CHAPTER 31

Ubuntu in the Cloud

IN THIS CHAPTER

Why a   Cloud?

Ubuntu  Cloud   and OpenStack

Juju

Ubuntu  Core

Ubuntu  Metal   as  a   Service (MaaS)

Landscape

References

Cloud computing enables you to build large, flexible systems for on-demand

processing of data. When your requirements are low, you use few resources.
As the need arises, your processes scale to use multiple systems with
optimized performance according to the requirements of the moment. This is
an efficient way to use hardware and minimize waste.

To accomplish this feat of computer engineering, a special network is set up
using on-demand virtual systems that consume resources only as needed and
release those resources for use by others when they are not in use.
Virtualization is the technology that enables this concept. It may be
accomplished locally using third-party virtualization platforms such as
VMware, VirtualBox, Parallels, and others (see Chapter 30, “Virtualization on
Ubuntu”). Ubuntu has another option to offer, the Ubuntu Cloud, which
moves virtualization into the cloud and is the main focus of this chapter.
Beyond being an outstanding cloud-hosting platform, Ubuntu Server is being
developed with a strong intent to make it an outstanding cloud guest. Look for
the term Ubuntu cloud guest to become more popular as time goes by.

SYSADMIN    VERSUS  DEVOPS

The traditional title   for someone who keeps   systems up  and running is