Category Archives: IT Departments

Increasing the control over the Cloud – Reducing the EDoS danger

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As it has been discussed in the Cloud Computing Google Group (Cloud Forum), the Cloud Computing paradigm has an ever growing underlying attachment. As I’m sure you can guess, I’m talking about the security threats that have emerged, one of them being the Economic Denial of Sustainability (EDoS). The EDoS attack has as its main goal to make no longer viable the business model of Cloud providers. The majority of Cloud Computing business models have as its basis the notion of elasticity and the pay as use. In this business model, clients pay as use, or as its clients use (for those who are selling services based on Cloud providers). This flexibility and elasticity is one of the greatest innovations that have sprung from Cloud Computing but it could also be a danger for the users of this model. Without the proper control technologies Cloud Computing clients could easily be exposed to fake usage, and because they are paying as the platform is used, they cloud be suffering the EDoS and their business cloud be seriously affected.

One of the control technologies that will definitely reduce the dangers of the EDoS is the new Auto Scaling from Amazon. With this technology Amazon clients will be able to define boundaries that would limit the elasticity of its platforms. With these boundaries they will always control how their platforms will grow and therefore they will no longer be exposed to the EDoS. This new feature of the AWS platform should be used with the also new Amazon CloudWatch which adds to the Amazon platform the ability to be full motorized by their costumers.

The largest IT department on the World is changing to Cloud Computing

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As we can read on the recent CROSSCUTTING PROGRAMS document presented by the Obama administration, the Cloud Computing paradigm is considered a priority tool to reduce the costs and increase the efficiency on the IT platform of the Us government. As the following quote shows, their commitment to the Cloud Computing paradigm is definitely undoubted.

“The Federal Government will transform its Information Technology Infrastructure by virtualizing data centers, consolidating data centers and operations, and ultimately adopting a cloud-computing business model,”

ORACLE + Virtualiron: the Cloud is agitated!

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After buying SUN, ORACLE has now moved towards VirtualIron, one important player of the Virtualization World. According to Ed Walsh, President and CEO of Virtual Iron Software, Inc.: “The combination of Virtual Iron with Oracle is expected to provide comprehensive and dynamic virtualization management across the full data center stack. Oracle VM, combined with Virtual Iron, is expected to deliver extensive virtualization management features including dynamic resource and capacity management and streamlined network and storage configuration capabilities on top of a scalable, highly available, and high performance server platform.“. In my opinion, ORACLE is coming late to the cloud paradigm, but is definitely taking some shortcuts.

Cloud computing: changing the way we work

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Quoting an article in the ACM TechNews, Monday, April 20, 2009, bulletin:

«Cloud computing has the potential to create irreversible changes in how computers are used around the world, says David Carrera, director of the Cloud Computing (CC) research team at Spain’s Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya (UPC). Carrera says cloud computing technology’s objective is to move any applications stored on a computer to a remote location, eliminating all the standard components, including operating systems and hard drives, which are necessary in today’s computers and make them accessible online through a standard browser. Traditional computers will become obsolete, and instead of traveling with laptops, users will be able to rent a computer and access all of the information and programs online. Carrera says the ultimate goal of cloud computing is to mix and manage applications in an intelligent manner. For example, cloud computing could be used to create software that monitors the response of a machine or appliance in real time and controls its power supply, optimizing energy use and saving money, Carrera says. The CC team is researching systems for coordinating the thousands of terminals and nodes that compose the cloud, a major concern of technology companies. “By applying artificial intelligence to the cloud, we are hoping to develop a system through which computers can manage themselves,” says UPC professor Ricard Gavalda»…

ORACLE + SUN: Is the Cloud growing or losing one important player?

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I think, even if Larry Ellison isn’t admitting it, that ORACLE would have to move to the Cloud paradigm as all other players are already doing it. Buying SUN will be the perfect excuse to admit that they should have done it earlier. Obviously this is not the bases of the business with SUN,  but with it, ORACLE will have access to a lot of great tools, starting on Identity Management Platforms, passing through the virtualization technologies, and ending on the Cloud specific APIs. We shouldn’t forget, as others are also defending on the Cloud Computing Google Group, that Java could also be used as the perfect PaaS tool.

With this acquisition Oracle will have access to all this power and Cloud friendly solutions. They will also have access to the knowledge that has transformed the SUN microsystems in one of the Cloud Computing’s most important players.

I’m looking forward to see how this will produce more and inovative technologies and solutions, or if it will be as another HP+Compaq business.