Entries with tag cloud computing.

IBM has agreed to buy SoftLayer Technologies, a public-cloud-computing infrastructure provider, for $2 billion from owner GI Partners in order to create a new cloud services division. The parties expected to complete the sale in the third quarter of this year. They are not releasing precise financial terms. However, the Bloomberg media firm says it confirmed the $2 billion price with “a person familiar with the deal.” IBM will subsume its current private cloud offering, which has 10 data centers worldwide, into the new division it will create after completing the acquisition. (Bloomberg)(The New York Times)

Researchers from the University of California, San Diego, and Google have developed techniques that let hardware running cloud-computing resources operate more efficiently. Their approach uses data collected in real time on server clusters and works with non-uniform memory access (NUMA) technology, a memory approach for multiprocessing in which processors can access their own local memory faster than nonlocal memory. To make their technique work, the researchers apply a NUMA score to a process – in their experiments, they used Gmail backend server jobs -- to see how RAM is allocated in warehouse-scale computers and analyze performance impact. Optimizing the NUMA score, which can be accomplished by techniques such as clustering threads close to memory nodes, for example, could increase efficiency 15 to 20 percent. Google has already implemented the approach. The researchers presented their findings at the recent IEEE International Symposium on High Performance Computer Architecture in Shenzhen, China. (PhysOrg)(University of California, San Diego)(“Optimizing Google’s Warehouse Scale Computers: The NUMA Experience” @ University of California, San Diego) 

Tsinghua University computer scientists have created a new cloud-based operating system. TransOS will reportedly help make cloud computing transparent, as the operating system will be entirely in the cloud. Users would not need to worry about how their computers are configured but instead could simply interact with the needed files. The researchers explain that the OS is stored on a cloud server so that any bare terminal computer running a small amount of code could connect to it. TransOS can manage all the networked and virtualized hardware and software resources, enabling network administrator to run any service on demand. The researchers say TransOS could be used on various devices, including household appliances, mobile devices, and factory equipment. They will publish details of their project in a special issue of the International Journal of Cloud Computing. (EurekAlert)(International Journal of Cloud Computing)