Utility Computing for Web 2.0

Tim O'Reilly, who coined the term Web 2.0, noted that a defining characteristic of Web 2.0 firms is a core competency in operations. "So fundamental is the shift from software as artifact to software as service that the software will cease to perform unless it is maintained on a daily basis." However, operations competence in Web 2.0 firms varies considerably from the practice in traditional enterprise IT.

The Challenge

Web 2.0 operations embrace a dizzying pace of change. Two-week release cycles are common and daily releases aren't unheard of. This pace invalidates traditional release planning. Deployments must be immediate, and roll-backs must be automatic. Amidst the rapid product changes, Web 2.0 firms simultaneously face an unprecedented demand for scale. MySpace, for example, grew from a simple two-tier deployment three years ago to operating 3 data centers, 2,682 web servers, 90 Cache servers, 450 Dart Servers, 60 database servers, 150 media servers, and a 1,000 disk SAN. Growth on this scale, requires being able to add resources to the application without downtime and preferably without operator assistance. Achieving this means the deployment mechanism must either be an integral part of the infrastructure or be built directly into the application.

3tera's Solution

Grid technology addresses these operational issues. 3tera's AppLogic grid operating system separates the provisioning of hardware resources from application deployment. Rather than installing software on servers, applications on AppLogic are assembled from virtual appliances. Each appliance is a completely virtualized runtime environment and software stack that essentially becomes disposable infrastructure. The application is packaged with all the required appliances, so when it's run, the appliances are instantiated, maintained while needed, and disposed of when the application exits.

Separating the application from the underlying resources means instead of dedicating servers to applications, servers can be built into a flat array, a grid, on which multiple applications will be run. Servers and storage can be added and removed at any time, without affecting running applications in any way. New resources are discovered automatically, merged into the grid and placed into service.

Solution Benefits

With AppLogic scaling becomes dynamic, rollouts become immediate and failed resources can be routed around automatically. Well designed applications can be scaled 10X to 20X without code changes or reintegration. And there's no complex integration or capital expense for adoption.