Life in the Cloud is Getting Foggy

Courtesy of cloudtweaks.com

One of the hottest technologies in Information Technology is Cloud computing. Every enterprise is embracing the Cloud movement. However, the cloud is in the ether of digital information, located high in the infrastructure. It is currently the best technology for processing large amounts of data, extending the performance of all levels of servers and providing the base for running analytics on data to mine information. It provides a common reference for all devices and users to access.

 

“The interesting thing about cloud computing is that we’ve redefined cloud computing to include everything that we already do. I can’t think of anything that isn’t cloud computing with all of these announcements. The computer industry is the only industry that is more fashion-driven than women’s fashion. Maybe I’m an idiot, but I have no idea what anyone is talking about. What is it? It’s complete gibberish. It’s insane. When is this idiocy going to stop?” – Larry Ellison, chairman, Oracle

 

But for all of that, it still is up there away from the base of all the action. Whether it’s for an industrial plant, military site or even a consumer’s home, the Cloud is an abstract entity that is useful but detached from real-time, or critical, access. One way to look at the Cloud is that it is accessed via the Wide Area Network (Internet) and not the local area network where the users are located. This access is controlled by the WAN providers and can be slow at times. There are also many instances of downtime in Cloud server infrastructure, either through human error, equipment fault, or hacking. We’ve also seen many instances of unauthorized access to files and data residing on Cloud systems.

 

FOG Computing

There needs to be a feet-attached-to-the-ground method of providing local support for real-time or critical applications. In a technology that likes names and acronyms a term was formed – Fog computing. If the Cloud is way up there then the Fog is the ground-hugging solution. Fog computing provides a method to bring Cloud computing to the edge of the network. This creates a highly virtualized platform that provides compute, storage, and networking services between end devices and traditional cloud computing data centers.

 

Fog platforms are critical for supporting the emerging wave of Internet deployments, which require mobility support, real-time interactions, low latency and high security. Another requirement is to support a very large number of nodes in a highly heterogeneous environment. The environment could be a manufacturing floor, a hospital or a military forward base. Features of a Fog platform are:

 

• The Fog platform supports real-time, actionable analytics, processes, and filters the data, and pushes to the Cloud data that is global in geographical scope and time.
• Data collection and analytics are pulled from access devices and pushed to Cloud
• Data storage for redistribution which is pulled from the Cloud and pulled by downstream devices
• Technologies that facilitate data fusion.
• Analytics relevant for local users such as sensors
• Methodologies, Models and Algorithms to optimize the cost and performance through workload mobility between Fog and Cloud.

 

While Fog conceptually extends Cloud computing and leverages Cloud’s underlying technologies, Fog, by definition, spans wider geographic locations than Cloud, and in a denser way. Also, Fog devices are much more heterogeneous in nature, ranging from end-user devices, access points, to edge routers and switches.

 

Cloud in a Case

An example of a mobile device that can be used as a Fog platform is the Chassis Plans Cloud in a Case system shown below. Providing server class processors, high-performance disk storage, network switches and display, the Chassis Plans system is easy to transport and install in any field site. VMware can provide virtualized workstations accessing common data and programs similar to a traditional WAN Cloud environment. The benefit of a local FOG solution as compared to a remote Cloud server is local data control and no dependence on a potentially fragile data path to the Cloud.

 

FOG Local Cloud Implementation

Life in the Cloud is Getting Foggy

2015 Predictions - Internet Blackout?

Internet of Things – Courtesy of The Connectivist

As it is now late December it doesn’t feel right without providing some early 2015 resolutions (or predictions). Since New Year’s resolutions don’t seem to make past Valentine’s day, lets go with predictions.

 

2014 was a good year for technology. More smartphones and tablets, faster processing power and lower prices for consumer products such as TV’s as well as great deals on internet service. On top of that the economy is ending the year on a high note. Sounds like a good line up for a good upcoming year.

 

There has been a lot of talk about the influence of cloud computing on both enterprise and consumers. More businesses are using the cloud for their business needs by using everything from software as a service (SaaS) and even infrastructure as a service (IaaS). Why buy servers when you can lease a remote data center complete with service that can expand with your business. For the consumer cloud computing has become mainstream as well with Microsoft offering office applications as a service. Apple and other providers offer cloud storage for all of the consumer data from their smartphones, tablets and laptops.

 

The Cloud[/caption]

Even storage companies such as Western Digital and Seagate now offer their external hard drives as a cloud server. Before you could connect a Western Digital external drive to a USB port and backup your computer. Now you connect the cloud server device to your local area network via an Ethernet port and use applications software to store data and backups from all of your connected devices. This is an improvement but it does mean that you have to have a home based local area network that can support both wireless and Ethernet connected devices.

 

The other technology, well maybe not technology but internet application, is the Internet of Things (IoT). With IoT, embedded devices are connected to the internet. Everything from wearables such as fitness monitors to industrial devices will be connected to the internet. Where cloud computing is well defined and being developed and deployed rapidly, IoT is still in development. Work still needs to be done in radio technology to connect embedded devices to the Internet. Today you can use a fitness device to talk to your smartphone using Bluetooth and the smartphone is connected to the internet via cellular radio or a wireless hotspot. In the future you can connect directly to the internet but probably not in 2015 for most devices.

 

But what about the internet itself? With all of the development of devices and applications designed to connect to the internet, is the internet going to have problems supporting all of the activity? This is an issue and one that may make the headlines many times in the upcoming year. Here are a couple of examples of usage that may cause serious internet problems.

 

The first is streaming media over the internet. Streaming video over the internet is already causing problems for the internet providers. As Netflix, Amazon, HBO and others offer video streaming at cheaper rates, the internet service providers (ISP) are getting more complaints from customers about low data rates and connection problems. It has reached the point where ISP’s are demanding the right to charge more for streaming customers. They have a valid point in that whereas Netflix and other content suppliers are providing cheap access to their customers they do not have the burden of supporting the cost of maintaining the internet connection.

 

Most ISP services provide reasonable speed internet access that is fine for web browsing and normal activities but to support high definition streaming where data is flowing at a rate of 2.4 GB/hour at least 25Mb/sec data rate is required. In 2014 streaming was just getting started but over the holiday season Amazon alone sold 10 million new prime memberships and Amazon prime members get free video streaming from the Amazon TV and movie library. That is a lot of new users.

 

Another example is the use of smartphones. The number of smartphones is increasing exponentially and the expectations of the users are getting higher. In the past smartphones were used for taking pictures, texting, email and, yes, even phone calls. Now with the cloud, smartphones are used to share pictures and videos as well as being the main interface device for all of the social media sites. The pressure on the phone companies to provide bandwidth is tremendous. For an active user 10GB/month of data usage is normal. Google says 60% of web searches are from mobile devices (smartphones, tablets, etc.) and is pushing for sites to be responsive (mobile friendly) so they look good on mobile devices.

 

The pressure on the internet in 2015 is going to be tremendous. In some areas of the country it is a struggle to get emails over the internet and it is only going to get worse. One additional item that is interesting is a quote made by Jaishree Subramania, Director, Internet of Things, CISCO – “In roughly 2,000 years of recorded history, humans created 2 Exabytes (two million terabytes) of data. We now generate over 2.5 Exabytes of data every day.”

 

">Fixed Residential Broadband Connections per 1,000 Households

The FCC defined Broadband as 4Mbps down and 1Mbps up and recently proposed to raise that to 25Mbps down and 1Mbps up.  Nationwide, there were about 60 fixed broadband internet connections meething the threshold per every 100 households.  The US is ranked 28th worldwide for broadband access.

 

Is 2015 the year when we start seeing Internet Blackouts? Both Sony and Nintendo suffered severe blackouts of their gaming networks in December due to high traffic due to a combination of hacking and user traffic. As more users enable their new holiday purchased gadgets network issues can only increase.

2015 Predictions - Internet Blackout?

Chassis Plans Awards Winter 2015 Leadership in Engineering Scholarship

Chassis Plans Winter 2014 Leadership in Engineering Scholarship Winner – Grace Bushnell

Chassis Plans is pleased to announce Grace Bushnell won the Winter 2015 Chassis Plans Leadership in Engineering Scholarship.

 

Grace’s outstanding essay is located here.

 

Grace is a second year PhD student in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Michigan. Grace is originally from a small farming town in Northern Illinois. She received her Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering in 2013 and Master of Science in Biomedical Engineering in 2014, both from Northwestern University.

 

Her undergraduate research was focused on endovascular coiling of aneurysms and mussel-inspired biomaterials to serve as surgical adhesives. Her current graduate research is focused on developing biomaterials for the study, detection, and treatment of metastatic cancer.

 

Grace plans to work as a post-doctoral fellow following her PhD and hopes to eventually join academia as a faculty member to both teach and develop a biomaterials research program.

Chassis Plans Awards Winter 2015 Leadership in Engineering Scholarship

Chassis Plans SPAWAR NAVSSI System Barge Test

60 Lbs of HBX-1 explosive 20 feet from test barge[/caption]

MIL-S-901D – the gold standard of shock testing.

See the video at https://www.youtube.com/user/chassisplans.

Chassis Plans’ rugged military grade 4U M4U20 computer system has been successfully tested to MIL-S-901D Grade A for use in the SPAWAR NAVSSI rack. The test requires 4 shots, or explosions, in the water next to a barge in which the equipment is mounted. Thus this is commonly referred to as the Barge Test. The explosives are 60 pounds of HBX-1 placed 24 feet underwater between 20 and 40 feet from the barge.

Two testing grades are available. Grade A is the equipment must still be functional after the 4 shots. Grade B allows for the equipment to no longer function but no parts can fly off that might endanger persons or nearby equipment.

[caption id=”attachment_794″ align=”alignleft” width=”150″> M4U20 Military Grade 4U Computer System

The Chassis Plans M4U20 computer passed the more rigorous Grade A requirement by continuing to function after all 4 shots without any repair or intervention.

The purpose of the test is to simulate Navy ships or submarines being hit with a torpedo, aerial bombardment or hitting a mine. Grade A equipment is necessary for the continued functioning of the ship after such an attack.

It might be noted the M4U system was a standard configuration and was not enhanced in any manner to prepare it for this punishing test.

Chassis Plans continues to support SPAWAR in their efforts to equip America’s war fighters with the most reliable and advanced equipment possible.

See Chassis-Plans.com for additional information.

Chassis Plans SPAWAR NAVSSI System Barge Test

2015 Chassis Plans Calendars are Here

Chassis Plans’ 2015 Industrial Computer Calendar

Announcing the Chassis Plans’ 2015 calendar is here.  These are free to qualified users in the industrial and military computer markets.  Go to www.chassis-plans.com/industrial-computer-calendar.html to request your own copy.

 

This is a beautiful large format 11 x 17-inch work of art that everybody loves.

2015 Chassis Plans Calendars are Here

Big Data: Interesting Facts and Figures

There is a lot of talk in the media about “Big Data.”  Here are some fun facts on the subject:

• It took from the dawn of civilization to the year 2003 for the world to generate 1.8 zettabytes (10 to the 12th gigabytes) of data. In 2011 it took two days on average to generate the same amount of data.


• In the year 2011 there were 12 million RFID tags sold worldwide.  That number is projected to be 209 billion by 2021.


• There are 750 million photos uploaded to Facebook every two days


• 1/3 of all data will be stored in or pass through the cloud by the year 2020 and will amount to 35 zettabytes of combined data


• There are almost as may bits of information in the digital universe as there are stars in our real universe.


• There are over 247 billion e-mail messages sent each day.  Up to 80% of them are spam.


• 48 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute, resulting in 8 years’ worth of digital content each day


• The world’s data doubles every two years


• Oil drilling platforms have 20,000 to 40,000 sensors


• Twitter processes 7 terabytes of data every day


• The number of text messages sent and received every day exceeds the total population of the planet


• Facebook processes 10 terabytes of data every day


• Decoding the human genome took 10 years to process; now it can be accomplished in one week


• 571 new websites are created every minute of the day


• U.S. drone aircraft sent back 24 years with of video footage in 2009


• Google has over 3 million servers processing over 1.7 trillion searches per year in 2011

 

Big Data: Interesting Facts and Figures

Cloud Computing and Big Data - Two Peas in a Pod?

There have been a multitude of blogs and articles about Cloud Computing and Big Data but usually as individual topics. As the use of cloud computing increases, the processing of Big Data becomes more prominent. Why is that?

 

Figure 1
Ruggedized Server Cloud-In-A-Case System

Cloud computing is the latest buzzword for the future of computing. But it is really not a new term. The first acknowledged use of “cloud computing” has been traced to 1996 and Compaq Computer. Their vision was detailed and timely. Not only would all business software move to the web, but what they termed “cloud computing-enabled applications” like consumer file storage would become common (Technology Review 10/11). Of course in 1996 network technology and computer technology was not at the point of being able to implement a lot of the ideas of cloud computing.

 

Fast forward ten years and Amazon.com introduced the Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2), three words that describe expandable computing power located in some other space. In 2006 Amazon released a beta version of EC2 to the public on a first come, first served basis. EC2 went into production in October 2008 when the beta label was removed and EC2 was offered as a supported service by Amazon. Now Amazon cloud and web services are used by not only commercial enterprises but also by government and military users.

 

Said Jeff Bezos at an Amazon shareholder meeting “We’re really focused on what we call infrastructure Web services…Amazon Web Services is focused is on very deep infrastructure. It has the potential to be as big as our retail business. It’s a very large area and right now (and) it’s done in our opinion in a very inefficient way. Whenever something big is done inefficiently that creates an opportunity.”

 

Big data is another term that has a long history. There are several references to the term Big Data but the one that is most referenced is from John Mashey in the mid 1990’s when he was Chief Scientist at Silicon Graphics. An example of his use of the term ‘Big Data’ is available in the public domain from a presentation given at Usenix in 1999 – “Big Data and the Next Wave of Infrastress“.  Mr. Mashey also seems to have developed another word that is appropriate for current times – Infrastress or, Stress on the Infrastructure.

 

The uses of big data are everywhere with such diverse examples as the Library of Congress storing “tweets” for future review and study. As of March 2013 the library has stored 170 billion tweets and was adding 150 million a day. Another example is the military capturing real time video data of an area of interest. One sensor system the military uses is Gorgon Stare – a spherical array of nine cameras attached to an aerial drone. Used as a wide-area surveillance and sensor system Gorgon Stare can generate several terabytes of data per minute. Mounted on a drone with 24 hour loiter capability, the amount of data available is staggering.

 

In order to analyze and present intelligent results to a user, the amount of network bandwidth and computer power would be beyond what is available to the average user. The concept of virtualization has provided a way to integrate the compute part of cloud computing with the storage of massive amounts of data. By locating the compute resource in the cloud, the user is provided with access to a virtual computer that can provide the computing power sized to run the desired application. Chassis Plans wrote an article in COTS Journal about ruggedized virtual access for military applications – “Ruggedized Servers for the Data Centric Military Environment”. In the article, the author describes the type of server needed to access the cloud and big data.

 

Today’s limitation of network access for remote users and limits on local computing resources make the use of the cloud an appropriate technology. By co-locating the data and compute resource in the same area, the best use can be made of the infrastructure and the user can have access to interpreted data on devices such as tablets and smart phones. In other words, without the cloud the use of big data is very limited and without the cloud to store big data data mining applications would not be available. Two peas in a pod.

 

What are the next hurdles? There are several challenges facing users today. The first is developing the applications necessary to process the data. The data is now available, but the algorithms to process the data are not. Beyond the applications the question of security is a major issue. With the latest hacks of both government and private data bases, the issue of encryption and cyber defense are fast becoming strategic to future technology advances and expansion of cloud computing.

 

The big news last week was the hack of Sony Pictures which caused massive damage to their email services and the release of several un-released movies.  Cyber defense is not just a concern for the government and military.

Cloud Computing and Big Data - Two Peas in a Pod?