Stacy's Tech Blog

Steve Foskett recently blogged in reference to Zend and an initiative they took to provide a universal (or at least more uniform) interface for developers. In this blog (and another related blog), he talks about standardization of Cloud Computing as an effort that is not needed yet.

I happen to agree with this, with a slight exception. You can read the Steve’s full blog here:

This got me thinking about cloud computing. I’ve been asked a few times what cloud computing is and it’s always a tricky question to answer. The definition of a “cloud” really depends on your perspective. The farther away from “technical” you get, the broader the definition could become. How?

An end user 10 years ago running a word processing program to type and print a letter is just as abstracted from the operating system, microcomputer hardware (IBM PS/2, Apple, NeXT, etc), printer communication (LPT, Serial or Ethernet) as they are today while using that application. They are NOT abstracted from the application, just the mechanisms used to accomplish a task. It’s no different than me connecting to WordPress, typing up a blog and publishing it.

In this example, the users (and me, publishing this blog) simply do not know (or likely care) about the “how” of it all. Just that the layers below are working and the job can get completed.

This equals cloud. Maybe not macro-cloud computing or even what people are saying today about cloud computing, but certainly micro-cloud computing.

Said another way, a cloud can be a collection of server, storage, networking, application and communication technologies (not necessarily in that order) all coming together to provide a service (or application). The service, as in the OSI model, needs to be aware of the layers directly above and below only. Admittedly, there may be examples to prove me wrong, but I doubt it, since I’m talking about Layer 8, the consumer of the service. So if the service is at Layer 7/8 (product/consumer), then every other layer is “cloud” as far as Layer 8 is concerned. Perspective.

One may even construe client/server (i.e., Windows 95/Windows NT 3.51, etc) solutions as a cloud, simply because the mechanism that is used to deliver a tool, application or service to the user is generally “unknown” to that user. Mac or PC, ethernet or WiFi, Linux server or Windows server. The user doesn’t know, nor likely do they care WHAT it is, just that it IS.

This can be even more granular if you look at adding abstraction within each of the OSI Layers and THAT can be quite a mind numbing exercise, though ultimately still classified as part of that layer.

Standards are needed between layers only. As long as that happens, innovation along any given “cloud” method may continue, though methods of providing the lower layers will diverge.

So, philosophically speaking, we’ve been “cloud computing” since the before the inception of microcomputing as we know it. And standards do exist for this.

About 15 years ago, I worked for a company called DATASTORM Technologies. You may remember them, they were the manufacturers of the software PROCOMM and PROCOMM Plus. This was back when the Internet had been around for quite a while, and was really beginning to take hold for home and business users. Communication via the public Internet was BOOMING.

At the time, dial-up was king, with a smattering of ISDN connections to your home, depending upon availability. This was quite a time. Bulletin Board Systems (BBS) with modem banks were on the way out and small web companies were on the way in and it was the beginning of the DOT COM boom. I often wondered, while I was writing custom ASPECT scripts for dial-up and custom modem strings for “odd ball” modems, what would be the future of broadband.

At that time, cable internet access, was just getting started. I’m not sure if it was the first, but the company (the name escapes me) I first heard about was in East Lansing, MI and had started a pilot on their first broadband (via cable) offering. It made sense to me, who had been working with asynchronous serial communications for a number of years, to capitalize on the comparitively monumental amount of bandwidth available through coax/cable. Of course, there was the bi-directional technical challenge since most cable companies were doing broadcast-only and the hardware to allow return communications from your house was just not present at the POPs around the country.

Well, we all know now that this problem was overcome in most places and copper has been replaced with fiber in many areas.

I predicted then that there would be a convergence of technologies (phone, internet and cable TV) to the broadband provider. Sure enough, that’s a common offering nowadays. So what now? Where do we go from here?

Well, quickly along the heals of combined services on a single wire came WebTV. And now, in some areas, you can have fiber at your house (Verizon FiOS is one that I know of since my dad has it). This is essentially a MetroEthernet connection to your home. Wow. This allows for recording HD movies on a box provided by your broadband provider and then subsequently streaming that across a LAN connection to other TVs in your home. Very cool stuff.

And the next big thing? Well, Server Virtualization, workload hosting and VDI have been gaining momentum over the last few years, so it’s my opinion that Cloud Computing will eventually be offered by your Internet provider.

That’s right. You will soon be able to get a hosted and managed VDI offering from your cable company. Bye bye WebTV. Hello, VDI.

Small businesses who cannot afford a server-class system to run their applications will be able to get the computing power directly from their provider. Internet connectivity, VoIP solutions and server workload hosting all-in-one just like we currently get Cable TV, Phone Service and Internet All-In-One.

Home users, who cannot afford to buy a PC, can get a VDI solution from the cable company. They’ll rent an endpoint device, much like they pay a monthly fee for equipment now.

Large businesses, who likely host their infrastructure in a datacenter, will be able to get their server workloads hosted on their providers “cloud”.

Cloud computing for the masses. Very exciting.

And broadband companies who currently provide a “box” for television viewing will now be able to better leverage that “box” for other things, like delivering applications, hosting VDI images and other home and business uses that are too numerous (and constantly growing) to list here.

The need for personal computers will not likely go away anytime soon. But as the technological challenges are met and exceeded, this type of service delivery will begin to be the norm rather than the excpetion.

So watch out, everyone. Cloud computing and VDI is coming to a living room near you!

As a consultant, I’ve spent a lot of time analyzing and assessing technology infrastructures.  Usually this is a site readiness assessment for a specific technology or service implementation, but sometimes it’s a request by an executive team to provide a report card on staff or infrastructure to ensure that they are getting the best “bang for their buck”.

I have noticed a few things along the way.

One is that many businesses have quite a variety of hardware and software technologies in place and it appears, at first glance, to be a complete hodgepodge of barely integrated technologies that supposedly support a specific task for the business.  I call this phenomenon “Ad Hoc Networking”.  And most organizations have such a network.

In fact, I’ve frequently left a client site asking how much time, effort and money is spent managing such a network? 

Managing a network is much like owning a garage.  It’s intended purpose is to provide a place to park your car.  But often, you begin to store things like gardening equipment, holiday decorations, etc.  After a while, it becomes more difficult to open the car door and if left unchecked, you eventually find yourself parking in the driveway because it’s just easier to get in and out of your car.  You then spend a great deal of time searching for something that you know you stored in the garage, but can’t seem to find.  Sound familiar?

I also hear many of my peers tell stories of such networks also, complaining and making fun of the client.  In some cases, the neatness of the network’s physical components (or lack thereof) offends aesthetic sensibilities since many IT guys are borderline obsessive/compulsive when it comes to that.  I happen to agree with some of these since a neat network is easier to troubleshoot.  But not the point of losing sight of the big picture.

What causes this phenomenon?

Not a simple answer for that one.  One could blame the hardware and software manufacturers’ penchant for insisting that you upgrade your systems that you just installed 8 months ago to the latest version.

One could blame a “technology happy” IT Manager, who likes to play with the latest and greatest technologies, regardless of the lack of necessity for the business.  They just want it because it’s cool.

One could also blame the sales guy who comes calling, touting the plethora of benefits that come from buying a solution or technology from them.

But ultimately, the business owner must take responsibility and realize that purchasing the latest and greatest technology is not always the best for the business, no matter what the sales guy, IT guy or manufacturer says.

As a business owner, how do you mitigate against “Ad Hoc Networking”?

When trying to prevent “sprawl” and ensure that your business maximizes any investment in technology, it’s best to ensure that you’re as educated as possible.  If you’re not technical, then make sure you have a technical advisor that you trust along for the ride.

What will follow is a series of posts to help a business owner make better decisions when deciding to invest in IT.  Hopefully, this will help you be a better consumer for your business.

What really turns me off is the “Your product <insert product weakness here>, therefore, my product is better” arguments that you can readily see leading up to, during and after any big technology event (Synergy, VMworld, TechEd, etc.).  I’m a technologist.  Have been most of my career.  But do I try to shove my opinion about my products or services down your throat by flogging the other guy?  No.

That type of behavior is high school crap.  You don’t have anything good to say about yourself, so you say something bad about somebody else to make you appear superior.  Remember that?  Remember what a jackass you made of yourself by doing that?

I’ve listened to self-proclaimed technology evangelists do this time and time again.

All of that being said, I’ve been around long enough to know that a.) perception sometimes becomes reality; b.) that negative marketing campaigns can have a huge impact on a company’s bottom line in terms of newly generated revenue and c.) that politicians deploy these very tactics to get people elected to public office, go to war, etc.

Now just because I know that’s the playing field, doesn’t mean I have to like it.  Or even tolerate it.  I believe in fair play.  I believe that if you have a good product, then it speaks for itself and doesn’t need you bashing the competition.  I believe that karma and kismet are powerful forces, what goes around, comes around and that you reap what you sow.

When I started contemplating the possibility of using a blog format to disseminate information, I almost used the term “Technology Evangelist”.  But I couldn’t, in good conscience, do so.  Evangelism has some very negative connotations, to me, with sometimes unpalatable religious overtones.  It implies narrowness of thought and an unwillingness to accept other viewpoints because they differ from your own.  “You’re going to hell because you don’t believe the way I do” kind of thing. (Growing up in the South, you hear that one a LOT)

Evangelism can mean a strong, fervent belief in some product, religion or company also.  But sometimes, the message gets lost in the delivery.  Not always, but sometimes.

For those of you out there who label yourself as such, give it some thought.  And if you still want to call yourself an evangelist of some kind, then more power to you.  But be mindful of the negative impact you could have on your message.  For those of you who are still functioning like you’re in high school…grow up.

And that’s the beauty of our society.  Just because I don’t like what your sellin’ doesn’t mean you don’t have the right to try and sell it.

Just a few things.

I have yet to take this particular format to expound on my views on various topics that interest me.  However, I do enjoy writing and I do enjoy technology, so why not?

While I’m a new blogger, I’m not new to IT and I’m certainly not new to expressing my opinions, both professionally and personally, on technology and such.  Ask any of my friends, colleagues and former students.  Hopefully, what I have to say will be of interest to you and perhaps even useful.

I’ve written several white papers, case studies, training manuals and such, so hopefully, my style will be somewhat readable and not ramble on (like I’m doing now), but if not, please feel free to comment, correct or otherwise “chime in”.

Profanity, blatant personal attacks and the like will NOT be tolerated.  While I will not be strict moderator and will publish honestly, I will not permit rude behavior.

So…

• Why virtualize?
• What good will cloud computing do for my business? (and, by the way, what is cloud computing?)
• Convergence of storage fabrics…really?
• Technology guidelines for business owners.

These are some of the topics I will address. I will also be sharing my past, current and future technical endeavors in the hopes that a problem I run into and resolve may help someone else.

In the meantime, expect more soon…