Cloud Computing
Imagem do How Staff Works
Essa semana circulou o “open cloud manifesto” buscando garantir padres abertos para o que se vem chamando da nova era da informao, a da computao distribuda ou “nas nuvens”. A computao nas nuvens uma soluo para empresas de TI compratilharem infraestrutura e proporem programas que podem ser rodados de qualquer computador sem a necessidade de baix-los. A IBM e o Google foram as primeiras a adotar essa nova forma de condomnio. As ferramentas como Gmail, Google Docs, Agenda, do Google, so exemplos de computao nas nuvens. No Brasil as primeiras experincias datam de 2007.
O termo meio complicado mas refere-se possibilidade de acessar informao “nas nvens de dados”, sem ter a necessidade de instalar programas nos clientes. Outro objetivo fazer com que empresas possam compartilhar infraestrutura, hardware e software. Vejam uma definio menos complexa no How Stuff Works:
“(…) Instead of installing a suite of software for each computer, you’d only have to load one application. That application would allow workers to log into a Web-based service which hosts all the programs the user would need for his or her job. Remote machines owned by another company would run everything from e-mail to word processing to complex data analysis programs. It’s called cloud computing, and it could change the entire computer industry.
Although cloud computing is an emerging field of computer science, the idea has been around for a few years. It’s called cloud computing because the data and applications exist on a “cloud” of Web servers.
In a cloud computing system, there’s a significant workload shift. Local computers no longer have to do all the heavy lifting when it comes to running applications. The network of computers that make up the cloud handles them instead. Hardware and software demands on the user’s side decrease. The only thing the user’s computer needs to be able to run is the cloud computing system’s interface software, which can be as simple as a Web browser, and the cloud’s network takes care of the rest.”
Dessa centralizao de infraestrutura, hardware e software problemas emergem: Deslocalizao da fora produtiva, disperso de padres, segurana… Post do Trezentos de Eduardo Marcel Maan alerta para algumas dessas questes:
“(…) Para os meros mortais que sobrevivem utilizando a tecnologia para suportar os processos e estratgias de negcios no mundo corporativo ‘a nuvem’ comea a se desenhar como sinal de desgraa iminente. Se toda a infraestrutura de negcios vier a estar ‘na nuvem” (o que quer que isso seja) o trabalho dos que operam esta infraestrutura se tornar desnecessrio, a no ser claro que voc trabalhe para algum que fornea ‘a nuvem’.
(…) Existem muitos fornecedores de infraestrutura e servios de internet diferentes que so comumente chamados de ‘computao em nuvem’, mas cada um com o seu prprio padro e seus prprios servios. Ao escolher hoje o seu fornecedor de servios ‘na nuvem’ um dirigente de TI no estar automaticamente economizando milhares de dinheiros. Estar incorrendo em um projeto de converso de sistemas que o ir amarrar ao fornecedor de servios para sempre, ou at que seja necessrio mudar para outro provedor de servios, quando uma nova converso e gastos se faro necessrios.
(…) Precisamos de um sistema de computao em nuvem aberto e livremente acessvel a desenvolvedores do mundo todo. O projeto hadoop da apache foundation hoje o melhor e mais provado sistema para infraestrutura de servios distribudos LIVRE que temos.
Devamos nos unir para criar tal infraestrutura distribuda nem que cada indivduo provesse em sua casa um n de um grande grid de computadores ligados internet em seus ADSLs domsticos. Precisamos popularizar o entendimento do conceito e criar o conhecimento necessrio para o uso efetivo destas tecnologias.”
O Open Cloud Manifest tambm prega a distribuio livre.
Definio:
“The key characteristics of the cloud are the ability to scale and provision computing
power dynamically in a cost efficient way and the ability of the consumer (end user,
organization or IT staff) to make the most of that power without having to manage the
underlying complexity of the technology. The cloud architecture itself can be private
(hosted within an organizations ?rewall) or public (hosted on the Internet).”
Princpios:
“1. Cloud providers must work together to ensure that the challenges to
cloud adoption (security, integration, portability, interoperability,
governance/management, metering/monitoring) are addressed through
open collaboration and the appropriate use of standards.
2. Cloud providers must not use their market position to lock customers
into their particular platforms and limit their choice of providers.
3. Cloud providers must use and adopt existing standards wherever
appropriate. The IT industry has invested heavily in existing standards
and standards organizations; there is no need to duplicate or reinvent
them.
4. When new standards (or adjustments to existing standards) are needed,
we must be judicious and pragmatic to avoid creating too many
standards. We must ensure that standards promote innovation and do
not inhibit it.
5. Any community effort around the open cloud should be driven by
customer needs, not merely the technical needs of cloud providers, and
should be tested or veri?ed against real customer requirements.
6. Cloud computing standards organizations, advocacy groups, and
communities should work together and stay coordinated, making sure
that efforts do not con?ict or overlap.”