Digging A Little Deeper: Ubuntu Enterprise Cloud

In late October Canonical, the commercial sponsor behind Ubuntu, released Ubuntu 9.1 Server Edition, which includes the Ubuntu Enterprise Cloud (UEC). This was big news because it was another example of how providers are putting cloud computing within the hands of enterprise customers. UEC represents a simpler, faster way to create a private cloud within the enterprise. And, because there is a perception that public clouds offer less security and control, there is a strong current of thought that sees private clouds as the answer by bridging the benefits of the cloud with the security and control found within an enterprise data center.

As a result, vendors both from the established ranks, like IBM, Unisys and VMware, and those that are built from the ground up for cloud computing, like Amazon and Eucalyptus, have been working to provide private cloud solutions to enterprise customers.

In fact, UEC is powered by Eucalyptus Systems' open source software for creating private clouds and based on the same APIs as Amazon EC2. Accordingly, "having the same images available on UEC or on Amazon's public cloud means that work done can be deployed in either environment which improves portability and flexibility for users." This gives developers flexibility in the creation, deployment and management of cloud computing environments for the enterprise.

Two articles worth reading to get more perspective on Ubuntu Enterprise Cloud are:

Could Ubuntu Get Enterprises to Finally Embrace the Cloud?

In his InforWorld blog David Linthicum argues that the Ubuntu Enterprise Cloud (UEC) is precisely the kind of solution that could lead to wider adoption of cloud computing in the enterprise. As he writes, "What's most interesting about UEC is that enterprises can use it as an on-premise interface between many cloud providers." It's a great little read and should open some eyes.

Roll Your Own Ubuntu Private Cloud

Taking a more technical view of Ubuntu Enterprise Cloud (UEC) is Serdar Yegulalp. His InformationWeek article is basically a tutorial on how to create a private cloud using the new Ubuntu software. He steps through hardware requirements, software implementation guidelines, and details on the virtual machine images for it. He also sees the promise of UEC as an interface between clouds, though he's quick to point out the initial benefit as "a way to take existing commodity hardware and make it elastic without sacrificing outwards expansion. What you create with UEC doesn't have to stay put, and that's a big portion of its appeal."

Read our profiles to learn more about Canonical and Eucalyptus.