Cloud
computing has been taking over the traditional backup fast and still gives
consumers availability of their data. This week’s blog is on a novel about NASA
and their usage of cloud computing. In 2010, NASA Mars Exploration Rover (MER)
project became their first mission to incorporate a public cloud into its daily
mission-critical operations. NASA goal has been to obtain as much durability as
possible with minimal cost. Their goal is also to significantly reduce cost
compared to traditional backup solutions while enhancing the durability and
availability of their data. One of the primary reasons organizations approach
the cloud is because of the variable pricing models. Compliance, privacy and
integrity of the data are also considered high priority requirements. NASA
backup process to the cloud, along with the variable cost model of cloud
storage, provides a compelling alternative
to the traditional backup processes IT systems used.
The cloud
data transfer client can support speeds that exceed common data backup strategies
such as using an external hard drive or DVD archiving. The seamless integration
of archiving, compressing and encryption, along with unlimited storage adds to
the convenience of cloud storage. The automated auditing ensures that backups
are reliable and up to date and when recovery is needed, data can be restored
in a very short amount of time. NASA software is modular they are currently
only employing Amazon S3 as the backup data store. Their cloud computing setup
runs on very modest machines with very few tweaks in compression and encryption
parameters.
Backup storage is very crucial for most of these organizations. Not only are they looking for the privacy and speed to be efficient but their making sure they're in the right price range of their budget.
ReplyDeleteThe idea of cloud storage is great when it comes to storing large amounts of data. It's the ideal method for companies who are widespread and need to have their data centralized for all. The fact that even NASA is turning to cloud computing shows how efficient cloud computing must be.
ReplyDeleteData integrity is defiantly important to an organization like NASA, using cloud computing techniques to access the data will continue to benefit the organization.
ReplyDeleteOne key thing that I noticed was that tape remains the state of the art for data backup across many organizations.
ReplyDeleteReading this article informed me of how the Mars Rover used a public cloud for back-up of its information. This seemed to be an interesting concept that worked well for NASA.
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