Open-source cloud frameworks: A work in progress Computerworld - When IT consultancy OpenCredo set out to launch three new applications within seven months for a major insurance underwriter, it had three goals in mind: Trim development time from the usual years-long pace, allow for frequent changes from the client, and build a system that can handle unpredictable traffic spikes. By using the Cloud Foundry open-source framework along with other open-source software, OpenCredo eliminated "heavy lifting" such as configuring virtual machines and adjusting the size of storage volumes, says CEO Russell Miles. The framework allowed developers to write code locally, share it with the client, and automate the integration, testing, and deployment of application components. Among other advantages, Cloud Foundry makes it easier to scale an application by adding more instances without downtime, Miles says. Even with all those benefits, open-source cloud frameworks like Cloud Foundry are a work in progress. Understanding the Basics Three Steps 1. 2.
VMware: Now you can send your VMs to Amazon's cloud (and then back to us) In what some analysts are calling a dramatic shift in strategy, VMware today rolled out new features to its vCloud Suite management software that allow customers to migrate workloads to non-VMware cloud environments, including on Amazon Web Services. In July, VMware surprised many cloud-watchers when it purchased DynamicOps, a company that allows users to easily manage workloads across multiple hypervisors and cloud platforms. VMware said at the time it is committed to a enabling its users to access multiple services from different vendors. Today, the company followed through on its promise. "They're making some pretty strong changes," says Gartner analyst Ronni Colville. To continue reading, register here to become an Insider It's FREE to join RELATED: VMware: It's not all about us anymore MORE CLOUD: Gartner report throws cold water on uber-hyped OpenStack project JOBS IN THE CLOUD: A seller's market
Apache Libcloud Python library - Apache Libcloud is a standard Python library that abstracts away differences among multiple cloud provider APIs Try Cloud Computing Free with AWS Free Tier * These free tier offers are only available to new AWS customers, and are available for 12 months following your AWS sign-up date. When your 12 month free usage term expires or if your application use exceeds the tiers, you simply pay standard, pay-as-you-go service rates (see each service page for full pricing details). Restrictions apply; see offer terms for more details. ** These free tier offers do not automatically expire at the end of your 12 month AWS Free Tier term, but are available to both existing and new AWS customers indefinitely. † The following Windows variants are not eligible for the free tier: Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 with SQL Server Web, Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 with SQL Server Standard, Microsoft Windows 2008 R2 64-bit for Cluster Instances and Microsoft Windows 2008 R2 SQL Server 64-bit for Cluster Instances. The Amazon AWS Free Tier applies to participating services across our global regions.
This Startup Could Literally Change The Entire Software Industry Building virtual lab with Amazon Web Services | Khai Tran P a g e Table of Contents Abstract Chapter Cloud computing a look from the cloud What is computing? Definition Six attributes Three types Why moving to cloud? The state in education Amazon Web Services versus Windows Azure Platform Offerings Overview about products Pricing structure payment options at glance Renting (Amazon, 2011b) Instance Monitoring traffic and charge Security Credentials 2011e) Access Sign In Identity Management 2011d) Interface Building virtual lab with Service Problem statement Setting up account Estimate usage budget
Google downshifts App Engine to infrastructure cloud The Importance of Reputation Google I/O Microsoft just downshifted its Azure platform cloud so it could support raw virtual machines and any old applications companies want to cram into them, and now Google has followed suit with Compute Engine. Announced today at the Google I/O extravaganza in San Francisco by Urs Hölzle, senior vice president of infrastructure at the Chocolate Factory, Compute Engine gives Google customers what they have been asking for: Virtual machines that run on Google's vast infrastructure. And it gives Google something it wants: yet another product that can generate revenue and profits from its many large data centers scattered around the globe. To illustrate the power of Compute Engine, Hölzle talked about the Cancer Regulome Explorer application created by the Institute for Systems Biology, which used to run its genome-matching algorithms, used in cancer research, on an internal cluster with 1,000 cores. The Importance of Reputation
Case Study: Windows Azure - PageUp People Talent-management firm PageUp People devised a unique set of algorithms that identify successful career-path attributes from 30 million employment records. To rapidly commercialise their invention, they turned to Windows Azure Cloud Services. In just four weeks, Microsoft experts helped developers create web and mobile front ends, and deploy the open-source database, RavenDB, on the Azure cloud platform. With no hardware costs, minimal support, and easy scalability, PageUp People rapidly launched its service in Australia and abroad. Business Needs With 15 years of personnel records, talent-management firm PageUp People spotted an opportunity to create a unique service. Hill’s team devised the complex algorithms required, and created their unique CareerDNA search engine with the open source database tool, RavenDB. “We needed highly-scalable but cost-efficient server infrastructure,” says Hill. Hill also wanted help building their application, which the team named CareerPath. Solution
AWS: the good, the bad and the ugly | awe.sm: the blog Here at awe.sm we have been hosted from the beginning on Amazon Web Services (AWS). Over the past 3 years we’ve learned a lot about what it’s good at, what it’s not so good at, and have formulated our own set of best practices for running a high-availability, high-performance system, which differ in some important ways from Amazon’s own advice. We’re going to talk about two related things: For people who have heard of AWS but haven’t started using it yet, we thought we’d lay out both the benefits and the challenges we’ve encountered.For those already using AWS, we go into some detail of the best practices we’ve picked up for running a high-performance service like ours, where uptime is one of the highest priorities. It’s not an exaggeration to say that AWS has radically changed the economics of running a technology startup, but so slowly and gradually that it crept up on the industry. EC2 is a new way of running software we can deploy major upgrades on new hardware. Lessons learned