HLnovel Chapter 426 Cloud Computing IaaS Prototype
Chapter 426 Cloud Computing IaaS Prototype
Nebula Technology was founded on March 1, 2003.
Jiang Feng sat in front of the computer. On the screen was a web-based control panel with a dark blue background and several buttons: Create Virtual Machine, Manage Image, Monitor, and Billing.
He clicked "Create Virtual Machine," and a window popped up where he selected the configuration: number of CPU cores, memory size, and hard drive capacity.
He selected 1 core, 1GB RAM, and 20GB hard drive, and clicked "OK". A progress bar appeared on the screen, and after less than a minute, a message popped up: "Virtual machine created successfully. IP address: 10.0.0.12".
He opened a terminal window, entered the IP address, and connected.
The screen refreshed, and a Linux command-line interface appeared.
He typed a few commands, and the system responded normally. He closed the terminal, returned to the web console, and clicked "Destroy Virtual Machine." After confirming, the virtual machine was deleted, and its IP address was released.
Ling Yun watched the entire process from the side. Jiang Feng turned his head and said, "Nebula·Rock, an IaaS prototype. Based on the open-source KVM, we've made extensive optimizations."
"A single physical server can run multiple isolated virtual machines, supporting on-demand creation, destruction, and migration. Users can manage their virtual machines through a web-based console."
"The virtual machine creation time is currently averaging one and a half minutes, and the goal is to reduce it to less than one minute."
"Image management supports custom images, allowing users to package their own environments into images for direct use next time. The API interface is still under development, with the first version expected to be released next month."
Ling Yun said, "Let's try it out internally first. All new business systems of Xinghuo Group will be migrated to the PanShi platform. We'll test them using real business scenarios. We'll fix whatever problems we find until it's stable."
Jiang Feng nodded.
Just as Ling Yun was about to leave, Jiang Feng suddenly called out to him. "Mr. Ling, there's something I need to tell you."
Ling Yun turned around.
"Last week, people from Amazon came to our area."
Ling Yun paused for a moment. "Someone from AWS?"
"Yes. They said they're making something similar, called EC2."
"They heard we were working on it and wanted to come and see," Jiang Feng paused. "I didn't let them see the core code; I only demonstrated the creation and destruction of virtual machines."
"After they reviewed it, they asked a question—how can you create virtual machines in under a minute? AWS takes five minutes now."
Ling Yun looked at him. "What was your answer?"
"I said we optimized KVM's scheduling algorithm and image transfer protocol. I didn't go into the specifics of how we optimized it," Jiang Feng paused, "but they definitely went back to study it."
Ling Yun was silent for a few seconds. "The people from Amazon aren't just here to take a look. They're assessing the level of threat we pose."
Jiang Feng said, "I felt the same way. When they left, the VP of Technology leading the team said something like, 'I hope we won't be enemies in the market in the future.'"
Ling Yun smiled. "What you're saying is that we're already enemies."
Jiang Feng nodded.
Ling Yun said, "Ignore them and continue with our work. The fact that they're studying us proves we're on the right track. But be careful with internal security. We haven't let them figure out our hard-earned results so easily."
Jiang Feng said, "Understood."
It was already dark when Ling Yun left Nebula Technology. He got into his car, took out his phone, and sent Chen Zhongming a text message: "Raise the security level of the cloud computing team to the highest level, and narrow access permissions to the core code."
A few seconds later, Chen Zhongming replied: "What happened?"
Ling Yun replied, "Amazon is watching us. We've made significant progress so far, and we can't let them poach two people and take away our core technology."
Chen Zhongming replied, "Understood, I'll arrange it tomorrow."
Lingyun put her phone back in her pocket. Outside the window, Beijing was ablaze with traffic and brightly lit.
In the battle for cloud computing, the opponent isn't just Microsoft, but also Amazon. And Amazon's technological strength and execution capabilities are in no way inferior to Microsoft's.
They've started paying attention to the Nebula. This means the Nebula is now considered a threat.
Ling Yun left Nebula Technology and took Zhao Hu by plane to Guangzhou.
When Ling Yun and Zhao Hu got out of the taxi, Ling Yun was stunned by the building in front of them. It was an old-fashioned residential building with red brick walls. A large piece of the plaster had fallen off, revealing the gray-brown cement inside.
Several broken bicycles were piled up at the entrance of the building, and the walls were covered with little "GG" signs—for plumbers, movers, and document processing. He checked the address; it was correct. UCWEB's office was here, on the third floor, room 301.
The stairwell was narrow; it was cramped for two people to walk side by side. There were little GG stickers on the wall, and the iron handrails were peeling off, revealing rust.
Third floor, room 301. A printed sheet of paper was pasted on the door, which read "UCWeb Technology". The edges of the paper were curled up, and the writing was a little faded.
He knocked on the door. Footsteps sounded inside, and the door opened. A young man stood in the doorway, about twenty-five or twenty-six years old, wearing a dark blue fleece jacket, his hair a little messy, and his glasses covered in dust. He saw Ling Yun and paused for a moment.
"You are...?"
"This is Ling Yun. Is He Xiaopeng there?"
The young man opened his mouth. "It's...it's inside. Please come in."
Ling Yun walked in. The office wasn't large, probably thirty or forty square meters. There were several long tables, piled with computers, circuit boards, mobile phones, chargers, and instant noodle boxes.
Several cases of bottled water were stacked in the corner, and there was a mixed smell of instant noodles and electronic components in the air.
Three people were sitting at the table, coding. Hearing footsteps, they looked up. One of them, a tall, thin man, stood up and strode over. "Mr. Ling? I'm He Xiaopeng." He extended his hand, which Ling Yun shook. He Xiaopeng's hand was thin, with large knuckles.
"Mr. Ling, please have a seat here." He pulled out a chair, which was dusty, and wiped it with his sleeve.
Ling Yun sat down, and He Xiaopeng and two other people sat down opposite him.
Ling Yun glanced at the phones on the table. There were Nokias, Motorolas, Ericssons, and a few domestically made ones. Each one was connected to a data cable, and the screen displayed the UCWEB interface. "How many users do you have right now?"
He Xiaopeng said, "Not many, just tens of thousands, mainly students and programmers. They use their mobile phones to access the internet, but the speed is too slow and data is too expensive. Our browser compresses web pages on the server side before transmitting them to mobile phones. This can save 80% of data usage and make the speed several times faster."
Ling Yun nodded. "This direction is correct. In the future, more people will use mobile phones to access the internet than computers. Browsers are the entry point; if you control the entry point, you control the future."
He Xiaopeng's eyes lit up.
"Spark Group will invest five million, acquiring a 30% stake. They will not interfere in operations, but on one condition."
He Xiaopeng looked at him.
"UCWEB should prioritize compatibility with Xinghuo OS."
He Xiaopeng thought for a moment and said, "Spark OS? You guys are developing a mobile operating system?"
Ling Yun said, "Yes, we can't say too much right now. But the direction has been set. If you're willing, we can sign the contract now."
He Xiaopeng glanced at the two people beside him, and they nodded.
He Xiaopeng turned back to Ling Yun and said, "President Ling, we agree."
Ling Yun took the documents out of his bag and placed them on the table. He Xiaopeng picked up a pen and signed his name.
After signing, He Xiaopeng suddenly said, "President Ling, there's something I need to tell you. Last month, an American investment firm approached us. They also wanted to invest, and their offer was higher than yours."
Ling Yun looked at him. "Which one?"
"Sequoia Capital. They said they would invest ten million if UCWEB was willing to focus its business on Symbian and Windows Mobile."
Ling Yun asked, "Why didn't you agree?"
He Xiaopeng paused for a second. "Because I feel they don't understand the Chinese market. Symbian and Windows Mobile are practically unused in China. I don't know about Spark OS, but I know you. What you've done has never been about making quick money; you genuinely want to build up the mobile internet."
Ling Yun stared at him for several seconds. Then he said, "He Xiaopeng, remember what you said today. One day, UCWEB will become a product with hundreds of millions of users. At that time, you will thank yourself for what you have today."
He Xiaopeng smiled. "President Ling, I don't seek hundreds of millions of users. I only seek to make this product well, so that more people won't have to wait or worry about data usage when using their mobile phones to access the internet."
Ling Yun patted him on the shoulder, "UCWEB will become the first gateway to China's mobile internet. And Xinghuo OS will be where this gateway is installed."