AWS is Poised to Reinvent the Wheel Soon!

Amazon Web Services and its team are hosting a conference in November to reinvent its strategy and stress on the fact that it is ideally focused for the developers.

Amazon wants to bring in developers who build applications on its platform closer since they are pivotal in making businesses work. AWS has received backlash from competitors for not being developer-friendly enough. It is also blamed for not being true platform as a service (PaaS) solution and not having a developer focus on a program specifically for the developer network.

But AWS officials refrain from complying and agreeing to any of the arguments since they state that in reality, new developers are turning to AWS for app development and business development through the cloud computing platform.

All startups are dependent on developers, and adroit developers are required for making the most of the platform. AWS Developer is responsible for growth that AWS has made since its inception. In 6 years, AWS has seen drastic developer-driven blogosphere activity which was beneficial for the company and its prospects. It is part of the community.

Amazon insists that they are focused on developers’ needs and wants. Many of AWS services were cited to be extremely developer-centric. Amazon analysts and representatives agreed that AWS has actually created a fair amount of tooling and since the platform is language-agnostic, there are full software development kits and support for multiple languages. Along with the toolset, UI management console has expanded considerably to incorporate a variety of services.

Services are created which can help in uploading your application and expanded to include languages right from PHP and .NET to Java. Amazon representatives have admitted that they are yet to create something drastically effective in the tools space depending on evolving customer needs. AWS is continuously trying make services easier to use for a huge set of customers.  Amazon has a good actual set of actual tools compared to other platforms that have comparatively fewer tools to serve developers who are interested in building applications and even in migrating the same to the cloud.

The AWS event which will be held in November is expected to be much more than a a developer conference. It would touch topics related to IT department decision making and also on strategies required to be adopted for better visibility into the organization. Partners have an important role to play since they are required to present innovative apps based on the platform, putting their skills to test. The official conference would include partner solutions which will be mentioned throughout the main event.

Deep technical sessions are expected to be held during the event and many developers are expected to join the event. The conference would provide clear insight into Amazon Web Services and its working from now on. It would also present a picture of the future for AWS as a cloud computing platform and its new tools will aid in supporting the legacy of cloud computing. AWS wants the world to know that it is a developer-centric organization and would provide for anything that is needed.

Amazon Web Services and Android application development

Amazon Web Services has been part of a great cloud computing platform which has managed to deliver services in a consistent manner. One can create Android apps and host them there too!

Most company databases of information are always meant to be confidential since they contain proprietary data which is meant to be kept safe and secure from snooping eyes. Most large e-commerce firms including Amazon, eBay, and Google are going the opposite way by actually creating repositories for companies to store their data on the cloud. But one might be wondering what would online companies actually gain from exposing their critical data to third-party vendors? Why would anyone release competitive information for everybody?

These companies are sure of what they are uploading to the cloud. They refrain from giving outsiders access to their complete databases. Privacy and confidentiality are both of maximum interest to companies and hence no one outside the company would be able to access critical information. Web services restrict certain aspects of the database from exposure.

Native Android apps utilize server-side components for completing several tasks including content delivery, access control management or data sharing. Amazon EC2 developers can access the cloud computing infrastructure and even scale their resources up and down for hosting their mobile applications. All AWS services are always available on a pay-as-you-go pricing model without the need to invest in it upfront.

Many types of Android applications can easily leverage the AWS cloud offering. Here are some good examples of the types of Android applications that best leverage the AWS cloud offering:
Social, Gaming and Media Apps are based on scores, statistics, and also features such as geo-location. Amazon SimpleDB, a key-value store, can be used as a non-relational database with the help of its non-query functionality for storing app information.

A typical media application can upload multimedia files like photos and videos to Amazon S3, which is actually a durable and highly available storage solution which is known for its easy accessibility. Amazon EC2 developers also use this storage solution for their tasks. The storage buckets can be easily connected to the internet through the Amazon CloudFront which is a huge network related to content delivery.  A photo community app allows users for photo uploads and for applying filters to them. Amazon EC2 virtualized server resources are used by Amazon EC2 developers for high quality image processing and resizing. An ad server that runs on Amazon EC2 can query Amazon SimpleDB for user statistics accessibility.

Cross-device availability has risen in credence and in popularity. End-users sometimes own a tablet and a smartphone simultaneously. Those having both will need access to the same information sometimes a single identity across multiple devices.  Most developers also like to store user accounts and statistics in Amazon SimpleDB so that they can share it across multiple platforms.

One can use Amazon SQS for sending messages between devices along with Amazon SNS which does not require additional infrastructure. Business applications can also be used with the help of Amazon Web Services which would help the businesspeople to manage meetings, notes and  files. A managed relational database like Amazon RDS and many other AWS products will help sort out storage issues too.

AWS App Development & Hosting By Using Cloud Computing

The new cloud computing platform by Amazon has given small IT companies a chance to host their apps against feeble payments. Small IT companies who struggle to set up their own app hosting platforms are benefiting a lot from the AWS app development. It has been noticed that majority of the entry level fast growing app developers choose AWS for swift hosting. This huge response from the developers propelled AWS to new heights in recent years.

The AWS developer platform has a wide range of languages available like Java, Ruby, PHP, .NET etc. and they have full SDKs and toolsets to help new developers. The user interface management console of AWS is expanded to include all the available services and is evolved continually.

The AWS app development platform promises to offer an “upload your application and don’t worry about running it” environment.

AWS provides a long list of services and products to help different firms to develop apps via cloud computing. Some of the well known ones are as follows:
1.Amazon CloudFront: a Content Delivery Network (CDN) for dealing out objects to edge locations close to the supplicant.
2.Amazon CloudWatch: it scouts and monitors for AWS cloud applications and resources.
3.Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2): It gives scalable virtual confidential servers by using Xen (which allows multiple computer OS to execute simultaneously using the same computer hardware).
4.Amazon Elastic Block Store (EBS): used by EC2 for persistent block-level storage volumes.
5.Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3): gives storage based on Web Service.
6.Amazon Virtual Private Cloud (VPC): It helps to create a logically isolated set of Amazon EC2 instances which is usually connected to other networking devices using Virtual Private Network.
7.Amazon CloudSearch: It helps developers gain specific information and even codes from the cloud computing domain.

The Amazon Web Services cloud space provides some distinct advantages to the developers (whether new or experienced) as well. It does not require the use of high end computing devices since hardware and software is pinpointed here. The resource usage is also minimal since the entire process is stored in a virtual setup. The entire AWS cloud computing platform goes very easy on the pocket for all the companies using it.

It significantly reduces a company’s IT investments, if an effective cloud computing platform is set up. Since the entire process is virtual, the developers have unlimited space providing them with the opportunity to broaden their spectrum of work to a great extent. The platform provides collaboration of documents easily as well.

The AWS marketing vice president Adam Selipsky says that “if you compared us to the actual tooling that other companies have in place today to serve developers who are building and migrating applications to the cloud, we compare very favourably.”

Google’s Computing Engine – the Biggest Rival of Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Google's Compute Engine gives a new way for monetizing investment in data centers along with networking options. The new cloud platform is offering new options for companies who are interested to run their business in the cloud. It also gives a direct challenge to Amazon Web Services, who has ruled the space in recent years.

The announcement of the Google Compute Engine pitches Google’s battle with Amazon, which earns much more money than it does selling books. The details of the Compute Engine are still sketchy, but it is said that it gives companies, access to Linux Virtual Machines which Google uses for powering its own business. The company also promises 50% more computing power than with other leading cloud providers for the same amount of money. 

Google representatives say that the company has worked very hard for lowering the overall cost of computing over the decades. The company also claims that the Compute Engine also boasts of better performance over any of the competitors. Even the initial reports from beta testers confirm the same.

Google Compute engine is for companies who have more than 100 cores. The company spokesperson was clear when he said that the limited preview of the offering is likely to last months, but would not go on for years. He stated that the overall technology itself was ready, but the company wanted to make sure, if it could pitch in a comparable sales experience along with customer support.

It is evident that Google’s Compute Engine will not be able to present the entire suite of cloud computing products which is now offered by Amazon Web Services and Rackspace. But it is presumed that it is a matter of time until Google would establish its supremacy in the field. The company has the infrastructure in place which could launch the Compute Engine as a credible alternative to most of its competitors.

Amazon on the other hand, is content to play as it goes. The company has long been facing several power outages and problems because of disruption. Amazon seeks to improve its offerings in the coming months although the success of enhancements will be proved at a later stage. Till it manages to stay afloat, Google has the change to pounce on the competition in the cloud computing market.

Additionally, one of the biggest questions here is how much does Google care about the cloud computing market. One needs to know about the perspective of Google in this regard since its attention and resources needs to attend a brand-new set of demanding customers who are not satisfied with weak returns and output. Also, Google needs to take care of outages and other problems which Amazon is presently facing before going live with its services on a large scale. Many analysts believe that Google would surely prove to be an extremely stiff competitor in the cloud computing world and would not be any more different from consumers who have been using Gmail every day. Amazon would have to think out a way to counter Google’s moves now!

The Future of Amazon Web Services EC2 Development as a Build and Development Environment

It is invariably found that many users are not given root access in their machines which creates a huge problem for getting additional software installed in it. The systems are then made to access using a slow VPN connection which is ridiculous to say the least. Also, there are many obstacles to actually create real progress in there. For getting out of the rubble here, one looks forward to Amazon EC2 for getting the right set of services.

When starting out to use Amazon EC2, it is important for IT professionals to size up their needs. One needs to be sure and have the ability to get a machine image which can be used. One needs to get complete control over the operating system along with the software one might need for coding as a Amazon EC2 developer. He manages to fulfil the needs promptly.

For starters, it might take a while to understand the steps and create the perfect image of the capacity and performance of a machine that one needs but after due attention, one will surely get the hang of it and determine the necessary details. Evidently, the documentation provided by Amazon web services does not help you out with the details and hence one must be sure enough of the image when you create it. The default image size is that of 1GB  and it can be stretched only upto 10GB. Also, one should remember that shutting down an image will damage everything that you might have installed or kept in that image. One might make the mistake a couple of times by installing the software and then shutting it down.

Additionally, as most developers have noted down that there are specific limitations with Amazon EC2 related to the storage. Other than that, it is a little problematic that no static IP is assigned to any of the images. Also, one will not be able to hack the kernel in any way. The storage can be worked upon since some companies opt for buying the complete Amazon S3 bucket to be used as a file system and store all types of stuff. Since Amazon EC2 is just used as a build and development environment, the other stuff can be kept somewhere else. Hosting real apps on an image might be a problem but at the moment, an average developer gets total control and will need SSH for accessibility.

There is a cost attached to the whole setup involved but it is quite cheap compared to hosting a live machine in a facility. A machine in the cloud on which you have total control is a rarity. To top it all, the low upfront cost and no expenditure on most infrastructure is a blessing. Since the pros outweigh the cons by a large margin, developers and companies have increasingly encouraged one another to opt for Amazon EC2 hosting and using it as a build and development environment. Also, the companies can now rely on the cloud as there is a backup of information here and one can access the cloud from anywhere one might wish.

Amazon EC2 and AWS Expanding their Reach

Within a few years, Amazon.com has evolved from traditional book publishing to a bigger goal of giving everybody access to unimaginable amount of computing power and resources. Amazon EC2 Developer is like the evergreen computational brain behind Amazon Web services. One can use multiple instances for getting the complex computational tasks done.

A start-up called the Climate Corporation performs more than 10,000 simulations daily about the weather conditions in the next two years for one million locations in US. The data is required to write about the root structure and soil porosity for farming conditions for the coming years.

There is a start up company called Cue which scans a whopping 500 million e-mails and many more Facebook updates of different personalities. It also scans through their corporate documents for understanding a person and create their biography. The company sends notifications about the person or related activity through notifications.

Many start-ups rely on cloud computing for completing the tasks which were impossible to fathom a decade ago. Both companies just own a few desktop computers and rely on the rented data storage services from Amazon, through AWS for a fraction of the cost.
Thus, cloud computing has been around for years, but it is now powering all kinds of new businesses around the globe, quickly and with less capital.

Amazon's Elastic Load Balance allows multiple EC2 instances for dividing the entire traffic between them. No instances need to be burdened as EC2 can be easily scaled up and balance can be restored.

The Elastic Block Storage (EBS) is perfect as a hard drive while the Simple Storage Service (S3) on the other hand stores public facing data. S3 is mostly used by several companies for storing static content  and it can be scaled up and down as needed too.

With the help of AWS, any developer can design simple to complex apps which can be further utilized on the cloud with the help of cost-effective Amazon services and its efficient platform. AWS performs immaculately well as a platform-as-a-service and usually developers and companies need to “pay as you go.” It has a licensing fee every month depending on usage with no upfront expenditure. No maintenance costs re levied too since Amazon is the one who is maintaining the overall system.

The virtual infrastructure takes minutes to piece together and simulate an infrastructure which is difficult in the real world. Virtualization saves on lots of money and is suitably elastic for scaling resources up and down depending on demand.

AWS Development and cloud computing provide users with freedom from huge investments since there are no charges regarding maintenance as indicated above. This opens new avenues of invention and innovation. The focus will be on business ideas and then on a particular infrastructure which is required for the project. The focus will always be on deliverables. Most businesses spend more than three-fourths of the time to build infrastructure and maintenance rather than focusing on core tasks.

Amazon EC2 Computing and its Development Services

There is absolutely no shortage of cloud services and this is so true for enterprises too. Many cloud offerings support each other. There are incredible services like Drop box and Box.net which offer storage services for the consumer demographic while Azure has positioned itself with the enterprise. For individuals who need something in the cloud arena to work on, it's difficult and also extremely expensive to bring enterprise solutions on a personal level. Amazon's EC2, attempts to bridge the existing gap of technologies here.

EC2 is one of the perfect tools for developers in the cloud. One can start from scratch or get going with a large-scale development company. EC2 is perfect to satisfy any cloud storage need along with virtual environment need.

The appeal of Amazon EC2 basically lies in its payment structure since the user is expected to pay only for the storage that he or she has used and the time is taken into consideration. While other cloud services are dependent on fixed data allowances, Amazon serves to be a perfect fit for any developer who wants to upload its services on the cloud. Amazon has also incorporated a Free Usage Tier for the pricing scheme. This plan gives monthly limits and 750 hours of instance usage along with 30GB data transfer to and from the cloud.

As one increases the virtual machine's power and if needed, storage capability from Amazon EC2, the price rises to about $2.10 per hour. One can reserve a single instance for the year and the price differs from $227.50 for the smallest instance to $5,630.

No static IPs can be assigned to images which is an inhibitor when talking about Amazon EC2. The storage shortcoming is really critical for everybody since many prefer to use it as a build and development environment only. Hosting real apps might prove to be clunky here but for the time being, Amazon EC2 manages to get handled easily and remains in control mostly.

The cost involved is ok but if one wants a machine to be hosted and want to have total control for low cost, it is good to choose Amazon Web Services.

Here is what cloud computing provides developers:

• Computationally-intensive tasks which are repetitive
• Huge quantity of tasks
• Massive computation in segments
• Storage of redundant data for client access

This would mean that applications stored in the cloud will have much greater capacity for high intensity computation along with high volume of coding. Amazon has the magnificent ability to scale on demand and boost exponential growth.

The EC2 helps everyone to meet deadlines by introducing scalability as and when needed. There are many complementary services which come up with AWS Development. The backbones of cloud computing are virtual computer instances at the data center. It’s elastic in nature and the GUI tools for configuring and managing instances are fantastically easy to use. Command line options help in automating control over instances in software. Constituent tasks of your application can be run and each of the tasks will require a .exe file on your custom EC2 image.