Amazon improves performance of CloudFormation management platform

Amazon Web Services (AWS) has added new features to the company's management platform CloudFormation that aim to improve performance and simplify updates.

As companies get more used to running applications in the cloud, they are putting together more complex systems. That in turn puts higher demands on management platforms, which have to allow users to take better advantage of the programmability and scalability of the cloud.

CloudFormation aims to give developers and systems administrators a way to create and manage a collection of related resources, provisioning and updating them in an orderly and predictable fashion.

The latest additions to the platform are parallel stack processing and nested stack updates.

The first feature allows CloudFormation to create, update, and delete resources in parallel in order to improve the performance of these operations. For example, provisioning a RAID 0 setup, which involves the creation of multiple Elastic Block Store volumes, is now faster because CloudFormation can provision the volumes in parallel, Amazon said in a blog post.

The platform automatically determines which resources in a template can be created in parallel. Templates are used as a blue print when running CloudFormation to describe the stack of applications and resources needed.

The second new feature, called nested stack updates, deals with how resources are updated. Using CloudFormation, a three-tier application consisting of, for example, a web tier, app tier, and database tier can be created together and in the correct order. With the introduction of nested stack updates, users can also update all the parts in one swoop, instead of having to update each part individually.

SAP reveals road map details for its HANA in-memory platform

SAP has provided an extensive window into the future direction of its HANA in-memory database platform, which has emerged as the central pillar of the company's product strategy.

A lengthy HANA road map document, which was made public this week, reveals a wide array of upcoming features, although no specific release dates were given and it notes that plans can change "at any time."
Over time, HANA customers can expect improved integration with the Hadoop framework for large-scale data processing, including "tighter modeling and runtime integration with Hadoop structures and data," according to the road map document.

SAP will also enhance HANA's integration with Sybase Power Designer, focused on "model interoperability and management" with HANA, it states.

"Key" features and intellectual property from Sybase IQ, the columnar analytic database, will be embedded at some point into HANA as well, according to the document.

On the deployment front, HANA customers can expect "enhanced and flexible data center deployment options," the document states, without further explanation. SAP will also offer support for virtualized HANA instances "on validated appliances," it adds.

Other road map plans include various improvements to security and more support for third-party tooling.
The new features will likely come in waves as SAP continues rolling out service packs for HANA.
While SAP has been criticized in the past for having a slow pace of development, it would be hard to say the same thing about HANA. The product went into general availability in June 2011 and SAP has released six of the service packs so far.

HANA generated €102 million (US$133.6 million) in software revenue during SAP's second quarter and is on track to pile up between €650 million and €700 million by the end of the year, according to the company.
SAP has ported its Business Suite software to run on HANA and recently launched a HANA-powered managed hosting service, which it expects will help drive further sales.

It is not the only vendor building out in-memory database technology, with rivals such as IBM, Microsoft and Oracle readying their own products.

SAP has an "18- to 24-month lead" over the competition with in-memory computing, co-CEO Bill McDermott claimed during the company's second-quarter earnings call this week.
When fleet management services provider Automotive Resources International decided to overhaul its aging data warehouse environment, it went with HANA, said Bill Powell, head of information management, in a recent interview.

ARI is not an SAP ERP (enterprise resource planning) shop, but had been using its Business Objects BI (business intelligence) software on top of an Oracle-based infrastructure, he said. It evaluated several platforms for the upgrade, Oracle and IBM's Netezza, but "for our requirements and use cases HANA was the right fit," he said.

SAP has said HANA provides major and in many cases staggering improvements in performance over other types of systems.

But speed alone isn't enough, and customers considering a move over to HANA have some considerations to make, Powell said.

"First and foremost make sure you invest in a formalized [enterprise information management] process," he said. "Understand that it's not just inject HANA and solve all the world's problems." Without closely aligning a HANA project with what the business needs, "the only thing you're going to do is provide bad information really fast," he added.

SAP reveals road map details for its HANA in-memory platform

SAP has provided an extensive window into the future direction of its HANA in-memory database platform, which has emerged as the central pillar of the company’s product strategy.

A lengthy HANA road map document, which was made public this week, reveals a wide array of upcoming features, although no specific release dates were given and it notes that plans can change “at any time.”
Over time, HANA customers can expect improved integration with the Hadoop framework for large-scale data processing, including “tighter modeling and runtime integration with Hadoop structures and data,” according to the road map document.

SAP will also enhance HANA’s integration with Sybase Power Designer, focused on “model interoperability and management” with HANA, it states.

“Key” features and intellectual property from Sybase IQ, the columnar analytic database, will be embedded at some point into HANA as well, according to the document.

On the deployment front, HANA customers can expect “enhanced and flexible data center deployment options,” the document states, without further explanation. SAP will also offer support for virtualized HANA instances “on validated appliances,” it adds.

Other road map plans include various improvements to security and more support for third-party tooling.
The new features will likely come in waves as SAP continues rolling out service packs for HANA.
While SAP has been criticized in the past for having a slow pace of development, it would be hard to say the same thing about HANA. The product went into general availability in June 2011 and SAP has released six of the service packs so far.

HANA generated €102 million (US$133.6 million) in software revenue during SAP’s second quarter and is on track to pile up between €650 million and €700 million by the end of the year, according to the company.
SAP has ported its Business Suite software to run on HANA and recently launched a HANA-powered managed hosting service, which it expects will help drive further sales.

It is not the only vendor building out in-memory database technology, with rivals such as IBM, Microsoft and Oracle readying their own products.

SAP has an “18- to 24-month lead” over the competition with in-memory computing, co-CEO Bill McDermott claimed during the company’s second-quarter earnings call this week.
When fleet management services provider Automotive Resources International decided to overhaul its aging data warehouse environment, it went with HANA, said Bill Powell, head of information management, in a recent interview.

ARI is not an SAP ERP (enterprise resource planning) shop, but had been using its Business Objects BI (business intelligence) software on top of an Oracle-based infrastructure, he said. It evaluated several platforms for the upgrade, Oracle and IBM’s Netezza, but “for our requirements and use cases HANA was the right fit,” he said.

SAP has said HANA provides major and in many cases staggering improvements in performance over other types of systems.

But speed alone isn’t enough, and customers considering a move over to HANA have some considerations to make, Powell said.

“First and foremost make sure you invest in a formalized [enterprise information management] process,” he said. “Understand that it’s not just inject HANA and solve all the world’s problems.” Without closely aligning a HANA project with what the business needs, “the only thing you’re going to do is provide bad information really fast,” he added.

BitTorrent Says It's 'Literally Impossible' to Illegally Download on Its Platform

BitTorrent is reacting strongly against reports that HBO's Game of Thrones is the most downloaded show on its platform.

In a post that is being put up at the company's website and shared with The Hollywood Reporter, BitTorrent calls it a "fabrication" that piracy exists for BitTorrent, best known for facilitating file-sharing.

"We don’t host infringing content," the company says. "We don’t point to it. It’s literally impossible to 'illegally download something on BitTorrent.' To pirate stuff, you need more than a protocol. You need search, a pirate content site, and a content manager. We offer none of those things. If you’re using BitTorrent for piracy, you’re doing it wrong."

PHOTOS: 'Game of Thrones'' Most Gruesome Deaths

Much of the reports about "most pirated" shows traces back to TorrentFreak, which has cited traffic trends on BitTorrent.

Now, BitTorrent is lashing back.

"These so-called 'records' are presumably based on numbers from pirate websites that have no affiliation with BitTorrent, Inc.," says the company. "If they’re corroborated using data from pirate websites, they’re Internet Piracy Records. They’re not BitTorrent Piracy Records."

The company, which uses open-source protocol, is stepping up its efforts to protect its image as it seeks new partnerships in Hollywood. Recently, the company made a deal with Cinedigm over the Emily Blunt/Colin Firth indie Arthur Newman, but has been hampered by perception of the company.

PHOTOS: Spoiler Alert! From 'Game of Thrones' to 'Mad Men' -- TV's Most Shocking Deaths

BitTorrent's post continues:

"We don’t endorse piracy. We don’t tally up illegal downloads, and crown pirate-kings. But these kinds of stories give us the opportunity to tell the truth about what’s going on inside BitTorrent.

In partnership with the Internet Archive, artists, labels and studios, we’ve made more than two million pieces of licensed, legal content available for download over the BitTorrent protocol. We’ve built a legit media ecosystem designed to close the gap between creators and fans. In 2012 alone, titles from this collection have been downloaded over 152 million times."

The company also checks its internal data and says that Game of Thrones isn't its king. Instead, BitTorrent says that a show called Epic Meal Time has garnered 8,626,987 downloads. "That’s nearly double the claimed downloads of the Game of Thrones finale," it says.

BitTorrent concludes its post by encouraging readers to watch Game of Thrones -- "legally."

 

BlackBerry launches iPhone and Android security platform

Secure Work Space lets users toggle between personal and corporate modes on their devices.

Now a distant fourth (behind even Microsoft) and fading fast on the hardware side, BlackBerry is hoping its acclaimed security software might be its ticket to success -- even if it means supporting rivals' devices.

BlackBerry on Tuesday introduced a new service called "Secure Work Space," which allows enterprise iPhone and Android users to toggle between personal and corporate modes.

Secure Work Space is aimed at giving companies control over the data that flows over their networks, even on a user's personal phone. Corporate email, calendars, contacts and intranets are cordoned off, and IT departments can add or remove other apps from that corporate section without affecting any personal information.

That separation ensures, for example, that users can't copy a message from the corporate profile and paste it into the personal one. Just as crucially, malware infecting the personal side of the phone won't make its way into corporate data.

The setup is similar to BlackBerry Balance, which comes standard on BlackBerry 10 devices.

Related story: You're going to love the BlackBerry Q10 (or hate it)

BlackBerry will provide an update on sales of the Z10 and other BlackBerry 10 smartphones on Friday. Though some analysts are optimistic, no one expects the new line of devices will launch BlackBerry back to the smartphone forefront anytime soon -- or, truthfully, ever.

But if Secure Work Space takes off, it could help BlackBerry (BBRY) regain some of the corporate market that it lost so publicly and painfully.

"Conceptually, it does make sense -- BlackBerry did well securing email, and now they're securing a workspace," said Cowen & Co. analyst Matthew Hoffman.

But as BlackBerry has declined, competitors like Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500), Google (GOOG, Fortune 500) and Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500) have worked hard to improve their own security capabilities. Samsung launched its own "Knox" system for the new Galaxy S4, which works much like Secure Work Space.

Still, there's room in the market for a trusted multi-platform solution -- an Oracle (ORCL, Fortune 500) of mobile devices.

Hoffman isn't convinced that BlackBerry will be the only company in the field, but BlackBerry still has the chance to become that trusted solution. Despite all of its troubles on the hardware side, BlackBerry's reputation as a company dedicated to security endures, as CEO Thorsten Heins has made sure to play up the company's history in the space.

A full switch to software would be "messy," though, Hoffman said. "[BlackBerry would] be taking 95% of its revenue, hardware, and saying, that doesn't matter -- now we're going to focus on this 5%. It would be a pretty big corporate transition to become software-only."

BlackBerry dipped a toe into this field back in 2011, when the company launched an experimental product that allows corporate IT staffers to manage multiple mobile devices -- including iOS and Android -- through the same interface. At the time, the company insisted that it wasn't shifting its strategy away from hardware.

Two years later, however, BlackBerry is still struggling on the device side and sorely needs a bright spot. If security software can be successful for BlackBerry, a bit of a strategic shift could be a smart move.