IT and developers can run into problems when they utilize public cloud offerings, experts warn
So you received word that cloud is now a priority for your organization. The challenge is how do you get your team cloud-ready? “The cloud is changing so rapidly there’s no book you can buy to get up to speed,” says Ross Lambert, software architect and development lead for electricity storage provider Demand Energy Networks.
So you received word that cloud is now a priority for your organization. The challenge is how do you get your team cloud-ready?
“The cloud is changing so rapidly there’s no book you can buy to get up to speed,” says Ross Lambert, software architect and development lead for electricity storage provider Demand Energy Networks.
Lambert faced the problem himself when his company decided to migrate applications to a virtual private cloud. Needing to quickly amass as much knowledge as possible, he signed up for free or low-cost accounts at numerous cloud-based service providers, including Amazon Web Services (AWS).
By subscribing to these services, Lambert was able to page through documentation and access provider road maps. “Getting to that level makes it much easier to compare offerings,” he says.
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Lambert recommends that IT and developers both do due diligence when it comes to the cloud because each has certain responsibilities regarding integration and performance. For instance, everyone should be well versed in networking issues such as routing, and keep latency, security and other issues that cloud amplifies top of mind when programming and building out infrastructure. “There is a tendency to think that virtual servers will act just like in-house physical servers. That’s not the case. You can easily get into a situation where a provider can’t help you make on-site and cloud-based servers communicate properly,” Lambert warns.
Most notably, IT and developers can run into problems when they utilize public cloud offerings. “People think cloud offerings such as Amazon’s are just about storing stuff off-site; that’s one small piece of a giant set of services,” says Jeremy Cioara, a trainer for educational Web site CBT Nuggets.
Cioara, who has more than a dozen industry certifications, has been working to put together a training series (some videos are free, some have a fee) on AWS. The pace of cloud computing already has forced him to update his tutorials several times. His current video instructs users how to build a cloud infrastructure with AWS, a concept that’s not easily captured in print.
“To fully understand AWS, I had to create my own cloud architecture,” he says, and suggests others do likewise. “Traditional ways of learning such as reading a textbook are going by the wayside with cloud.”
The rate of change even has industry association IEEE feeling the pressure. The IEEE is focused on interoperability among global cloud providers. In addition to hosting test bed infrastructure for vendors and providers to use, the IEEE’s Cloud Computing Initiative, which launched in June, features a Web portal, six interdependent activity tracks, conferences, publications and standards development.
“We want to make sure that the environment is open and that enterprises don’t suffer consequences because cloud providers don’t play well with one another,” says Mike Lightner, track leader for the IEEE’s Cloud Computing Initiative. The IEEE is tackling a range of IT issues, including the ramifications of integrating distributed cloud database services and cloud-based Web analytics engines. “We also address cloud security, energy efficiency, uptime, redundancy and flexible provisions,” he says.
At the same time, the IEEE has started to work with universities to create a curriculum around cloud. “We’re pulling together cloud experts and educators to create a flexible framework,” Lightner says. “We know what we create needs to be relevant and fresh.”
A similar goal is on tap for the SANS Institute, which also has beefed up its online and classroom cloud computing resources. The industry group not only posts white papers tackling subjects such as the complexity of the cloud and cloud integration, but also provides cloud-specific security training. The “Cloud Security Fundamentals” course covers the various types of services available, including software as a service and platform as a service, and how IT security professionals can help craft appropriate service-level agreements and policies for them. Students also carry out hands-on exercises such as performing assessments and evaluating audit and monitoring controls. Identity management, disaster recovery, business continuity and encryption are part of the multi-day syllabus.
The SANS “Cloud Security” blog acts as a hub for insider advice. In “10 Things My Mom Didn’t Warn Me About the Cloud,” cloud expert Chris Brenton warns about potential gotchas and discusses how to fix them. For instance, he reveals an issue with exposed servers and provides an easy-to-follow solution. Virtual machine sprawl, liability exemptions in SLAs, and the double-edged sword of cloning are all included in this single entry.
Getting schooled by schools
Academia has been at the forefront of the cloud movement, moving admissions and other critical applications off-site well before other industries. EDUCAUSE, an association that serves K-12 and higher education, has gathered some leading resources for cloud computing.
From interviews with university CIOs to step-by-step directions for prepping your data center, EDUCAUSE features lessons from industry pioneers. Brown University, a 2009 adopter of Google Apps, shares its decision-making process in an EDUCAUSE Webcast. IT can learn firsthand what missteps to avoid and how to course-correct.
Getting and staying on top of cloud computing is not an easy feat, Cioara says. His best advice: Remember that what happened last week could be old news so always be ready to learn something new.
Gittlen is a freelance business and technology journalist in the greater Boston area. Email her at sgittlen@verizon.net.
