Not all cloud applications are equal

The needs of the “real time cloud” are vastly different from those of the “Web cloud” applications like Facebook and Twitter are all deployed in the cloud as highly redundant applications. The needs of these applications though are vastly different from those of applications with real time media. Even applications like Netflix and YouTube which would appear to be similar with high levels of media sent across networks are vastly different.

Web Cloud applications have the following characteristics

• Transactions are stateless
• They can be processed in bursts
• They can be Queued
• They can be Cached
• They operate at Layers 5–7
• Asymmetric data — heavy Downlink, light Uplink
• Typically leverage TCP
• Happy with retransmissions if needed.

On the other hand “real time cloud” applications have the following.

• Stateful transactions
• Continuous processing
• Instantaneous responsiveness
• Real time streams
• They operate at layers 3–7
• Symmetric Data — heavy downlink, heavy uplink
• Largely UDP based
• Dislike re-transmissions

As you can see there are many differences with real time cloud applications, particularly those that need to carry voice and video to/from the cloud. I’ll explore some of the potential ways around the challenges, such as only using the cloud for signalling and one way media flows, in future posts.

Views expressed here are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views of my employer Oracle.