2013-07-23 Tuesday - Book Review: Cloud Computing, Concepts, Technology & Architecture, by Thomas Erl

My Book Review:

Cloud Computing
Concepts, Technologies & Architecture
By Thomas Erl, with Zaigham Mahmood and Ricardo Puttini
Pearson Education, The Prentice Hall Service Technology Series with Thomas Erl


First, let me say - this is an excellent book. The content is well organized, well written, and is useful as a reference for both business as well as technical personnel. With the information in this book, you will have established a firm foundation from which to define pilot projects to explore Cloud Computing initiatives within your own company, as well as being better informed as to what considerations should be of paramount concern if you need to work through an RFI, RFP, or RFQ process.  Consequently, you will also be much better prepared for evaluating various Cloud Vendor service offerings.

What I particularly appreciate about the Thomas Erl series of books published by Pearson Education in the Prentice Hall Series, is the obvious attention to detail and thoroughness of the the treatment for a given topic. This book continues that fine tradition.

With such a broad and deep topic as Cloud Computing, certainly no one book can be the definitive reference. However, this one is a good first step to acquiring mastery within the domain of Cloud Computing, and I highly recommend that you add it to your bookshelf.  It will help you navigate further in your exploration of the complex issues and challenges in devising cloud strategies.

Another excellent benefit of this book (for a large organization): Providing a common lexicon as the basis for establishing a common understanding of the concepts, architecture patterns, risks, and terminology of Cloud Computing.

Of particular note: Interspersed throughout the text are citations of real-world case studies.

At 487 pages, this is a great value for the price.

Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: Case Study Background

Part I: Fundamental Cloud Computing
Chapter 3: Understanding Cloud Computing
Chapter 4: Fundamental Concepts and Modules
Chapter 5: Cloud-Enabling Technology
Chapter 6: Fundamental Cloud Security

Part II: Cloud Computing Mechanisms
Chapter 7: Cloud Infrastructure Mechanisms
Chapter 8: Specialized Cloud Mechanisms
Chapter 9: Cloud Management Mechanisms
Chapter 10: Cloud Security Mechanisms

Part III: Cloud Computing Architecture
Chapter 11: Fundamental Cloud Architectures
Chapter 12: Advanced Cloud Architectures
Chapter 13: Specialized Cloud Architectures

Part IV: Working With Clouds
Chapter 14: Cloud Delivery Model Considerations
Chapter 15: Cost Metrics and Pricing Models
Chapter 16: Service Quality Metrics and SLAs

Part V: Appendices
Appendix A: Case Study Conclusions
Appendix B: Industry Standards Organizations
Appendix C: Mapping Mechanisms to Characteristics
Appendix D: Data Center Facilities (TIA-942)
Appendix E: Emerging Technologies
Appendix F: Cloud Provisioning Contracts
Appendix G: Cloud Business Case Template

2013-07-10 Wednesday - Vulnerability Rewards Program

An interesting research paper:
An Empirical Study of Vulnerability Rewards Programs
http://www.cs.berkeley.edu/~devdatta/papers/vrp-paper.pdf

2013-07-03 Wednesday - Eclipse Kepler Released

http://www.eclipse.org/kepler/

http://java.dzone.com/articles/eclipse-kepler-release-numbers

This software repository URL,
http://download.eclipse.org/releases/kepler/

2013-06-29 Saturday - A solid beginning foundation for a Mobile Strategy

[image source: Amazon.com]

Mobile Strategy: How Your Company Can Win by Embracing Mobile Technologies 1st Edition (2013)
https://www.amazon.com/Mobile-Strategy-Company-Embracing-Technologies/dp/013309491X/
 

My Book Review: 

 A solid beginning foundation for a Mobile Strategy

If you are a bit bewildered by what it means to implement a Mobile Strategy, then this book offers a solid conceptual foundation upon which to establish the beginning of a Mobile Strategy.

The first pleasant surprise on reading this book was the realization that Dirk Nicol  (Program Director for IBM Mobile Strategy and Production Management) wrote this with a true intent to educate, and while he could have used this as a platform to promote an IBM-specific agenda - he did not. Instead, he brought his obviously formidable depth of expertise - and lays out a framework for evolving a Mobile Strategy that can be applied to businesses both large and small.  No mean feat, that.

Who Should [Really] Read This Book?
- IT Executives pondering a mobile strategy
- IT Managers being tasked to implement a mobile strategy
- IT Business Analysts that need to understand the subtle transformative power of mobile to business processes, and its unique development processes

What this book is not:
- It is not an introduction to the mechanics of implementing mobile applications
- Although it touches on technical concerns, it does not intend to be an introduction to mobile technical specifications

Chapters include:
1 - Introducing Mobile Enterprise
2 - Defining Business Value
3 - Mobile Business Challenges
4 - The Mobile Framework
5 - Mobile Development
6 - Mobile Security and Management
7 - Mobile Business Transformation
8 - Planning a Mobile Project
9 - Social+Cloud+Big Data+Mobile
10 - International Considerations
11 - Case Studies and Mobile Solutions
12 - Moving Forward

Full Disclosure: I was provided a free copy of this book by Pearson Education to review

2013-06-26 Wednesday - Design and Code Reviews

Recently I've been helping a large enterprise development program provide guidance to multiple teams of developers (100+ developers) via design and code reviews.

I've enjoyed the opportunity to lead these discussions - and focus on encouraging, nurturing, educating, and mentoring - versus the less productive and negative connotations of review-as-blame, as is often the unintended result of how reviews are perceived by developers.

For each build within a sprint, I typically review a SVN Diff file, and release notes - which allows me to focus on what has changed.

Although I usually don't limit my findings or comments to just the Diff details - it helps me focus and optimize the time I spend preparing for the review meeting itself (which is usually time-boxed to 30 minutes).

My first priority in the review is to identify critical sections that need refactoring (either due to observed defects, or known issues that will arise from a maintenance perspective, or inherent limitations in the implementation of the code that will affect the desired functionality)

My second priority in the review is to identify recommendations for improving the design of the solution so that it is maintainable, testable, and extensible.  "Elegance" is a subjective term, but it is the essence of what I strive to communicate.

The third priority in the review is often to help developers learn to identify anti-patterns that can be re-mediated to improve the overall performance and robustness of the code.


If your organization might benefit from having an outside independent 3rd party provide Design and Code Review feedback, please contact me to discuss your program needs.


A useful Big-O reference for developers::
http://bigocheatsheet.com/

(more to be added this weekend when I have more time to continue this post)