Amazon Web Services on Tuesday beefed up its Cluster Compute family with an extra-large iteration that packs in two eight-core Intel Xeons processors each connected to a 10 Gigabit network.

With this option, Amazon continues to make bite-sized chunks of its cloud services available to users of all sizes and computing needs. This is just the latest — and biggest instance — and brings the total of Amazon instance types to 12, which vary according to CPU, networking, storage and memory.

Cluster Compute Eight Extra Large (dubbed cc2.8xlarge of CC2 in AWS parlance), available now in a beta, comes with 60.5 GB of RAM and 3.37 TB of instance storage, according to the Amazon Web Services blog.

The new compute cluster should appeal to high-performance computing (HPC) enthusiasts who want to offload come or all of their big jobs to Amazon’s cloud.  Users can opt to run CC2 instances on Linux Amazon Machine Images (AMIs) or Windows Server 2008 R2.

Developers can launch an on-demand CC2 instance for .40 per hour for Linux of .97 per hour for Windows.

The previous largest cluster (the Quadruple Extra Large cluster) started at .30 per hour for Linux and .61 per hour for Windows.

Users can also reserve instances for range of prices. Or they can bid to run CC2 on the spot market as needed. Use of such spot instances is attractive to companies that need to run batch-processing jobs on an ad hoc basis. This may all seem like penny ante stuff, but Amazon has over the past decade built AWS into a billion-dollar-a-year business.

Amazon has opened up more options since launching its first HPC instances in July, 2010. This summer it started pairing spot instance pricing with HPC instances. In July 2010, it launched HPC instances for the first time.

Since this is a beta release there are some limitations — CC2 is available in a single zone in the northeast US region with capacity to be added to other regions throughout next year.

Photo courtesy of Flickr user turtlemom4bacon

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• Infrastructure Q3: OpenStack and flash step into the spotlight
• What Amazon’s new Kindle line means for Apple, Netflix and online media
• Infrastructure Q2: Big data and PaaS gain more momentum

alt=''
border='0'
/>

GigaOM

Service, procession set for remains returned from Vietnam
The remains of Tech Sgt. Roy DeWitt Prater are expected to arrive in Columbia City on Thursday afternoon, tentatively between 3 and 4 p.m.
Read more on Fort Wayne Journal Gazette

Beta invites for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 service pack arrive
As announced at Tech Ed 2010 in New Orleans a little more than a week ago, Invitations for the first beta of Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 (SP1) have reportedly begun arriving in potential testers’ mailboxes.
Read more on BetaNews

Tom and Rafe report on how gear works in the real world, including Windows Home Server, the iPhone, and the Canon S90.

Listen now:

Download today’s podcast

Subscribe with iTunes (audio)
Subscribe with iTunes (video)
Subscribe with RSS (audio)
Subscribe with RSS (video)



…

Originally posted at The Real Deal Podcast

Many businesses are realizing Windows 7 is the only choice for moving forward with operating systems. With the backlash shown against Windows Vista and the backing of Windows 7 by major manufacturers such as Dell and HP, you will not have the option to purchase Windows XPfor long. All operating systems, including XP, will go end of life eventually.

As a Michigan IT consulting coach to businesses, my advice is very simple. No one likes change, especially when it comes to technology in the business world. Everyone will have to upgrade eventually – so do it on your own terms. Do not be forced into it out of lack of support from a vendor or manufacturer. Integrating Windows 7 is much better received and a smoother process when planned out and not forced on a business because a computer has bombed and “we can’t get XP from Dell anymore!”

Windows 7 includes many benefits that can help IT administrators provide layers of security on their active directory network along with some niceties built in for the users. Windows 7 is considered a more secure operating system than its predecessors just by the nature of it being the latest version and ultimately it being the forefront of Microsoft’s image to the consumer. Microsoft has always carried the negative reputation of being the “least secure” of your choices, but Windows 7 has proven to be stable, smooth running and an overall pleasant experience.

Some of the new features, such as DirectAccess and XP mode integration have a few prerequisites that require more of an updated networking environment or computers in order to function. DirectAccess provides remote employees a secure way to connect to a Windows Server (2008) without the use of separate connection software or VPN. It’s a much simpler way of providing remote access but has limitations as it must run within the Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 platforms. The XP mode integration is nice which is useful for legacy applications or software that has problems running within Windows 7. Using Virtual PC as an engine, it allows users to install applications on the computer that run on top of a Virtual XP machine. This needs a computer that supports virtualization in its hardware BIOS (which not all systems do).

The beauty of Windows 7 is it doesn’t need a killer app. Microsoft is known for its proliferation of the most widely used computer operating system and leaves the killer apps to its partners or even competitors. Since it has such a large market share it doesn’t need a killer app to be adopted.  Discuss Windows 7 migration with a certified computer services firm today.

Own a Acer easyStore H340 Windows Home Server? Don’t be like me and spend countless hours trying to figure out why the hell the box keeps randomly shutting off. I spent the last two nights running spy sweepers and virus scans, pulling hard drives and swapping memory in search of a solution. I’m better than that.

What I should have done first is ask Google. She (that’s right, I picture Google as a smart, but seductive, oracle) has all the answers as long as I know what to ask.

It turns out that there is a bug with the WHS LightsOut plug-in that comes pre-installed on the computer. Just uninstall the app via Add/Remove Programs in the control panel and either update to the newest version here or run without it; I did the latter. More info about the bug can be found here and here.

Good news. The WHS Power Pack 3 will be here shortly and packs a whole bunch of enhancements aimed at Windows 7. The beta has been available for the last couple of months, but this is the official release and will install automagicly if Automatic Updates are enabled on November 24.

Windows 7 and WHS previously didn’t communicate very well, but that will soon change. The Power Pack will enable your WHS to backup amd control power settings on a Windows 7 machine, along with integrating Windows 7 Libraries. Plus, the Power Pack improves Windows Media Center relations with a feature that automatically archives recorded TV in whatever format you want.

Read all about at the Windows Team Blog.