Best, Free, Open Source Cloud Software

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Posted by rpdonahue, 01-01-2011, 10:20 PM
Hi all, I'm currently in the process of building a cloud. I would like to know everyone's opinion on cloud platforms. The one thing I need is redundacy. I look forward to hearing from you guys. Ryan Donahue <> Last edited by Mike V; 01-02-2011 at 02:37 PM.
Posted by iTom, 01-02-2011, 12:38 PM
OnApp is free for your first year, but guessing you want free for life
Posted by brentpresley, 01-02-2011, 02:15 PM
The software is free for one year. The required SAN, of any variety, is a substantial expense that must be covered up front, or rented. Neither is a "cheap" solution. I'm sure others will chime in and tell you this well, but with Cloud you really get what you pay for. There are free solutions out there, but the interfaces are clunky and if you need support, you are basically left to figuring things out for yourself, which can be a bit daunting with a Grid/Cloud.
Posted by CRego3D, 01-02-2011, 02:17 PM
You hit the nail in the head there, the cost of any software you use to manage a cloud setup is negligible compared to the infrastructure cost.
Posted by Projectmocha, 01-04-2011, 09:57 AM
Make a server with 000freehost - free forever
Posted by Caroline_9429, 01-25-2011, 10:01 AM
In terms of the SAN being a cost factor, OnApp can work with both h/w and s/w SAN options. s/w SANs reduce the cost significantly, and you can always change to a h/w option in the future. I hope this helps.
Posted by SanWebBiz, 01-27-2011, 08:05 AM
I know guessing out loud is not always the best way to learn... That being said allow me to theorize from what I have heard: With cloud computing the images, files and data that run programs and websites are out there on some sort of loosely defined group of computer... I am thinking that it the cloud-os which is throwing the info out there perhaps in a redundant manner and then it is remembering where to retrieve it when a given, page, text, program, catabase or page gets called up. Now the SAN is some sort of more permanent home for the actual data or databases and lookup tables needed to plug in, when needed? How does one go about "purchasing SAN"? I never seen computer usage time broken out into hour or even minutes before? Teach me, Pleas teach us all.
Posted by Caroline_9429, 01-27-2011, 08:14 AM
A really good site its so easy to configure something plus you can see pricing as you go along: Thinkmate (http://www.thinkmate.com)
Posted by SanWebBiz, 01-27-2011, 09:04 AM
Thanks Caroline. I too am heavily invested in the cloud (at least in theory) as well. Can somebody definitively state any actual experience with servesr500 or 500 servers.com.
Posted by arisythila, 01-27-2011, 11:29 AM
Free solutions are going to usually be pieced together. Ill use this as my hypervisor, this for my storage solution, this for .... this for... a SAN's is a storage array. It will contain all of your hard drives. They are usually VERY expensive. We had a customer come in that required a SANs unit for a backup solution (offering a backup solution) So we basically had to buy them a SANs array. HP StorageWorks is what we used. Without hard drives was close to 10,000 dollars. The software solution we use is Applogic, what is unique about Applogic is the way it creates a IP based SANs array. So I basically have 10 boxes with 2 x 1TB hard drives in each box. and it will create a 20TB SANs. We went this way because we didn't want to have to buy two huge SANs units. This offers us multiple back planes, and multiple power supplies, and not a single point of failure. Thanks,
Posted by viabandwidth, 01-27-2011, 11:49 AM
First of all I would suggest that you figure out 1. What Hypervisor (virtualization environment) you want to run, then search for solutions that are able to implement them. 2. Then, do you want a hosted solution or to build one yourself. 3. Figuring out a budget for this would be a good option too 4. Determine if you want Elastic type cloud or storage type. Not everyone offers both models like Amazon (EC2/S3) 5. You may want to determine what business model you want to operate with ie. utility base or standard monthly or both. This MAY sway to which vendor you proceed to go with. When you say redundancy...one what level? Storage, hypervisor, control panel server (sometimes inside a virtual container), power (power supplies and or A&B circuits), bandwidth, switches, routers, geographical etc Unlike traditional hosting, there actually is a barrier to entry this time and that's the greenback..and a lot of it..well, more than before..quite a bit more.
Posted by SanWebBiz, 01-27-2011, 01:02 PM
Ryan, I would like to share my thoughts with you as well. It seems to effectively utilize the cloud building tool that are available on the web, one needs to let go of the concept that "we" know something unique and that there are not at least 100 people on the internet right now that know much more about this thing then we do. The difference is this: You have already stated that you are trying to build a cloud. I suppose I could go because you have decided build the cloudyou have already become the cloud! The question is .. why do you want to build a cloud? Are you willing to allow someone to help you build the cloud? In which case are you willing to share your cloud? ?