[NTLUG:Discuss] Cloud computing

[Dennis Myhand]

On 6/30/2011 11:49 PM, Leroy Tennison wrote:
>
> I was wondering how long it was going to take for someone to say 
> "Emperor's new clothes", obviously we're thinking along the same 
> lines.  Some items I would add: you are trusting their access (will 
> they be on line when you need them and provide adequate bandwidth - 
> here you are trusting all the links in the path), their backups/COB 
> and DR plans (should something happen), their security (even if they 
> are the most honorable entity around - what about all their employees, 
> subcontractors and the other customers sharing the same resources you 
> are on).
>
> But, alas, the computer industry has sold people a number of bills of 
> goods, some of which I would probably be excommunicated for mentioning 
> (like TCP/IP as a protocol).
>

Hi Leroy:

I am the Technology Coordinator for a small school district on the Gulf 
Coast.  Technology Coordinator means that I do everything from blasting 
the dust bunnies out of the math teacher's computer to designing and 
configuring (and rebuilding) the network and servers.  All that is to 
say that I don't have a lot of free time in my schedule.  But I am hit 
by "cloud computing" solutions to every problem I have at least once a 
month.  It would be more but I don't go to a lot of "conferences and 
seminars," which are nothing more than sales pitches.  School districts 
have a state, and federally, mandated need for document security.  Now, 
if I can be prosecuted, or at least fired, for sharing this information 
with my mother, who doesn't work for the district (and I would never 
share it with her), why am I expected to be stupid enough, to quote 
Fred, "to give it to a complete stranger?"  Most of the cloud computing 
solutions I have seen so far boil down to a big ass server farm (or 
maybe a small one?  Has anyone ever seen the servers in the cloud?) and 
some means of redirecting the path for the files being saved to get 
those files to the cloud.  We actually do that at my school district by 
aiming everyone's "my documents" directory at the NAS machine.  A copy 
stays on the computer and goes to the storage device.  But it doesn't 
leave our district.  Blessings to Fred for pointing out the lack of the 
Emperor's wardrobe, and to you, sir, for your additional food for 
thought.  Thanks, Dennis