CloudNet

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2010-04-06T14:26:00.001-10:00

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New computing could save Hawaii millions - Guest Editorials - Starbulletin.com

2010-04-06T14:07:00.000-10:00

New computing could save Hawaii millions - Guest Editorials - Starbulletin.com

It is always good to help people see the potential for Cloud Computing (Infrastructure as a Service). I really appreciate the effort the Sheryll Bonilla put into writing this during the legislative session. I have been helping here with the ways that new technologies, like Cloud Computing, can make a difference in many ways for education and community. Thanks, Sheryl.

Cloud Update: What are we doing?

2009-09-18T07:22:00.004-10:00

It has been very busy for Islanda Cloud services over the last four months. The Islanda Cloud is growing. Here are some highlights:

In the nonprofit sector YMCA Honolulu, a long time Islanda co-location client, converted 12 servers to virtualization in the Islanda Cloud in May. This services all YMCA venues on Oahu supporting 200 users at any time. This has allowed YMCA Honolulu to upgrade critical servers in difficult economic times without additional capital costs.

For smaller companies we refer you to The KNG Group for the second year one of Pacific Business News’ Fastest 50. The KNG Group operates with a complete Islanda Cloud office with 12 Island Cloud Desktops, file server, and high volume document scanning and printing fully integrated into their virtual office.

But that’s not all . . . Our newest engineer, Jeremy Schroeder, will begin working with Islanda in early October. Jeremy has been a third tier Tech Support Engineer with VMware for the last several years. He brings a wealth of experience in virtualization and the VMware platforms that are the basis of the Islanda Cloud Service. We were lucky enough to convince him to move his family here from Colorado before winter sets in.

If you are interested in knowing more about Islanda Cloud Services just contact me Mike Meyer or 808.783.1783.

Virtualization: A smarter way to allocate resources

2009-09-18T07:19:00.003-10:00

We have been away for awhile withe rapid increase in virtualization demanding all of our time. This link is a good survey article to strategic planning with virtualization and Islanda Cloud Services.

Adding even more servers to already
overbuilt, underutilized networks is not
the answer for companies trying to focus
on strategic IT projects. Instead, businesses
need consolidated IT environments that
require less maintenance and fewer power
and cooling resources.

Cross Links

2009-08-06T11:51:00.004-10:00

CloudNet is now cross linked with the Islanda page on Facebook and cross linked with Islanda on Twitter. We will be adding cross links to Plaxo and LinkedIn soon. The goal is to have a selected amount of information flowing for cloud computing through Islanda, the name in Cloud Computing Services for the Pacific Basin.

2009-07-21T16:14:00.002-10:00

Here are some pretty good general links to information on Cloud Computing. Islanda is part of the very new breed of Infrastructure As A Service providers and the only in located in Hawaii. If you have other links that are helpful post them in comments.

www.islandatech.com/cloud: This give the basic information on our Cloud Computing services which include High Availability Business Email and Islanda Cloud Exchange plus our Infrastructure As A Service offerings under Cloud Computing.

wikipedia.org/Cloud_computing: This is actually a very good although somewhat technical survey of all elements of cloud computing. This will introduce you to terms and concepts including Utility Computing, Grid Computing, and Software As A Service.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PNuQHUiV3Q: This is a video from last year providing plain language descriptions of Cloud Computing by various people in Information Technology and Web 2.0 services.

www.networkworld.com/supp/2009/ndc3/051809-cloud-faq.html: This is a technical journal article summarizing Cloud Computing and clarifying the terminology and concepts.

www.cloudsecurityalliance.org: This sites is the Cloud Computing Security Alliance which provides free white papers on Cloud Computing Security Best Practices.

communication.howstuffworks.com/cloud-computing1.htm: Another survey but more focused on how Cloud Computing works.

www.cpatechviews.com/2009/05/what-web-20-saas-and-cloud-computing-mean-for-tax-accounting-professionals: Here is an accounting focus on the general development of Cloud Computing.

Tech Insider - GigaOM - Salon.com

2009-06-02T08:04:00.000-10:00

Tech Insider - GigaOM - Salon.com: "Why Both EMC & NetApp Want Data Domain
By Om Malik

EMC Corp. announced yesterday its desire to buy Data Domain, a data backup company, for $30 a share, or roughly $1.8 billion in cash.

The real deal is for de-duplication and effective replacement of tape by drives (Cloud Storage?) as enterprise backup. Control the TBytes of backup with removal of old duplicated files. It's worth a lot of money . . .

As Web communication shrinks, so do links - Salon.com

2009-06-02T07:46:00.000-10:00

As Web communication shrinks, so do links - Salon.com: "As Web communication shrinks, so do links
By RACHEL METZ Associated Press Writer

May 31st, 2009 | NEW YORK -- On the short-messaging service Twitter, space is at a premium: You've got 140 characters to make your point, and you probably don't want to waste half of it on a super-sized link to your latest YouTube obsession."

An interesting problem for the rapidly growing opportunity in URL shortners such as the original tinyURL and now Bit.ly. Brief communications tied to site interconnection are beginning to put stress on the original URL system which was a kluge to begin with although a brilliant one.

Tech Insider - GigaOM - Salon.com

2009-05-29T15:58:00.000-10:00

Tech Insider - GigaOM - Salon.com: "Friday, May 29, 2009 14:00 PST
Cloud Computing: A System of Control
By Bryan Doerr

I’ve come to think of cloud computing as a system of control. The reference to the line in “The Matrix” aside, there is a reason to discuss the role of systems and the notion of control in emerging IT infrastructure and services."

Cloud Computing is about security and control. The cost savings are incidentally in capital expenditures. Control and management of information with efficient use of IT infrastructure are the real reasons for virtualization. This article does a good job of explaining this.

Benchmarks: Citrix XenDesktop 2.1 vs VMware View 3.0 | virtualization.info

2009-05-12T16:02:00.001-10:00

Benchmarks: Citrix XenDesktop 2.1 vs VMware View 3.0 | virtualization.info: "Have you tested Parallels? Give it a try and you'll see how well it works for VDI. Lastly, you can use the Data Center Edition of Windows Server 2003/2008, purchase TS CAL's and your done...no need to buy a desktop OS and VECD licenses. It's significantly less costly."

The licensing point is well taken and is a major problem for other VDI approaches.

Dick Cheney was right | Salon

2009-03-28T10:02:00.000-10:00

Dick Cheney was right | Salon

At least Cheney made one honest statement in his career: "Deficits don't matter . . .". We need a little longer term look at the history and uses of deficit spending. This article does a good job of putting things in perspective.

Tesla Motors Model S Backed by Google Founders Brin, Page

2009-03-28T09:29:00.001-10:00

Tesla Motors Model S Backed by Google Founders Brin, Page
The newest Tesla prototype might as well be described as a mobile connection to the Cloud. The transformational change defined by multi-paradigm shifts is moving rapidly to ubiquitous computing with process following information into the Cloud. It is not a minor issue the Google is behind the new Tesla.
We will see more and more of this as very small devices are embedded in all the things around us. That has been anticipated for years. The error was thinking that these things would make everything into a "computer". Hence the surprise when PCs start to go away replaced by simpler devices that tap much greater information and processing power in the Cloud.

And it looks like a pretty cool car also! Sign up online for delivery in 2012.

Finally Small Business IT Security

2009-03-27T15:53:00.002-10:00

After twenty years of dealing with the lack of information security in small business things have really started to change. One of the critical benefits of full Cloud Services for IT resources comes from moving the core IT operations for SMBs to secure and fully managed enterprise data centers. Up to now the cost of maintaining IT infrastructure security has been too expensive for even fairly large businesses to handle consistently. It simply takes too many highly trained professionals to implement and maintain real IT security without completely messing up operations. So what are the specific security improvements that small business can see in Cloud Computing Services?

By moving a businesses data and applications into a highly secure environment accessable only via Virtual Private Network connections is a huge increase in security. The small business usually has little idea where their data is stored on the local area daisy chain of PCs and shared drives. Finding a critical file, not to mention the correct version of that file, can take hours. And, of course, sometimes the employees simply take the files home and then forget them. How much small business data is scattered over offices and household PCs is anyone's guess.The loss of time and missed business opportunities probably total millions of dollars every month. Outsourcing to the Cloud can pay for the subscription fees in data security alone.

A rarely understood point of security for SMBs is inherent mixing of personal and business applications and data on employees PCs in the office. This is the largest source of security holes, malware,viruses,trojans,and spam bots in the business world. Creating a distinct and Cloud based desktop file system for work files only protected by managed security policies can effectively eliminate much of this danger. Of course this only applies if the work environment is fully outsourced to the Cloud. Simply using Cloud file servers with VPN scripts on office PCs leaves the lack of security on those PCs to affect the entire business system just as it does now for most small businesses. That's why we strongly advise using both Islanda® Cloud Workstations and Servers for a complete IT outsource. The security alone is worth the money.

Using an Islanda® Cloud Desktop with software VPN client is the other great security savior. How many laptops are lost or stolen each year? How many sleepless nights, and in the worst case, careers are lost because critical files e.g.financial information gets into the wrong hands via stolen laptops? If all of our work files and applications are on an Islanda® Cloud Workstation virtual desktop it doesn't matter if the laptop is stolen. No files are on that hard drive or in that system. For work it is strictly a thin client with no local storage. Whatever personal files are on that laptop when it is run as a standalone PC is another matter but by keeping business files and applications in the data center a very large load can be taken off of each traveling employees shoulders. And if the laptop is stolen and the presentation is lost the employee needs only a script on a CD sent via an email to login to his or her desktop fomr any Internet connected PC anywhere on the planet.

Now that's security!

How to Skip the Recession in Hawaii

2009-03-11T15:38:00.003-10:00

Cloud Computing is a very clever way to bypass part of the recession. Banks won't lend money? They are, after all, selfishly setting on the billions that we gave them at the end of 2008 just because no one told them not to. Convert to Cloud Computing and save the cost of buying new computers. With Islanda Cloud Computing Services we can replace your aging servers and even give you a new lease on life to your aging employee PCs. How does that work?

By leasing Cloud Servers that you need at the size that you need from Islanda you convert a potential capital purchase into a low monthly operational cost. If you are lucky enough to grow you can add more memory or another server in a few minutes for a few dollars more per month. Need High Availability? We can provide close to five nines (99.999% availability). Don't need that much redundancy but would rather save some money? Our Economy Servers give you clustered redundancy but not Active-Passive fail over but the cost is a lot lower. Want to switch from one to the other? No problem. Cloud Computing is totally virtual so that means the maximum of flexibility.

And those aging workstation PCs that your employees complain about and spend all their time messing with . . . let us turn them into "thin clients" by creating Cloud Workstations. Without upgrading hardware, memory, or anything else we can give you Vista on all your employee PCs or convert you to Linux for Open Source cost savings.

And everything is managed by us as part of the Islanda Enterprise IT Solution. That gives you security as you have never had in your old office LAN, plus standardized user policies, state of the art anti-virus, firewalling all running on the newest Dell hardware with complete backup imaging. It's hard to do better than improved efficiency, security, and reliability while saving money, too.

Want to know more? Post a question and will do our best to answer.

Cloud Computing for Schools

2009-03-09T13:21:00.005-10:00

The cost savings and efficiencies of Cloud Computing services are really important for schools as well as businesses. Since I have a long history in attempting to move schools in Hawai'i to full online curriculum delivery using cloud services (with little or no luck) it is really nice to see the school administration media strongly supporting this. Here is a link to a report by eSchool News and thanks to Jim Shon who copied me on this and has been spreading it around among our legislators: http://www.eschoolnews.com/emails/eSN/0309SpecialReport.htm

What's so green about the cloud?

2009-02-18T16:15:00.001-10:00

A very pleasant surprise last week Thursday as I took my turn on Mike Buck's Tech Buzz talk show on Clearchannel radio, the very first caller commented on how green the new Islanda Cloud Computing services are for Hawaii. For people who are not familiar with the full implications of cloud computing this may not be immediately apparent. So here is the Green part of the cloud.

The percentage of US electrical power used by servers doubled between 2000 and 2005 based on the first study of this done in 2007. When power use for related equipment and cooling was added in servers were responsible for 1.6% of US electrical utilization in 2005. Most of that growth was in the lower end of servers due to the steady growth in numbers of that type of server. That level of utilization equaled the electricity used by televisions in the US that year. We are now four years later and the numbers have probably grown.

The average server such as standard Dell office server uses about 200 watts per year based on a comparison of power utilization for a Microsoft Server 2008 with improved power management. Newer servers use less power and well managed data centers closely monitor power utilization as this becomes very significant if you have 1,000 servers installed. Based on last years mainland electrical costs (much lower than Hawaii's costs) a single server would only cost about $160 per year and an ordinary workstation (PC) about $49 per year. As with most things affecting climate the individual numbers are small but the totals add up very quickly. With 2,000 of those servers in use we have $1.3 million in energy costs. How can the cloud make this better?

Because Islanda Cloud Services are based on virtualization we can significantly reduce the number of servers in operation delivering the same information and transactional power. The first drive to virtualization has been in enterprise data centers with hundreds of servers. The standard file/application server (dependent on the specific nature of the processes it is running) normally runs at about 20% of it's capacity. Virtualization allows the creation of four virtual servers on one physical server (again this can vary significantly depending on the intensity of the Input/Output that the server is handling). The goal with virtualization is to move the utilization to about 80% on average. No matter how you cut it that is a very large savings. But there's more!

For all office a major cost of business is the IT infrastructure including everyones' PC. One of the biggest problem for small businesses is supporint upgrades to Operating Systems like Microsoft Vista which requires a much more powerful computer than Windows XP. Windows 7 is not going to change that later this year. But with Cloud Workstations (virtual desktops) almost all the processing power is in our data center on our virtualized servers. We can upgrade almost any old PC to be a state of the art Vista/Windows 7 system because your office or home PC becomes just a client and only handles screen presentation of the data along with network connectivity. Storage of data with very high security and processing happens in a controlled and fully managed data center. Very simply this means you can keep the old simplere PCs longer and there are fewer of them going to the landfills every year. Did you ever wonder how many old PCs are piling up in warehouses, garages, store rooms and offices. While as standalone PCs these have no future due to changes in processing requirements and security systems as "thin clients" they can go back to work very easily and last for a much longer time. This is good. It is also green.

The key to how green cloud services can be is the total focus on effeciency and careful management. The side benefits are reduced costs, improved information processing, reduced staff loads leading to much higher productivity. That makes the bottom line green also.

The Basic Debate on Cloud Computing

2009-02-11T17:12:00.001-10:00

As we at Islanda have launched Islanda Cloud Services for Hawaii it was necessary to come down on one side of the ongoing debate about the definition of cloud computing. While everything in the world of IT seems to be driven by the current buzzword that no one can really define there are times when the buzzword develops from reality rather than fantasy. To me the simplest rule is to determine whether the buzzword is hoping to create some "buzz" about someones' idea for business processing or technology or whether something that was developing for several years but no one knew quite what to call it simply found a name.

Cloud computing is a combination of technologies that have finally found a name after having been proven to deliver greatly improved efficiency and a clear value for delivery of IT services to end users. The technologies that evolved from virtualization follow a standard technology model of attempting to solve a resource problem, poor utilization of hardware technology that also difficult to scale, and end up delivering a conceptual transformation to how you manage Information Technology. It's worked for enterprise IT departments and web services via Google and Amazon and now it is beginning to work for the last great IT frontier; small and medium sized businesses. That has always been my goal and we now have the tools (with a good name) that can do this.

But the real debate about cloud computing now stems from the tendency of IT companies to try to stick the name on everything and gain a competitive edge. Dell, HP and some other large enterprise providers are using the name "cloud" to describe virtualized data centers in the enterprise. There is a good bit of truth to the rants of Larry Ellison and others that cloud computing used in this context is little more than a marketing ploy with no meaning. Those arguments tend to miss the point about this type of technological transformation but they do identify that nothing much is really changing except the technology being used managed the infrastructure.

The other definition, which is the foundation for Islanda Cloud Services, is transformational as it allows a service level delivery of IT resources to a large group of businesses and organizations that don't know what a data center actually is. IBM has come down on this side with their new cloud division. This transformation allows Islanda and other providers on the mainland to begin delivering fully managed and scalable servers and virtual desktops with enterprise level security and policy implementation to offices as small as four or five people with a clumsy shared file system. We will evolve this to on-demand storage and processing power that can make significant economic differences to small entrepreneurial companies just beginning to exploit information based services as well as traditional small businesses who must become fully digitized and flexible enough to survey a major economic meltdown. I think that is the true meaning of "cloud computing" and that is the meaning we will work to expand and make practical for small businesses in Hawaii.

Welcome

2009-01-15T13:29:00.001-10:00

Welcome to CloudNet. If you have wondered about cloud services and what these are really all about, this is the place to see. As Islanda is a cloud service provider both for IT services with virtual servers and workstations and for applications (software as a service) we tend to think about this a lot. You can also use this blog to ask questions or to post ideas on what you would like us or anyone else to do for Cloud Services in Hawaii and the Pacific.

The topics in this blog will cover technology, business, social, political issues and anything else that comes to mind. You can always email me at mike.meyer@islandatech.com or post a message to this blog.