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How to create a realistic enterprise strategy for cloud computing

Cloud computing has commoditized IT infrastructure and allows companies of all sizes to be more agile and cost efficient, but heed this caution — it isn’t for everything.

In developing their strategy for cloud computing, enterprises need to keep in mind that there are applications that are terrible candidates for cloud, just as there are systems that lend themselves to the cloud. In any case, it’s worthwhile to take a look at what has value that public cloud services can bring to the enterprise, said David Linthicum, senior vice president at Cloud Technology Partners, during his Rethinking Enterprise Computing presentation at the Modern Infrastructure Decisions conference here this week.

"If you understand that this is just a platform change, it’s not so scary," he said. "We have all moved to new technology … with cloud; we are just using things we don’t own that sit on the open Internet."

In some cases, that is certainly a nerve-wracking proposition. But it makes sense in others. For example, retailers that need to scale up or down quickly or expand storage at low cost find the cloud to be a good option and should develop a strategy for cloud computing.

Many businesses use public cloud to extend their data center in that way; they add capacity or use the cloud as a backup data center, said Kris Bliesner, CEO of 2ndWatch, a Seattle-based Amazon Web Services integrator. "It can be a lot cheaper to store your archives in a cloud," he said. "[Cost] can get down to a penny a gig, which is much cheaper than tape."

Cloud has also become a good place for DevOps around the use of Platform as a Service. Also, large and highly expandable data systems work in the cloud, and cloud services make sense for new or small businesses, Linthicum said. "Most of Amazon’s business comes from small businesses," he said. "The $2 billion they made is all mom-and-pop shops that can’t afford their own IT."

Also, many companies use Software as a Service (SaaS) versions of enterprise apps, or their strategy for cloud computing is to use the cloud for high-performance computing on demand or Office automation apps, such as Office 365. Part of the appeal of SaaS is access to the latest software versions. "Being on O365 or a SaaS solution like that frees you up from the upgrade challenges," Bliesner said.

What not to put into the cloud
On the flip side, most legacy systems are poor cloud candidates, in part because they are tough to migrate to a public cloud. Systems that require a high degree of security or require a lot of regulatory control don’t belong in the cloud, either. "We use the cloud only for apps that we don’t have to worry about, security wise," said Ashish Patel, head of storage infrastructure for a financial asset management firm on the East Coast. "Things that are already public knowledge, we put in the cloud."

However, the fears around using cloud based systems typically are inaccurate, according to Linthicum. "If you think correctly about security in the cloud, it will probably be as secure as your on-premises systems," he said. "Just don’t do stupid things."

Enterprises with substandard network infrastructure shouldn’t move to the cloud either. In fact, in many cases, a move to the cloud would require a network infrastructure upgrade, Linthicum said. Very few people at the session, which had more than 100 attendees, indicated by a show of hands that they believe their network is ready for the cloud.

Also, companies shouldn’t put things into the public cloud that need to be tightly integrated with local systems and data.

And since the public cloud is a good way to circumvent infrastructure upgrade costs, enterprises that have recently made significant investments in hardware and software shouldn’t move to the cloud, Linthicum said. "If you have just made big investments, you have just eliminated the economic viability of the cloud," he said.

Building a strategy for cloud computing
Companies that want to begin their move to the cloud should put together an actionable, funded plan that includes realistic benefits and a five-year roadmap. "It is a long-term systemic change that requires support from the top," Linthicum said.

Everyone has their own approach, but there are some general guidelines. A cloud migration plan starts with understanding your business, your users and your technology. Then define your objectives while keeping security, governance and performance in mind, Linthicum said.

While many companies look to cloud as a way to reduce costs, the operational return on investment isn’t important; most of the money with cloud is made around the business agility it affords. "Business agility is the reason to leverage this technology," Linthicum said.

Source: http://searchcloudcomputing.techtarget.com/news/2240181341/How-to-create-a-realistic-enterprise-strategy-for-cloud-computing

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Android or Iphone – Which is Ruling the Mobile Application Development Market?

Android or iPhone

‘Which platform do I want to target?’ ‘Should I build something new on the iOS or Android operating system?’ – Any developer who is into developing mobile applications should first answer these questions prior to making any move. Though iPhones made a big hit on the market a few years ago, today Android powered phones are essentially paving way for the mobile phone developers. To be honest, in some way these android phones are overtaking the iPhones and are provoking a new sort of trend in the smartphone industry. However, when it comes to brand and classiness, nothing to could ever compete with iPhone.

First of all, you need to know about the differences between iPhone and Android. iPhone is a phone from Apple, whereas Android is a Google operating system that powers different number of phones. Iphone is based on the iOS operating system and android devices are based on the Android operating system. Let us discuss in detail on the several aspects involved in building an app for the android and iphone, and which one is better.

Present Market Share of Android and iPhone

A recent ComScore survey reports that around 33% of overall mobile phones in today’s market are Android devices. As Google Android powers a lot of different phones, it is quite difficult to calculate exactly how many phones were sold. The same ComScore survey also reported that iPhone shares only 25.2% of the market, which is almost 5% lesser than that of Android. However, considering iPhone as a one-man show (while Android is a home for a number of smartphones), the number is quite promising. It seems that Google Android phones command a larger share of market and are growing at a faster rate. All these factors symbolize that android is the apt platform for mobile application development. However, there are also few iphone application development services outsmarting the industry with professional apps.

Who Downloads More Apps – Android Or Iphone Users?

Android has relatively more users when compared to that of iphone. But according to Wikipedia, there are over 350, 000 apps available in the Apple App Store and more than 10 billion downloads have been hit so far in the app market. Androlib, which tracks the live count of Android App downloads has recently found out that there have been almost 5 billion android app downloads till date. So, iPhone users have downloaded more times than that of androids. But the same way, Android users vs iPhone users download almost the exact same number of apps on an average. Only the download rate is higher with iPhone.

Which Is The Biggest App Store Market?

As we see, iPhone apps have had more number of downloads and android apps are still on the way to catch up the count. However, it is quite important to see that which platform makes more money with app downloads. Most of the reports taken from 2010 to 2012 states that Apple App Store is the apparent winner in making revenue. The Google android market has not yet come closer to Apple in this area. In 2010, the Apple App Store brought almost $1.8 billion in revenue when it was just $102 million in the Google Android market. Another report released by IHS Screen Digest in 2011 and 2012 conveys that Apple App Store stands first in download rates and therewith the revenue brought in. Though Google Android is all on its fledge with growth rates increasing year by year, it is in no way near to the revenue made by Apple. One probable reason for this may be custom android application development. Most of the phones running on Androids differ each other and apps will work differently on each of them. This can be the major reason for why Android app market is less centralized.

Bottom Line

On an overall, both iPhone and Android apps are great markets which experience a constant higher growth potential. When it comes to app store, with no doubt Apple App Store takes away the score. The brand is huge and has already made up a great name in mobile application development. Of course, Android is also succeeding in all ways but the only concern with android app development is, you got to focus on an android device while developing an app. It is impossible to make an app work on all android devices. But, an iPhone app can be most probably used with all versions or even upgraded at any time needed. To my view, iPhone App development is a loyal industry to rely on, when compared to that of android.

Source: http://blog.contus.com/android-or-iphone-which-is-ruling-the-mobile-application-development-market/

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Mobile cloud computing-The nitty-gritty of it

mobile-cloud-computing-the-nitty-gritty-of-it

Instead of developing mobile apps for the rigid platform, Cloud computing has made developing applications much flexible. Cloud computing encompasses on demand availability of the storage, software and processing power. It is embedded with device independence, reliability, ease in access, security and least required maintenance. Cloud computing services have become easy to reach for all enterprises that deliver compatible and resilient services to employees and customers with enhanced business agility.

Bringing the cloud computing services to the mobile environment is termed as Mobile cloud computing. It consolidates the elements of cloud computing and mobile networks, providing excellent services to mobile users. In mobile cloud computing, powerful mobile configuration is not much required since all the entangled and complicated computing modules are processed in the cloud itself.

It is the amalgamation between cloud computing and mobile network offering optimal applicability for mobile users. Rather than keeping on individual devices when data is kept on internet, cloud computing exists there providing on demand access.

Security aspect of Mobile cloud computing

One of the key issues that most of the cloud providers are considering is securing user protection and integration of application data. As mobile cloud computing is a combinational field of cloud computing and mobile networks, the security related matters are categorized as: mobile networks user’s security and cloud security.

Mobile network user’s security – Different mobile handsets such as Smartphones, laptops, PDA’s and cellular phones are well aware of the numerous security instability and vulnerabilities such as malicious codes. Some cloud computing applications can prompt to security breaches as these devices troubling the user ultimately. Two main issues regarding subscriber’s security are: The best way of capturing security vulnerability is to run security software and anti-virus programs on mobile devices. Mobile devices are litigated with processing limitations which is why securing them from these threats could be more hazardous as compared to regular computers. Number of approaches can be developed transferring vulnerability detection and protection mechanism to the cloud. The application must handover to the user after it passes through some level of threat evaluation. All file activities before sending to the user need to be verified if it is malicious or not.Scenarios are created for privacy issues when personal information such as your current location or user’s hidden information is revealed.Information secured on the clouds – Enterprise and individuals both take the bonanza of storing large amount of data in the cloud.The integrity of the information stored on the cloud must be properly ensured by the user. Every user access must be authenticated. Different approaches can be proposed ensuring integrity of the information stored on the cloud.Numerous authorization mechanism have been proposed with the means of cloud computing in order to secure the data access. Some make use of open standards and support the integrity of the various authorization methods.

Source: http://www.spyghana.com/mobile-cloud-computing-the-nitty-gritty-of-it/

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IBM Dives Head First Into Mobile

IBM moves into mobile

IBM last week unveiled an expansive new strategy to deliver mobile business solutions under MobileFirst, its new brand of software and services for delivering apps on smartphones and tablets. With MobileFirst, IBM seeks to bring together all of the elements required by an enterprise to successfully roll-out mobile solutions, including development, deployment, device management, and security tools. And, IBM being IBM, it also includes a healthy dose of professional services, but no apparent IBM i hooks at this time.

MobileFirst is an umbrella brand that brings together many pieces of software that already existed in IBM’s portfolio, but it introduces some new software as well. There are literally dozens of products parked under the new MobileFirst banner, including products from familiar IBM brands like WebSphere, Rational, Domino, Tivoli, and Cognos. Recent IBM acquisitions, like Q1 Labs (security), Emptoris (expense and expenditure management), and Tealeaf (customer experience management) also play a part.

IBM breaks MobileFirst products down into four main categories, including MobileFirst Platform, MobileFirst Security, MobileFirst Management, and MobileFirst Analytics. Within these four, there are no less than 28 individually named products and services sitting under Big Blue’s new mobile umbrella. Simplicity has never been IBM’s strong suit, and apparently it’s not going to start now.

The key product under the new MobileFirst Platform is Mobile Foundation, a pre-existing suite that previously combined three tools but now appears to sport only two: Worklight, an HTML 5 mobile application development and runtime environment that includes a Java-based server component and an Eclipse-based studio; and WebSphere Cast Iron, an integration framework for connecting on-premise and cloud applications and systems.

Worklight, you will remember, is on the short list of IBM apps that several prominent IBM i experts, including Roxanne Reynolds-Lair, the Power Systems champion and CIO of the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, want running and supported on IBM i. The work done by Reynolds-Lair and another Power Systems champion, Steve Pitcher, were instrumental in getting other new IBM offerings supported on the platform, including Notes Traveler and IBM Connections, both of which IBM has committed to supporting on IBM i.

And lo! What do we have here but an IBM announcement letter on February 19 for Worklight version 5.0.6. Could it, would it, include a statement of direction in support of IBM i? As diligent readers scroll down, they read:

"IBM intends to provide additional platform support for the IBM Worklight product offerings in response to customer feedback and market demand…IBM anticipates extending support to IBM System z hardware and the IBM z/OS operating system in the future." Actually, IBM committed to supporting z/OS with Worklight back in September, so this isn’t news. What is disheartening is that Worklight apps can be served up from z/OS, Windows, AIX, Solaris, Linux, and Mac OS–every "major" business OS but IBM i (and HP-UX).

Worklight isn’t the only component of MobileFirst Foundation. IBM CLM [collaborative lifecycle management] suite, which in turn is composed of Rational Requirements Composer, Team Concert, and Quality Manager, is also a part of MobileFirst Foundation. Others include Rational Test Workbench; Web Experience Solutions; Lotus Domino Designer; and WebSphere MQ.

MobileFirst Management is based largely on IBM Endpoint Manager for Mobile Devices, which previously was called just Endpoint Manager when it was part of the Mobile Foundation. Endpoint Manager is a Windows/SQL Server-based app that enables businesses to adopt "bring your own device" (BYOD) strategies, and supports all popular mobile platforms, including iOS, Android, Blackberry, Windows Mobile, Windows Phone, and Symbian. MobileFirst Management also includes Tivoli Netcool/OMNIbus, WebSphere Datapower, and Emptoris Rivermine Telecom Expense Management.

MobileFirst Security includes a new release of Security AppScan that has been gussied up to spot potential vulnerabilities in iOS apps; it previously supported Android. The Security Access Manager for Cloud and Mobile component delivers single sign on (SSO) capability for mobile apps–definitively a nice thing to have in enterprise environments. Integration with the security information and event management (SIEM) product QRadar is also part of MobileFirst Security, turning tablets and smartphones into listening posts to detect the activities of hackers and cybercriminals, while Mobile Connect establishes a virtual private network (VPN) connection between a mobile device and a server.

On the analytics front, IBM has crammed several apps into MobileFirst Analytics boat, including: Tealeaf CX Mobile, for detecting potential problems in the mobile user’s experience; Mobile Commerce, for mobile e-commerce; and Cognos Mobile, for accessing Cognos reports, dashboards, and metrics from mobile devices.

Bringing all these tools to bear on customers’ mobile strategies may be difficult, but never fear: IBM Global Services is here! MobileFirst has a wide array of services components, including: mobile application development; integration with back-office systems; infrastructure and planning; network integration; running mobile apps from the cloud; and embedding unified communications and collaboration (UCC) capabilities into mobile apps.

IBM also unveiled a new partnership with AT&T to integrate Worklight apps with AT&T’s cloud APIs. There’s also a new program called "Ready for IBM MobileFirst" to get ISVs going with the new brand, and new initiatives with colleges, too. IBM financing also got into the MobileFirst act.

It is almost as if every department in IBM gets to play a part in MobileFirst, which is undoubtedly what led IBM to call MobileFirst the first "true end-to-end mobile solution" that businesses can use to "transform their entire business model." Considering that most of the tools already existed in IBM’s portfolio, that claim is a stretch. (It is even more of a stretch unless IBM has done the hard work to integrate the tools, not only from a functional aspect, but from a licensing aspect, too). Every organization will have specific needs as it relates to mobile, so there will never be a one-size-fits-all solution, despite whatever messaging IBM’s marketing committees agree on.

With so many components in MobileFirst, it is likely that any given organization will find something that addresses at least some their mobile needs. And customers can even look outside of the MobileFirst family, to tools such as Rational Application Developer and Rational Business Developer, which gained Dojo X Mobile support in 2011, but which missed the first departure of the MobileFirst train.

It is clear that MobileFirst represents the product branding that IBM is using for its smartphone and tablet computing solutions, and it will undoubtedly evolve in the future. Now all that IBM needs to do is support IBM i with Worklight–the foundational element of MobileFirst–and it will have piqued the attention of 150,000 of its best customers.

Source: http://www.itjungle.com/tfh/tfh022513-story05.html

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What Larger Enterprises will Demand from Cloud Providers

We could be undergoing a bit of a transformation in the world of cloud computing. This will happen around the new demands of larger enterprises as they move slowly onto cloud-based platforms.  Larger enterprises are simply just higher maintenance.

Most small businesses have almost no leverage at their level of spending to make demands on the major public cloud computing providers.  Larger enterprises that can toss around a bunch of cash will certainly have more buying power.  Gone will be the days when cloud computing providers did not speak with humans and put forth take-it-or-leave-it contracts.  We’re quickly moving to a point in time where cloud providers will have to show up to speak with enterprise IT in person and even negotiate contract terms.

While some providers will find this new interaction a foreign and unproductive notion, some cloud providers will embrace it as a way to find new revenue, and perhaps differentiate themselves from the other public cloud providers.  Any cloud computing provider that deals with big enterprises will be forced to adapt, or pass on that end of the market.  I don’t see them passing.

If this sounds a lot like traditional enterprise software sales, you’re right.  However, I don’t see any way around it unless larger enterprises somehow decide to behave differently than they have for the past few decades.  I suspect that won’t happen.

Source: http://pro.gigaom.com/blog/what-larger-enterprises-will-demand-from-cloud-providers/

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HTML5 vs. Apps: Here’s Why The Debate Matters, And Who Will Win

HTML5 is a new technology that allows developers to build rich web-based apps that run on any device via a standard web browser.

Many think it will save the web, rendering native platform-dependent apps obsolete.

So, which will win? Native apps or HTML5?

A recent report from BI Intelligence explains why we think HTML5 will win out, and what an HTML future will look like for consumers, developers, and brands.

Here’s why the Apps-vs-HTML5 debate matters:

+ Distribution: Native apps are distributed through app stores and markets controlled by the owners of the platforms. HTML5 is distributed through the rules of the open web: the link economy.

+ Monetization: Native apps come with one-click purchase options built into mobile platforms. HTML5 apps will tend to be monetized more through advertising, because payments will be less user-friendly.

+ Platform power and network effects: Developers have to conform with Apple’s rules. Apple’s market share, meanwhile, creates network effects and lock-in. If and when developers can build excellent iPhone and iPad functionality on the web using HTML5, developers can cut Apple out of the loop. This will reduce the network effects of Apple’s platform.

+ Functionality: Right now, native apps can do a lot more than HTML5 apps. HTML5 apps will get better, but not as fast as some HTML5 advocates think.

In full, the special report analyzes:

+ What HTML5 is, giving an overview of how it is a technology done by committee.

+ Why the HTML5-vs-Apps debate matters, breaking down its impact on distribution, monetization, platform power and network effects, and functionality.

+ The pluses and minuses of HTML5 vs. native apps, comparing each by cost, user experience, features, distribution, and monetization.

+ How and when HTML5 will take over, laying out how it has all the hallmarks of a disruptive technology.

+ The success of an HTML5 pioneer, The Financial Times.

+ What an HTML5 future will look like, with the promise of richer and more interactive experiences.

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/html5-vs-apps-heres-why-the-debate-matters-and-who-will-win-2012-12

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Blackberry 10 Offers New Opportunities For App Developers

Blackberry 10 Offers New Opportunities For App Developers

Blackberry 10 will decide the fate of the Canadian technology that once defined the smartphone landscape.

But these days, apps are the name of the game. A pretty device with a fancy operating system simply isn’t enough. The third-party applications, downloadable to the device to customize it and allow users to perform specific tasks — even if that task is just to throw birds at pics — define the user experience.

BlackBerry 10 is an enormous leap forward for mobile application developers, making their jobs easier and the resulting applications run more smoothly.

But it might not be enough.

Application developers go where the audience is: There’s no sense in developing for a platform nobody uses, after all.

“These days, it’s all about apps. And it’s clear to me that BlackBerry is trying to make third-party development as easy as possible,” said Brian Gilham to canada.com, a mobile application developer at The Working Group, a Canadian firm responsible for the mobile applications of The Globe and Mail, The Toronto International Film Festival and others.

“BlackBerry has, over the last year or so, invested a lot of time improving their developer tools. The ability to repackage Android apps for BB10 means there are a lot of apps ready right out of the gate.”

But BlackBerry has also changed the way applications are developed, which improves the number of titles that can easily be built.

“WebWorks allows developers to use CSS, HTML5, and JavaScript to create apps — which should lower the barrier to entry considerably,” Gilham said.

But HTML-based applications typically run slower and have poorer performance benchmarks than native apps, which are written to run directly on the device. iPhone and Android users who used Facebook’s mobile application before this fall noticed the difference immediately when Facebook switched from HTML-based applications to native applications. Performance increased considerably.

“There’s nothing I’d like more than for BB10 and, by extension, BlackBerry World, to succeed. More users means more opportunities for us and our clients,” Gilham said. “This race isn’t going to be won or lost on day one. If BlackBerry can bring consumers back to the platform, developers will follow.”

But in that sense, BlackBerry has avoided the dreaded chicken/egg scenario by spending enormous amounts of time and energy convincing developers to create applications before BB10 was even ready to launch. That move means that today there are over 70,000 BB10 apps ready and waiting for users.

“BlackBerry has gone to great lengths to try and motivate developers to create apps for BB10. Paying out $10k to qualifying developers and such. This, paired with the ability to port existing Android apps to BB10, will give the platform a nice push in the early stages,” Gilham said.

But he added that less established developers are more likely to wait in the wings and see how the platform matures before spending the time and energy to release BB10-specific version of their apps. That means smaller indie titles may take more time to populate the BlackBerry App World.

But on the developer side, BlackBerry is doing one very interesting thing that even Google and Apple haven’t yet matched. It’s called WebWorks and allows people who have web development skills to easily port those skills to mobile application development. That’s an enormous step that opens up an entirely new pool of developer talent in the BlackBerry camp.

“For developers coming from the web, native mobile development can be extremely tricky to learn,” Gilham says. ” Now, tools like [WebWorks] have existed for iOS, not sure about Android, for some time. But this is the first time I’ve seen one officially supported.”

“If I were a web developer interested in native mobile development today I’d be giving it a serious look.”

BlackBerry spent a lot of energy, today, convincing consumers that BB10 is the next big thing. But they’ve been spending most of the past two years convincing developers of the same. That, in the long run, will pay off in spades.

Source: http://o.canada.com/2013/01/30/blackberry-10-offers-new-opportunities-for-app-developers/

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How To Effectively Manage Software Testing

Testing is one of the most crucial parts of software development, but it’s often neglected because seeing if something works is less sexy than building it in the first place. Whether you’re an amateur developer working on a mobile app or a corporate manager with a large-scale project in mind, remember these guidelines to ensure your testing process goes smoothly.

1. Allocate time for testing

Testing isn’t something you should leave until the last minute; assign time to it when you first begin planning a project. Even if you’re building an open source project and expect contributions and improvements from others, you’ll need to allow time to debate and integrate those changes. For public-facing projects such as web sites or web applications, testing is likely to take at least as much time as the original development process.

2. Set a time for release and stick to it

On many projects, having a fixed time of day when you roll out new changes and begin testing makes sense. This is essential if you have separate test and development teams, but even when you’re the main developer, consciously dividing the process means you will focus on testing what you’ve done rather than arbitrarily switching back to “coding mode”. This again is especially important with web sites, which often have incremental improvements added over time. Even when you’re using a staged development server, locking down what can be changed and fixing a time when it happens will make planning easier than if you constantly make minor updates.

3. Test on as many devices as possible

Development for mobile devices is a rapidly growing market; a 2010 survey by IBM suggested that more than half of all developers expected to concentrate their efforts on developing for mobile platforms. When testing on mobile platforms, use actual devices whenever possible. Emulators are useful for prototyping and will give you access to models you might not see otherwise, but emulation is rarely perfect and the user experience will often be subtly different. That said, for many projects it makes more sense to develop a mobile-friendly web site or app rather than concentrating on specific devices, and such an approach makes the rapid emergence of new hardware less of an issue.

4. Make use of external resources

Cloud-based external testing services provide a useful way to see how your applications work, especially if you want to see how they perform at scale. IDC says that more than $10 billion a year is being spent on these services, and growth rates of 15.4% are expected through to 2015. Using external testing providers also highlights issues that may not be obvious in your own testing processes.

5. Document the testing process properly

Documentation is the bane of many a developer’s life, but failing to adequately document as you work invariably creates headaches in the future. Documentation is vital, and the same applies in a testing environment. When problems emerge, document them with as much detail as possible. If your company has a specific system, use it. Even on a one-person project, a formal bug tracking and testing system makes sense, and again emphasises the importance of considering testing as part of the development process, not an afterthought.

Source: http://www.lifehacker.com.au/2012/03/how-to-effectively-manage-software-testing/

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Amazon is No. 1. Who’s next in cloud computing?

Amazon Web Services is, by all accounts, the largest cloud service provider by far, although good luck finding third-party numbers to verify that. Amazon, like most of the big cloud providers, doesn’t disclose much about current or planned data centers.

New research from Accenture analyst Huan Liu estimates that Amazon’s Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) runs on a whopping 450,000 servers. Amazon does not break out AWS revenue, but some say it could already be a billion dollar business.

So, stipulating AWS as No. 1, here are seven cloud rivals that could give it a run for its money over the next few years.

1: Rackspace: While Rackspace encompasses managed services and pure hosting businesses, it’s also a major cloud provider with actual, paying customers.  Measuring by revenue and VMs, Rackspace currently has a lock on the No. 2 slot by a wide margin, said Gartner analyst Lydia Leong. As one data point, Rackspace public cloud revenue rose to $189 million in fiscal year 2011, up from $100M the previous year. Going forward, that business should only grow as Rackspace brings more OpenStack implementations online.

2: Google: If you’re talking number of physical servers, Google could already be the biggest cloud player. As for paying customers? That’s harder to discern. Google is one of the few companies that can (and does) invest in the pure computing firepower to contend with AWS. If you count all that Google Apps and Gmail storage, then Google’s obviously a huge player. The Google App Engine platform-as-a-service is still around but isn’t a factor for business developers.

3: Microsoft: Two-year-old Windows Azure has big capacity, but actual traction is unclear — but it is clear Microsoft is going for the gusto. Microsoft just launched an Azure-focused startup accelerator in Israel to help boost demand. Next week, it is expected to announce timing for the first of its ERP products — actually the first of any of its major products — to run on Azure. And, going forward, Microsoft Azure’s embrace of Hadoop could attract more of the next-generation big-data workloads that the cloud vendors compete for.

4: IBM: IBM SmartCloud is coming up fast on AWS and Rackspace even now, according to one cloud storage expert. That news surprised me but probably shouldn’t have, given IBM’s size and resources. And face it: IBM knows data centers. Like Microsoft, it is bringing Hadoop into its cloud with its InfoSphere BigInsights service.

5: Hewlett-Packard: HP’s been all over the map on cloud plans, promising an Azure-based implementation a few years ago that has gone nowhere and more recently standing up an OpenStack-based public cloud. Zorawar “Biri” Singh, SVP for HP cloud services, told the New York Times last week that HP’s cloud will add features and capabilities beyond what AWS provides.  HP has also said it wants to challenge AWS for the hearts and minds of cloud developers. HP has had its share of woes lately, but it’s still a tech power, and provided the cloud is a priority with new management, it would be hard to rule out.

6: VMware: VMware’s vCloud already runs a ton of clouds for third-party providers, and the company’s Cloud Foundry platform-as-a-service is gaining traction. All of that plus the Mozy cloud storage service, which VMware manages for parent EMC, means that the company — which dominates server virtualization inside the firewall — is gaining a pretty impressive toehold in the cloud beyond as well.

7: Facebook: Don’t laugh. It’s a wildcard, but Facebook is putting serious sweat into data centers. And it’s applying lessons learned to the Open Compute Project, which aims to apply open source development to hardware design. With more than 800 million users, Facebook knows a thing or two about cloud infrastructure. True, Facebook doesn’t offer cloud services now, but then again, Amazon used to just sell books. Facebook could evolve into many things. GigaOM’s Derrick Harris has already suggested that Facebook could be your next software vendor.

Source: http://gigaom.com/cloud/amazon-is-no-1-whos-next-in-cloud-computing/

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Heavy Load Testing

Visual Studio Team Agents 2010 consists of Test Load Agent, Test Load Controller and Lab Agent. Team Test Load Agent monitors a request for a new test from the controller by running a service locally. Team Test Load Controller is run by a service, and the service controls the test agents and reports the status and errors of the test. It can also transfer the sources into running test and data collection in logic, or has effect on the system running the testing environment again.

The main function of Test Load Agent is to cascade various machines to produce heavier load and higher stress when doing the load test. It is rarely seen that an average level PC can produce a load of 50 people, which still cannot compare with some great websites or systems with thousands or more people online. Thus, enough load and stress can be produced when we connect several server level machines, so that the results will be meaningful to us.

More than 3 computers are required when using Load Agent, and VS 2010 For Tester, Controller, Agent1, Agent2, etc. are supposed to be installed. If the number of computers is limited, you can install the Controller and Agent in the same computer, but the test will be limited, as the picture below shows.

clip_image002

As the picture above shows that, Team Agents include the Agent and Controller software, which are highly extendable and customizable, so that the testers enjoy great flexibility. Testers can do load testing directing at Web apps and organizations to improve service quality by measuring the performance of Web apps and servers under load more accurately.

Application & Practice: to modify and test x64 bits CLR program set with VS 2010

Visual Studio Team Test 2010 Load Agent testing platform provides host process for the test. You can enjoy the new feature that network emulation has been introduced for performance testing, and what’s more, Visual Studio 2010 has developed another feature, which is that it can test the program set in 64bits CLR. With Visual Studio 2008, the host process can only be tested in the 32bits mode, and the internal storage has been limited to 2GB. But with Visual Studio Team Test 2010, there is no such limit.

Here are the steps to modify and test x64 bits CLR program set with VS 2010.

1) Set your program set as opening your program set on “Any CPU” platform, and open the “Build” tab, then set your platform target as “Any CPU”.

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2) Open test settings, and set the host process platform as “MSIL”. Open the “Local.testsettings” to set and then choose “Hosts” and at last choose the MSIL under the Host Process Platform options.

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Tips:

If you have not installed Test Load Agent, you will find that only one CPU will be occupied by the local requests when doing performance test with VS 2010. It is because the process to generate stress is VSTESTHost.exe. Accordingly, if you want every CPU of a multinuclear CPU to produce stress, you have to use Visual Studio Team System Test Load Agent.

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