Discover OpenStack: The Storm Rocking the Cloud Computing World

If you haven’t heard of OpenStack yet, you undoubtedly will shortly. Managed by the non-profit organization the OpenStack Foundation, OpenStack represents a wild new frontier in cloud computing. Some critics complain about its simplicity, and others cry that it poses too much of a daunting task in building private clouds. Regardless, the entrance of OpenStack onto the cloud computing scene represents a massive undertaking and the exciting potential for streamlining an innumerable amount of complicated and time-consuming processes.

What is Cloud Computing?

In short, cloud computing means storing and accessing both data and programs over the Internet rather than using your computer’s hard drive. The “cloud” term merely refers to the Internet in a symbolic sense, representing old-school presentations of the Internet resembling puffy cumulonimbus clouds. The movement from hard drive storage to cloud storage demonstrates a new era for Internet usability, providing both individuals and businesses the ability to access libraries of information from any Internet portal. Businesses make use of the cloud often through implementing software platforms, such as in instances where a business subscribes to an application it receives access to over the Internet. The Software-as-a-Service, Platform-as-a-Service, and Infrastructure-as-a-Service cloud technologies have revolutionized companies from Salesforce.com to Netflix.

OpenStack’s Role

Here’s where OpenStack comes in. OpenStack has loosely been defined as a set of software tools designed for building and managing cloud computing platforms, both in the public and private sector. The system allows users to deploy virtual “machines” and “instances” that handle different tasks for managing cloud environments, even when on the fly. Horizontal scaling, which offers the ability to connect multiple entities like software to work as a single unit, is made easier with OpenStack. When using efficient horizontal scaling, which is an important factor in dealing with traffic, tasks can serve more or less users more smoothly by creating more instances. This can be a tremendous boon to things like mobile applications communicating with remote servers.

A Free-for-Al

Perhaps, however, the most revolutionary aspect of OpenStack is that it has been made as open source software. This means that anyone who possesses the desire and the means to access the source code of OpenStack may do so freely, as well as make any personal changes or modifications. Changed codes may also be shared back to the community. Open source software has the added natural benefit of receiving changes and work from thousands of developers across the globe, ultimately resulting in a more robust product than perhaps could have been offered by a single company alone.

OpenStack is backed by some of the most prestigious companies in the realm of software development and hosting, along with countless individual community members. Many see OpenStack as a path into the future, opening up an unexplored realm of revolutionary cloud computing. Contact us today to learn more about Cloud Computing in Tacoma WA. Are services areas includes: Tacoma, Fife, Seattle, Bellevue, Kirkland WA.