Cloud Computing in Libraries

1. Marshall Breeding Independent Consult, Author, Founder and Publisher, Library Technology Guides www.librarytechnology.org/ twitter.com/mbreeding Cloud Computing in Libraries Basic concepts and library applications 9 Nov, 2012 Library Services in the Cloud

2. Summary • Cloud computing in Libraries: trends related to the adoption of cloud computing technologies for library management and discovery products.

3. Summary • Cloud computing is one of the most important technology trends of the times. The phase of client/server computing is fading into obsolescence, replaced by entirely web-based systems, increasingly deployed through SaaS. Libraries and other technology-oriented organizations now have options through infrastructure-as-a-service offerings such as Amazon’s Elastic Compute Cloud and Simple Storage Service to ramp up computing capabilities quickly, enjoy free access for smaller projects, and take advantage of usage- based subscription models for larger-scale production projects. Breeding expands on these topics and provides a basic explanation of cloud computing that focuses on real advantages and disadvantages for libraries.

4. Cloud Computing for Libraries Book Image Publication Info: • Volume 11 in The Tech Set • Published by Neal-Schuman / ALA TechSource • ISBN: 781555707859 • http://www.neal-schuman.com/ccl

5. Cloud computing as marketing term • Cloud computing used very freely, tagged to almost any virtualized environment • Any arrangement where the library relies on some kind of remote hosting environment for major automation components • Includes almost any vendor-hosted product offering

6. Cloud computing – characteristics • Web-based Interfaces • Externally hosted • Pricing: subscription or utility • Highly abstracted computing model • Provisioned on demand • Scaled according to variable needs • Elastic – consumption of resources can contract and expand according to demand

7. Fundamental technology shift • Mainframe computing • Client/Server • Cloud Computing http://www.flickr.com/photos/carrick/61952845/ http://soacloudcomputing.blogspot.com/2008/10/cloud-computing.html http://www.javaworld.com/javaworld/jw-10-2001/jw-1019-jxta.html

8. Local Computing • Traditional model • Locally owned and managed • Shifting from departmental to enterprise • Departmental servers co-located in central IT data centers • Increasingly virtualized

9. Virtualization • The ability for multiple computing images to simultaneously exist on one physical server • Physical hardware partitioned into multiple instances using virtual machine management tools such as VMware • Applicable to local, remote, and cloud models

10. Gartner Hype Cycle 2009

11. Gartner Hype Cycle 2010

12. Gartner Hype Cycle 2011

13. Cloud computing layers

14. Mobile Computing

15. Infrastructure-as-a-service • Provisioning of Equipment • Servers, storage • Virtual server provisioning • Examples: • Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) • Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3) • Rackspace Cloud www.rackspacecloud.com/) • EMC2 Atmos (www.atmosonline.com/)

16. Web-scale computing http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2012/10/googles-data-centers-inside-look.html

17. Amazon EC2 • Amazon Machine Instances (AMI) • Red Hat Enterprise Linux • Debian • Fedora • Ubuntu Linux • Open Solaris • Windows Server 2003/2008

18. Amazon Web Services Console

19. Software-as-a-Service • Complete software application, customized for customer use • Software delivered through cloud infrastructure, data stored on cloud • Eg: Salesforce.com—widely used business infrastructure • Multi-tenant: all organizations that use the service share the same instance (codebase, hardware resources, etc) • Often partitioned to separate some groups of subscribers

20. Types of SaaS http://www.samanage.com/blog/2011/08/not-all-saas-offerings-are-created-equal/

21. Application service provider • Legacy business applications hosted by software vendor • Standalone application on discrete or virtualized hardware • Staff and public clients accessed via the Internet • Same user interfaces and functionality as if installed locally • Established as a deployment model in the 1990’s • Can be implemented through Infrastructure-as-a Service • Individual instances of legacy system hosted in EC2

22. ASP vs SaaS From: THINKstrategies: CIO’s Guide to Software-as-a-Service

23. Multi-tenant

24. Salesforce: classic multi-tenant • Salesforce.com: multi-tenant cloud infrastructure used by organizations across many industries http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-10400538-264.html

25. Multi-Tenantvs Multi-Instance http://www.zdnet.com/blog/saas/google-apps-vs-office-365-your-choice/1357

26. Private vs Public http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cloud_computing_types.svg

27. Storage-as-a-Service • Provisioned, on-demand storage • Bundled to, or separate from other cloud services • Examples: • Enterprise: Amazon S3 (Simple Storage Service) • Consumer: Dropbox

28. General opportunity to move away from library-by-library metadata management to globally shared workflows Shared knowledge bases E-resource holdings Bibliographic services Linked data applications Key Issues Data ownership Creative commons license Data portability across competing providers Data as a service

29. Common Library Examples Cloud computing in action

30. Cloud computing trends for libraries • Increased migration away from local computing toward some form of remote / hosted / virtualized alternative • Cloud computing especially attractive to libraries with few technology support personnel • Adequate bandwidth will continue to be a limiting factor

31. Operation of a library’s Web site • Fewer libraries choosing to operate their Web sites on local servers • Simple sites: Webhosting services • Intermediate sites: Hosted CMS • Drupal consulting firm + hosting service • Complex sites • Custom programming • EC2 or other Infrastructure as a service

32. Mail and Calendaring • Many libraries just use individual accounts on Gmail or similar services • A more sophisticated approach uses mail services from Google, Microsoft, or others institutionally • Google Apps for Businesses • Microsoft Exchange Online • Same interface, but e-mail addresses carry the institutional domain name • Free or low-cost for small organizations • Professional levels for larger organizations • Supplemental services: • No advertising • Back-up and recovery services • Service Level agreement

33. Document creation and collaboration • Google Docs / Google Drive • Microsoft Office 365 • Zoho.com • Concerns / Issues: • Documents as official institutional records • Backup and recovery process • Private or Subject to FOIA?

34. Data in the cloud • Storage as a service • Informal / small-scale • Dropbox (2GB+) • Microsoft Skydrive (7GB+) • Mostly used as supplemental storage and for sharing • Institutional / Larger-scale • Local storage still dominant • When using cloud storage for institutional data • Multiple tiers of backup with SLA • DuraCloud, S3, many others

35. Platform-as-a-Platform as a Service • Virtualized computing environment for deployment of software • Application engine, no specific server provisioning • Examples: • Google App Engine • SDKs for Java, Python • Heroku: ruby platform • Amazon Web Service • Library Specific platforms

36. Library automation through SaaS • Almost all library automation products offered through hosted options • SaaS or ASP?

37. SaaS provides opportunity for highly shared data models General opportunity to move away from library-by-library metadata management to globally shared workflows Data as a service

38. Web-scale Index-based Discovery ILS Data (2009- present) Digital Collections Search: Web Site Content Institutional Repositories Aggregated Content packages Search Results Consolidated Index … E-Journals Reference Sources Pre-built harvesting and indexing

39. Repositories in the cloud • Dspace – institutional repository application • Fedora – generalized repository platform • DuraSpace – organization now over both Dspace and Fedora • DuraCloud – shared, hosted repository platform • Pilot since 2009, production in early 2011 • www.duraspace.org/duracloud.php

40. Caveats and concerns with SaaS • Libraries must have adequate bandwidth to support access to remote applications without latency • Quality of service agreements that guarantee performance and reliability factors • Configurability and customizability limitations • Access to API’s • Ability to interoperate with 3rd party applications • Eg: Connect SaaS ILS with discovery product from another vendor

41. Maintain institutional branding • Using cloud computing does not mean giving up your identity • Be sure that your services delivered through your own URL • Most cloud services support domain aliases • Accomplished through DNS configuration • Implemented by your network administrator • Create CNAME entry to redirect cloud service to a subdomain associated with your library: • S3.mylibrary.org = s3.amazonaws.com.

42. Cost implications • Total cost of ownership • Do all cost components result in increased or decreased expense • Personnel costs – need less technical administration • Hardware – server hardware eliminated • Software costs: subscription, license, maintenance/support • Indirect costs: energy costs associated with power and cooling of servers in data center • IaaS: balance elimination of hardware investments for ongoing usage fees • Especially attractive for development and prototyping

43. Personnel Distribution Local Computing Cloud Computing • Server Administration • Application maintenance • Staff client software updates • Operational tasks • Application configuration or profiling • Operational tasks

44. Budget Allocations Local Computing Cloud Computing • Server Purchase • Server Maintenance • Application software license • Data Center overhead • Energy costs • Facility costs • Annual Subscription • Measured Service? • Fixed fees • Factors • Hosting • Software Licenses • Optional modules

45. Benefits of Cloud Computing Libraries Providers / Vendors • Elimination of capital expenses for equipment • Lower annual costs • Redeployment of technical staff to more meaningful activities • Higher revenues relative to software-only arrangements • Provision of infrastructure at scale with lower unit costs • Longer-term relationships with customers

46. Risks and concerns • Privacy of data • Policies, regulations, jurisdictions • Ownership of data • Avoid vendor lock-in • Integrity of Data • Backups and disaster recovery • Opportunities for increased redundancy

47. Required infrastructure • Adequate bandwidth • Web-based applications do not necessarily require the highest-performance connectivity • Able to function well in remote and rural areas? • Business applications consume less bandwidth than audio or video streaming services • Reliable Internet and local network infrastructure • Critical paths: • Users --> provider • Library locations --> provider • Not: users --> library

48. Security issues • Most providers implement stronger safeguards beyond the capacity of local institutions • Virtual instances equally susceptible to poor security practices as local computing

49. Cloud computing trends for libraries • Increased migration away from local computing toward some form of remote / hosted / virtualized alternative • Cloud computing especially attractive to libraries with few technology support personnel • Adequate bandwidth will continue to be a limiting factor

50. Relevant trends • No technical limitations on scalability of infrastructure • General move toward ever larger implementations of automation infrastructure • National infrastructure (beginning with smaller countries) • US: Statewide and regional projects