CA 3Tera® AppLogic® 2.9 is the first major new release of AppLogic as part of CA Technologies. With the new ownership of the product, there are the expected significant improvements for enterprise customers and the service providers catering to them. CA 3Tera AppLogic 2.9 also continues to provide the innovative and category-defining capabilities that have earned AppLogic many awards in the last four years.

CA 3Tera AppLogic 2.9 completed successfully a three-month beta program and will be generally available this month. (A link to the full release notes will be provided here.)

I would like to focus on the key new features and capabilities in this release:

1.  Full High Availability

High availability and full system redundancy is now integrated in every subsystem of the platform, ensuring that storage, networks, compute resources and the control node are all highly available and the system can recover from the failure of any single element without human intervention. The addition of redundant network support in 2.9 completed this functionality, adding support for redundant network switches.
The high availability support includes three important automated steps to restore operations quickly and efficiently:
• fault detection,
• isolation of the failed component, and
• recovery of the affected application(s).

Once affected applications are restored to operation – typically within minutes of the failure – AppLogic proceeds to rebuild the infrastructure redundancy, readying the system for handling future hardware failures.

What does this mean for you?

CA 3Tera AppLogic is designed from the ground up to expect hardware failures and recover applications quickly and automatically.

As a result, you get a very resilient and self-healing platform that can keep applications running, ensuring an amazing SLA without requiring emergency fire drills in the data center… using only plain commodity x86 servers and switches. CA 3Tera AppLogic is a unique solution where all redundant capabilities are managed by a single product and through a single user interface, bringing customers simplicity and reliability with zero integration effort.

2.  Network Topology Detection and Path Optimization.

CA 3Tera AppLogic automatically discovers the network topology and cabling layout, and ensures full cross-sectional bandwidth between any two servers in the system – all the while maintaining the network redundancy and recovery capability in case of a network component failure. CA 3TeraAppLogic 2.9 removes the majority of network infrastructure bottlenecks and eliminates manual network configuration. It also displays the state of all network infrastructure elements, the current paths used, and allows manual control for troubleshooting and testing. It dynamically detects and adjusts for changes that occur in the system (e.g., re-wiring) and issues alarms in case it has detected a failure and has performed automated recovery.

Why is this important?

Tracking down network infrastructure bottlenecks is not an easy task, and doing that in complex composite applications is one of the hardest IT projects. Maintaining full cross-sectional bandwidth in redundant network environments is the key to eliminating such bottlenecks and traditionally requires labor-intensive and fragile manual configuration.
CA 3Tera AppLogic fully manages the network path optimization and saves you from performing manual switch configurations. That means you always have available the maximum bandwidth from the network infrastructure, and you don’t need to intervene to recover or handle failure in the networking equipment.

3.  Federated Web Service API for Global Access.

CA 3Tera AppLogic 2.9 now comes with a federated web services API. It is based on the familiar AppLogic shell command semantics, provided over a REST-like, simple-to-use transport mechanism. In a typical AppLogic style, the API is implemented as an AppLogic composite application, using only standard catalog components.

The API provides programmatic control over nearly all CA 3Tera AppLogic functions, complementing the graphical user interface and the command line shell. For easier integration with Java and PHP/Javascript applications, the API can provide responses either in XML or JSON format. A special asynchronous request mode is provided to orchestrate commands that may take longer to execute, communicating the result of such operations upon completion in a clear and timely way.

The API can federate any number of CA 3Tera AppLogic clouds through a single API access point; and also a grid can be controlled through multiple API points, for redundancy and access segregation.

Why this matters?

The new API provides the basis for true hybrid cloud implementations. The federation capability allows cloud users to set up API access points that span their own virtual datacenters (on-premises/private cloud), as well as virtual datacenters provided by one or more public cloud providers – all accessed through the same API access point and with the same credentials. Further, the API provides abstraction of the infrastructure location, so that migrating clouds and virtual datacenters – between public and private, and between different service providers, can be performed without impacting control and monitoring software.
The asynchronous semantics for long-running commands provide proper job-specific progress report, resulting in client code that is simple and reliable.

4.  IP address enforcement improves customer isolation in shared public cloud environments

Like prior AppLogic versions, release 2.9 continues to strictly enforce the security of network connections between components of composite applications based on the zero-trust network architecture that is unique to CA 3Tera AppLogic. Release 2.9 provides further security by also enforcing the public IP addresses assigned to applications, automatically restricting incoming and outgoing traffic only to the assigned IP addresses.

Unlike virtualization solutions (which, in general, don’t enforce the IP addresses) and other clouds (which typically support only one IP address per VM), CA 3Tera AppLogic 2.9 supports multiple public IP addresses per appliance, allowing greater flexibility without sacrificing security.

Why this matters?

IP address enforcement improves significantly the isolation between unrelated applications. While very important in on-premise/private cloud environments, this enforcement is essential in multi-tenant environments such as shared public clouds. CA 3Tera AppLogic 2.9 extends the unique zero-trust/zero-configuration network architecture, providing this important layer of security without requiring expensive gear and complicated network switch VLAN setups – in fact, without any configuration whatsoever.

Addressing security is generally a compromise between the level of security and the effort required to maintain it. In a very convenient and error-proof way, CA 3Tera AppLogic gives you the highest level of security with zero configuration effort.

5. Other Features

OVF Support
CA 3Tera AppLogic 2.9 enables importing standards-based OVF VM packages, making it easier to on-board applications from existing virtualization environments. The new image2class utility command expands on the prior releases’ iso2class functionality and allows importing Linux virtual machines packaged in the DMTF-standard OVF format, converting them to standard CA 3Tera AppLogic appliances in the process.

Support for Microsoft Windows 2008 Server
CA 3Tera AppLogic 2.9 now fully supports both 32-bit and 64-bit Microsoft Windows 2008 Server-based appliances. It extends the capabilities for Windows 2008 support found in prior release, providing volume management for NTFS6, signed para-virtualized drivers for improved I/O performance, as well as new Windows 2008 Server templates and appliances.

National Language Support
CA 3Tera AppLogic 2.9 also expands national language support within customer workloads. The appliance kit included in the new release improves compatibility with international versions of Microsoft Windows 2003 and 2008. In addition, a new virtualization setting allows selecting the keyboard language mapping to improve operation with non-US keyboards.

Of course, CA 3Tera AppLogic 2.9 is backward compatible with appliances and applications from prior releases, so upgrading the grid or migrating your workloads onto a new 2.9 grid is trouble-free.

CA 3Tera AppLogic 2.9, like prior releases, is packaged for turnkey installation, providing zero-to-cloud setup in less than 4 hours. To try CA 3Tera AppLogic 2.9 today, please contact your CA account manager or reach us through our web site.

Happy cloud computing,

- Peter

I don’t know why, but I am still surprised when I hear the following question. What’s the difference between virtualization and Cloud? To me, it’s like asking the question – What’s the difference between a hammer and carpentry? The latter is a comprehensive craft. The former is one of many tools used by the craftsmen who practice it.

Simple – right? So why does that question occur at all?

It occurs, in my opinion, for two reasons, one right and one not so right.

The first reason is that all of the server virtualization vendors of any significance are also introducing Cloud offerings to the market. So, people are naturally associating the two (and rightfully so, just like one would associate hammers and carpentry). The difference is, though, no one thinks hammers and carpentry are the same thing.

So, the not so right reason – There are Cloud computing laggards out there who would like us to think that virtualization and Cloud are similar because they have embraced virtualization technology and do not want to appear out of step. As a result, there is a ton of noise in the market that is very hard to sort through.

So, how do I suggest one sorts through this noise?

When faced with a potential Cloud solution, ask a few questions about it.

Does it help me provision and deploy virtual machines on demand? If the answer is no, I’d ask why are you even looking at it? But if the answer is yes, just deploying VMs on demand does not a Cloud make.

Does it enable the encapsulation and on demand deployment of multiple VMs as a single entity? If rather than managing VMs, you want to manage frequently used “appliances” that are comprised of multiple VMs (e.g. a specific app server, a specific messaging system and a specific database server), can you do it? If the answer is yes, you are on your way to a real Cloud solution.

Does it enable the encapsulation and on demand deployment of whole software stacks (e.g. LAMP, Ruby on Rails, .NET, etc.)? If the answer is yes, you are certainly in the Cloud.

But, do you want more? Does it enable encapsulation and on demand deployment of entire multi-tiered apps? If yes, you have a very powerful Cloud solution.

More? Does it enable the encapsulation of the apps along with everything they need to run – network, storage, infrastructure, configurations, policies, documentation, etc., etc., etc.? If yes, then you have the most complete Cloud solution of all.

So, you might sense a theme here – Encapsulation. Yes. Encapsulation is key, but it is only half of the story. Encapsulation itself results in many benefits, especially operational cost savings and decreased time to market. But encapsulation alone does not make a Cloud. It does not create portability. It does not create the ability, by itself, to deploy anywhere, any time.

What’s the second half of the story? Abstraction. Not only do the most comprehensive Cloud solutions have to provide unlimited granularity of encapsulation, but they must completely abstract what is encapsulated from the physical resources (machines) they run on, so that they can run anytime, anywhere there are available idle resources.

In short, you do not measure a Cloud solution by how it does virtualization. You measure it by the granularity of its encapsulation capabilities and its ability to abstract VMs, stacks, apps/services and entire data centers from the physical resources they run on.

So, what is the future of virtualization and where is it going in 2010?

Virtualization is going the way of the hammer. It will be a necessary commodity for the Cloud, just like the hammer is a necessary commodity for the carpenter.

Now, before all the virtualization vendors get their shorts in a knot and start screaming at me that I am implying that all virtualization is the same, I am not. I acknowledge that some have features others do not, some outperform others, etc. But, can you tell who the best carpenter is only by knowing what brand of hammer he uses?

What a difference a few years can make. When we launched AppLogic and described how IT could use resources outside their own data centers to run their apps, many folks were initially very skeptical. Although Nicholoas Carr had written and spoken about this for a couple years already at that point, more than a few told us we were nuts. Our ideas on packaging operating systems into appliances was even more controversial at times, prompting some heated blog posts. It all reminded me of the old quote “If (your idea) is original, you will have to ram it down their throats.”

Of course, today cloud computing has become one of the hottest topics in technology, and the current economic climate is only accelerating that interest. As IT shops in companies large and small try to do more with less resources, they are looking to cloud computing for its flexible resource usage, low capital costs and ease of management.

Join 3tera and Forrester Research Principal Analyst James Staten for a free Webinar on March 4th as explore the new frontier of global cloud computing. Jame will discuss what he’s learned from enterprises that are looking to build their cloud strategy about their concerns and considerations. In addition, we’ll also demonstrate some capabilities of the global cloud live, incorporating both public cloud services and private clouds behind the corporate firewall.

This one’s been eating at me since September 17 at 10:09 AM.   That was when a speaker from Tier 1 Research concluded a presentation at the 4th Annual Hosting Transportation Summit (HTS) at the Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas.

HTS is a great event for anyone involved in the hosting industry.  It was attended this year by about 400 people representing everything that’s anything in the U.S. hosting industry.  Attendees, for the most part, have profit and loss responsibilities and were there to find new weapons for their arsenals to increase revenues.   I love these focused conferences.  Having them in Las Vegas is really smart.  That makes it easy to gauge attendees’ interest by seeing how much of the audiences at the various sessions are lost to the casino.  The sessions at HTS were well attended!

By contrast, that week was VM World, right across the street (which in Vegas means only a 15 minute stroll) at The Venetian.  VM World was impressive – close to 15,000 attendees, I am told.  My sense walking around there, though, was that the majority of the attendees were more technology oriented – looking for cool new technology – but were not the people in their organizations responsible for P&L, who make spending decisions, and, most importantly, who make strategic business decisions.

So, what happened at 10:09 AM Las Vegas time on 9/17?  I just finished watching and listening to a very well researched and prepared presentation by a Senior Analyst at Tier 1, who organizes the event.  He very thoroughly described how the Cloud people, the compute on demand people – people like Amazon and Google, were kicking the hosting providers’ butts as they remain a commodity whose ability to compete with these Cloud giants is starting to wane.

What he didn’t do, though (and this is no criticism of him – he did his job), was talk about what the hosting providers can and should do to combat this.

So, why now?  If it’s been eating at me 7 weeks, why am I writing about it now?

Well, for the last couple of months, enterprise interest in Cloud Computing seems to have emerged in spades (pardon the Las Vegas pun).  VMware, Citrix, Microsoft and others have all made announcements readying themselves for enterprise Cloud Computing.  Our own marketing efforts have been focused around the enterprise as, though we are largely used by hosting providers and our customers are largely hosted, we have a full Cloud Computing platform that can run behind a corporate firewall, and our number of customers who do that, particularly enterprise customers, are definitely growing.

So, let’s not forget our hosting providers.  They are not only the salt of the Cloud, but they will be an integral part of Cloud Computing’s future.  In fact, as Clouds begin to interoperate globally, it will be the hosting providers who jump on that bandwagon who will fuel it with much of its resources.

Note to Hosting Providers:

If you are worried about how you are going to cope with this new competition, there is something you can do about it.  This advice might sound like an “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” mentality, but it is far from it.  The mentality is more of the nature that you should join a movement that they, too, will eventually have to join.

Whatever people think, there will not be a single dominant Cloud from any of these guys.  Cloud Computing, like any other utility, will evolve into a series of Clouds that can interoperate among themselves and are connected globally.  These interoperating Clouds will be run by hosting providers, will be proprietary Clouds like EC2, AppEngine, etc. and will be corporate data centers.

So, how does a hosting provider get on board?

Hosting providers need to implement Cloud Computing platforms in their data centers (of course, I think that platform needs to be 3tera’s AppLogic – plug, plug – surprise, surprise).  They need to build product offerings on these Cloud platforms.  Once there is a critical mass of applications hosted in all of these Clouds, the leaders will start interoperating with one another as people will want to share and reuse technology components, and, more importantly, companies will want to effect business to business transactions with companies running in other Clouds.

It will be inevitable that businesses running applications in proprietary Clouds will want to have the same capabilities, and in order to do so, their Clouds are going to have to start interoperating in the same ecosystem that yours do.

And guess what.  Many of the new enterprise customers we are attracting are and are wanting to run their web applications in external Clouds - HOSTED BY YOU.  So, there’s a whole new customer base here ripe for the picking.

So, hosting providers unite.  Get on board the Cloud train and in time, and not a real long time, the Amazons, Googles, Microsofts, Akamis, Salesforces, etc, of the world will have to join you or be beaten by you!

Congratulations to Albert Wu and his team at SilkFair on their recent mention in the Wall Street Journal. Albert contacted 3tera shortly after we came out of beta, and have been using AppLogic for well over a year through our hosting partners. He also had the distinction of being the first user to ever publicly post about his experience with AppLogic.

I’ve had the pleasure of talking with Albert a few times about business and technology. He’s a heck of an entrepreneur so it’s exciting to see him succeed and to be able to be small part of SikFair’s ongoing success.

With well over 18 months of data, 3tera’s metering system is starting to provide some interesting statistics. One example I can share for instance, is the graph below which illustrates that since January 2007 the average resource consumption per AppLogic user has quadrupled even as we’ve added more and more new users.

I’ve been reviewing the metering data from AppLogic installations recently to determine uptime and for the first 7 months of 2008, our users experienced 99.9% availability. I’ll be sharing more stats over the coming days, but for the moment I want to congratulate our operations team and all our data center partners!

Now, on to get the next two nines.

Sys-con ran a three page piece today with 20 experts trying to define cloud computing. The results run the gamut from the uselessly broad “internet centric software” to the only somewhat more pragmatic ”infrastructural paradigm shift that enables the ascension of SaaS” to the disbelieving “Clouds are the next hype-term for the next year or two.” So, why are folks having so much trouble defining cloud computing?

IMHO there are two reasons. First, cloud computing really is still being defined as those of us developing the technology work closely with early adopters putting the new technology to work. In other words, whatever cloud computing is today, it will evolve before it stabilizes. Don’t fret this as a bad thing, though, because it’s quite the opporiste. A little competition will benefit all as more vendors produce useful technology and elevate user expectations of cloud computing. Second, as most readers will already have noticed, a great deal of the noise in the space is being propagated by companies with no new technology; they simply want to share in the attention. While this creates noise, it’s actually normal in developing spaces. So, rather than provide yet another definition, let me provide a use case to show just how real and different cloud computing makes infrastructure.

About four months ago one of our customers was having an issue; a small percentage of page requests were getting dropped. The application involved was a search engine, and ran on around 100 servers in production. The problem wasn’t severe, but was evident to customers. After investigating the issue on their own, they requested our assistance along with a couple other vendors. A two hour Webex trial and error session ensued, but the problem persisted. If you’ve ever had to hunt for intermitant errors then you know what we were going through. At this point, though, the story diverts from your typical experience. The customer application was running on AppLogic after all, so it was a packaged system, literally scalable and portable as a unit.

Rather than proceed with tests on the production system, the customer agreed to send us a copy of their application! Yes, that’s right, a complete copy of the search engine - ready to run in our labs. Just as easily as you exchange Word documents with coworkers, they sent us a complete 100 server application. We then made several copies, each of which ran on just a few servers, and started destructive testing. We failed servers, dropped connections, deleted volumes - anything we could think of to exacerbate the error and make it repeatable. A few hours later the problem was solved - a simple misconfiguration in a third party piece of software.

Had this application been running on standard infrastructure, no doubt this story would have had a completely different ending. In all likelihood the error would have persisted for days or even weeks, because the type of troubleshooting we did wouldn’t have been possible. Cloud computing provided this customer a new way to deal with errors in production resulting in a better user experience, reduced manpower, and of course lower cost. 

So yes, there is a very real difference provided by cloud computing technology and its impact will be felt across our industry. Just don’t expect anyone to agree on exactly what it is for a while.

I’m packing my bags to return home, having spent the past week in Japan at a private show hosted by our new partners at NetOne Systems. Attendance was excellent and the event was very impressive, even having its own tradeshow floor featuring dozens of booths complete with fully operational demonstration equipment, including an IBM mainframe.  Our sessions for press interviews and customer demonstrations or AppLogic were packed to standing room only thanks to the excellent organization and customer relations of NetOne. Xseed, the first Japanese service provider to begin offering commercial AppLogic services, used the event as a venue for making their service announcement as well. If you read Japanese, you can see some of the press coverage on Atmarkit.

More than two years ago, when we first came out of stealth mode, some of our first inquiries came from Japan. Unfortunately, at that time we weren’t ready to service customers here. My visit with customers this week has shown that the Japanese market is ready to embrace cloud technology. They respond to the efficiency, the scalability and the energy savings. And today, in conjunction with NetOne, 3tera can provide the service needed. Cloud computing is on the horizon in the land of the rising sun.