Alliance Cloud Computing Jul 13, 2011 Summer Meeting Kyle Banerjee Digital Services Program Manager
What are Alliance Cloud Services?
Alliance Cloud Services …. Provide you with virtual servers fast Allow you to host experimental and production services Basic setup includes 32 bit linux instance with many common programs Cost is $750 for 6 months, $1200 for 12 months
Advantages Accessible anywhere with network connection Predictable expenses Scalability Maintenance / Reliability Security
Avoid procurement hell Circumvent local IT bottlenecks Start things fast Change them fast when you learn how to do your project better Allocate resources where they’re actually needed Financially stable The real advantages
What has it been used for? Replicate Alliance services Multi-institutional projects Test servers for two Alliance programs and four Alliance institutions
What does it not provide? Installation, configuration, and management assistance for specific software packages Backup/recovery services aside from one time image creation or recovery from images
Reality check All computing is done in real places on real hardware Performance, security, etc accomplished using the same methods You still need a backup and disaster recovery plan Most libraries currently shift significant computing costs to other entities
Some parting thoughts Cloud computing is technology’s answer to the outsourcing debate The main thing the cloud buys you is flexibility Legal, organizational, and accountability challenges
Kyle Banerjee Digital Services Program Manager QUESTIONS? Jul 13, 2011 Summer Meeting