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Cloud computing made easy
Avinash Killamsetty
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Transcript of "Cloud computing made easy"
1. Version 0.3CLOUD COMPUTING MADE EASYby Cary Landis and Dan Blacharski www.cloudipedia.com
CLOUDIPEDIA.COMCloud Computing Made Easy © Virtual Global, Inc. http://www.virtualglobal.com http://www.teamhost.com
Table of Contents I. Introduction .............................................................. 6 II. What is cloud computing? ....................................... 8 What is "as a service"? ................................................................. 10 III. Why Cloud Computing? ......................................... 11 Cloud computing for end-users ..................................................... 11 Cloud computing for system administrators .................................. 12 Cloud computing for software developers ..................................... 12 Cloud computing for IT buyers, corporate and federal .................. 12 IV. Cloud Computing Up Close ................................... 14 A. Cloud Infrastructure (Infrastructure-as-a-Service, or IaaS). 14 So where is all this infrastructure? ........................................................ 16 Virtualization ........................................................................................ 16 B. Cloud Platforms (Platform-as-a-Service, or PaaS) ............. 17 Cloud Platforms as Middleware ............................................................ 20 C. Cloud Software (Software-as-a-Service, or SaaS) ............. 22 V. Other cloud offerings ............................................. 23 What are "Web services"? ............................................................ 23 Supercomputing-as-a-Service....................................................... 23 High Performance Computing as-a-service (HPCaaS) ................. 24 VI. Cloud as-a-Necessity ............................................ 25 The evolution of cloud computing ................................................. 27 Why cloud computing is already becoming mainstream ............... 28 What does cloud computing mean to me? .................................... 29 SOHO and small business ............................................................ 30 VII. Misconceptions ...................................................... 30 Top Ten Misconceptions about Cloud Computing ........................ 30 1. The cloud is just a return to centralized computing......................... 30
2. The cloud is not secure. ................................................................ 31 3. The cloud isn't ready for enterprise users. ..................................... 31 4. You lose control with the cloud. ..................................................... 34 5. It's the same thing as utility computing or grid computing. .............. 34 6. It's only for low-end consumer applications. ................................... 35 7. It's too isolated from my other data and applications. ..................... 35 8. We won't need PCs any more with cloud computing. ..................... 36 9. Reliability will be a problem. .......................................................... 36 10. The cloud will give you performance problems. ............................ 36VIII. The "People Cloud" ............................................... 37Job 1.0 .......................................................................................... 37Job 2.0 .......................................................................................... 38Job 3.0 .......................................................................................... 39The end of the company as we know it ............................... 40The Virtual Company .................................................................... 41"Jobs for Americans" ..................................................................... 43The next wave of collaboration ........................................... 44IX. Groundbreaking cloud applications ....................... 46Healthcare applications (Health-IT) ............................................... 46Government: NASA and Nebula ................................................... 49X. The Open Cloud .................................................... 50Is open software free software? .................................................... 51XI. Security and risks .................................................. 52Security improvement through common security models in thecloud platform ............................................................................... 53Cloud computing provides superior physical security.................... 54The fallacy of direct control................................................. 55Alternative Delivery Models........................................................... 57Accessing the cloud ...................................................................... 58
XII. The Future of Cloud ............................................... 59Top ten predictions: The future of cloud computing ...................... 62What's Next?................................................................................. 65About the Authors ......................................................................... 66Index................................................................................ 67
I. IntroductionPCs were a 30-year ride.Are you ready for what's next?W e are entering into a new era of computing, and its all about the "cloud". This immediately brings up several important questions, whichdeserve thoughtful answers: "What is cloud computing?" "Is it real, or justanother buzzword?" And most important, "How does it affect me?"In short, cloud computing is completely real and will affect almosteveryone. In this day and age, we have all become stakeholders in thecomputing movement, and we are all affected when major changes occur.Remember how things changed when the Internet came along? Changes incomputer technology seem to move at lightning speeds. It wasnt that longago that desktop computers had 20MB hard drives and people relied onfloppy disks for storage. For that matter, it wasnt that long ago that therewere no desktop computers, and computing involved cardboardpunchcards fed into a hopper.It should be no surprise that another evolution is upon us once again, asthere have been several since the dawn of the information age. In thisbook, we choose the term "era" because cloud computing is more than anevolution. Rather, we're entering the type of radical shakeup that onlycomes around once every 20 to 30 years: a disruptive shift in theunderlying computing platform-of-choice. Remember when we movedfrom host computers to PCs? Now, cloud computing is shifting thatcomputing power back to hosts again. Only this time things are different,because those hosts have become abstract, and are scattered all over theInternet… all over the world. That is to say that computing power is beingshifted to the "cloud". Such a shift to cloud computing would not havebeen possible until now, because the enabling technology did not yet exist.Broadband connectivity now makes cloud computing a realistic possibilityfor not just larger companies, but for small businesses, SOHO operations,and individual consumers. These users now have the fat pipes they need toaccess the cloud, and they also have access now to applications andservices that they couldnt begin to access or afford just a few years ago.The possibilities are growing even faster as the US government undertakesits rural broadband initiatives, which in turn will push the potential of thecloud further to the masses. 6
Why put applications and data in the cloud? Lots of reasons, depending onwho you are: If you're just writing a document or working from home,then you can probably find online apps to do the trick without buyingexpensive office software. If you're an IT guy, even better—the cloudmakes computing easier to manage, drives down costs (as compared toPCs and dedicated servers), and allows end-users to gain access to abroader range of applications and services. Sure, PCs and dedicated servershave served us well, but not without problems: They crash; they require usto buy, manually install, upgrade and uninstall expensive software; theybecome bloated, slow and loaded with viruses. Wouldn't it be so muchbetter if someone else could take care of all the hassles? With cloudcomputing, we "rent" only what we need and somebody else manages thedirty work. Ask any IT person about their work schedule, and youll findout quickly that expectations and workload often exceed the reasonableamount of time anybody really wants to work. And more importantly, askthe CFO who signs the paychecks. Do they want to cut costs? Absolutely.And cloud computing will do it—cutting costs while giving the IT staff abreak at the same time.An even greater impact in the emergence of cloud computing may be thatit inspires a new wave of entrepreneurship. Nowadays, thanks to the cloud,nearly anyone can launch a genuine global business for mere pocketchange. Venture funding has given way to back-pocket funding, andstartup entrepreneurs no longer need $100,000 to hire a systemadministrator, or to buy new business software and servers. Today'semerging entrepreneurs can do everything over the Internet, and withoutthe burden of huge up-front capital expenditures. With cloud computing,they can do more than collaborate. They can participate.This isn't to say that cloud computing is perfect. It's not. In fact, it's noteven close. It's new, and there are thousands of kinks to still be workedout. According to the National Institute of Standards and Technology(NIST) Computer Security Division, the cloud model still suffers fromsignificant security challenges. For example, Software as a Service (SaaS)vendors are implementing disparate security approaches, raising criticalquestions about where data is hosted, international privacy laws, exposureof data to foreign entities, nonstandard authentication and leaks in multi-tenant architectures. These security concerns are putting mission criticaldata at risk, while slowing the adoption of cloud computing technologies.That's why NIST is such an important contributor to the future of cloudcomputing. 7
Whatever the case, cloud computing is here to stay. There is a popular "Everything we think of as a quote attributed to Thomas Watson, computer today is really just a device founder of IBM: "I think there is a that connects to the big computer that world market for maybe five computers." we are all collectively building" That quote assumed that computers - Tim O'Reilly, CEO, were only for the very largest O'Reilly Media customers. Weve come a long way since that speculation, and thegeneral trend has been to move computing into the hands of everybodyfrom big business users, all the way down to preschool children. Cloudcomputing continues that trend by bringing greater levels of access tohigh-end applications and data storage, as well as new techniques forcollaboration, to even the smallest mom n pop businesses, telecommuters,and independent work-at-home contractors.Mr. Watson got many things right and to his credit once again, what if hisquote was saner than it once sounded? The term "cloud" refers to thecomputing power that is available across the Internet. In a sense, the cloudis rapidly transforming a worldwide network of computers into the largestsingle, "virtual" computer in the world.II. What is cloud computing?If the term "cloud computing" sounds confusing, then you're not alone.Cloud computing sounds like a very fuzzy term, and like a literal cloud inthe sky, you cant really put your finger on it. It may help to understandWHY cloud computing is so hard to understand: • First, cloud computing is an extremely broad term. It's as broad as saying "desktop computing" (i.e. the PC), which encompasses everything from the microchip to the Windows operating system to the software. As we will learn in this eBook, cloud computing encompasses all the same elements as the desktop. • Second, you can't touch the cloud. Desktop computing is easy to understand because you can see, touch and feel your PC. The cloud is real, but it is abstracted to the point where you cannot see it, so it's harder to imagine. • And third, the term is tainted by the "me too" marketing buzz. The term "cloud computing", for a variety of very good reasons, has become very popular, and there are plenty of new and established IT companies that want to jump on the bandwagon, 8
often incorrectly labeling anything to do with remote computing as the "cloud".This book is entitled "Cloud Computing Made Easy", so let's start with asimple working definition:"Cloud computing refers to computing on the Internet, as opposed to computing on adesktop."Hmmm, so cloud computing just means Web-based software, right? Well,no. Truth be told, a lot of major software vendors are saying "We do cloudcomputing too!" simply because their software works over the Internet.Far be it from the authors of this book to disagree with some of thebiggest technology companies in the world, however we will disagreenonetheless. Web-enabled software is wonderful and very useful - but ithas also been around for a long time. It's nothing new in itself.In reality, cloud computing encompasses other forms of computingbeyond software, including the underlying hardware (infrastructure) andplatforms. In many ways, cloud computing is strikingly similar to desktopcomputing in that it encompasses the same three basic elements: hardware(infrastructure), operating systems (platforms), and software. The maindifference is that, with cloud computing, all three elements are "rented"over the Internet, rather than being managed locally.Let's take a closer look at the definition above:"…computing on the Internet, as opposed to computing on a desktop."What does it mean to say "computing on the Internet"? We simply meanthat you can log onto a website to do whatever you might normally do ona PC or local server. For example, you can "rent" and manage all yourhardware over the Internet, configure computing environments and/orrun software. Cloud computing lets us do all of our computing on theInternet as a viable alternative to buying, installing, upgrading, uploading,downloading, backing up and otherwise managing physical hardware,operating systems and software. It doesn't require a big upfrontinvestment, because you "rent" only what you need, and as much as youneed. With cloud computing, your PC is mainly used as a way to run aWeb browser. The actual processing and computing is done by remoteservers (or virtual servers) and software that may be scattered across theInternet, thus the word "cloud."In cloud terminology, the term "as a service" loosely refers to the ability touse something over the Internet on as-needed basis. The terms software,operating systems and hardware are confusingly described as Cloud Software(or Software-as-a-Service), Cloud Platforms (or Platform-as-a-Service) andCloud Infrastructure (Infrastructure-as-a-Service). To make matters worse,the acronyms SaaS, PaaS and IaaS are often used. Since this is CloudComputing Made Easy, we've adopted the lesser confusing terms: Cloud 9
Software, Cloud Platforms and Cloud Infrastructure, though we willoccasionally reference the other terms.What is "as a service"?In cloud terminology, the phrase "as-a-service" is extensively used, whichsimply means that a given cloud product (whether infrastructure, platformsor software) is offered in a way that it can be "rented" by consumers overthe Internet. By "rented," we are implying that you pay only for whateveryou use. It is often described as an "on demand" service because it isavailable whenever you need it. There are two immediate advantages to theas-a-service model; first, up-front costs tend to be substantially less; andsecond, it affords a greater level of easy scalability. For example, if youstore large amounts of data on premises, you'll probably buy extra serversand storage (over-provision) to make sure that a shortage does not occur;and then when you do reach capacity, you must spend time purchasingand installing more. If you use storage-as-a-service, on the other hand, theneed for over-provisioning is eliminated, and you simply purchase as muchas you need on an ongoing basis, and the actual provisioning of it istransparent.There are several methods of offering a cloud product as-a-service:The most familiar model used by cloud software is a per user/monthsubscription. For example, a software provider may offer its collaborationproduct over the Internet for $30 per month for each user. Anotherapproach is the advertising supported model, in which the offering is free,but you need to stare at advertisements. In such cases, the vendor receivesrevenues from the advertiser, rather than from the end-users. Facebook isa popular example of the seemingly free, but ad supported model.Likewise, cloud platforms employ both the per user/month and adsupported models, as well as more creative models, such as assessing a feeper record.Cloud infrastructure is a bit different, in that it employs the most creativeas-a-service models of all, such as offering CPU time on a per hour basis,assessing for storage usage, as well as assessing for data transfers pergigabyte, often with differing rates for uploads versus downloads.Amazon's Elastic Computing Cloud (EC2) is a great example. AmazonEC2 offers a console for creating virtual machines on a per hour basis,with additional fees assessed for data transfers and storage.NIST takes it a step further by asserting that true cloud offerings providecertain expected characteristics, which may not have been present in earlierWeb-based software. These include such things as on-demand self-service, resource pooling and rapid elasticity. Naturally, on-demand simplyimplies that the service is available to turn on or off as needed. Resourcepooling means that multiple users share a bank of servers (including 10
storage devices and other computing resources) over the Internet, as analternative to using dedicated servers. And lastly, rapid elasticity means thecloud offering can be dramatically scaled up and down as needed. As anexample, let's pretend that a guy launches his own dotcom, and next weekhe is scheduled to appear on the Oprah show. Should he buy ten newservers just in case? No! If he takes advantage of cloud infrastructure, hecan offer his software as-a-service, and scale it up and down as needed.With as-a-service, you only pay for what you use, and you can use as muchas you want.III. Why Cloud Computing?To the casual end user who is just trying to get some work done there mayseem to be little difference between cloud computing, desktop computing,and any other type of computing model that has been floated around overthe past few decades. He or she may even use the same types of softwareapplications to do the exact same types of things. That's the point! Cloudcomputing offers a better way to do the same types of things.So then, why is cloud computing any better than ordinary desktopcomputing?The answer depends on who you are.Cloud computing for end-usersAs an end user, cloud computing lets you run software applications andaccess data from any place and time, and from any computer; without theneed to ever install, upgrade, troubleshoot software applications physicallyon a local desktop or server. This is one of the most important elements ofcloud computing, and why it has become so popular today. In a sense,cloud computing outsources the technical hassles to someone else.Cloud computing also makes it easier to do work anytime and fromanywhere, often referred to as "ubiquitous." The old model of workinginvolved going to the office from 8:00 to 5:00, and getting on a plane andtaking a business trip or two every year. If we did work from a locationoutside of the office, then when we returned to the office, time had to bespent synchronizing the ad hoc work done at home with the in-officesystems. Todays model of working is different. We can get just as muchdone at home or on the road as we can in the office. We can connectinstantly to the office from anywhere in the world, gain secure access toour applications and data, and in short, get things done in a way that wasnever before possible. 11
Cloud computing for system administratorsKeep in mind that almost all PC owners have become systemadministrators in a way, unless we're fortunate enough to have access to ateenager to install and manage things for us. If your PC has ever crashedand wasted your day, then you'll understand the benefits of somebody elsedoing the dirty work. The problems can get out of control inside bigcompanies, which manage thousands of software configurations, and payemployees whether their PCs work or not. The superiority of the cloudmodel comes in when we start to realize that desktop applications aremore or less static, and cloud applications can be continuously refined.Desktop applications must be physically installed on a PC, upgradedperiodically, have patches applied when they become available, and re-installed when the user moves to a new desktop or when the old onecrashes. The cloud model eliminates those inconveniences. Need a newPC? Just buy one. You can still access your cloud applications withouthaving to re-install anything. System administrators, who may need tomanage hundreds, or even thousands of desktops, remote devices, servers,storage arrays and other equipment, quickly get bogged down—and thecloud model makes their lives easier.Cloud computing for software developersThere is an even bigger advantage on the development end. Because theapplications are delivered from a common code base from a centrallocation, upgrades to the application, patches and fixes can be pushed outto the user transparently. Desktop applications require the user to activelyinstall a patch, or at least, allow for an auto-connection to take place.Microsoft Windows uses the auto-update feature, which has become veryuseful and convenient, for example. However, it still requires patience onthe part of the end user, who must wait for the upgrade to come in overthe Internet, and then must re-boot the system for it to take effect. Acloud application, since it does not exist on the desktop, does not havethat requirement. All upgrades take place on the back end, requiring nointervention, action, attention or patience from the end-user. This makes itmuch easier for developers to continuously upgrade their applications, andto push those upgrades out to users on a real-time basis. Going a leveldeeper to the platform stage, cloud computing gives developers anothercritical advantage. Since the platform provides developers with a commonset of cloud services that have already proven to be robust, all applicationsare that much more stable—and quicker to completion, as well.Cloud computing for IT buyers, corporate and federalThe critical advantages listed above have not been lost to corporate users.The ability to lessen the workload on system administrators anddevelopers alike lets companies save dollars spent on manpower. In short,your company can do more with less, and with greater efficiency. Besides 12
the manpower advantage, companies will also gain an advantage in termsof reduced capital expenditures. Why? The cloud not only reduces timespent on admin duties and development, it also addresses the physicalinfrastructure itself. Companies taking full advantage of cloud computingwill enjoy a reduced need for servers and storage arrays—providinganother source of savings (and in turn, reducing the system adminoverhead even further).In the corporate world, one of the most important parts of business isimproving the bottom line. Thats done either through increasing revenue,or by decreasing costs. When decreasing costs, the ideal scenario is to doso while still maintaining the same or better level of efficiency thecompany enjoyed before the decrease in costs; cloud computing providesthe answer to that need. Lets take a look at a few of the dollars-and-centsstatistics:Enterprise software represents an enormous expense, as some $800 billiona year is spent on purchasing and maintaining software. The bulk of that—or about 80 percent of the $800 billion—is spent not on the actualpurchase of software, but on installing and maintaining it.1 The federalgovernment alone spends $70 billion a year on IT systems, much of whichgoes toward enterprise systems. Most servers operate at only about 15percent capacity at most times, and over-provisioning is regrettablycommon. Virtualization, an important element of cloud computing, allowsthe data center operator to makefull use of server capacity. "If you move your data center to aEnterprise cloud platforms can cloud provider, it will cost a tenth of thesave even more. cost."The advantage to individuals, - Brian Gammage, Gartner Fellowsmall businesses and largeenterprises which buy software isobvious. The cost of software represents a major expense for businessesof all sizes. The presence of cloud computing options has allowed manysmall and midsize businesses to gain access to important features of high-end, enterprise-class software that would not otherwise be available. As aresult, a major barrier to success has been dissolved, and the saga ofmillion-dollar price tags for enterprise software is nearing an end. Largecorporations will save money; and smaller companies will gain theadvantage of being able to access more software resources, which werepreviously unavailable due to either high cost, or the software simply beingunavailable for smaller implementations.1Peter Mell and Tim Grance. "Effectively and securely using the cloudcomputing paradigm." National Institute for Standards and Technology, 10-7-09. 13
IV. Cloud Computing Up CloseWe've informally defined cloud computing as "computing on the Internet, asopposed to computing on a desktop." A more purist definition of cloudcomputing is one that differentiates true cloud computing from meresoftware on the Web. After all, Web software has been around for morethan a decade and cloud computing is relatively new, so how can theypossibly be the same things, right?Rather, true cloud computing takes advantage of new enablingtechnologies and cloud constructs, which are making the movementpossible. In essence, Web software has been around for years, but untilrecently it has been prohibitively costly for the masses to develop and host– often costing millions of dollars and taking years to develop andimplement. Cloud computing changes all that by incorporatingvirtualization technology that allows the physical infrastructure to berented for mere pennies compared to the old ways to engineer Websoftware. It further changes the equation by providing cloud-specificplatform toolkits to accelerate development.The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) puts it thisway:"Cloud computing is a model for enabling convenient, on-demand network access to ashared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage,applications, and services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimalmanagement effort or service provider interaction."2NIST also categorizes cloud computing into three "as a service" offerings,namely infrastructure, platforms and software, which are broken down inmore detail here:A. Cloud Infrastructure (Infrastructure-as-a-Service, or IaaS)In the old days, if you needed a server, you might spend between five andten thousand dollars or more upfront and then you'd pay a techie $30K ayear plus benefits to manage it. Nowadays, with cloud infrastructures, youcan actually buy a "virtual server" over the Internet almost as easy assigning up for an email account. The server never arrives at your doorstep.2Peter Mell and Tim Grance. The NIST Definition of Cloud Computing.Version 15, October 7, 2009. 14
Instead it stays out on the cloud where you can log on and manage itanywhere and anytime over the Internet. For the techies amongst us, thatmeans that you can buy and manage processing time (CPU time), storage,network capacity, and other fundamental computing resources withoutshelling out big bucks upfront. You only pay for what you use.If you've never used cloud infrastructure, then the very notion of using aserver over the Internet may sound crazy. You're probably asking thequestion, "How can I do that?" Well, actually, it's easy to rent computersover the Internet. The easiest way to learn is to actually do it. If you go toAmazon.com's EC2 website, you can launch and manage a real live server(well, actually a small virtual server) for an hour for about 20 cents. What abargain! You will specify a server name, the type of operating system andother details to create your server instance. Then, you can log on usingremote desktop or visit the website, just as if it were a real live server.How it WorksWe use the term "virtual server", because you're not really renting aphysical box. That is, you can't actually walk into a room and touch yourdedicated machine. Instead, it's all managed by "virtualization" software,such as VMware.In the old days, one operating system would run on one physical box. Forexample, you would buy a Windows server that contained a copy of Windows, or a Linux server that contained a copy of Linux. It was one-to-one. Virtualization, on the other hand, lets you run multiple operating systems on the same box. In the early days of virtualization, this was a handy trick. For example, virtualization made it easy to test new software on multiple operating systems without needing multiple physical boxes. Virtualization alsomade it easy to run Windows and UNIX programs on the same physicalbox, such as when a program was only available for one operating system.Then, one day, somebody realized an even bigger trick. With virtualization,it's possible to sell the same physical machine multiple times. That is, adata center can run 10 copies of Linux on one box, and then sell it overthe Internet like different servers? Voila, the basic concept behind cloudinfrastructure (infrastructure-as-a-service).In reality, cloud infrastructure is not limited to a single server, but ratherrelies on a shared pool of servers, whereby any one user can scale up totake advantage of extra computing power when needed. It works because 15
servers are mostly unused anyway, so there's always some extra computingpower available if the pool is large enough. It works somewhat like a bankthat loans the same money 10 times over. In theory, it wouldn't work ifeveryone demanded their money (or computing power) at the same time.So where is all this infrastructure?The clouds infrastructure consists of actual, physical hardware that iscomplemented by a delivery mechanism. The main difference is that itexists outside of the users immediate grasp, and its existence has beenabstracted to the point where its exact location is both unknown andirrelevant to the users. When you work in the old way, you know that yourapplication is located on the PC in front of you, and the data is held on thedata server in the room across the hall. With cloud computing, you dontknow whether your applications and data are in a data center in DesMoines or Delhi, and whats more, it doesnt make any difference.This is an important point. One of the biggest objections to cloudinfrastructure is that you cant put your finger on it. There is a certainsatisfaction to walking into your server room, and being able to point to arack of servers and storage arrays with a glorious mass of cables comingout of the back, and saying "thats where our data and applications are."But that satisfaction is an illusion; in reality, there is no inherent advantagein being able to reach out and touch your own hardware infrastructure. Ifit works, it works; it doesnt really matter where it lives. In fact, if yourinfrastructure is elsewhere at a hosted facility, then you are gaining astrategic advantage of having somebody else who specializes in such thingsmanage it for you.An ordinary computing infrastructure may consist of several physicalpieces of hardware and cables that you must maintain and allocate. Acloud infrastructure consists of a pool of highly abstracted and scalableinfrastructure devices existing in multiple provider data centers, connectedover virtual private Internet connections; where a trusted third party ischarged with maintenance and allocation.VirtualizationVirtualization is the behind-the-scenes enabling technology that makescloud infrastructure possible. Just as you can drive a car withoutunderstanding how the engine works, so too is virtualization. You dontneed to know how virtualization works to use it, since it involves theinfrastructure—which the end user no longer has to worry about with acloud implementation. The concept of server virtualization allows many"virtual servers" to run on a single physical server as if each one were aseparate device. Storage virtualization works the same way. Both types ofvirtualization essentially decouple the function from the underlyinghardware, and virtualization has become a common enterprise technologyfor saving money and making better use of existing resources. Its not 16
uncommon for a large enterprise to employ this technique in its own datacenter, and the technology is also in common use by cloud providers—delivering an efficient method for them to service the needs of multipleclients on a cost-effective and secure basis.Why does virtualization make better use of resources? Because oftechnologies like thin provisioning. In storage for example, traditionally avolume was created for each application. This storage volume was alwaysover-provisioned, to ensure that adequate storage would always beavailable; as a result, it was common for storage environments to bemaking use of only 30 percent or so of available storage. Virtualizationuses thin provisioning to allocate storage virtually, instead of absolutely;freeing all of that previously trapped storage space. Server virtualizationalso makes better use of resources by not requiring separate, dedicatedhardware servers for each application. In virtualizing servers, it allows for asingle physical server to act as multiple virtual servers, each one separatedabsolutely by a virtual division that isolates each one. The "walling off" ofthe virtual servers within the single physical server addresses the obviousconcern that there would be some potential for somebody else on thesame physical server to access your data.This is an important concept for cloud computing, since cloud computingis all about abstraction. For the end user again, the concept of applicationsand storage is abstracted to the highest degree—and in many cases theuser will not even be aware of where the actual application or data islocated. And it doesnt matter. Virtualization works hand in hand withcloud computing to provide the abstraction that is necessary for both.Virtualization provides a type of technology that allows applications to bemoved around freely onto different devices that exist in the cloud,transparently to the end user.B. Cloud Platforms (Platform-as-a-Service, or PaaS)For most people, the term "cloud platform" is even fuzzier than cloudcomputing as a whole. Yet, when cloud platforms are properly understoodand embraced, they potentially offer the greatest impact over any otheraspect of cloud computing.Cloud platforms can drive down software engineering costs tenfold,reduce time to market, improve profit margins, and lower risks. They canpromote higher levels of security and system interoperability, and canallow system integrators to enter into new markets within days, instead ofyears. They can dramatically lower the skill requirements needed to createnew software applications, so that entrepreneurs are empowered to servetheir customers, and customers are empowered to serve themselves. In anutshell, cloud platforms takes cloud computing to the masses. 17
Let's start with a simplistic understanding of the term "platform" forcomputing, and then we will expand our definition to the realm of cloudcomputing.A platform generally refers to a "prefab" software architecture upon whichyou can build computing solutions. It provides core software functionality,which would otherwise need to be engineered from the ground up. Canyou imagine building an oven every time you wanted to cook dinner?Probably not. Fortunately, the oven is already built; otherwise your mealswould cost $500 each.Likewise, the cloud needs platforms to do a lot of the grunt work, whichotherwise needs to be engineered into every software application from theground up at great expense. Cloud platforms serve as a launch pad forcloud software, providing "prefab" functionality such as a user interface,user sign up and administration, role-based security, federated search,multi-tenant data management and so on. If you're asking the question,"What the heck is multi-tenant data management?" then exactly! You'reseeing the point. It's complicated stuff, and you wouldn't want to programit to every app. Unfortunately, most cloud developers are not talking fulladvantage of platforms.By their very definition, cloud platforms are offered "as a service",meaning that you can use them over the Internet with no need to everinstall, upgrade or host. Cloud platforms are readily distinguished fromother platforms, which require installations, uploads, downloads andmanaged hosting. As-a-service means that cloud platforms are easy to use.More important, if you build cloud software on top of a cloud platform,then your solution is inherently cloud-enabled, taking advantage ofunderlying cloud infrastructure, elasticity and as-a-service models.Cloud platforms also may include online tools and APIs that make it easierfor developers to build on top of the platform. When choosing a cloudplatform, it's important to make sure that the API is open, allowing forintegration with 3rd-party, open source and legacy software and webservices, otherwise, you could become overly locked into the platformprovider for all your needs. This is referred to as an "open platform"versus "proprietary vendor lock-in."Major Benefits of Cloud PlatformsOn the surface, it's easy to think that cloud platforms are for softwaredevelopers, but it's the IT buyers who are suffering the most fromastronomical software engineering costs and delays.For IT buyers, investors and developers, the advantages of cloudplatforms are tremendous. Creating a cloud application from the groundup is a complex process, involving not just ordinary coding, but alsoadding a layer of abstraction, and incorporating a far-flung 18
communications layer as well as security protocols. If every SaaS providerhad to create each of these things from scratch, then cloud-basedapplication development would be hindered, and limited to only the largersoftware companies. Cloud platforms address this problem by allowingdevelopers to build cloud applications on top of an existing architecturethat includes core functionality. In essence, developers can use platformsto get their software to "80-yard line" without programming, and avoidreinventing the wheel.The benefits are many: • Lower costs – In some cases, a cloud platform can reduce costs by 80% or more, because non-core code is already engineered; • Lower risks – Likewise, a cloud platform can reduce risks by as much, because common functions are already tested, sometimes over a period of years; • Faster time-to-market – Cloud platforms dramatically reduce time-to-market, because they serve as a launch pad for software engineering efforts; • Higher profit margins – Software developers and system integration firms can deliver more for substantially less, thus higher margins on fixed price contracts; • Rapid prototyping – Create and deploy concept applications without writing code; • Higher security and interoperability – NIST indicates that the cloud suffers from major security issues, largely because vendors are implementing disparate and unproven security models. Cloud platforms provide a common, proven security model. If cloud software uses the platform, then it is inherently secure.As an added advantage, cloud platforms shield both software engineersand end-users from the behind-the-scenes complexities of the entire cloud.Dan Tapscott, the author of Wikinomics, talks about the growingcomplexity problem this way: "the Web look[s] increasingly like atraditional librarian's nightmare --- a noisy library full of chattycomponents that interact and communicate with one another." He isreferring to the cloud as a cluttered hodgepodge of Web apps and services,each with their own logins, data sources and security/resource functions.In the absence of cloud platforms, we are recreating the wheel millions oftimes over. In a few years, the redundancies will drive up costs by billionswithin federal IT systems, health-IT systems and other enterprise ITsystems that rely on cloud services. All these IT systems will struggle withdisparate security models and interoperability concerns.Unfortunately, cloud platforms remain vastly underutilized. That's whysome enterprise software systems unnecessarily cost millions of dollars andtake years to implement, only to eventually fail! The resistance to platforms 19
is sometimes baffling. It's almost as if the logic is to stick with what weknow, even though it doesn't work. Ironically, some software integratorsare creating totally proprietary stovepipes from the ground-up, just toavoid platforms. As a result, IT buyers are paying more than twice as muchfor their systems, and being locked into developers. Instead, they shouldbe taking advantage of open APIs that are available with some of the moreopen cloud platforms.Cloud Platforms as MiddlewareIt may also help to think of a cloud platform as the middle layer of a three-layer cake, in that it rests between the hardware and the software. Sure,you can remove the middle layer, but in doing so you're also removing alot of important "cake" that somebody needs to bake from scratch. In thecase of software engineering, that's some expensive cake. That is to saythat software can be built without using cloud platforms, but the costs ofdoing so can be detrimental; and creates a barrier to entry for all but thelargest development shops. You see – platforms actually do a lot morethan just provide core functionality for software. They also lower the timeand risks of engineering software dramatically because the platformengineers have already worked out the devils in the details on their owndollar. Platforms also reduce the software footprint and maintenance costs, because the responsibility for maintaining platform code is essentially outsourced to a platform provider, who achieves economies of scale by maintaining one system.Web software that is created without platforms is considerably more costly. On the otherhand, cloud platforms provide core functionality that dramatically reduces time, risk anddevelopment costs.Types of PlatformsCloud platforms come in many shapes and sizes, depending on theapplication at hand. Arguably, Google is currently dominating theconsumer app platform, whereas Facebook is dominating the socialnetworking platform, and Salesforce.com is trying to make a footprint asan enterprise software platform. Several other players, Yahoo included,offer ecommerce platforms, which have driven down the time, risk andcost of ecommerce solutions. 20
The term "platform" as it relates to cloud computing is often misused torefer to customizable software. Software that can be customized is simplythat: customizable software. Similarly, cloud infrastructure vendorssometimes promote their products inaccurately as platforms. A platform,on the other hand, is something entirely different. A cloud platform restsbetween the physical infrastructure and customizable software.Enterprise PlatformsOf all types of platforms, enterprise business platforms may provide thegreatest value in the near future, simply because enterprise businesssystems are extremely expensive – sometimes costing $10s of millions toengineer. By enterprise business system, we're referring to the types ofscalable multi-user / multi-tenant cloud-enabled software that governmentagencies and Fortune 500 companies spend millions on, sometimeswithout blinking an eye. For enterprise business systems, platforms offersuch great benefit only because the engineering costs are otherwise sohigh, sometimes representing more than 95% of the total cost ofownership.Significance of PlatformsIn the future, cloud platforms will make the cloud easier to use. To fullyunderstand the significance of cloud platforms, we need simply look at theevolution of earlier computing models. Can you imagine a world withoutdesktop operating systems? We, the authors of this book, don't need toimagine. We were there.In the early days, PCs were hard to use; and security was terrible becauseevery software program implemented its own way of doing the samethings. The early PCs were only usable by an elite community of hackergeeks or well-funded NASA engineers. They were expensive to program,because old-time developers would author hundreds of lines of sourcecode just to move a mouse or paint lines on a screen.Then came operating systems likeMicrosoft Windows and toolkitslike VisiCalc. All of a sudden,anyone could use a PC. Secretarieswere creating spreadsheets for theirbosses. The mouse movedautomatically, as if by magic.Inasmuch as some techies mightknock Microsoft, their Windowsplatform indisputably changed personal computing. Think about it – forabout $100, you get tens of millions of lines of code, which handlethousands of things that we take for granted, and which would otherwiseneed to be painstakingly engineered the into every software application atthe cost of millions of dollars and years of development time. These days, 21
no one in their right mind would remotely consider writing a softwareapplication directly to a PC without using some sort of platform, yet that'sexactly what Web developers are doing each and every day!The cloud platform is evolving in many of the same ways as desktopcomputing. Cloud platforms are helping to bring cloud software to themasses. As the cloud increases in its complexity, the role of platforms isbecoming more important.Cloud Platforms are like Operating Systems for the CloudWe tend to think of an operating system as a behind-the-scenestechnology that manages resources, and that's true. But in fact, they domuch more than that. There is a major user-facing element to an operatingsystem. Windows, for example, makes the underlying infrastructure easierto use. It provides a common user interface, a common security model,and shields users from all of those behind-the-scenes complexities. A cloud platform works the same way. The platform implements a virtual instance of a core set of functionality, with common features such as user signup, security, reporting, and so forth. The platform will then allow developers to build on top of that instance to customize it for theirspecific needs, and to additionally build features on top of the platformwithout programming, such as creation of forms, data entry collection,report writing, etc. As a result, users can log into one place and experiencean integrated solution, where they do whatever they do.C. Cloud Software (Software-as-a-Service, or SaaS)The most important, and most visible of the three elements is CloudSoftware, without which there is no need for Platforms or Infrastructure.Again to stress, cloud computing and cloud software, i.e. software-as-a-service (SaaS), are not the same things. The two terms are often usedinterchangeably, but it would be incorrect to do so. Rather, cloud softwareis just the software part of the cloud computing triad. It is without a doubtthough, the most visible part, since it faces the end user. In a purist sense,true cloud-enabled software refers only to that software whichintentionally takes advantage of the of other cloud computingtechnologies: namely cloud infrastructure and cloud platforms.The overall market for SaaS subscriptions, compared to on-premisessoftware, is still young, though it is a rapidly growing niche. Because it isthe most visible part of cloud computing though, it will be SaaS that drivesthe growth of cloud computing. Already we are seeing this growth, driven 22
both by startups moving into SaaS offerings from the ground up, as well asestablished IT giants like Google and Microsoft moving into the SaaSmarket. Almost every major software vendor today has at least a test SaaSprogram in the works, and many have them in the market already.When we talk about software-as-a-service, it usually means that thesoftware being delivered has a common code base that is delivered tomultiple users. This however, does not preclude customization. Using acommon code base for SaaS applications has a big advantage, in that itallows the SaaS provider to continuously refine the program, and pushthose refinements out to each user on a timely basis. This not only makesfor a more robust piece of software, it also allows the cost to be sharedbetween many users. Customization however, is still allowed. Each enduser may for example, be able to choose from multiple softwarecomponents to create a SaaS application that very specifically meets theirown precise needs; and of course, just like most types of on-premisessoftware; SaaS applications allow each end user to apply their own userpreferences and custom configuration.V. Other cloud offeringsThis section addresses other considerations of cloud computing, whichdidn't fit nicely into a category, and which are too important to overlook.What are "Web services"?The term "web services" is a bit oversimplified, and it implies that it is justa service that you access over the web. In reality, as a formal definition,web services are usually considered to be the domain of webprogrammers, not end users. It is a programming technique that involvesuse of remote subroutines, which can be called over the cloud, such smaking a calculation or authenticating users. In the case of cloudcomputing, web services allow programmers creating cloud programs(SaaS) with ways to manage the cloud infrastructure, or integrate withother cloud programs. Using technologies such as SOAP, XML or WSDL,web services simply provide an ability to allow programmers to use otherpeoples offerings over the Internet.Supercomputing-as-a-ServiceTypically thought of as the domain of wild-eyed scientists working onlarge-scale projects that are far beyond the scope of ordinary business,supercomputing occupies a mysterious place in the computer business. Butlets draw a comparison—as recently as the 1970s, computing in generalwas thought to be the exclusive domain of a handful of extremely large 23
companies and government agencies. Computers werent for ordinarypeople, or even for small companies. But look where we are today. Theroom-sized computers of the 60s arent even as powerful as a simplenetbook. Supercomputing today is in the same place that generalcomputing was fifty years ago.When supercomputing meets the cloud, then its power becomes availableto a much broader audience. And thats what is already happening. Maybeyou cant have a supercomputer in your home—at least not yet—but youcan access one over the cloud. Companies like Exa sell theirsupercomputing processing power over the cloud, and companies thatdont necessarily have big budgets can harness the power ofsupercomputing environments. There are already a small number ofcompanies that offer supercomputing as a cloud option, including thevenerable Amazon, whose MapReduce offers supercomputer-likecapabilities to crunch large data sets in Amazon Web Services.High Performance Computing as-a-service (HPCaaS)Along with supercomputing, cloud is also changing the face of highperformance computing (HPC).Supercomputing has always been expensive, often costing tens of millionsof dollars. Nonetheless, they're viewed as a necessary evil by manymembers of the scientific community. In recent years, grid computing hasgained attention as a possible alternative. The notion with grids is to takeadvantage of otherwise idle CPU time that's available on millions ofcomputers. With grids, special software divvies up and "outsources"calculations to several computers in parallel, such as to PCs that actsomewhat as mini-servers. Historically, grids were manually orchestratedand relied on other people's computers, which raises questions aboutsecurity and privacy.With cloud infrastructure, we have already learned that servers can beallocated dynamically as needed (as in "thin provisioning"), rather thanpaying for unused computing power. Then, this begs the ten million dollarquestion: Why can't I just harness the power of 100 servers when I need it,run a calculation and then shut them down? That way, I wouldn't need tobuy a supercomputer, right?That's exactly what HPC as-a-service does. Special HPC cloud software,including open source software like Univa UD, makes it possible to turncomputing nodes on and off as needed, while orchestrating intensivecalculations on those nodes. With cloud HPC, the concept is that asupercomputer never rests idle, doesn't becomes comparatively outdatedin a few years, and has no hard limits on scale. The future of cloud HPC isyet to be determined. In the meantime, it will be fun to keep an eye onhow the technologies mature for adoption by the serious scientificcommunity. 24
Self-healing nature of cloud computingA true cloud computing architecture is self-healing, which promotes higheruptime and less likelihood of failure. Self-healing is really nothing new; it isbased on technologies that are often used in large enterprises and datacenters. It simply means that should a failure occur, technology andprotocols are in place to automatically correct that failure in real time. Thisis the heart of disaster recovery, and is part of the cloud computing model.For the provider of the cloud architecture, this means having redundantdata centers and automatic failover. For the user of cloud services, itmeans having constant access and guaranteed uptime to applications anddata, without having to worry about recovering from data loss or disasterrecovery.VI. Cloud as-a-NecessityTechnologies become essential when they become a part of the very fabricof society. They become essential when they become disruptive. There are agreat many new technologies that appear every year, and many of them aretechnologies designed to make things simpler, cheaper, and moreconvenient. Yet, most of them do not fall into the category of disruptivetechnology—or a technology that results in far-reaching and importantchanges in the way people work, think, do business, and communicate.Cloud computing is one of those disruptive technologies. • Cloud computing changes the way we work. The very nature of what a "job" is, is changing. We work from home. We work as contractors. We telecommute, work from on the road, and increasingly, pay no attention to the physical boundaries of the corporate brick and mortar walls. • Cloud computing changes the way we think. Old barriers are being broken down. Were no longer afraid to think outside the box, because the box no longer exists. • Cloud computing changes the way we do business. The collaborative technologies that are enabled by the cloud let us take advantage of outsourcing, focusing on our core goals while letting other experts take care of what they do best on our behalf. • Cloud computing changes the way we communicate. Is it necessary to get on a plane, or drive across town for a meeting? Increasingly, the answer is no. New types of communication allow us to work closely with partners, remote employees, and suppliers around the world as if they were right there in our office. 25
There are objections, to be sure. There are objections to any disruptivetechnology. People resisted graphical operating systems. They resistedcellular phones, the Internet, and even computers as a whole, but each ofthese disruptive technologies won out, and our lives are better for it.Cloud computing is fast becoming recognized as the fastest growingtechnology. Gartners "Top 10 Strategic Technology Areas for 2010" liststhe ten most important technologies that must not be ignored—and cloudcomputing is number one on the list.3Cloud computing is destined to become part of our everyday lives, becauseit is more than technology. Its not just software that is delivered from aremote server over the Internet. Cloud computing represents a new way ofthinking and doing that has become essential to stay competitive andefficient in todays economy. Here are just a few of the drivers thathighlight why cloud computing has grown in importance so quickly: • Explosion of data. We are truly in the "information age" today. That means we rely on information more than we ever have in the past, but it also means that theres a lot of it. • Renewed focus on collaboration. So what do we do with all of that data? Information is usually more valuable if it is strategically shared, not only within the company, but also with partners, suppliers, outsourcers and other stakeholders all around the world. • Economic necessity. Companies face the continual need to cut costs, especially during the worst economic recession since the 30s. But even apart from the recession, global competition and other factors have led companies to embark on major cost-cutting initiatives. This involves both implementing new methods, and cutting staff. • Entrepreneurial activity. The economic recession has a positive impact on entrepreneurial activity. The result is that there are more small companies today than ever before, and those small companies need access to resources at low cost. Cloud computing allows those small entrepreneurial ventures to gain access to the services they need and flourish. • Outsourcing. Outsourcing and cloud computing go hand-in- hand. The outsourcing trend is driven by economic necessity described above, and it flourishes because of the intense amount of entrepreneurial activity that were seeing, from two perspectives. Many of the small entrepreneurs that are launching their companies today are outsourcing providers. And the demand on the part of larger existing companies for cost-cutting further drives3 Stephen Shankland. "Gartner: Brace yourself for cloud computing." Cnet,October 20, 2009. 26
the need for outsourcing. Cloud computing provides the framework for outsourcing to exist. • Teleworking and telecommuting. Yes, people are working at home, and companies are allowing it, in part out of the effort to keep costs in check. Cloud computing has provided the framework to allow a new era of working at home to become reality.With so many factors coming into play at once, were seeing a "perfectstorm" that can have only one end result: Cloud computing becomespervasive. In every one of the above drivers, cloud computing is whatmakes it happen.The evolution of cloud computingIf you'd like to see where cloud computing is going, you simply look at theevolution of earlier computing platforms. In the 1996 documentary"Triumph of the Nerds", Steve Jobs described his early vision to take thedesktop to the masses: "It was very clear to me that while there were abunch of hardware hobbyists that could assemble their own computers, orat least take our board and add the transformers for the power supply andthe case the keyboard and go get, you know, et cetera, go get the rest ofthe stuff. For every one of those, there were a thousand people thatcouldnt do that, but wanted to mess around with programming - softwarehobbyists."Interestingly, today's cloud infrastructure is similar to the desktops of the80s in several respects. Although it ultimately benefits the ordinary enduser, its mostly the techies that get excited about it and that continue torefine it. The result will be the same. Just as PCs were once seen assomething "with potential" but nonetheless only used by a handful of"hobbyists" as Jobs puts it—or "geeks", to not put so fine a point on it;cloud computing is seeing the same evolution. In the future, cloud toolkitsand platforms will make the cloud as easy to use as today's desktopcomputer; and will become as ordinary and accepted as the desktop orlaptop PC. So where did the concept of "We are at the beginning of the age of "cloud computing" come planetary computing. Billions of people will be from? It goes all the way wirelessly interconnected, and the only way to back to the origins of the achieve that kind of massive scale usage is by Internet itself. The Internet massive scale, brutally efficient cloud-based was always seen in diagrams infrastructure." as a cloud, even before the term "cloud computing" --Dan Farber, Editor-in-Chief, CNET News came into use. The idea was that, as described by Googles Kevin Marks, it"comes from the early days of the Internet where we drew the network as 27
a cloud . . . we didnt care where the messages went . . . the cloud hid itfrom us."4 The internet therefore gave us the first cloud, which centeredaround networking. Later, data abstraction added another layer to it.Today, the cloud abstracts the entire environment: infrastructure,platforms, and data and applications.Why cloud computing is already becoming mainstreamWhy do people use cloud computing? The Pew Internet & American LifeProject5 noted several reasons: 51 percent of users who take advantage ofcloud computing do so because it is easy and convenient; 41 percent do sobecause of the advantage of being able to access data from any locationand any computer; and 39 percent do so because it promotes easy sharingof information. The advantages below all point to mainstreaming of thetechnology. • Collaboration • Scalability • Better performance • Reliability • SimplicityThe last point, simplicity, is perhaps one of the greatest driving forces ofthe cloud. Lets face it, there is an element of laziness involved, and thatsokay. Workers everywhere want their jobs to be easier. Cloud computingprovides that. Working at home in the past, may have required a user (orthe users admin) to pre-load software into the users home computer, andinstall special logins for accessing the corporate server. More often thannot, that burden just led people to inaction, which resulted in fewertelecommuting opportunities. Cloud computing simplifies the entireprocess by removing the need for client software and by abstracting thedata and application servers. Simply put, if its easy, workers will go for it.And in the end, that helps the corporation get things done.Business users, consumers, and software developers ignore cloudcomputing at their own peril. Remember when Windows first came out,and there was still a large contingent of people who insisted on stickingwith the command-line interface? Those who resist the cloud model are inthe same category today. Cloud computing and SaaS is increasinglyimpossible to ignore.Why? Everything in computing has led to this moment. Web 2.0technology first gave us a little taste of what true interactivity andcollaboration over the Internet could do for us. While earlier Internet sitesgave us information on static web sites, Web 2.0 raised the bar with blogs,4 Dan Farber. "Defining the cloud." Video interview, Cnet.com. May 7, 2008.5 Pew/Internet & American Life Project, Op. cit. 28
social networking, instant connectivity, and a new level of interactivityover the web. Instead of just reading a web site, we could interact with it.We could send feedback. Take polls. Search for products we like, compareprices, and see what other people thought. We could hold webconferences and use things like shared whiteboards. These Web 2.0innovations put us all in the mindset of free collaboration, unfettered byphysical boundaries. Web 2.0 made it possible for the first time to hold aproductive conference for example, between people in Chicago, Delhi, andLondon. We have gotten accustomed to Web 2.0 innovations and cannotgo back to the way it was, and we want more. Cloud computing was thenext logical step.Cloud computing has gone mainstream also because of the presence of arobust infrastructure. Virtualization technology has come to the fore, andthis too serves a major role in letting vendors deliver SaaS services and inletting companies gain access to infrastructure services without largecapital expenditures.What does cloud computing mean to me?Cloud computing doesnt work unless every stakeholder has something init for them. Every party involved can benefit, if it is implemented correctly,from the end user, to the entrepreneur, the CEO who wants to cut costs,the project manager, IT people, and third party providers.If you think that cloud computing doesnt affect you, think again. A recentstudy by the Pew/Internet and American life Project reported that 69percent of all Internet users6 make use of some sort of cloud computingservice, and that number is growing. Do you use one of the free publicemail platforms like Hotmail or Gmail? Take advantage of one of themany online file storage services? Store your vacation photos online? Thenyou use cloud computing. The applications go far beyond those threesimple examples, but the trend is noteworthy. Most people use cloudcomputing, even if they have never heard of the term.These simple consumer applications of cloud computing also highlight aninteresting trend. The most successful technologies are those that havepenetrated both the consumer and the business markets. Cell phones, oncetools of the rich and famous, are now used by everybody and can be had atany department store for fifteen dollars for a basic model. Socialnetworking tools started out as consumer-based applications used for funand friendship, but are now widely used as vital tools for businessmarketing and project collaboration. And now, cloud computing also6Pew/Internet & American Life Project. "Cloud Computing takes hold as 69%of all internet users have either stored data online or used a web-based softwareapplication." September, 2008. 29
carries equal weight in the consumer and business realms. If cloudcomputing hasnt touched you yet, chances are, it will in the near future.SOHO and small businessThere has been an interesting trend in software applications, which maywell be coming to an end. That trend is to deliver larger and more feature-rich productivity applications, with every feature that can be imagined. Inthe early days of software, this was a good approach, but today, its rapidlyreaching the status of bloatware. After a point, software in general reachesa point where it contains everything users need to function, and anythingelse is just fluff. But yet, traditional software vendors thrive on that fluff togive them a marketing advantage.But is it necessary? Not always. Word processing and spreadsheetprograms for example, contain far more features than most ordinary userstake advantage of. We may even apply the 80/20 rule here as a casualobservation: 80 percent of users only take advantage of 20 percent of thefeatures.The existing office applications delivered on a SaaS basis by Google,Microsoft and others are less feature-rich than shrink-wrapped offerings,but they contain enough features to be perfectly serviceable by most users.And the advantages of easy maintenance and low cost will drive moreusers to adopt it.VII. MisconceptionsNow that weve decided what it is, lets look at how cloud computing hasbecome misunderstood. Now that weve decided what it is, lets look athow cloud computing has become misunderstood. The very word "cloud"gives way to a lot of fuzzy definitions. In reality, cloud computing is just assolid and reliable as any other type of computing, the technology justrefers to a mechanism to connect infrastructure, applications, andplatforms over a remote network, typically on virtualized off-site servers,over a secure IP connection.With that in mind, let's take a look at what the cloud is . . . and what itisn't.Top Ten Misconceptions about Cloud Computing1. The cloud is just a return to centralized computing.The old days of dumb terminals connected to a centralized mainframelimited our computing power to one provider. With cloud computing, we 30
can access the computing power of millions of providers from anywhere atany time, and for a fraction of the cost of host computing.In the pre-desktop days, computing, applications, and data storage wascentralized. People used dumb terminals attached to mainframes. Theterminals themselves didnt hold the applications or data. Cloudcomputing does have that in common with the old mainframe model, inthat the individual endpoints, in this case PCs or laptops, also do not holdapplications or data. But there are some crucial differences. The dumbterminal used in centralized mainframe computing had no processingpower; the PC does. Centralized mainframe computing connects to acentral computer and storage device; cloud computing may connect toseveral computers and storage devices in a "virtualized" fashion.In addition, the level of access is much broader. The centralized modelrequired you to log in from one of the dumb terminals on the network.Today, users enjoy the unique ability to log onto their applications fromany location, anywhere in the world, from a wide variety of devices,including desktops, laptops, or even smartphones; to access applications"in the cloud" and data that may reside in a remote data center.2. The cloud is not secure.Truth-be-told, in-house systems are often less secure, because they useunproven home-grown security models. Cloud applications developedwith cloud platforms use a common security model, which lends additionalsecurity from the ground up; and cloud providers will often pay moreattention to issues such as physical security and access controls.In fact, the cloud does have several security advantages. According toNIST, these cloud computing security advantages include: • Shifting public data to a external cloud reduces the exposure of the internal sensitive data • Cloud homogeneity makes security auditing/testing simpler • Clouds enable automated security management • Redundancy / Disaster RecoveryAll four points are well taken. Cloud providers naturally tend to includerigorous cloud computing security as part of their business models, oftenmore than an individual user would do. In this respect, its not just amatter of cloud computing providers deploying better security, the point is,rather, that they deploy the precautions that individual companies should,but often dont.3. The cloud isn't ready for enterprise users.Enterprise software need not cost millions of dollars, or take years toimplement. CIOs are increasingly demanding more affordable alternatives.Some of today's popular cloud systems host tens of millions of users. The 31
biggest concerns of enterprises rolling out mission-critical apps areflexibility, scalability and availability. The cloud has resolved thoseconcerns.The very term "enterprise software" is yet another one of those fuzzytechie terms that is usually glossed over. Therefore, let's break traditionand start with a working explanation: As the name implies, an enterprisesoftware system is one that is engineered in such as way as toaccommodate a very large, nationally dispersed and/or global business ororganization (an enterprise). As such, enterprise software must be able toefficiently scale to handle tens of thousands, or even millions of users, andvery large data sets that often exceed several terabytes.We seem to have accepted as a painful truth that enterprise softwaresystems are supposed to cost millions of dollars and require years toimplement. Without seemingly batting an eye, Fortune 500 companies andfederal agencies alike are laying out tens of millions of dollars forenterprise software systems. The federal government alone spends $70billion a year on IT systems, many of which includes enterprise solutions.If you'd like to see examples, simply visit fedbizopps.gov any day of theweek and look at some the awards that are being made to IT companies.For good reason, many people still believe that enterprise software shouldcost a lot of money and time: After all, as compared to small businesssoftware applications (think of QuickBooks), enterprise software systemsare much more complex, with sophisticated architectures that make itpossible to accommodate such large numbers of users and scalable datasets. Buyer beware that a lot of software vendors will promote theirsolutions as "enterprise-enabled" simply because they use a scalable SQLbackend database engine, however this is a misuse of the word. A trueenterprise software system is engineered in every respect to accommodatemassive scalability, by accounting for multi-tenancy, front-end scalability,dynamic provisioning and backend SQL databases with load balancingthoughtful indexing. This is not an eBook about enterprise engineering, sowe won't go into any detail, except to explain by examples of the problembeing solved. Example #1: What if Facebook bogged down and was tooslow after the first 1000 users had signed up? Example #2: What if youneeded to select from a pick-list of a million users every time you wantedto send an email to someone? Example #3: What if the human resourceteam could look at the finance team's data? Needless to say, all of thesethings would be problems, and all of these problems need to be solved.However, the shocking truth is this: Enterprise software need NOTcost millions of dollars! In many cases, buyers are unnecessarilyinvesting millions into enterprise software systems that could have easilybeen implemented for less than a tenth the time, risk and cost as comparedto a few years ago. How can this be, right? Well, cloud platforms aredriving down the costs of engineering by offering robust enterprise 32
architectures as-a-service. At the same time, cloud infrastructure is drivingdown the costs of scalable storage and computing power by providingthose things as a service.Together, cloud platforms and cloud infrastructure are leveling the playingfield. Today, approximately 80 percent of enterprise software revenues goto IBM, Oracle or SAP. What will happen when millions of entrepreneursare suddenly able to enter the same software markets with their creditcards? In a few years, we will soon see.The appeal to small businesses, SOHO businesses, and individual users isobvious, and this is where the early adopters are for the most part. Themost obvious successes are the office suites delivered over the Web, suchas Microsofts line of subscription-based software offerings, as well asGoogles Google Apps collection. Cloud computing, and the Software-as-a-Service applications that run on top of it, give these smaller users a quickand easy way to get up and running, access high-end applications, andavoid up-front costs that are typically associated with software.But when it comes to enterprise businesses—typically defined ascompanies with over 1,000 employees—those cost concerns weigh lessheavily than they do for smaller, cash-strapped businesses and individualconsumers. Nonetheless, cloud computing applications are starting totarget the mid-size and enterprise market. Traditional enterprise vendors,whose installations often run into multiple millions of dollars, are nowstarting to offer SaaS versions of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)software and other mission-critical applications.For these larger companies, although the cost factor isnt the onlyconsideration, it does nonetheless weigh in. A SaaS implementation ofwhat would otherwise be a massively expensive project allows these largecompanies to move more gradually into ERP software, without having toimplement a full-fledged "forklift" installation all at once. The risks offailure are therefore much lower. Oracle, SAP, BEA, and other well-established enterprise software vendors are all experimenting with this typeof implementation.Large-scale enterprise applications tend to be all-encompassing. EnterpriseResource Planning (ERP) systems attempt to be everything to everybodywithin the company, and if its done right, it succeeds. But by trying to doso much, there is a great deal of complexity that comes with it. Its usuallynot possible to put in an ERP system "off the shelf." It requirescustomization and integration, and thats where the big costs come in. Andbesides big costs, the extreme amount of customization also can lead tovery long rollout times, errors, or even complete failure of theimplementation.In fact, although an ERP application is large and complex, the bulk of thecost is seen in the customized development that each implementation 33
requires. Heres where cloud computing lends a major advantage toenterprise users.As described earlier, cloud computing is made up of three components:Infrastructure, platform, and software. The infrastructure costs (physicalservers, networking and connection) are minimized with a cloud project,since the enterprise company no longer has to host their own servers fortheir massive applications. The platform portion of the cloud makesdevelopment easier and more robust; and the software portion of thecloud means the enterprise user no longer has to pay for continuedmaintenance and upgrades, and still gets to enjoy robust softwareapplications.4. You lose control with the cloud.The very word "cloud" implies outsourcing to an unknown vendor;however this is a misnomer rather than reality. You can use cloudtechnologies internally, or outsource to a well-established vendor who hasbeen offering reliable service for years. With the cloud, you can gain morecontrol through a web-based control panel, while letting go of day-to-daymaintenance. "The fallacy of direct control" (see section XI in this book)posits that it is more efficient to retain control over those things thatmatter, while freeing up your time by leaving the details to a third partyexpert provider.5. It's the same thing as utility computing or grid computing.Grid computing was an early predecessor that virtually clusteredcomputing resources to serve a single purpose. Cloud computing hasmatured to serve multiple clients and multiple tasks simultaneously. Utilitycomputing, by the same token, has evolved. Today's cloud delivers allthree major elements as a service: architecture, platform, and software.Utility computing is another term thats been widely used to describeshared access, but this buzzword also serves to muddy the waters. "Utilitycomputing" is a term that actually predates "cloud computing," and thereis some debate on whether the two are actually one and the same. Ingeneral, as we have described here, "cloud computing" refers to a broaderset of services (architecture, platform, and software); while "utilitycomputing" is generally thought of as "as a service" computing, or only thelast of those three elements. Utility computing is not "the cloud", but itruns on the cloud. In that light, utility computing can be defined as thesame thing as Software-as-a-Service.One common argument that explains the difference is to say that cloudcomputing affords a much greater level of abstraction, while utilitycomputing allows users to retain a greater degree of control over thephysical infrastructure. 34
In that regard, is it necessary to retain that control? Do you need to knowwhere the servers are located, and be able to tweak and fine-tune theapplications? For most purposes, usually not. That is the greatestadvantage of cloud computing, that the end user need not worry about theinfrastructure, or indeed, even be aware of where it is located.Cloud computing may also be confused with "grid computing," but thereis a fundamental difference there. Grid computing is typically thought ofas a collection of resources, such as computer servers, which may be indifferent locations but are virtually clustered together to address a singleproblem or serve a single client or single purpose. Cloud computing on theother hand, while organized in more or less the same way, serves multipleclients and multiple purposes simultaneously.6. It's only for low-end consumer applications.Cloud computing has gained popularity in many consumer areas, but hasalso gained widespread acceptance in business applications, includingproductivity suites, online backup and storage, and collaborativeenvironments; with applications of enterprise-class software already beingdelivered over the cloud.Cloud computing is in fact used in many consumer-facing applications,such as free email (Hotmail, Gmail), Instant Messaging, and online file andphoto storage. But at the same time, it has gained widespread acceptancein many business applications, ranging from productivity applications(business application suites), to online backup and storage, andcollaborative environments.Small businesses especially have been early adopters to the cloud model,since the economic advantage allows these smaller businesses to takeadvantage of applications and Software-as-a-Service offerings that wouldotherwise be too costly for an on-premises installation.The advantage has not been lost to larger enterprise users, however, andthis represents the next wave of cloud users. Having been proven in theconsumer and the small business realm, the natural progression is to largercorporate users.7. It's too isolated from my other data and applications.Cloud computing applications are easy to integrate with the rest of theenterprise, and already there are several integration tools on the market tomake it happen.This is another misconception, based on early cloud projects that havelong since evolved. In fact, since a great many networks run over an IPbackbone to begin with, cloud computing is natural to integrate with therest of the enterprise. And since cloud-based "virtual storage" is rapidlybecoming the standard as well, using an application in the cloud need not 35
isolate the application and the data from the rest of the business.Integrating and sharing the data is straightforward.Integrating the cloud applications themselves with existing applicationsrunning within the business however, may be a bit more difficult—but thistoo, is being done already. Can you run a cloud-based application that hashooks into an on-premises application? Sure. While in some cases it maytake some custom integration work, already, there are several tools on themarket that specifically meet this need. SaaS integration tools have alreadyproven to be quite useful and robust in this regard.8. We won't need PCs any more with cloud computing.Cloud computing is a broad concept with many elements, and powerfuldesktops are a central part of the cloud model."But what about my PC?" you ask. Desktops and laptops continue toevolve year after year, becoming ever more powerful, able to hold more,do more, and connect faster. You can run some pretty powerful apps on astandard desktop computer, so why do we even need to move those appssomewhere else? Nobody wants to work on a dumb terminal any more,but dont worry. Nobodys going to take away your PC and replace it witha dumb terminal.For many users, desktop computing may be just fine for years to come.PCs continue to serve a valuable role, having become the basis of a verylarge industry. Many desktop computers, desktop operating systems(which we equate to a "platform" in the cloud computing paradigm), anddesktop applications, are quite productive, useful, and robust. Cloudapplications will become another powerful tool in your toolbox, but thedifference between todays cloud computing and yesterdays old "dumbterminal" model is that the apps are running on a more powerful client,which has multiple capabilities.9. Reliability will be a problem.Virtualization and platform technologies are almost as old as computingitself. What's new is the ability to market the capabilities. Cloudtechnologies can provide superior reliability with service level guarantees.10. The cloud will give you performance problems.Performance is seldom a problem with cloud computing. Latency can beminimized by selecting a provider with a data center in your own region,and by reviewing the provider's upstream carriers and service levelguarantees. 36
VIII. The "People Cloud"Jobs 3.0 and Decentralization of the WorkplaceCloud computing is more than a technology - its also a game-changingbusiness process. The reason it has gained so much traction is because ofwhat it enables for entrepreneurs. A complete discussion of cloudcomputing must go beyond the technology that underlies the cloudprocess, to include a discussion of the greater question of what drivescloud computing, and what the social and macroeconomic impact of itmay be.In this book, we choose the term "people cloud" to illustrate how ourworkforce is scattering in many of the same ways that computingresources have scattered across the cloud. Even more, we are managingpeople resources over the Internet in many of the same ways that aremanaging computing resources. As a result of cloud computing as anenabling technology, we are seeing an explosion in entrepreneurship and adecentralization of larger companies.The workplace has evolved from everyone in one place, to a scattered workplace, andfinally to one in which the physical roof is replaced by a virtual roof. The virtualworkplace is again reconnected.Weve already seen major changes in the workplace. Companies haveembraced a model of decentralization in favor of outsourcing andoffshoring. Web 2.0 technologies have enabled a greater level ofcollaboration, which means two things: First, people no longer need to bephysically present at the office, and can instead work from home, oranywhere else in the world. Second, this new level of collaboration allowscompanies to partner with smaller providers anywhere in the world to getthe job done.Job 1.0The 1950s mindset of the corporation as a sort of benevolent father isobsolete. That older (and short-lived) way of doing business was what werefer to as "Job 1.0". During that time, we saw the corporation as abenevolent institution, which looked out after our own well-being. We hadan expectation of a 30-plus year career with a single company, anopportunity to rise from within the ranks, and a relative amount of jobsecurity. The prevailing philosophy was that company growth was 37
equivalent to the companys apparent physical size. A company, during thistime, that had 1,000 employees was considered to be more successful thanone with 100 employees. Companies embraced the in-house strategy witha vengeance, and larger firms did everything from running their owninternal print shops, to hosting their own cafeterias for workers.This is in some ways reminiscent of the old-fashioned "company town,"which went so far as to even provide rental housing for its workers(usually substandard), a company grocery store, and so forth, and in theprocess, keeping employees beholden to the company, and usually in debtto it.Job 1.0 came with three illusions: That physical growth of a companysmass was equivalent to success, and that the "everything in-house"business model was beneficial to employees, and that it created aheightened sense of job security and loyalty.Job 2.0The "dotcom boom" broke down the illusions of Job 1.0. During thisincredible time of entrepreneurism, the notion that a company with 1,000employees is better and more successful than one with 100, or even onewith 10, started to break down. New technologies allowed companies todo more with less. One clerk with spreadsheet software could do the workof ten people in the pre-desktop days.Whats more relevant is that Job 2.0 started to break down the illusion of asingle-company career as being beneficial. The desire for a 30-plus yearcareer with a single company became less desirable, and employees becamefreer to move from job to job in search of greater opportunity. Thedotcom boom ushered in a new era of mobility in the workplace, and atthe same time, made it more acceptable and possible for someone to goout on their own and start an entrepreneurial venture.Still, "Job 2.0" operated under the concentrated model of corporatecommunities. Silicon Valley flourished, and contained an incredibleconcentration of talent, and more high-tech companies in one small regionthan anybody could imagine. Thats because while the concept of "job"had evolved, the concept of "company" had not yet shifted.Many high-tech companies during this time were short-lived, butnonetheless contributed to the collective wisdom by creating newtechnologies that are still used today in the latest iteration of "Job 3.0". Job2.0 re-set the tone, breaking down the expectation of a 30-year single-company career, providing the technology for a dramatic change in howbusiness processes are accomplished, and overcoming the 50s mindsetthat prevented people from switching jobs or leaving a job to go out ontheir own entrepreneurial venture. 38
Job 3.0And so we come to the latest version of what a job really means. Today,two factors are driving a permanent shift in employment patterns: • Modern communications technologies and cloud computing • High unemployment and a huge recessionThese new technologies mean that we now have the technologicalwherewithal to move away permanently from the centralized model ofwork and employment. Collaboration no longer requires a physicalpresence, and this means companies can do more with less. It means thatcompanies are keen to outsource many of the functions that were oncedone in-house. This means in turn that those functions are being done bypeople working at home, or for small companies that specialize in specificareas.When we speak of the macroeconomic realities and how they too haveenabled the cloud computing shift, we mean that the recession has madecompanies take a long, hard look at how they get things done. Companiesare looking for new ways to become more efficient, and they are lookingfor technologies that enable them to do more with less. Its not just amatter of getting new features or capabilities—its a matter of economicsurvival. The economic downturn transformed cloud computing from a"nice to have" into a "must have."The age of the cubicle is over. There are naturally some jobs that must bemaintained on-premises, but increasingly, it is just as feasible toaccomplish many tasks off-site, either through telecommuting orteleworking arrangements, or outsourcing to a third party provider. Today,the link between corporate size and corporate success is upside down. It ispossible for a ten-person company to be more successful and productivethan a 1,000 person company. And taking that to the logical conclusion,the possibility of a successful one-person company is now much morerealistic than it has ever been.The notion of working at ones own home has gone through a lot ofiterations over the centuries. In the Middle Ages, it was the standard, ascraftspeople and tradesmen plied their trades out of their own workshopsbehind their homes, but the Industrial Age brought us a new normal.Working outside the home became the standard, and people started to seeworking at home as less desirable. Today, the pendulum shifts once again,as new technology makes it possible to conduct business from anyplace inthe world.The idea of working from a lounge chair on the beach in a tropical islandisnt that far-fetched. Or for those who dont have a tropical island handy,at least, working from home. When you call into any large companysCustomer Service department for example, more often than not, you are 39


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New Bedford Whaling Museum
World's Largest Whaling Museum
18 Johnny Cake Hill, New Bedford, MA 02740
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The New Bedford Whaling Museum is the world's most comprehensive museum devoted to the global story of whales and whaling. The Museum houses an extensive collection of art and artifacts relating to the whaling industry, including the world's largest ship model; and four species of complete whale skeletons; including a Blue whale, the world's largest mammal; plus a mother and fetus of the highly endangered Northern Atlantic Right whale. The Museum is a compelling destination that inspires all visitors to reflect on the complex issues that shaped the past, remain critical today, and inform a sustainable future. Photo Credit: Arthur Motta
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TALLADEGA, ALA. | Matt Kenseth would not change anything about his actions in a post-race scuffle with Brad Keselowski at Charlotte, where tempers flared as several drivers slipped to the edge of elimination in NASCAR's championship race.
Brad Keselowski was fined $50,000 by NASCAR for his actions Saturday night. He hit Kenseth's car near the entrance to pit road, tried but failed to wreck Denny Hamlin after the race and ran into the back of Tony Stewart's car.
TALLADEGA, ALA. | Guaranteed of a spot in the third round of NASCAR's playoffs, Kevin Harvick has no reason to race hard Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway.
If it was up to him, he wouldn't race at all.
CONCORD, N.C. | Matt Kenseth, usually so calm and composed, lost his cool and attacked Brad Keselowski at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
If Kenseth is fighting, then tempers are certainly running quite high. They reached a boiling point in the aftermath of Saturday night's race as Keselowski, Kenseth, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jimmie Johnson all saw their championship hopes fade to near-desperate status.
CONCORD, N.C. | One bad race knocked three of NASCAR's biggest names to the bottom of the championship standings, and a repeat Saturday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway will put the trio on the verge of elimination.
That's the harsh reality for Dale Earnhardt Jr., Brad Keselowski and six-time and defending NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson. They combined to win more than a third of the races this season, and their title hopes could end before the third round of the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship.
CONCORD, N.C. | The blown tire while he was leading at Kansas is long forgotten. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is celebrating his 40th birthday on Friday and the milestone has turned into a weeklong celebration.
It kicked off Monday when longtime girlfriend Amy Reimann successfully pulled off a surprise party that NASCAR's most popular driver never saw coming. Told an appearance on his schedule had been canceled, he planned to go to Charlotte Motor Speedway with Reimann to watch her practice for a charity race.
Then she flipped the script.
KANSAS CITY, KAN. | It's impossible to be perfect, to always get everything right and never fail at all.
To listen to Goodyear officials, the company never, ever comes up short at the race track.
It sure sounded like Goodyear thought it was off the hook on Sunday after a tire problem caused Dale Earnhardt Jr. to hit the wall while leading at Kansas Speedway. Then Brad Keselowski suffered a similar fate, and Kasey Kahne also thought an issue with his tires sent him into the wall.
KANSAS CITY, KAN. | So many drivers studied NASCAR's new championship Chase format and singled out the second round as the one they feared the most.
The difficult three-race stretch of Kansas, Charlotte and Talladega will knock four drivers from the field, and none wanted their championship hopes to be dependent on a good day at Talladega. It meant they had to be solid in the opener of the second round at Kansas Speedway, a notorious track for whittling the field of championship contenders.
KANNAPOLIS, N.C. | Tony Stewart said Monday he never considered retiring from racing following the death of Kevin Ward Jr.
The three-time NASCAR champion talked with reporters Monday at his first news conference since a grand jury decided last week not to charge him in Ward's death. The 20-year-old driver was struck and killed by Stewart's car during a sprint car race in upstate New York on Aug. 9.
HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. | For Tony Stewart, there was no greater joy than escaping his everyday life and climbing behind the wheel of a sprint car. He loves the feel, the way they drive, the purity he finds at all the tiny dirt tracks across the country.
HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. (AP) — There were days when Tony Stewart couldn't get out of bed. It was a chore to take a shower, to leave his room. The television was on, he would stare at it, and have no idea what he was watching.He didn't care about racing. He didn't want to talk to anyone, let alone face his family, friends or other drivers. Stewart's grief over the death of Kevin Ward Jr. was overwhelming, and he couldn't find his way out of the fog.
Athens, GA • Athens Banner-Herald ©2015. All Rights Reserved.


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Im looking to remove my Crank Pulley from my B16A2 to change it for a different one. Ive seen around that there is a removal tool.
Went into Honda today to see if they did one and they said they wont sell it to customers.
Went down to mills and they wanted