CloudCamp's Reuven Cohen Discusses Virtualization and Cloud Computing

Posted by Scott Delap on Jul 28, 2008

Sections

Architecture & Design,

Development,

Operations & Infrastructure

Topics

Cloud Computing ,

Java ,

Virtualization ,

Architecture

Tags

EC2

InfoQ recently sat down with CloudCamp founder Reuven Cohen to discuss cloud computing.  CloudCamp was formed in order to provide a common ground for the introduction and advancement of cloud computing.  A number of successful events have already been held with more in the planning stages for this fall.

Why did you decide to found CloudCamp?

As someone who's been involved in cloud computing for over 4 years, I am always asked the same question. What is Cloud Computing? Simply put, CloudCamp was formed in order to provide a common ground for the introduction and advancement of cloud computing. You can get a brief history of my involvement in cloud computing here.

What does the average developer not know about cloud computing that they should?

I've blogged on this a couple of times recently. Cloud computing is one of those catch all buzz words that tries to encompass a variety of aspects ranging from deployment, load balancing, provisioning, business model and architecture (like Web2.0). It's the next logical step in software (software 10.0). For me the simplest explanation for cloud computing is describing it as, "internet centric software".

In a nutshell how would you compare cloud computing to virtualization? Is one a subset of another in your mind? Is one an enabler of another? etc. The industry is still attempting to come up with a classification system that everyone agrees with.

Generally my answer has been they are an ideal match. For the most part virtualization has been about doing more with less (consolidation). VMware in particular positioned their products and pricing in a way that encourages you to use the least amount of servers possible. In comparison the interesting thing about cloud computing is it's about doing more with more.

A lot of people think Amazon when they think cloud computing, what are some other enterprise level services that companies should be considering?

Some of the top cloud offerings I see include Mosso, Flexiscale, GoGrid, Coghead, Salesforce, Google App engine. I think that companies like Akamai have the most lose if they don't hurry up and get their cloud together. With the roll out of regional cloud offerings edge based CDN will no longer required. Anyone with a credit card will be able to setup a global infrastructure.

How would you like to see cloud computing/change evolve in the next 12-18 months. Basically, what isn't happening/available now that needs to be?

My question is simple; are we moving toward a future where the desktop is nothing more then a local cache? Or will we soon reach a point where technologies like Wi-max, 3G and wifi make the internet a ubiquitous part of our everyday life where local storage isn't needed at all?

The second need is for some kind of basic cloud standards. Over the last few weeks there has been a great discussion on our Cloud computing group. The discussions have been on how to define Cloud Economies and Standards. As the conversations have progressed it has become clear that there is a need for a "standard unit of measurement" for cloud computing similar to that of the International System of Units or better known as the metric system. This unit of cloud capacity is needed in order to ensure a level playing field as the demand and use of cloud computing becomes commoditized.

• Older >