Cloud computing - A synopsis

[Bailey]

We're bound to see a torrent of "Cloud" type domain names - For those that are unaware of the application of these services. Probably best to clarify "Cloud Computing" once again.

The "Cloud" really only means "Remote, Centralised or "shared", (Spurred by super fast connectivity)

If you think back to the old "main frame" days you'll remember queing etc but the Cloud is just a descriptive for the same shared services -(polled without the wait)

Obviously the security aspect would be as inhouse as your sevices required. But on a personal level think of your computer or laptop just being a "terminal" nothing more. Everything that would otherwise reside on your local machine - Storage, processing power, applications, personal files etc are ALL "Web based"

Security may sound a nightmare but the gains are massive. Think On-line banking for everything. Every computer terminal becomes your personal computer

For Comany business use - the benefits are massive. No such thing as peak demand for resources, storage or user demands, It's on tap - chargeable access, without the idleness.

Trying to domain match it is pretty futile - It's a centralised service. there will be a dozen top key descriptives with storage/supply services picking an equal number of brandables. Existing companies moving into this niche will still want to operate under their corporate identity.

My chosen wording is a bit ahead of the reality but, it should allow anyone to grasp all the relevant concepts

 

[Aegean]

I saw a programme yesterday about the new Google Chrome Book, entirely cloud-operated, basic chrome operating system on the pad but otherwise no hard drive, bios etc. Everything runs from Google's platform and the security, updates and facilities are all controlled by Google.

It has many advantages as long as you have a net connection, but of course it would mean Google would have control of your online world. I do see this becoming big though, I already store files and documents in the cloud although I don't think it will replace the standard 'self supporting' traditional pc.

To me it seems their Chrome Book is just a terminal into the Google system. To be fair, I have two friends here who both play games, talk to people etc all on Facebook. Although they are just 'ordinary' web users, one said to me 'Facebook has become the internet'. I thought it was a strange outlook and told him thats like saying Encyclopedia Britannica is the only book in the library.

 

[tifosi]

Just another name for thin-client & server. Except the server may be on another continent, not another building.

The concept is good, the application of it - at least safely - is the most difficult.

Hear many, many stories of 'my data got hacked' in the next few years!

 

[theonemanyuri]

In terms of cloud storage it all comes down to trust I suppose. I'm sure that tifosi's comment will become true, I anticipate a lot of stories of places being hacked and data stolen / lost.

However when your talking about the web giants like Google storing all of your operating system, everything on the cloud, I think for the average web user that's a very good idea. Privacy aside (and I'm sure no matter what kind of weird porn you look at there will be people in the world that look at weirder!) to be able to protect ALL computers centrally would be awesome. Just think how fast new viruses can be protected against if effectively all computers become one central G controlled computer. It would put an end to these annoying viruses that seem to love MSN Live and the like.

 

[Bailey]

Nice to read all your own perceptions.

My steer was to try to make sure, new comers to domaining don't see 'Cloud-Computing' as a domain investment opportunity - It isn't. There will be some catchy/brand names applied by the major players. But the icloud sale could easily misdirect those without some experience

 

[retired_member16]

I dont like it one bit.

I have a server which is kept offline in my home, as well as mirrors at my parents.

Aside from Facebook, which I use, I cannot see why on earth you would want to take the added risk of placing pictures, documents etc in the 'Cloud' where you lose all control over it.

Not for me thanks.

 

[Aaron Clifford]

Posh name for a vps!

 

[binny]

I guess I should just let my cloud names drop then.

 

[fish]

I guess I should just let my cloud names drop then.

no need to do that, I'll look after them

 

[Bailey]

I guess I should just let my cloud names drop then.

I don't mean to teach/lecture anyone - how to invest in "Cloud" domains. those with their head screwed on will continue on a successful domain path as always. Others perhaps a little less wise try to invest in domains way outside their level of understanding.

The recent apprasial request for the term "theOfficialCloud" gave rise to my posting. And I'm sure all that know about "Cloud" services would agree it isin't going to be on your average Ebay listing.

Cloudservices in the .co.uk is a great domain name. If you had it in the .com I probably be looking to marry you.

 

[aZooZa]

So my cloudservice.co.uk domain is worth a little?

 

[Slater]

Virtualisation has been the driving force behind the current trend in cloud based services, it has bought the price down considerably for service providers of being able to offer hosted services.

I've been heavily involved over the last 12 months designing, implementing and running cloud based services including offsite backup and DR, hosted Exchange server and Sharepoint. All this is implemented with a mxiture of physical and virtual servers occupying 2 racks. Prior to vitualisation you would probably have been looking at 6 racks full of servers, I've seen single VMware servers running 50+ virtualised Linux webservers which clearly offers excellent returns for companies offering virtual servers.

Storage is still the most expensive part of the cloud based infrastructure, just done a quick total up of total raw disk space in the infrastructure I'm involved with and it exceeds 160TB, Fibre Channel SAN's and fast SAS disks don't come cheap.

I think that the main thing holding back cloud based services becoming main stream for many smaller businesses is the relatively low bandwidth and unreliable Internet connections offered by ADSL. Sure you can buy a nice fat leased line but the rental costs of these are still out of the reach of many smaller businesses. However, I believe as the bandwidth, reliability and cost of Internet connections improve then more companies will adopt 'cloud based' services over on premise servers.

Software vendors such as Microsoft now design many of their mainstream products such as Exchange Server and Sharepoint to have the ability to operate in a multi-tenant mode allowing a single infrastructure to serve multiple organizations again reducing the overheads of service providers of not having to implement a dedicated server infrastructure for each company they sign up.

Most IT companies are looking to cut their overheads, it's expensive to run a bunch of field engineers and fleet of cars going round the country repairing servers. If you can remotely connect to a central datacentre to fix problems you can cut out a lot of the overheads associated with traditional IT support. The hosted services in the datacenter tend to be built in a far more fault tolerant way than most small businesses could afford and can generally withstand server failures without a loss of service to the customer.

'Cloud' is an overused term in the IT industry with vendors seeming to append it to as many products as they can. Hosted services have been with us for years I think it's the advances in technologies such as virtualisation and software vendors building multi-tenancy into their products which is allowing service providers generate better incomes from smaller investments in hosted infrastructure.

Mark.

 

[Bailey]

Cheers Mark - Nice to read the professionals wording. I do think we are in the clasp of new level of 'personal computing' as a consequence of a business driven initiative in 'cloud services' - I agree with you about the adoption of "Cloud" as a descriptive. What was wrong with "remote sevices" the original all-encompassing descriptive

 

[jasman]

I can see some benefits in terms of being able to pay say £10 to use a £1000 software package just once, a pay-per-use model. Or if you had some very resource intensive stuff, having some extra processing power available cheaply would save having to invest in extra computers.

But for personal use, I'm not at all tempted. In fact it's a substantial loss of sovereignty. An extra link with certain weaknesses to put in your chain. You have no idea who will be working in the datacentre, and if the industry grows to the extent that millions of people end up using the cloud for everyday personal stuff, then you're going to have thousands of datacentre employees, some of whom will be bad apples.

Then there's the issue of what happens if they have a cock up and your files get wiped. Here's what Amazon have said:

"We do not guarantee that Your Files will not be subject to misappropriation, loss or damage and we will not be liable if they are. You're responsible for maintaining appropriate security, protection and backup of Your Files."
Source: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2382830,00.asp

Then there's the issue of if you can't get online, you can't do anything.

While some may get excited about the prospect of accessing all their stuff from anywhere they go (without taking a laptop) that is not without risks. If you're using someone else's Internet connection whether a person you know or a hotel or whatever, you can't be sure they are not monitoring what you are doing.

Then what about if you have a dispute with the cloud provider over payment. You know the sort of thing, like if you've been naive enough to have hosting and domains with the same company and your site goes down for 3 days so you want to move to a different host at once and they insist you need to give 1 month's notice. So you refuse to pay for another month and they block access to your domains until you pay... if there were some kind of dispute with the cloud company they could block your access to your computer and all your files! They'd have you over a barrel.

Then there's Big Brother... as if having everyone's photo and knowing who all everyone's friends are from Facebook isn't enough, now they want everything on your computer stored remotely courtesy of some corporation who will happily share it with them for the flimsiest of reasons.

I can see some benefits with the cloud but don't let them lull you into substituting your desktop for a terminal.

 

[Oceanic]

I dont like it one bit.

I have a server which is kept offline in my home, as well as mirrors at my parents.

Aside from Facebook, which I use, I cannot see why on earth you would want to take the added risk of placing pictures, documents etc in the 'Cloud' where you lose all control over it.

Not for me thanks.

What happens if your house or business burn down the ground!

 

[Blossom]

But for personal use, I'm not at all tempted. In fact it's a substantial loss of sovereignty. An extra link with certain weaknesses to put in your chain. You have no idea who will be working in the datacentre, and if the industry grows to the extent that millions of people end up using the cloud for everyday personal stuff, then you're going to have thousands of datacentre employees, some of whom will be bad apples.

Then there's the issue of what happens if they have a cock up and your files get wiped. Here's what Amazon have said:

"We do not guarantee that Your Files will not be subject to misappropriation, loss or damage and we will not be liable if they are. You're responsible for maintaining appropriate security, protection and backup of Your Files."
Source: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2382830,00.asp

But you have your email in the cloud don't you? What's the difference? All my personal stuff is in webmail, I appreciate that's not true for everyone, but it covers a lot of stuff.

Then what about if you have a dispute with the cloud provider over payment. You know the sort of thing, like if you've been naive enough to have hosting and domains with the same company and your site goes down for 3 days so you want to move to a different host at once and they insist you need to give 1 month's notice. So you refuse to pay for another month and they block access to your domains until you pay... if there were some kind of dispute with the cloud company they could block your access to your computer and all your files! They'd have you over a barrel.

Pay for your shit, cancel with enough notice, and suck up a month's costs if necessary. It's standard for dealing with any company. Go with 2 companies if you're really that bothered (assuming you'll be able to do that with backups etc.). Even if you can't, I'm sure offline backups will be pretty standard.

 

[Bailey]

For a start - you shouldn't look upon "Cloud/remote/thin" services as a bolt on to todays infrastructure. Anyone that dosen't see it as a "Given" is staying too many steps behind reality . And If it was (had-been) a domaining opportunity - I'd probably (definately) kept mum.

Stay Chilled Guys