Sun Grid is pretty much a laughingstock, because they announced it multiple times and they failed multiple times to deliver it. |
That said, software as a service is an evolution, not a replacement for software as we know it. |
The amount of computing resources put into place with a grid architecture can be enormous. |
The amount of computing resources put into place with a grid architecture can be enormous. Companies get to add the equivalent of a couple thousands PCs and that added horsepower that they do not have to pay for. |
The one clear winner in all of this is IBM. IBM appears to be doing better and better because they are so damn stable. |
The real threat is no longer letting those incredibly powerful suppliers drive a truck through the middle, ... In the old days, if HP didn't go the way Microsoft wanted, they would say, 'That's fine. Compaq will do it for us.' Many strategic suppliers could indeed leverage the two companies against each other. Now they won't be able to. |
There are a couple of models that are easy to imagine. |
This can reduce response time tremendously. It gives them more bites at the apple. |
This is a more shrink-wrapped approach for the concept of grid computing that targets a more modest area of use. |
Two- or four-processor computing is the typical entry point in lieu of grid computing. If it works on inexpensive servers, then good for you. |
Web-services technology is complicated stuff. You've got all sorts of standards governing security , reliability, and message bundling, and there are 30 or 40 major specifications and standards involved as well as a couple hundred slightly more minor ones. In a considerable number of cases, you will have to learn many of these dialects and it's a bewildering array to learn indeed. |
While perfectly ready for prime time today, there are still some ingredients that have not yet been completely baked and the process of evolution is still underway. |