[Bio-Linux] Cloud computing...

[Tim Booth]

But what you describe (running HMMer on Amazon, or wherever) is
'classic' GRID computing.  I don't think anyone is arguing against that
(other than complaining of the technical difficulties involved).

The buzzword 'cloud computing' seems to refer to situations where the
service provider supplies the computing power, software and storage for
every-day computing needs.  The classic example is webmail.  In this
case, you want to be very clear on your contractual relationship with
the provider.  What Stallman is basically saying is "I wouldn't have a
Hotmail or GMail account, and here's why...".

I don't entirely agree with him.  I trust my bank to look after my
money, and I would trust Google to look after my e-mail; but then my
bank is heavily regulated and backed by a deposit protection scheme.
Google isn't.

TIM

ps - Nice to see an interesting discussion on this list!

On Wed, 2008-12-17 at 07:55 -0800, Martin Gollery wrote:
> Many people do not have the funds for a BlueGene/L, nor the need for
> such a thing on a regular basis, as WSU and VBI recently announced.
> The throughput was very impressive, but the cost is in the millions of
> dollars.
> 
> If a researcher had a job that was bigger than what he or she could
> easily do on the standard BioLinux system, then a 20 CPU instance can
> be started at Amazon for 80 cents (US) per hour. If there is a
> deadline looming, the data could be divided into, say, ten parts and
> run on ten instances for a total of 8 dollars per hour.
> 
> This does not 'lock you into a proprietary system'. Running HMMer on a
> cloud today does not prevent you from running it on your own server
> tomorrow, your mac the next day, and windows the next. Why would
> anybody think that? A Linux instance runs like Linux.
> 
> Marty
>