Saturday, December 7, 2013

IBM Develops Cloud-to-Cloud Migration Software

IBM introduced a cloud storage toolkit for dynamically migrating data across multiple clouds.

IBM said its new software employs a "cloud-of-clouds" approach that invokes the resilience of separate clouds to offer stronger protection against service outages and data loss than any single cloud can deliver. Specifically, The toolkit uses an "object storage" interface that permits clients to drag and drop files to be backed up or shared on the cloud(s) of their choice — independent of the vendor. ICStore explicitly addresses space efficiency, data synchronization, and metadata coordination when storing data redundantly on object storage. Once a cloud fails, the back-up cloud immediately responds and ensures data availability — transparently to the user. No synchronization or communication among cloud clients is needed due to the innovative approach that adds redundancy and tolerates failures.

SoftLayer, an IBM Company, is the default storage provider and it provides the robust object-based interface. The combination of the toolkit and SoftLayer enables clients to overcome limits in their cloud storage capacity by dynamically routing to an alternative storage system—such as easily migrating from a remote public-cloud to on-premise private-cloud-optimizing the overall efficiency of data storage management.

"Our cloud-of-clouds invention can help clients avoid service outages and security incidents that impact the reliability and security of individual clouds," said IBM Fellow Evangelos Eleftheriou. "We are adding multiple levels of redundancy and reliability by making cloud migration and backup easier and faster than is currently possible."

http://www.ibm.com/smartcloud
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FM7eaxg6WuQ

Google Brings a New Look to Cloud Platform Icons

In a cosmetic change, Google updated the icons used to represent all of the services in its cloud portfolio.

The update officially retires the "Sharkon" aircraft engine icon that has stood for the Google App Engine.

http://googlecloudplatform.blogspot.com/2013/12/an-ode-to-sharkon.html

SILK-Afghanistan Project Connects to GEANT

The SILK-Afghanistan project, an academic network linking universities in Afghanistan, has recently doubled its longhaul capacity to the pan-European GÉANT network from 75 Mbps to 155 Mbps.  The project is jointly funded by NATO’s Science for Peace and Security Programme and the U.S. Department of State.

The Afghan academic research network has also joined the pan-Asian TEIN research and education networking project and hopes to establish a high-speed network connection to the TEIN network backbone by 2015.

http://www.geant.net/MediaCentreEvents/news/Pages/Virtual_Silk_Road.aspx
http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/topics_53359.htm
http://www.mohe.gov.af/?lang=en