Eucalyptus�Open Source Software Supporting Hybrid Cloud Solutions

A popular way of integrating public and private clouds is using Eucalyptus (www.eucalyptus.com). Eucalyptus is an open source software platform that implements IaaS-style cloud computing using the Linux-based infrastructure found in many modern data centers. While it can be deployed solely for private clouds, because it is interface-compatible with Amazon�s AWS, it is possible to move workloads between AWS and the data center without code modification.Many other cloud vendors support Eucalyptus, so today, it is the most portable option available. Eucalyptus also works with most of the currently available Linux distributions, including Ubuntu, Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), CentOS, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES), openSUSE, Debian, and Fedora. Importantly, Eucalyptus can use a variety...

The Battle Over Public and Private Clouds

�Ever since offshoring got hot in the 90s, large companies have been moving toward a model of IT in which the IT services appear to come from a single IT department but are actually an integrated mix of cloud, virtualization and networking services, often provided by external companies,� says Chris Wolf, analyst at The Burton Group.Supposedly, the big battle today is the conflict between public and private clouds. The issue has produced more heat than light. Consider these well-known facts:� In olden times (and in some places, even today) , if you wanted water, you dug a well and then drew water. Tap water and indoor plumbing only became available in the late 19th century, and became common only in the mid-20th.� Before the 20th century, if you wanted clothes, you needed to have them made...

Advantages of Cloud Hosting Over Remote Hosting

Cloud service providers offer a number of advantages over and above those provided by remote hosting Some vendors, such as Rackspace, offer both, so a look at their offerings makes clear the incremental benefits of cloud hosting:� Scalability (also called elasticity), the ability to provision one or more servers quickly and to scale up or down quickly� Pre-configured operating system images, such as a variety of popular Linux distributions: Ubuntu, Debian, Novell (SUSE), Gentoo, Centos, Fedora, Arch, and Red Hat Enterprise Linux and various version of Windows-based servers.� Virtual servers or physical servers that can be sized to different plans through a control panel, all the way up to 15.5 GB of RAM; servers can be configured with one to four processors and with one to four cores per processor,...

The Divisive Issue of Multitenancy

Multitenancy is a characteristic of SaaS, and sometimes PaaS, where numerous customers run the same application, sharing the same equipment and software, but each accesses only his or her data. Perhaps the best known example is the Google Apps Premier Edition, a SaaS service (www.google.com/apps/intl/en/business/index.html). More than two million unique enterprises, each operating under its own domain name, share the same Google infrastructure and cloud, which altogether supports tens of millions of individual users.Some argue that multitenancy is the conditio sine qua non (a mandatory condition) for �true� cloud computing; certainly, it promises the greatest cost savings. Of course, the cost savings can be offset by the difficulty of scaling an application developed to support a single user...

Cloud Deployment Models

Four models of cloud deployment are recognized by NIST.� Private cloud. The cloud infrastructure is operated solely for an organization. It may be managed by the organization or a third party and may exist on premise or off premise.� Community cloud. The cloud infrastructure is shared by several organizations and supports a specific community that has shared concerns (e.g., mission, security requirements, policy, and compliance considerations). It may be managed by the organizations or a third party and may exist on premise or off premise.� Public cloud. The cloud infrastructure is made available to the general public or a large industry group and is owned by an organization selling cloud services.� Hybrid cloud. The cloud infrastructure is a composition of two or more clouds (private, community,...

Cloud Service Models

The three service models defined by NIST are essentially a hierarchy:� Cloud Software as a Service (SaaS). The capability provided to the consumer in this highest level is to use the provider�s applications running on a cloud infrastructure. The applications are accessible from various client devices through a thin client interface such as a Web browser (e.g., Web-based e-mail). The consumer does not manage or control the underlying cloud infrastructure, including network, servers, operating systems, storage, or even individual application capabilities, with the possible exception of limited user-specific application configuration settings.� Cloud Platform as a Service (PaaS). The capability provided to the consumer in this intermediate level is to deploy onto the cloud infrastructure consumer-created...

Cloud Computing Essential Characteristics

On-demand self-service. A consumer armed with an appropriate delegation of rights (permission) can unilaterally provision computing capabilities, such as server time and network storage, as needed and automatically, without requiring human interaction with each service�s provider.Broad network access. Capabilities are available over the network and accessed through standard mechanisms that promote use by heterogeneous thin or thick client platforms (e.g., mobile phones, laptops, and PDAs).Resource pooling. The provider�s computing resources are pooled to serve multiple consumers using a multi-tenant model, with different physical and virtual resources dynamically assigned and reassigned according to consumer demand. There is a sense of location independence in that the customer generally has...

New in the Cloud

Matthew Glotzbach (Director, Product Management, Google Enterprise) listed 10 things that you could do in the clouds in 2009 that you couldn�t do the year before. Not surprisingly, he mostly talked about Google-related things, so his list is not complete. Still, Matthew�s list is a reminder of how far we�ve come in a short space of time.1. Having access to everything on the go�through an iPhone an Android-based phone like Google�s Nexus One, a BlackBerry, or Apple�s new iPad.2. Being able to search through all my e-mail quickly from any device using Gmail or Google Apps (see http://mail.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=7190).3. Chatting with customers and partners�in any language. Matthew gave a very cool live demo of inline translation of chat; my Web site, eyeonthecloud.com,...

We�re Using Cloud Computing Already

Like the fellow who wrote prose but didn�t know it, you and I are using cloud computing more than we realize. I use it and benefit from it every day, and probably you do too. Consider my little business. Like more than a million other businesses, I use the paid version of Google Apps (cloudbased, with an annual fee of $50 per user), so e-mail addressed to my hshco.com domain is hosted by Google, and spam filtering, archiving, and e-discovery are provided by Postini, owned by Google since 2007. Google Apps also maintains my contact list and calendar, which are all accessible from my desktop, synchronized over the cloud to my laptop and Black-Berry, and accessible from anyone else�s computer equipped with a Web browser an Internet connection, and the right credentials. I can access and allow...

Guide to Computer Assisted Surgery

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What is Cloud Computing?

At its simplest, cloud computing is the dynamic delivery of information technology resources and capabilities as a service over the Internet. Cloud computing is a style of computing in which dynamically scalable and often virtualized resources are provided as a service over the Internet. It generally incorporates infrastructure as a service (IaaS), platform as a service (PaaS), and software as a service (SaaS).According to Gartner Group, the attributes of cloud computing are:� Service-based� Scalable and elastic� Shared� Metered by use� Use of Internet technologiesThe most frequently cited benefits of cloud computing are:� It is agile, with ease and speed of deployment� Its cost is use-based, and will likely be reduced� In-house IT costs are reduced� Capital investment is reduced� The latest...