OpenStack Folsom, the sixth release of the open source cloud computing platform, saw a 65 percent increase in contributors, as well as the addition of Networking and Block Storage services, architected in line with the OpenStack philosophy of pluggability and extensibility. While work was underway to establish the new OpenStack Foundation, the thriving community once again delivered the release on-time and with all planned essential features.

OpenStack Folsom automates pools of compute, storage and networking resources, now including emerging Software Defined Networking (SDN) solutions via OpenStack Networking plug-ins, to build private and public cloud infrastructures without vendor lock-in. OpenStack Networking currently includes plug-in support for Open vSwitch, the Ryu open source network operating system, standard Linux bridge networking and commercial solutions from Cisco, Nicira, and NEC, with others in development. Written by more than 330 contributors, the Folsom release features a continued focus on stability and extensibility, while adding considerable new features like Networking, Block Storage and Hyper-V support. The community also made significant progress with localization efforts, introducing a new translation framework for the software, user-facing guides and documentation.

Grazed from PRNewsWire. Author: PR Announcement.

ProfitBricks, the cloud computing Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) provider that has completely reengineered the delivery of cloud computing, announced today a partnership with MassChallenge, the largest-ever startup-accelerator, and the first to support high-impact, early-stage entrepreneurs with no strings attached. ProfitBricks partnered with MassChallenge to support its mission of helping entrepreneurs win by providing state-of-the-art cloud computing solutions.

MassChallenge companies have raised more than $260 million in funding and created 2,150 jobs in the last three years. ProfitBricks, in partnership with MassChallenge, will enable each company to receive new, second generation cloud services including virtual servers with almost double the performance of existing cloud providers, flexible minute-by-minute pricing that facilitates real-time scaling of compute resources, and dramatically more simple cloud deployment and management through a completely new Graphical User Interface, known as the Data Center Designer…

Grazed from GigaOM. Author: Barb Darrow.

There’s nothing like the holiday shopping season to test an e-commerce site’s ability to ramp up and down as needed. RightScale says it can help sites proactively respond to changing loads so they don’t run out of juice and don’t pay for more resources than needed.
rightscale

The beauty of cloud computing is that it can scale up and down as needed. This is particularly helpful for retail businesses, which see huge spikes and valleys in demand during the holidays. Now RightScale says it can help them more proactively manage their cloud resources to meet demand and ramp down resources as demand fades…

Grazed from TechTarget. Author: Caitlin White.

Nobody said life in the cloud was going to be simple. Sure it’s chock full of benefits — high availability, flexibility and potential time and cost savings — but cloud computing brings about a different set of headaches. Whether there are unforeseen money drains, compatibility issues or cloud fatigue in general, cloud administrators and experts are bound to express frustrations with their own IT environments and cloud providers. "I’m a big believer in SaaS solutions, but there’s a lot of stuff under the hood that you’ve got to think about."

Adopting Software as a Service (SaaS) in an enterprise can mean simplified management and cost savings, but at least one IT pro cautions potential customers to peek behind the curtain of benefits and see what’s really back there…

Grazed from ZDNet. Author: Steve Ranger.

Companies are forgetting about their data protection responsibilities when they shift data into the cloud, according to the UK’s privacy watchdog. As cloud computing slowly moves into the mainstream, more and more personal data is being moved out of companies’ own datacentres and into the cloud, which means the data could potentially reside on servers anywhere on the planet.

But the UK has strict rules around how data can be processed, and UK data protection watchdog the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is concerned that many businesses do not realise they remain responsible for how the data is looked after, even after handing it over to a cloud provider. ICO technology policy advisor Dr Simon Rice said the law on outsourcing data is very clear…

Grazed from DataCenter Dynamics. Author: Jason Rabbetts.

Industry analyst Gartner, recently reported that cloud computing is the fastest-growing segment of the IT outsourcing market, with an expected growth of 49% in 2012. Cloud sets the stage for a new approach to IT management that enables individuals and businesses to choose how they’ll acquire or deliver IT services, outside the constraints of traditional software and hardware architecture and licensing models.

There is also an automatic assumption that adopting the Cloud will reduce costs compared to running a traditional IT estate within the business. For some CIOs migrating to the Cloud, however, it can deliver a nasty shock as costs escalate. We call this ` Cloud Cost Creep`…

Grazed from NetworkWorld. Author: Brandon Butler.

Disaster recovery as a service (DRaaS) is a blossoming area of DR and cloud computing. But because it’s in its early days, many customers may not know exactly what to look for when shopping around.

Gartner’s DR expert John Morency has a variety of tips for customers looking for the right questions to ask their provider. Here are some:

What to look for from your provider

-Provider’s standing in the market, its portfolio of services and financial stability.

-Service-Level Agreement: Is it customized or generic?…

Grazed from CloudTweaks. Author: Walter Bailey.

Monitoring and evaluation in cloud computing are essential processes. They determine whether a company’s applications on the cloud are effective, safe, and efficient. They also help eliminate failures in cloud computing’s functions, ensuring that business processes are not negatively affected or vulnerable.

So far, several providers have developed different cloud monitoring tools. In many instances, the intention is to create benchmarks for functions. These tools are also utilized to detect bottlenecks in cloud applications. Even then, whether these monitoring applications deliver the desired results to buyers and businesses remains to be seen…

Grazed from GigaOM. Author: Barb Darrow.

Mimecast, which bills itself as a unified email specialist, has $62 million in new Series C funding from private equity firm Insight Venture Partners. The UK-based company plans to build more applications that tap into customers’ unstructured data and boost its presence in North America.

Mimecast which has built a business around archiving and securing Exchange Server email for law firms and other businesses, now has $62 million in fresh Series C funding to build new applications atop its cloud platform…

Grazed from Readify. Author: PR Announcement.

Cloud computing is a very popular phrase that is used extensively, yet a lot of people struggle to be able to define what it is. According to Gartner:

“Cloud is a style of computing where scalable and elastic IT-related capabilities are provided as a service to external customers using Internet technologies. This is a very deliberate choice of words and can be broken down further by looking at the five attributes of cloud computing as identified by Gartner: http://www.whatech.com.au/technology-releases/windows-8-development/11500-whitepaper-cloud-and-windows-azure-introduction.

For more information about Readify’s Windows 8 Development services, call +61 3 9600 2339 or 1300 666 274 (within Australia) or visit the Web site at http://www.readify.net/