This document discusses the concept of cloud computing and how it relates to data centers. It can be summarized in 3 sentences:
Cloud computing refers to powerful applications and services being delivered over the internet, and major companies are building massive data centers to power these cloud services, using virtualization and distributed computing techniques to maximize efficiency and scalability across large numbers of commodity servers located near cheap energy sources. While cloud computing remains a fuzzy concept, continued development of data center operating systems and distributed computing algorithms may help optimize utilization of computing resources across these large cloud infrastructures.
The emergence of computing clouds has put a renewed emphasis on the issue of scale in computing. The enormous size of the Web,
together with ever-more demanding requirements such as freshness (results in seconds, not weeks) means that massive
resources are required to handle enormous datasets in a timely fashion. Datacenters are now considered to be the new units of
computer power, e.g. Google's Warehouse-Scale Computer. The number of organizations able to deploy such resources is ever shrinking. Wowd aims to demonstrate that there is an even bigger
scale of computing than that yet imagined -- specifically -- planetary-sized distributed clouds. Such clouds can be deployed by motivated collections of users, instead of a handful of gigantic organizations.
In computer networking, cloud computing is a phrase used to describe a variety of computing concepts that involve a large number of computers connected through a communication network such as the Internet. It is very similar to the concept of utility computing. In science, cloud computing is a synonym for distributed computing over a network, and means the ability to run a program or application on many connected computers at the same time.
The phrase is often used in reference to network-based services, which appear to be provided by real server hardware, and are in fact served up by virtual hardware, simulated by software running on one or more real machines. Such virtual servers do not physically exist and can therefore be moved around and scaled up or down on the fly without affecting the end user, somewhat like a cloud becoming larger or smaller without being a physical object.
The emergence of computing clouds has put a renewed emphasis on the issue of scale in computing. The enormous size of the Web,
together with ever-more demanding requirements such as freshness (results in seconds, not weeks) means that massive
resources are required to handle enormous datasets in a timely fashion. Datacenters are now considered to be the new units of
computer power, e.g. Google's Warehouse-Scale Computer. The number of organizations able to deploy such resources is ever shrinking. Wowd aims to demonstrate that there is an even bigger
scale of computing than that yet imagined -- specifically -- planetary-sized distributed clouds. Such clouds can be deployed by motivated collections of users, instead of a handful of gigantic organizations.
In computer networking, cloud computing is a phrase used to describe a variety of computing concepts that involve a large number of computers connected through a communication network such as the Internet. It is very similar to the concept of utility computing. In science, cloud computing is a synonym for distributed computing over a network, and means the ability to run a program or application on many connected computers at the same time.
The phrase is often used in reference to network-based services, which appear to be provided by real server hardware, and are in fact served up by virtual hardware, simulated by software running on one or more real machines. Such virtual servers do not physically exist and can therefore be moved around and scaled up or down on the fly without affecting the end user, somewhat like a cloud becoming larger or smaller without being a physical object.
This is the slide deck from Brian Madden and Chetan Venkatesh's joint session at Briforum 2010 Chicago on The Brian Madden Paradox
The session covers a discussion of technology trends that are shaping Desktop Virtualization
The enterprise landscape is rapidly changing. Data is ubiquitous. Information is flowing into an organization’s applications from more sources than ever before. Business expec-tations are also changing. Corporations today demand speed and flexibility from their applications. Enterprise want services that allow them to make better business decisions, create more satisfied customers, and react ever more quickly to evolving market condi-tions. Current economic circumstances and increased competition are also driving the demand for a more effective model to deliver applications and services.
This relentless push for a faster, better and more cost-effective technology delivery model has set the stage for new approaches to application development, deployment and management. Several technologies such as grid computing, virtualization, and service-oriented architecture (SOA) have offered partial solutions for enterprises that require applications with greater scalability, agility and easier management capabilities. However, these alone have not been enough.
Enter cloud computing, an innovative model for delivering IT infrastructure, applications and data that shifts the emphasis from static, stand-alone application silos to dynamic, shared environments, dynamically allocated among various tasks and accessed via a network.
Today, many forward-thinking enterprises are using cloud environments to take advan-tage of the increased scalability, agility, automation, and efficiency that this technology can deliver. Yet, because cloud computing has evolved so quickly, there are still many questions surrounding it. To understand the promise of cloud computing, decision makers and IT professionals must examine its development and benefits from an enterprise perspective.
Beginning with the origins of cloud computing, this paper will help define exactly what cloud computing is and how the enterprise can benefit from it. In doing so, the paper outlines a number of “cloud characteristics” which together illustrate the true potential of cloud computing and provide a framework for assessing current and future cloud offerings. Finally, the paper draws a distinction between infrastructure-oriented clouds and platform-oriented clouds and explains how cloud platforms allow end-user applica-tions to unlock the true promise of cloud computing.
iStart hitchhikers guide to cloud computingHayden McCall
Many pundits agree that
2011 is set to become the year of
The Cloud and that IT professionals
need to prepare themselves. While everyone
seems to be talking about “The Cloud” in excited
tones, do we really understand what it’s all about?
iStart helps demystify what it all means and
navigates a clear path through all the hype.
What are the implications of ‘going public’
and staying private? By Chris Bell
http://www.istart.com.au
Cloud Computing Contracts and Services: What's Really Happening Out There? T...Cloud Legal Project
Slides for talk by Prof Christopher Millard on "Cloud Computing Contracts and Services:
What's Really Happening Out There?", at the Sixth bi-annual conference on the economics of intellectual property, software and the Internet – Toulouse, Jan 2011
The Era of MicroServers is upon us. MicroServers will radically change the computing landscape much like mini-computers did when they first came on the scene. People and organizations will be able to do more computing while consuming less energy in very small form factors. It is only up to the imagination what can be accomplished with these new systems.
This paper identifies the value proposition created by implementing IBM zEnterprise as an integrated, heterogeneous, and virtualized platform supporting Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) in cloud computing deployments.
The paper begins by expanding the definition of the private cloud and comparing the concepts of homogenous and heterogeneous clouds. Then we further develop the concept of fit-for-purpose workload deployment and the cost proposition for deployment in a private cloud. We utilize a defined workload metric to determine the impact of zEnterprise on the Total Cost of Acquisition (TCA) and the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO).
This is the slide deck from Brian Madden and Chetan Venkatesh's joint session at Briforum 2010 Chicago on The Brian Madden Paradox
The session covers a discussion of technology trends that are shaping Desktop Virtualization
The enterprise landscape is rapidly changing. Data is ubiquitous. Information is flowing into an organization’s applications from more sources than ever before. Business expec-tations are also changing. Corporations today demand speed and flexibility from their applications. Enterprise want services that allow them to make better business decisions, create more satisfied customers, and react ever more quickly to evolving market condi-tions. Current economic circumstances and increased competition are also driving the demand for a more effective model to deliver applications and services.
This relentless push for a faster, better and more cost-effective technology delivery model has set the stage for new approaches to application development, deployment and management. Several technologies such as grid computing, virtualization, and service-oriented architecture (SOA) have offered partial solutions for enterprises that require applications with greater scalability, agility and easier management capabilities. However, these alone have not been enough.
Enter cloud computing, an innovative model for delivering IT infrastructure, applications and data that shifts the emphasis from static, stand-alone application silos to dynamic, shared environments, dynamically allocated among various tasks and accessed via a network.
Today, many forward-thinking enterprises are using cloud environments to take advan-tage of the increased scalability, agility, automation, and efficiency that this technology can deliver. Yet, because cloud computing has evolved so quickly, there are still many questions surrounding it. To understand the promise of cloud computing, decision makers and IT professionals must examine its development and benefits from an enterprise perspective.
Beginning with the origins of cloud computing, this paper will help define exactly what cloud computing is and how the enterprise can benefit from it. In doing so, the paper outlines a number of “cloud characteristics” which together illustrate the true potential of cloud computing and provide a framework for assessing current and future cloud offerings. Finally, the paper draws a distinction between infrastructure-oriented clouds and platform-oriented clouds and explains how cloud platforms allow end-user applica-tions to unlock the true promise of cloud computing.
iStart hitchhikers guide to cloud computingHayden McCall
Many pundits agree that
2011 is set to become the year of
The Cloud and that IT professionals
need to prepare themselves. While everyone
seems to be talking about “The Cloud” in excited
tones, do we really understand what it’s all about?
iStart helps demystify what it all means and
navigates a clear path through all the hype.
What are the implications of ‘going public’
and staying private? By Chris Bell
http://www.istart.com.au
Cloud Computing Contracts and Services: What's Really Happening Out There? T...Cloud Legal Project
Slides for talk by Prof Christopher Millard on "Cloud Computing Contracts and Services:
What's Really Happening Out There?", at the Sixth bi-annual conference on the economics of intellectual property, software and the Internet – Toulouse, Jan 2011
The Era of MicroServers is upon us. MicroServers will radically change the computing landscape much like mini-computers did when they first came on the scene. People and organizations will be able to do more computing while consuming less energy in very small form factors. It is only up to the imagination what can be accomplished with these new systems.
This paper identifies the value proposition created by implementing IBM zEnterprise as an integrated, heterogeneous, and virtualized platform supporting Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) in cloud computing deployments.
The paper begins by expanding the definition of the private cloud and comparing the concepts of homogenous and heterogeneous clouds. Then we further develop the concept of fit-for-purpose workload deployment and the cost proposition for deployment in a private cloud. We utilize a defined workload metric to determine the impact of zEnterprise on the Total Cost of Acquisition (TCA) and the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO).
Its a complete very concise yet effective presentation on cloud computing. This is an emerging technique in developing countries like african countries.
In this paper, Cartesian gives an overview of the ongoing barriers to cloud computing adoption and ways in which vendors are trying to addressing them.
We divide the paper into 5 sections:
• Baby Steps: The Use Case for Hybrid Cloud
• Private Cloud: Allowing IT to Sleep at Night
• Standardizing the Cloud: The Battle over APIs
• Thinking Outside the Box: Network Virtualization
• The Biggest Fear of All: Security
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Presentation given at launch of the The Fuse Initiative on 23rd June 2011. The Fuse Initiative is a two year project that aims to ignite business growth in the south east.
Key Trends Shaping the Future of Infrastructure.pdfCheryl Hung
Keynote at DIGIT West Expo, Glasgow on 29 May 2024.
Cheryl Hung, ochery.com
Sr Director, Infrastructure Ecosystem, Arm.
The key trends across hardware, cloud and open-source; exploring how these areas are likely to mature and develop over the short and long-term, and then considering how organisations can position themselves to adapt and thrive.
Transcript: Selling digital books in 2024: Insights from industry leaders - T...BookNet Canada
The publishing industry has been selling digital audiobooks and ebooks for over a decade and has found its groove. What’s changed? What has stayed the same? Where do we go from here? Join a group of leading sales peers from across the industry for a conversation about the lessons learned since the popularization of digital books, best practices, digital book supply chain management, and more.
Link to video recording: https://bnctechforum.ca/sessions/selling-digital-books-in-2024-insights-from-industry-leaders/
Presented by BookNet Canada on May 28, 2024, with support from the Department of Canadian Heritage.
UiPath Test Automation using UiPath Test Suite series, part 4DianaGray10
Welcome to UiPath Test Automation using UiPath Test Suite series part 4. In this session, we will cover Test Manager overview along with SAP heatmap.
The UiPath Test Manager overview with SAP heatmap webinar offers a concise yet comprehensive exploration of the role of a Test Manager within SAP environments, coupled with the utilization of heatmaps for effective testing strategies.
Participants will gain insights into the responsibilities, challenges, and best practices associated with test management in SAP projects. Additionally, the webinar delves into the significance of heatmaps as a visual aid for identifying testing priorities, areas of risk, and resource allocation within SAP landscapes. Through this session, attendees can expect to enhance their understanding of test management principles while learning practical approaches to optimize testing processes in SAP environments using heatmap visualization techniques
What will you get from this session?
1. Insights into SAP testing best practices
2. Heatmap utilization for testing
3. Optimization of testing processes
4. Demo
Topics covered:
Execution from the test manager
Orchestrator execution result
Defect reporting
SAP heatmap example with demo
Speaker:
Deepak Rai, Automation Practice Lead, Boundaryless Group and UiPath MVP
Generating a custom Ruby SDK for your web service or Rails API using Smithyg2nightmarescribd
Have you ever wanted a Ruby client API to communicate with your web service? Smithy is a protocol-agnostic language for defining services and SDKs. Smithy Ruby is an implementation of Smithy that generates a Ruby SDK using a Smithy model. In this talk, we will explore Smithy and Smithy Ruby to learn how to generate custom feature-rich SDKs that can communicate with any web service, such as a Rails JSON API.
Slack (or Teams) Automation for Bonterra Impact Management (fka Social Soluti...Jeffrey Haguewood
Sidekick Solutions uses Bonterra Impact Management (fka Social Solutions Apricot) and automation solutions to integrate data for business workflows.
We believe integration and automation are essential to user experience and the promise of efficient work through technology. Automation is the critical ingredient to realizing that full vision. We develop integration products and services for Bonterra Case Management software to support the deployment of automations for a variety of use cases.
This video focuses on the notifications, alerts, and approval requests using Slack for Bonterra Impact Management. The solutions covered in this webinar can also be deployed for Microsoft Teams.
Interested in deploying notification automations for Bonterra Impact Management? Contact us at sales@sidekicksolutionsllc.com to discuss next steps.
The Art of the Pitch: WordPress Relationships and SalesLaura Byrne
Clients don’t know what they don’t know. What web solutions are right for them? How does WordPress come into the picture? How do you make sure you understand scope and timeline? What do you do if sometime changes?
All these questions and more will be explored as we talk about matching clients’ needs with what your agency offers without pulling teeth or pulling your hair out. Practical tips, and strategies for successful relationship building that leads to closing the deal.
DevOps and Testing slides at DASA ConnectKari Kakkonen
My and Rik Marselis slides at 30.5.2024 DASA Connect conference. We discuss about what is testing, then what is agile testing and finally what is Testing in DevOps. Finally we had lovely workshop with the participants trying to find out different ways to think about quality and testing in different parts of the DevOps infinity loop.
LF Energy Webinar: Electrical Grid Modelling and Simulation Through PowSyBl -...DanBrown980551
Do you want to learn how to model and simulate an electrical network from scratch in under an hour?
Then welcome to this PowSyBl workshop, hosted by Rte, the French Transmission System Operator (TSO)!
During the webinar, you will discover the PowSyBl ecosystem as well as handle and study an electrical network through an interactive Python notebook.
PowSyBl is an open source project hosted by LF Energy, which offers a comprehensive set of features for electrical grid modelling and simulation. Among other advanced features, PowSyBl provides:
- A fully editable and extendable library for grid component modelling;
- Visualization tools to display your network;
- Grid simulation tools, such as power flows, security analyses (with or without remedial actions) and sensitivity analyses;
The framework is mostly written in Java, with a Python binding so that Python developers can access PowSyBl functionalities as well.
What you will learn during the webinar:
- For beginners: discover PowSyBl's functionalities through a quick general presentation and the notebook, without needing any expert coding skills;
- For advanced developers: master the skills to efficiently apply PowSyBl functionalities to your real-world scenarios.
Connector Corner: Automate dynamic content and events by pushing a buttonDianaGray10
Here is something new! In our next Connector Corner webinar, we will demonstrate how you can use a single workflow to:
Create a campaign using Mailchimp with merge tags/fields
Send an interactive Slack channel message (using buttons)
Have the message received by managers and peers along with a test email for review
But there’s more:
In a second workflow supporting the same use case, you’ll see:
Your campaign sent to target colleagues for approval
If the “Approve” button is clicked, a Jira/Zendesk ticket is created for the marketing design team
But—if the “Reject” button is pushed, colleagues will be alerted via Slack message
Join us to learn more about this new, human-in-the-loop capability, brought to you by Integration Service connectors.
And...
Speakers:
Akshay Agnihotri, Product Manager
Charlie Greenberg, Host
UiPath Test Automation using UiPath Test Suite series, part 3DianaGray10
Welcome to UiPath Test Automation using UiPath Test Suite series part 3. In this session, we will cover desktop automation along with UI automation.
Topics covered:
UI automation Introduction,
UI automation Sample
Desktop automation flow
Pradeep Chinnala, Senior Consultant Automation Developer @WonderBotz and UiPath MVP
Deepak Rai, Automation Practice Lead, Boundaryless Group and UiPath MVP
UiPath Test Automation using UiPath Test Suite series, part 3
Computing in the clouds weiss
1. BY AARON WEISS
COMPUTING IN
THE CLOUDS
Powerful services and applications are being
integrated and packaged on the Web in what the
industry now calls “cloud computing”
Quick, go outside and look up at the clouds in the sky. What
shapes do you see? A ball of cotton? A bunny rabbit? A
massively parallel distributed data center? If the latter sounds
spot on, you might already be computing in the clouds.
At least, that’s the latest catchphrase buzzing around the
industry. “Cloud computing,” as it’s being called by everyone
from IBM to Google to Amazon to Microsoft, is supposedly
the next big thing. But like the clouds themselves, “cloud
computing” can take on different shapes depending on the
viewer, and often seems a little fuzzy at the edges.
Illustration by James O’Brien
16 COMPUTING IN THE CLOUDS DECEMBER 2007
3. To some, the cloud looks like Web- tion, of course. Desktop (and laptop)
based applications, a revival of the computing power has been on an
thin-client. To others, the cloud looks accelerated tear for 30 years. But the
like utility computing, a grid that networked era, and the data centers
charges metered rates for processing that power it, are starting to make
time. Then again, the cloud could be the IT industry—and its investors—
distributed or parallel computing, take a fresh look at Watson’s per-
designed to scale complex processes spective on centralized computing, if
for improved efficiency. Maybe every- not his specific enumeration.
Both Google and IBM have a vested interest in encouraging
cloud computing: THEY NEED PEOPLE TO HIRE.
one is right. There are many shapes But data centers aren’t new, either.
in the clouds. In the dot-com boom of the mid-
’90s, many a startup invested venture
Cloud Shapes: The Data Center capital into traditional enterprise
It is not news that today’s major solutions like Sun SPARC servers. Is
Internet companies have built massive this the cloud?
data centers to power their online Yes and no. Google is often credit-
businesses. Decades ago, computing ed with innovating search on the
power was concentrated in main- Web and, more recently, advertising.
frames tucked away behind the scenes But to many, Google’s architecture
because there was no alternative— behind the scenes has spawned just
only a hulking room-sized box that as significant a revolution.
could contain any significant amount The data centers of the early dot-
of computational power. The idea com era were, in some respects,
that this power could be distributed direct descendents of Watson’s main-
rather than centralized seemed like frames. Physically smaller, perhaps,
such folly that in 1943, IBM but Sun servers and their ilk contin-
Chairman Thomas Watson said ued to represent an exclusive kind of
famously (or infamously) that “I computing—concentrated power
think there’s a world market for designed, and priced, for exclusive
maybe five computers.” customers—namely, enterprise.
The era of the personal computer But Google turned the data
that has flourished since the 1970s center model on its head. Rather
directly contradicted Watson’s predic- than power a network with a
18 COMPUTING IN THE CLOUDS DECEMBER 2007
4. small number of high-powered ter at a derelict factory site on the
and very expensive servers, why banks of the Columbia River in the
not deploy cheap, commodity Pacific Northwest, located both near
hardware in large numbers? cheap hydroelectric energy and a
Today, Google runs an estimated major trans-Pacific Internet node.
half-million servers clustered into a Likewise, Microsoft, IBM, and others
dozen or so physical locations. By are following suit, scouting sites both in
creating a network that is spread thin the Pacific Northwest and Canada where
and wide rather than narrow and hydroelectric power is cheaper (and green-
deep, Google created a new kind of er) than the coal-derived power used
concentrated power—derived more throughout much of the U.S. The eyes of
from scale of the whole than any one investors are also turning toward China,
constituent part. This, some say, where new power plants are being rapidly
describes the cloud. built (and, some are quick to caution,
As computational and networking without the “costly” burdens of environ-
architecture, the cloud is very robust. mental controls).
Sometimes described as “self-heal-
B
ing,” a thin, wide network can recov- esides cheaper power,
er gracefully from the most common data centers are making
ailments, such as connection and heavy use of virtualiza-
hardware failures, because there are tion to squeeze the most
so many more drones available to out of the watts they’re
take on the work. consuming. With major
But a cloud can consume a lot of vendors like VMWare
power to run. Aside from the power and Citrix, which recently acquired
needed to drive thousands, or hun- the Xen virtualization platform,
dreds of thousands, of processors increasingly targeting the data center,
and peripherals—hard drives, cooling virtualization allows a single server
fans—all these whirring machines to run multiple operating instances
generate lots of heat. It is estimated simultaneously. By sandboxing each
that 50 percent of energy costs in OS inside artificial boundaries, not
running a large data center are only can each instance run indepen-
derived from cooling needs alone. dently of the others, but CPU idle
Worse still for the cloud, the world time is minimized.
is immersed in a global energy Just what distinguishes a “cloud”
crunch, as both demand and specula- from “a bunch of machines” can be a
tion has driven up pricing for most little fuzzy. But the next evolution
conventional energies toward record that may illuminate the fog is the so-
levels. called “data center OS”—or, in the
Reducing the operating costs of a spirit of the buzz, the CloudOS. In
Google-inspired data center cloud the fall of this year, VMWare and
involves both physical and virtual Cisco announced a joint venture to
solutions. Physically, data centers are develop such a “fabric” (to use their
like plants arcing toward the sun- word in spite of the mixed
light, migrating toward cheap energy. metaphor).
Google is building a major data cen- In a data center like that employed
COMPUTING IN THE CLOUDS DECEMBER 2007 19
5. by Google and the many other enter- into sub-tasks. Those sub-tasks can
prises inspired by their model, each be broken into even smaller tasks,
server is fundamentally an indepen- and so on, until you’re nearly down
dent machine running its own copy to “bare metal” as they say and deal-
of an operating system. For servers to ing with disk and memory access.
work together on common tasks
I
requires an abstraction layer of soft- deally, if tasks are broken into
ware—often, highly specialized, cus- their smallest constituent jobs,
tom software—that intelligently and each job could be complet-
divvies up jobs. But a more efficient ed simultaneously using avail-
and resource-friendly solution would able processing resources
be a single operating system, which somewhere in the cloud, you
intrinsically utilizes the resources of could achieve an optimally effi-
many machines. cient architecture: the most optimistic
Essentially, an operating system is definition of distributed computing.
designed to manage resources—hard In reality, some jobs are dependent
drive space, memory, and so on. A on the results of other jobs.
true data center, or cloud, OS will Furthermore, designing algorithms to
treat every processing unit available most effectively divide jobs and dis-
as just another resource, relying on tribute them throughout the cloud in
networking channels to replicate the real time is complex, to understate
kinds of intra-server channels that the case.
now coordinate events within a single But distributed computing, like the
physical machine. Under the com- data center itself, is not inherently
mand of a single “omniscient” oper- new to the era of the cloud. If we
ating system, the cloud becomes a consider the entire Internet a cloud,
more cohesive entity. one need only look at popular pro-
jects like SETI@home and
Cloud Shapes: Distributed Computing Folding@home to see public exam-
Whether “the cloud” represents a ples of distributed computing at
data center at a single physical loca- work. In these projects, individuals
tion or dozens, hundreds, or thou- run software on their PC which con-
sands of data centers spread around nects them to a server that divides
the world, its speed and efficiency is large jobs among small clients to
limited by how intelligently it dele- crunch numbers toward a particular
gates responsibility. goal—in these examples, searching
Completing any general computing for alien life among radio waves and
task—say, retrieving the results of a computing protein folding simula-
search with relevant contextual tions to aid medical research. You
advertisements—requires a long could even consider botnets—soft-
series of smaller jobs to be complet- ware that maliciously infects unwit-
ed. Database queries, parsing of ting client machines to send out
results, construction of result sets, parcels of spam—a form of nefarious
and formatting of result pages, to distributed computing.
name the most common. Even these The open source project Hadoop
tasks can be further broken down provides a general-purpose frame-
20 COMPUTING IN THE CLOUDS DECEMBER 2007
6. work for developers to rapidly would submit jobs to these number-
employ distributed computing in a crunching powerhouses (in their
wide variety of projects. Actively day), and be billed for the cost of
under development within the aus- cycles used. Processing time was
pices of the Apache Foundation, delivered like electricity—you paid
Hadoop liberates software developers for what you used.
from creating specialized custom Today, most medium to large-sized
software for taking advantage of dis- organizations invest in their own
tributed computing in a cloud. data centers and use them at will.
Capable of distributing petabytes of Although processing cycles are not
data-processing across thousands of metered like a utility, there are signif-
computing nodes, the Hadoop plat- icant costs to building a data cen-
form is itself comprised of several ter—real estate, hardware, power,
WHY NOT JUST MOVE ALL PROCESSING
POWER TO THE CLOUD, and walk around with an
ultralight imput device with a screen?
technologies to ensure efficiency and cooling, and ongoing maintenance.
data integrity as data swirls around What’s worse for the balance sheet
the cloud. Some of these sub- is that organizations need to plan for
projects, like MapReduce which worst-case scenarios. In the case of a
divides jobs into component tasks, data center, not only can this include
and HDFS, the Hadoop Distributed the costs of backup and redundancy,
Filesystem, can be employed individ- but in overpowered servers capable
ually or together by developers in of handling loads which can peak
their applications. high but occur infrequently. Bus-
inesses may find themselves using 99
Cloud Shapes: A Utility Grid percent of their computing capacity
It seems like every shape one sees in only 10 percent of the time, leaving
the cloud is inspired by a computing expensive equipment often idle and
model from the past. Back in the angering the accountants.
days of mainframes and fancy super- In the Web space there is a thriv-
computers housed at research univer- ing market of hosting providers who
sities, valuable processing time was invest in their own data centers and
essentially for sale. Researchers sell usage to customers, be they indi-
COMPUTING IN THE CLOUDS DECEMBER 2007 21
7. viduals or businesses. Although host- machine in Amazon’s cloud. Using
ing providers can go some way virtualization, Amazon presents the
toward minimizing underutilization machine image to the end user as if it
of in-house servers by attaching sur- were a dedicated server, with the
charges to peak usage, their capacity same degree of access an administra-
to stretch can be limited. Providers tor would have to their own server.
typically assign clients to a whole or Customers can choose configura-
partial physical server, and do not tion templates for their machine
truly replicate the kinds of cloud fea- instance—for example, a server with
tures, like distributed computing, 1.7GB of memory, one processing
Software, in a cloud, becomes a service. To a company like
Microsoft, whose substantial fortunes are built on software
as a purchasable, local application, THE THREAT IS
NOT FALLING ON DEAF EARS.
that a dedicated data center can offer. core, and 160GB of storage space.
Meanwhile, massive companies Additional configurations support
like Amazon, Google, and IBM have more memory, more cores, and more
invested in, innovated, and become storage. But the real magic in EC2 is
expert at housing their own large- that customers can create and destroy
scale data centers. Invoking the idea machine instances at will. As a result,
of the cloud, all three also sense software can scale itself to exactly
opportunity: Why not scale up their the amount of computing power it
data centers—grow the cloud—and requires.
create business models to support Consider a Web-based application
third-party use? running in Amazon’s cloud. Suppose
In fact, Internet retail giant there is a sudden surge in visitors,
Amazon is the first out of the gate to perhaps thanks to media coverage.
commercialize their cloud. After a Today, many Web applications fail
period of limited access testing, under the load of big traffic spikes.
Amazon opened their Elastic But in the cloud, assuming that the
Compute Cloud, or EC2, to fee- Web application has been designed
based public use in October 2007. intelligently, additional machine
To use Amazon’s EC2, customers instances can be launched on
first create a virtual image of their demand. The application dynamically,
complete software environment using and gracefully, scales up. When traffic
provided tools. The image is then slows down, the app can scale down,
used to create an “instance” of a terminating the extra instances.
22 COMPUTING IN THE CLOUDS DECEMBER 2007
8. Amazon then charges customers these kinds of massive, sandboxed
based on their cumulative “instance data centers dedicated for student
hours,” a way of metering usage, use, and many lack instructors with
currently set at $0.10 per instance leading-edge experience.
hour for the most basic instance type. To some industry analysts, com-
To provide consistent and predictable modified cloud computing like
performance, machine instance types Amazon’s EC2 will change the face
are rated by what Amazon calls of enterprise computing. It may pave
“compute units,” which deliver a the way to where businesses no
specific, known amount of perfor- longer invest anything into data cen-
mance, regardless of the underlying ters of their own. Out goes the hard-
hardware Amazon is using inside ware, out goes the power bill, and
their cloud. A second charge applies out goes all the processing power
to data moved in and out of that rarely gets used. Instead, they
Amazon’s network, ranging from buy cloud computing time from com-
$0.10 to $0.18 per gigabyte. mercial providers, who can specialize
In contrast to Amazon’s commer- in building massive data centers at
cial effort, Google and IBM recently sites selected to minimize operating
announced a partnership to apply a costs.
similar utility cloud model to com-
puter science education. The two Cloud Shapes: Software as a Service
companies have put together a dedi- As radical a shift as cloud computing
cated data center mixing both com- may represent for the enterprise—
modity and enterprise hardware. who needs servers?—some think it
Running open source software will radically change personal com-
including Linux, Xen virtualization, puting even more. Who needs com-
and Apache Hadoop, the puters at all? At least, the kind that
Google/IBM cloud presents a distrib- eat up battery life and contain churn-
uted computing canvas for educa- ing hard drives. Why not just move
tional access. Both Google and IBM all processing power to the cloud,
have a vested interest in encouraging and walk around with an ultralight
cloud computing: They need people input device with a screen?
to hire. Some say it’s already begun.
Burgeoning Web applications have
A
considerable concern been the rage for several years.
among major enterprise Fueled by technological evolutions
is that today’s computer like AJAX, which allows browser-
science students lack based code to behave more like a
access to the distributed local application, and people’s desire
computing environ- for mobility and data ubiquity, we
ments that make up the increasingly use the Web for applica-
cloud. Companies like Google will tion functionality. E-mail was both
need new hires experienced in writing the first “killer app” for the Internet,
code designed to run in a cloud of and later, on the Web. For many
perhaps thousands of processors. But today, Web-based e-mail is the only
educational institutions don’t have kind they use.
COMPUTING IN THE CLOUDS DECEMBER 2007 23
9. Taken further, Web-based applica- ruptive force and a whole new way.
tions like Google Docs threaten core Carr predicts that Google and Apple
productivity applications on the will partner to push the cloud com-
desktop. While the features of puting/software-as-a-service model
Google Docs are a slim shadow of a even further. He foresees a lightweight
major, and majorly profitable, appli- mobile device crafted by Apple that
cation like Microsoft Word, it pro- will tap into Google’s cloud, bringing
vides a taste of a cloud-based future. together the two masters of the front
Your data is reachable anywhere, and end and the back end.
the only software you need to access In the near-term, a ubiquitous
it is a browser. Which, in turn, means cloud faces obstacles. Critics argue
THE CLOUD DEMANDS A HIGH DEGREE OF
TRUST. Significant amounts of data which were previously
stored only in individual offices and homes would now reside
in data centers controlled by third-parties.
that your data and your applications that visions like Carr’s are simply
are available in one form another revivals of failed thin-client dreams
from your desktop PC, your laptop, of the past. Thin clients like those
and your handheld. touted by Oracle-founder Larry
Software, in the cloud, becomes a Ellison in the ’90s have not managed
service. To a company like Microsoft, to become cost-effective. With prices
whose substantial fortunes are built plummeting and performance sky-
on software as a purchasable, local rocketing for full-featured desktop
application, the threat is not falling and laptop computers, it has been
on deaf ears. Windows Live, difficult to produce a relatively pow-
Microsoft’s “cloud,” may be today’s erless thin client at a low enough cost
take on Windows 1.0—a look into to attract buyers.
the future. Advocates for thin client cloud
Even Adobe has begun to launch computing argue that full-fledged
stripped-down versions of its compu- machines, however powerful, are also
tationally-heavy marquee titles as a hassle with negative productivity.
Web-based services, including They have many parts that can fail
Photoshop and the video editing suite and their software needs constant
Premiere. care and feeding in a world riddled
Pundits and futurists like Nicholas with software updates, viruses, and
Carr love this stuff because the cloud spyware. Centralizing processing
represents a paradigm shift and a dis- power in the cloud liberates users to
24 COMPUTING IN THE CLOUDS DECEMBER 2007