Open Source Projects and Research Consortiums
Name: Apache Hadoop, hadoop.apache.org
Major Contributors: Apache Software Foundation, Yahoo, Google, Microsoft, Cloudera
Purpose: Has developed an open-source version of Google’s MapReduce and File System infrastructure for processing large amounts of data in parallel, a necessity in cloud computing.
Name: Eucalyptus, www.eucalyptus.com
Major Contributors: Building on an NSF-funded project at the University of California, Santa Barbara, Eucalyptus Systems launched in April with funding from Benchmark Capital and BV Capital
Purpose: Is commercializing an open-source platform for building private clouds using existing hardware and software, which can then be merged with a public cloud like Amazon Web Services. This hybrid approach allows companies to move data and applications in and out of the public cloud as the need arises
Name: Open Cirrus, www.opencirrus.org
Major Contributors: HP, Intel, Yahoo, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (Germany), Infocomm Development Authority (Singapore)
Purpose: A test bed for researchers studying how to design and manage data centers for the cloud.
Name: Google/IBM Cloud Computing University Initiative
Major Contributors: University of Washington; Carnegie Mellon; MIT; Stanford University; University of California, Berkeley; University of Maryland
Purpose: Gives academic researchers and students access to the sponsors’ huge computing resources so they may experiment with the design and management of cloud applications and services.
Name: Reservoir www.reservoir-fp7.eu
Major Contributors: IBM, SAP, Sun Microsystems, Telefonica, University of Messina, University College of London, Umea University, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, University of Lugano, Thales Group, Elsag Datamat, CETIC
Purpose: An EU-funded project that promotes research into creating a service-based online economy based on distributed computing in an open cloud.
Keep Reading
Most Popular
This new data poisoning tool lets artists fight back against generative AI
The tool, called Nightshade, messes up training data in ways that could cause serious damage to image-generating AI models.
The Biggest Questions: What is death?
New neuroscience is challenging our understanding of the dying process—bringing opportunities for the living.
Rogue superintelligence and merging with machines: Inside the mind of OpenAI’s chief scientist
An exclusive conversation with Ilya Sutskever on his fears for the future of AI and why they’ve made him change the focus of his life’s work.
How to fix the internet
If we want online discourse to improve, we need to move beyond the big platforms.
Stay connected
Get the latest updates from
MIT Technology Review
Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.