Cloud computing

Ruby + Rails + EC2 看上去是个不错的选择, http://heroku.com/ 开始提供这样的服务。

Architecture

Cloud Computing Architecture

The architecture behind cloud computing is a massive network of "cloud servers" interconnected as if in a grid running in parallel, sometimes using the technique of virtualization to maximize computing power per server.

A front-end interface allows a user to select a service from a catalog. This request gets passed to the system management which finds the correct resources, and then calls the provisioning services which carves out resources in the cloud. The provisioning service may deploy the requested stack or web application as well.

• User interaction interface: This is how users of the cloud interface with the cloud to request services.
• Services catalog: This is the list of services that a user can request.
• System management: This is the piece which manages the computer resources available.
• Provisioning tool: This tool carves out the systems from the cloud to deliver on the requested service. It may also deploy the required images.
• Monitoring and metering: This optional piece tracks the usage of the cloud so the resources used can be attributed to a certain user.
• Servers: The servers are managed by the system management tool. They can be either virtual or real.

Above from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud_computing

Solution

• Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) - http://aws.amazon.com/ec2
• Google App Engine
• Dell Cloud Computing Solutions
• Sun's Project Blackbox: http://sun.com/blackbox
• Joyent provides a highly scalable on-demand infrastructure for running web sites, including rich Web applications written in Ruby on Rails, PHP, Python and Java.
• Nirvanix, offers a storage delivery service used by developers for storing content and data and making them available worldwide at low latency.
• 3tera, has created a network of partners with it's AppLogic system in the US, Asia and Europe who provide resources for developers to run their applications in the cloud.