Middleware and Cloud Computing: Oracle on Amazon Web Services (AWS), Rackspace Cloud and RightScale (Volume 1) [Paperback]

Frank Munz (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 28, 2012

Middleware and Cloud Computing
An introduction to Cloud Computing and Oracle Middleware on Amazon Web Services (AWS), Rackspace Cloud and the RightScale Cloud Management Platform.

• Introduction to Cloud Computing: Why the existing definitions aren't good enough.
• Amazon Web Services (Using EC2 Instances, Creating your own customized Images, File Systems, Amazon Linux, Command-Line and Tools)
• Rackspace Cloud (Rackspace Cloud Server and Rackspace Cloud Files for Windows and Linux, REST API, Limelight Content Distribution Network)
• SOA and Oracle Fusion Middleware (WebLogic Server, Service Bus, Oracle BPM / WebCenter, Oracle Service Registry, Oracle Enterprise Repository)
• Designing for the Cloud (Design Principles, IaaS Platform choice, AMI design, Oracle Architecture Blueprint)
• Cloud Databases (Oracle Database AMIs, AWS SimpleDB, AWS Relational Database Service (RDS), WebLogic with RDS, Multi Data Sources)
• Cloud Management (Distributed Domains, Backups, Disaster Recovery, Licensing, RightScale Cloud Management)
• Availability (Clustering, Distributed JMS, Whole-server Migration, AWS Simple Queue Service, Overload Protection)
• Scalability (AWS Auto Scaling, HAProxy, AWS Elastic Load Balancing, CDNs and AWS CloudFront)
• Monitoring (AWS Simple Notification Service (SNS), AWS CloudWatch)
• Oracle VM (Oracle VM Templates on EC2, WebLogic Virtual Edition, Virtual Box)

This book contains all the new and cool AWS stuff:
Oracle VM Templates on EC2, Free Micro Instances, Free Cloud Watch Monitoring, Tags, S3 Reduced Redundancy Storage, EBS-backed AMIs, Database Read Replicas and Multi-Availability Zone Instances, Simple Notification Service (SNS), Simple Queue Service (SQS), Auto Scaling, the brand new Amazon Linux and much, much more!

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This cloud book is worth looking first... My curiosity has led me to explore chapters that I wouldn't feel concerned about, simply because the book naturally invites you to read it." --Willy Tarreau, Developer of HAProxy

"... this is definitely an excellent book to start with." --E. Fuentes, Switzerland

"... it is certainly a more objective book than the others I've read, explaining Amazon, Rackspace and RightScale together with plenty of third-party tools..." --A. Diaz

... this book is great way to jump right onto the cloud.  --Sung Woo Cho (Seoul, South Korea)

From the Publisher

Independent, comprehensive and engaging.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 308 pages
• Publisher: Munz & More Press (April 28, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0980798000
• ISBN-13: 978-0980798005
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 0.6 x 9.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #873,858 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Dr. Frank Munz is an expert in middleware and distributed computing. He earned a Ph.D. in computer science from the Technische Universität München for his work on distributed computing and medical imaging in brain research. He published more than 20 peer reviewed scientific papers.

In 2011 Frank received the Oracle Technologist of the Year award for cloud computing.

Frank has over 15 years experience working for and on behalf of top middleware vendors and consultancies such as ConSol, Sun, BEA, TIBCO and Oracle, throughout Europe and Australia as a software architect, project manager and developer. In 2007 Frank founded munz & more - a cutting-edge consultancy focusing on Oracle middleware and cloud computing (see http://www.munzandmore.com). Based on over a decade of teaching experience with the big vendors, and its limitations, Frank is offering his own high-end training program world-wide now (Cloud Computing, Oracle Fusion Middleware, Oracle WebLogic Server Architecture, Operations and Development, Performance Tuning, Oracle Service Bus 11g).

He loves to talk about features and showstoppers and frequently speaks at conferences all over the world.

When Frank is not working, he enjoys travelling in Southeast Asia, skiing in the Alps, tapas in Spain, and scuba diving in Australia.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Clear, objective and brand new - I highly recommend it! January 9, 2011

By A. Diaz

Format:Paperback

I bought "Middleware and Cloud Computing" as a complementary book when I ordered the classic AWS book written by Amazon itself.
After reading both books I am convinced that Amazon has done a brilliant job!
But "Middleware and Cloud Computing" is a better choice for me because its main focus is on architecture and it mentions all known limitations of current cloud technology.

Both books are suitable if you are new to AWS, but "Middleware and Cloud Computing" explains the most important trade-offs that you are facing in real projects (EBS / S3 backed images, AWS Linux or other Linux distributions, Cloud Databases, SNS/SQS vs. JMS, software load balancers such as HAProxy or Amazon's elastic load balancing). The book also covers the second most important IaaS provider Rackspace including apps running on the Rackspace cloud, their REST API and their content distribution network Limelight.
There are detailed chapters about availability, scalability (AWS auto scaling) and monitoring.

It covers as well Oracle WebLogic server, SOA and Oracle Fusion Middleware including all the possibilities and options that currently exist when running Oracle products in the cloud. I never understood any of this from the available Oracle documentation (although I was spending many hours) so I especially enjoyed reading this part.

Overall, it is certainly a more objective book than the others I've read, explaining Amazon, Rackspace and RightScale together with plenty of third-party tools and their benefits.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great reference that's on my desk... not the shelf February 3, 2012

By Jim Boles

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

If you want the lay-of-the-land of the cloud space, then Frank Munz's sweeping volume is for you. As you would expect from a Ph.D. the expansive yet down-to-earth thesis begins with a definition of terms and builds to a comprehensive synopsis of cloud architecture.

As you might expect from Oracle's Technologist of the year there is a consistent focus on Oracle's rich middleware technology stack, but does not lose sight of other key technologies such as Oracle VM, Oracle Enterprise Manager Cloud Control, and of course database technologies.

This volume is far from being an extended Oracle sales white paper. The majority of the writing covers what cloud is today.
* It compares Rackspace to Amazon cloud offerings
* The importance of SOA and how it is implemented in real terms without sales gibberish
* An extensive coverage of middleware provisioning, domains, filesystems, deployment suggestions, availability and backup and recovery.

This is an architectural document. Don't expect step by step how-to tutorials. I found it refreshing to see a relatively unbiased presentation coving Amazon's, Racksapace's, and Oracle's technologies all in one volume. Important architectural topics such as capacity planning, system scaling, pricing, and load balancing and more are covered in adequate depth.

It is a book in my toolbox I know I'll pull out just to see what Frank said on the topic

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A time saver June 11, 2011

By Chris Muir

Format:Paperback

With the explosion of Internet content, especially that for the IT industry, it leaves an interesting question hanging over the worth (if any) of IT textbooks. When you can find an answer on just about anything online, what's the point of shelling out money, especially for IT texts that have been overpriced for sometime?

Frank Munz's Middleware and Cloud Computing: Oracle on Amazon Web Services and Rackspace Cloud book is a good reminder of one key fact about text books in context of an internet society, they can save you a lot of research and time on the internet looking for the nitty-gritty details.

The book is clearly aimed at system administrators & architects who are looking for details about moving Oracle Fusion Middleware (FMW) products to the cloud. A healthy dose of system admin knowledge is required of readers, with discussions on operating system (particularly Linux), us of command lines, and a knowledge of networking concepts would greatly assist too. FMW knowledge isn't assumed, with an introductory chapter included, but knowledge in Oracle's WebLogic Server (WLS) would be highly beneficial to readers, and a familiarity of Java EE technologies too.

Munz's book is broken into logical halves. The first is a general introduction into "as a Service" cloud computing concepts. For readers who have heard the terminology but haven't kept up with all the in's and out's of what a cloud service is, this provides an opportunity to learn the lingo and also learn how to critique the cloud offerings, which is (let's just say) over hyped by IT marketing.

The first part of the book also takes care to look in depth at Amazon Web Services (AWS), including images, instances, storage and even pricing. In this area the book departs from a typical theoretical text encouraging readers to create their own AWS accounts and gives details on how to configure and run your own instance. The text however doesn't just focus on AWS, and also looks at Rackspace's equivalent cloud services.

The second half is where Munz's book shines. Moving on from cloud basics, readers are led through considerations on designing and architecture within the cloud, management, availability and scalability, all in context of FMW and specifically of WLS and its supported JEE technologies. In each area the reader is brought back to specific considerations and limitations of Amazon's & Rackspace's platforms. On completing the book it becomes obvious this is a well thought out inclusion, as like enterprise home-baked operating systems and network infrastructure, cloud vendors' platform are not born equal or include every feature required. The implication being certain FMW features and designs simply won't work on specific cloud platforms.

The book isn't without fault. Munz does take a narrative approach that may not be everybody's cup of tea. In turn there's a section that takes an unfortunate cop out on not tackling Oracle's (let's just say) less than favourable licensing. Yet overall the outcome for FMW professionals, in particular administrators and architects, is a positive one, and a recommended read. In turn it's the careful research into actually testing what FMW features will really work on each cloud vendor's platform, all collated into 1 book rather than sprayed across the internet, which will save readers significant time: prewarned is prearmed.