Oracle Launches 'Private Cloud' Box

aesoteric writes "Oracle chief executive Larry Ellison has used the keynote of Oracle OpenWorld to launch the 'Exalogic Elastic Compute Cloud' — an appliance combining server and storage hardware with a pre-tuned web server, hypervisor and other middleware. Introducing the product as 'a honking big cloud in a box,' Ellison shifted from his previous criticism of the terms 'cloud computing' and 'private cloud' by using the exact same terms to sell a physical appliance." Oracle also took the wraps off Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel for Oracle Linux, which is based on the 2.6.32 Linux kernel.

Comments

Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel for Oracle Linux?

[e065c8515d206cb0e190]

Linux on their Sun hardware? I though Oracle was supposed to be optimized for Solaris?

Huh?

[iONiUM]

A big cloud in a box? Like, a mainframe? From the 70s/80s?

I think I misunderstand this whole cloud thing, because to me it just seems like going back to what we had years ago..

Re:Huh?

[nicolas.kassis]

No no no, this is even better, it's a box to which you can add more processors to whenever you want. The only thing that will hold you back is the 90K per core software license to go with it.

Re:Huh?

[qwertphobia]

But it's buzzword compliant, that's the hook. Just like virtual desktops (thin clients, dumb terminals?) virtual servers (LPARs?) the list goes on. If it's not reinvented and packaged in a new marketing term it won't make the big boys any money.

Re:Huh?

[ducomputergeek]

I've said the same thing. As far as I can tell, all this "cloud" computing is really just timeshare 2.0. The only major difference is that instead of having 1 big box, you have a bunch of smaller boxes mounted in a cabinet.

Re:Huh?

[teknopurge]

Mainframe 2.0. See what I did there? Scared?

Re:Huh?

[TooMuchToDo]

THIS. Want a private "cloud"? http://forum.eucalyptus.com/

Free. API-compliant with EC2 (and somewhat with S3). Deployable on your own hardware.

Cloud in a box?

[mindwhip]

Isn't that a tank of water?

Re:Cloud in a box?

[himself]

The "Exalogic Elastic Compute Cloud" sounds more like something from "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" to me. Is that how he defeats the Vermicious Knids in the second book?

Larry says

[Anonymous Coward]

"Introducing Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel! It's Unbreakable! ...[cough]... on 32-bit systems."

"private cloud" box is kind of an oxymoron

[viking80]

a "private cloud" in a box is kind of an oxymoron. Not that I am a particular fan of marketspeak like "cloud computing". But the idea at least is that you can access computer resources without really knowing where they are, and scale your needs many orders of magnitude without worrying about floor space, air conditioners and lightbulbs.

Re:"private cloud" box is kind of an oxymoron

[blair1q]

Sure, but sometimes you need privacy and control and ownership.

Of course, if this is the same Oracle it's always been, you won't get those things, but you will get a hefty bill.

Re:"private cloud" box is kind of an oxymoron

[seifried]

Uhmm. No. "private cloud" box is NOT a kind of oxymoron (it is in fact one of the 4 defined deployment models). The generally accepted definitions of cloud computing, as defined by NIST http://csrc.nist.gov/groups/SNS/cloud-computing/ (click on "NIST Definition of Cloud Computing v15") define cloud computing as having the following characteristics:

On-demand self-service. - A consumer can unilaterally provision computing capabilities, such as server time and network storage, as needed automatically without requiring human interaction with each service’s provider.

Broad network access. - Capabilities are available over the network and accessed through standard mechanisms that promote use by heterogeneous thin or thick client platforms (e.g., mobile phones, laptops, and PDAs).

Resource pooling. - The provider’s computing resources are pooled to serve multiple consumers using a multi-tenant model, with different physical and virtual resources dynamically assigned and reassigned according to consumer demand. There is a sense of location independence in that the customer generally has no control or knowledge over the exact location of the provided resources but may be able to specify location at a higher level of abstraction (e.g., country, state, or datacenter). Examples of resources include storage, processing, memory, network bandwidth, and virtual machines.

Rapid elasticity. - Capabilities can be rapidly and elastically provisioned, in some cases automatically, to quickly scale out and rapidly released to quickly scale in. To the consumer, the capabilities available for provisioning often appear to be unlimited and can be purchased in any quantity at any time.

Measured Service. - Cloud systems automatically control and optimize resource use by leveraging a metering capability at some level of abstraction appropriate to the type of service (e.g., storage, processing, bandwidth, and active user accounts). Resource usage can be monitored, controlled, and reported providing transparency for both the provider and consumer of the utilized service.

Then as far as deployment models we have:

Private cloud. The cloud infrastructure is operated solely for an organization. It may be managed by the organization or a third party and may exist on premise or off premise.

Community cloud. The cloud infrastructure is shared by several organizations and supports a specific community that has shared concerns (e.g., mission, security requirements, policy, and compliance considerations). It may be managed by the organizations or a third party and may exist on premise or off premise.

Public cloud. The cloud infrastructure is made available to the general public or a large industry group and is owned by an organization selling cloud services.

Hybrid cloud. The cloud infrastructure is a composition of two or more clouds (private, community, or public) that remain unique entities but are bound together by standardized or proprietary technology that enables data and application portability (e.g., cloud bursting for load-balancing between clouds).

Re:"private cloud" box is kind of an oxymoron

[Anonymous Coward]

a "private cloud" in a box is kind of an oxymoron. Not that I am a particular fan of marketspeak like "cloud computing". But the idea at least is that you can access computer resources without really knowing where they are, and scale your needs many orders of magnitude without worrying about floor space, air conditioners and lightbulbs.

I work as an enterprise architect in a company that has a very large IT setup and I know that its exactly terms like "private cloud in a box" that sells to the CIO/CxOs. They are usually oblivious to the effort taken to implement such products on the floor.

Re:Private Cloud?

[bennomatic]

[127.0.0.1]

Don't go to that site! It's riddled with viruses!!

NIST has not defined "cloud in a box"

[viking80]

NIST has not defined "cloud in a box" as a deployment model. The document you copy from It is more of a journalistic storytelling than a standard. NIST defines units of measure and probably verify encryption methods that is part of the internet, but they are no authority on "cloud computing" anymore than WSJ. IEEE has an annual conference on cloud computing, and NIST has not shown up in discussions not as a presenter on any other level than secure transport verification.