes, and the related traffic.