nasa distance learning network
nasa distance learning network
How OpenStack Should Solve Cloud Computing Concerns
What is cloud computing? It mostly sounds like a buzzword used to convince CEOs who don’t know much about the IT department to sign up for expensive web hosted server space. Well, it might have been exploited like that, but cloud computing is really based on the concept of making it easier to work and easier than ever for users to take their data with them.
Cloud computing evolved from the ideals behind Web 2.0. Web 2.0 strives to use the Internet to create an open collaborative space where the whole of humanity shares information and solves problems. Web 2.0 moves applications to servers and off individual machines. Social networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, and productivity tools sites like Google Apps are prime examples of Web 2.0 at work.
Google Apps is also cloud computing. The ability to store documents, access a calendar, and collaborate in real time on a machine that is not localized is the heart of cloud computing. For professionals, cloud computing also means always having access to files and not having to waste time moving documents, emails, and calendar tasks between machines (such as from a desktop work station to a laptop computer).
There are many paid services that provide employers with secure cloud computing systems. For the most part, these services have been the best way to move data and collaboration into the cloud, thus making it more mobile, while still ensuring security of company documents and personal information. But these paid services go against much of what Web 2.0 – the mother of cloud computing, if you will – is all about. By using paid services, companies become locked in. It is not always easy to migrate data from one cloud computing service to another.
Enter OpenStack cloud software. OpenStack is open source software that can be deployed on an individual’s or organization’s own server(s) to create a computing cloud that is secure and dedicated to that organization or person.
OpenStack is supported by industry giants, including NASA, Citrix, Dell, Cloud.com, Intel, and others. Because it is open source, OpenStack embodies the free movement and user control of data that Web 2.0 is founded on. OpenStack combats concerns over proprietary behavior in the world of cloud hosting. It also works to foster standards for cloud computing practices.
OpenStack is likely to become a favorite among educators, small businesses, and e-learning providers. It is free and easy to setup. For e-learning professionals who have been considering moving into the cloud but had concerns about security of documents and the ability to control data, OpenStack offers a way to get into the cloud without dedicating a lot of resources.
About the Author
About SilkWeb Consulting & Development LLC:
Based in Phoenix, AZ SilkWeb is an eLearning content provider of compliance, management, and soft skills courses. SilkWeb creates both off-the-shelf and custom eLearning courses for a variety of clients in the fields of higher education, health care, business, government, automotive, and non-profits. For more information on SilkWeb Consulting & Development LLC’s courses visit http://www.silkwebconsulting.com.
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