The Planet Blog

At the 2009 Cloud Computing Conference in Santa Clara, Calif., The Planet Director of Product Management Rob Walters was one of five experts invited to participate in a panel discussion about enterprise-level cloud computing – whether it’s a far-off dream or a present-day reality. Conference Chair Jeremy Geelan covered everything from whether the term “cloud” was too broad to be useful to whether private clouds and public clouds can coexist.

I caught up with Rob in the expo hall to have him weigh in on each of the questions for our loyal blog readers (you!):

I love the analogy he uses to explain why “the cloud” is such a difficult concept to explain. It seems to be a paradigm shift unlike any we’ve seen in recent memory, so the transition from hype and confusion to understanding and adoption should prove to be an interesting adventure over the next few years.

One of the most interesting questions asked of the panel was whether or not we’d be talking about cloud computing in 10 years. The unanimous answer: No. Why? The resounding sentiment is that shift toward “the cloud” will be so pervasive that a given platform’s “cloudiness” will be implied. This opinion is shared by a group of experts at a “cloud computing conference,” so there may be a little bias here … What do you think? Will the cloud take over and become the de facto standard or will demand for traditional IT remain in the midst of the cloud’s surge?

-Kevin

If a picture is worth a thousand words, how many could I get for a video?

In a recent walkthrough of D6 Phase 3, I toted along a video camera to give you a first-hand look at what the data center looks like in motion. Not surprisingly, it looks exactly like it does in the pictures … only this glimpse relies much more heavily on my ability to multitask: holding a camera while guiding the tour.

If you haven’t been back to the D6 Phase 3 picture tour, head over there and check out the comment section where we answered a few key questions and explained a little more about the DC design.

One of the points I neglected to mention in the previous post is the positioning of the CRAC units in Phase 3. In other data center designs, CRAC units are positioned along opposing walls, pushing air toward the middle of the room. That positioning effectively cools the room, but our tests have shown that it can be done more efficiently by installing the CRAC units on one wall and in the middle of the DC, with the air flow going the same direction from both units … so the CRAC units are never fighting against each other.

As a bit of a bonus, the video also features a little bit of information about our power rooms and our UPS systems.

If you’ve got any questions, don’t hesitate to ask!

Which do you prefer: video tours or photo tours? What else do you want to see?

-Kevin