Grazed from EETimes. Author: Rick Merritt.

IBM is applying technology developed for large server clusters to cloud computing systems. The move is another example of how the company is focusing its efforts on the web datacenters that are the fastest growing slice of today’s server market IBM sees a wide array of applications for its distributed job scheduler, now the basis for a U.S. Patent 8,645,745. It described possible uses including trading, retail, online gaming, and medical research services.

"There are a wide variety of job scheduler techniques to optimize resource usage in a cluster, for example by scheduling jobs in parallel," said Eric Barsness, one of the inventors for the IBM patent. "We flipped that model to have multiple job schedulers running in parallel, each managing a subset of jobs," he wrote in an email exchange…

Grazed from WSJ. Author: PR Announcement.

IBM inventors have developed a method for managing how resources are used and work is done within a cloud by distributing control throughout the interconnected systems, reducing bottlenecks and increasing efficiency. The IBM cloud computing invention, U.S. Patent #8645745: Distributed Job Scheduling In A Multi-Nodal Environment, was originally designed to help manage resources in high performance computing systems used for government and academic research. These systems consist of hundreds or thousands of computing resources that are connected to perform complex tasks where demands for system resources can rise and fall dynamically — similar to the model for cloud computing.

Tracking and prioritizing the many requests for service across these systems, as well as the resources needed to fulfill them — processors, storage, network bandwidth, input-output operations — has typically been performed at one central point, which can cause congestion and slowdowns as demand increases. This invention distributes this function across the various systems in the cloud, each managing the traffic within its own system, but also able to see and borrow resources from other systems to ensure speed and efficiency…

Grazed from Virtual Bridges. Author: Editorial Staff.

You know your business needs to be in the cloud, but how do you do that if you’re not sure what exactly the cloud is? Don’t feel alone! As it turns out, 95% of Americans who say they don’t use the cloud actually do, which speaks to the wide-reaching effects of advancements in cloud computing.

The “cloud” is a broad term whose features have found their way to many of the most popular apps and tools used by personal users and businesses alike. Whether it’s storing and backing up files or communicating and cooperating with users around the globe, the cloud has changed the way we use computers and mobile devices to interact with each other…

Grazed from MarketWatch. Author: PR Announcement.

RiverMeadow Software(TM) Inc., developer of the world’s only automated cloud onboarding and workload mobility platform developed specifically for carrier and service provider clouds, today announced a partnership with Cloud Carib, an offshore cloud service provider based in Nassau, Bahamas, to accelerate offshore cloud migrations. Under terms of the agreement, Cloud Carib will resell the RiverMeadow Cloud Migration Software as a Service (SaaS) to its customers, and the companies will work together to offer programs that will help accelerate customer cloud adoption initiatives.

"Through this strategic global partnership with RiverMeadow, we’re able to offer our customers a low risk migration path to cloud, whether it is private, public or hybrid," said Stelios Xeroudakis, Director at Cloud Carib. "Integrating RiverMeadow into Cloud Carib’s cloud platform allows us to remove the traditional business and technical friction points associated with migrating workloads to the cloud so our customers can confidently move forward with their corporate cloud initiatives."…

Grazed from MarketWatch. Author: PR Announcement.

Compuware Corporation, the technology performance company delivering a new generation of application performance management (APM), today announced the findings of a global survey of 740 senior IT professionals’ concerns about cloud computing adoption. Download the complete survey report here.

The study, which was conducted by independent research and consulting firm Research In Action , found that the majority of IT professionals (79%) believe that typical service level agreements (SLAs) built around availability are too simplistic and fail to address the risks of moving and managing applications into the cloud. Additionally, 63% of respondents indicated there is a need for more meaningful and granular SLA metrics that are geared towards ensuring the continuous delivery of a high quality end-user experience. When asked which metrics they would most like to see as part of their SLAs with cloud service providers, the top three responses were:…

Grazed TalkinCloud. Author: Chris Talbot.

Late last week, we reported on supposed security flaws found on Amazon Web Services (AWS), HP Public Cloud and GoGrid. The report regarding outdated Microsoft Windows Server deployments surfaced because of a blog posted by security firm Bkav. Now Amazon has come out to dispute the blog’s findings, with its public relations team calling elements of the blog "misleading."

A note to Talkin’ Cloud mentioned Amazon’s (AMZN) shared security responsibility model with customers. According to Amazon, once a customer launches an EC2 instance using Amazon Machine Instance (AMI), the customer is responsible for managing the updates, including updates issued after the build or revision that was specific to that AMI. The AMI in question that put Bkav on the alert was a Windows Server 2003 AMI from 2010, the email noted…

Grazed from TechWire. Author: PR Announcement.

Raleigh-based Red Hat is making another move to embrace cloud computing – in particular OpenStack – by acquiring Inktank Ceph Enterprise in a deal worth $175 million. Red Hat (NYSE: RHT) is paying cash for the company. The deal was announced early Wednesday.

"We’re thrilled to welcome Inktank to the Red Hat family," said Brian Stevens, chief technology officer at Red Hat, in the deal announcement, "They have built an incredibly vibrant community that will continue to be nurtured as we work together to make open the de facto choice for software-defined storage. Inktank has done a brilliant job assembling a strong ecosystem around Ceph and we look forward to expanding on this success together. The strength of these world-class open storage technologies will offer compelling capability as customers move to software-based scale-out storage systems."…

Grazed from Equinix. Author: PR Announcement.

Equinix, Inc., the global interconnection and data center company, today announced the launch of the Equinix Cloud Exchange, an advanced interconnection solution that enables seamless, on-demand and direct access to multiple clouds and multiple networks across the globe. By bringing together cloud service providers with cloud consumers and enabling them to establish private, high-performance connections, the Equinix Cloud Exchange gives enterprises direct access to the services they need to build sophisticated hybrid cloud solutions inside Equinix International Business Exchange (IBX®) data centers.

Until now, companies concerned about relying on the open Internet for mission-critical business did not have a secure, reliable and scalable connectivity solution for a multi-cloud environment. By eliminating the bottlenecks associated with traditional cloud access across the public Internet, the Equinix Cloud Exchange provides a secure path for businesses to access cloud resources at much higher throughput. In fact, tests run in the Equinix Solution Validation Center showed increased throughput of 147 percent when connecting directly to the cloud as compared to public Internet connections…

Grazed from Recode.net. Author: Arik Hesseldahl.

Computing giant Hewlett-Packard and Foxconn, one of the world’s biggest manufacturers of computers and other electronics, will today announce a joint venture to manufacture a new line of servers aimed at filling the data centers of cloud computing companies like Google, Amazon, Facebook and others.

In what the companies are describing as a “strategic commercial agreement,” the two say they will build a new line of servers intended for the data centers of large Internet companies, a segment of the market often referred to as the hyperscale business. It’s a portion of the server market that the research firm IDC reckons will grow at a compound annual rate of 15 to 20 percent between now and 2018…

Grazed from MidsizeInsider. Author: Rick Robinson.

Web users are an impatient lot. They expect speed — as in quick responsiveness — from applications; they also expect the latest applications to be developed and delivered to them quickly. Because users demand speed, Web developers are concentrating on delivering it for them.

One result of this demand is a growing emphasis on "front-end ops," an approach to application development and testing that concentrates on the client side rather than just on the server side. The shift in focus to the client side is being boosted by a new generation of testing and development tools. The shift also embodies the maturation of a cloud-centric approach that is reshaping the IT universe in general and midsize IT in particular…