New community tool: IRC Chat

Now, you can talk with us on #abiquo channel on irc.freenode.net server.

See you there to solve your doubts :)

Tags: Abiquo, chat, community, irc

AbiCloud: the cloud computing of Abiquo

If a Cloud is not a Grid where does abiquo fit? Abiquo is taken from the Ubiquity definition, and regarding cloud computing the keys are abstraction and availability, so yes we do fit!

We strongly believe an standard is necessary, in this way we agree with the cloud evangelists. That’s where abiCloud is going to try to fill the gap.

First of all, we are focussing in the Cloud Resource Description definition and the Virtual Application Life cycle. OVF and WS-management is our strong bid:

As regarding the administrator interface we chose the GoGrid strategy, make it pretty first and then make it accessible. However, the chosen RIA technology is FLEX.

But that’s just the firsts steps of a big project. The community plays an important role,  so if you are interested send an e-mail to clouding@abiquo.com, ideas, feed-back, suggestions are more than welcomed.

Tags: Abiquo, cloud computing, flex

Yafray on a Cloud

This is a very good night. Between pizza and coke abiquo team have been playing and mashing up our Distributed yafray and Amazon.

A very good experience with very impresive results :) (See the video)

With this example we want to demonstrate the cloud power combined with grid computing capabilities: Use your IT infrastructure to reduce your time processes and externalize to Amazon instances when your computers can’t maintain your desired QoS. (With a low cost).

It’s time to go to sleep :) If you want to know more details or contact abiquo to integrate your hard tasks with amazon.

In a near future… more special news with abiquo + cloud computing. Stay tuned ;)

Tags: Amazon, cloud computing, Grid computing, yafray

Middleware in a box

Imagine you can have a tinny virtual machine with an abiquo middleware exposing its resources to everyone:

• 

  Reduce vulnerability in grid nodes against out of control processes (they can destroy the virtual machine information). Safer for the user.

• Homogeneous execution environment for all nodes.
• Add cloud computing benefits to grid computing benefits.

Imagine you can have a light virtual machine (downloadable from the Internet). Easy to install, multiplatform and featuring all abiquo functionalities.

Last Friday, abiquoLabs accomplished this goal. The first prototype of abiquo Platform over a customized virtualized Linux within a VirtualBox and… this box… in Norway :).

Why we choose VirtualBox? Basically because we believe VirtualBox is the better end user virtualization solution, easier for final users.

After this.. we are starting to think about different cool solutions and user applications… they will be here soon ;)

Tags: Abiquo, Middleware, VirtualBox

But… what is abiquo?

This is a question people are wondering and they always try to ask us.

Cloud Computing? Grid Computing? The Internet of things? M2M?…

The response for abiquoLabs is easy:

Get the Flash Player to see this player.

Abiquo is an Open Source platform that allows interconnecting ANY KIND OF DEVICE in the same infrastructure to create INTELLIGENT NETWORKS. From huge servers to tiny sensors, from Cloud Computing to Wireless Sensor Networks. Abiquo allows any developer to create his own dream application in an easy way.

Yes, we know that it is a very generic concept but we like big challenges… do you want to help us?

The Open Comunity is comming soon…

Tags: Abiquo, Open Source

Abiquo at the Wireless Sensing Demonstrator Showcase 2008

Last July 1st the National Physical Laboratory held its Wireless Sensing Demonstrator Showcase in Teddington, UK. It looked as a wonderful chance to show our product to the many people this event will gather. We had a demonstrator spot granted to show how our platform allows the development of hardware independent applications. This solves the problem of dealing with hardware heterogeneity at application level, shattering completely the vendor lock and making the replacement of an existing device or the integration of a new one a neat and simple procedure.

The chosen demo application was called Virtual Office and included:

• Sign in and out of the employees through RFID tags
• A WiFi camera taking pictures whenever someone signed in or out.
• Lightness, temperature and humidity ZigBee sensors
• A tailor made notification system, through Twitter, e-mail and Bluetooth to keep the boss up-to-date on those event wherever he is.

The dream of each and every one of the employees in this world :)

For each functionality, we involved not one piece of hardware but two. We had two different RFID tag readers, one USB based and another ZigBee enabled. Two ZigBee sensors from completely different vendors and also an stand-alone ZigBee-TCP gateway and a USB one. Leaving aside the cool and useful features of the application, its most outstanding point is its hardware unawareness. We did not go nuts duplicating the hardware, we wanted to show hardware swapping. The application ran smoothly regardless the hardware composition active in every moment.

After going through all the steps, having our demo draft accepted, writing an article introducing the platform and the demo and developing it we could not make it to Teddington. Unfortunately, I was the designated demonstrator and health reasons made me impossible to travel on that date. Although it was impossible to foresee it, it is always a pity when a virus (a real one) tears down everything the team build and ruins a great chance to show our product to the world.

No matter how hard we apologize, we will still be sorry for the troubles. From here, we want to congratulate the event organization for its care along all the process and also thank them for its kind understanding the situation. We hope next year will be better.

Optimizing water consumption with abiquo

Abiquo Labs (our R+D team) presented a prototype of the m2m platform applied to the water consumption optimization.

Spain is a country where water shortages are becoming a problem and the people are beginning to feel the urgency of improving water consumption to reduce the water needs.

This simple example can be applied to watered gardens on any council in the world :). We used plants to illustrate the case inside the Citilab building.

The technologies:

We need to interact between sensors using Zigbee communication, Bluetooth router, a Bluetooth mobile and web services (Twitter and weather information).

The information generated by the system is displayed to the user on a Flex Application, on the mobile (through a Bluetooth message) or using twitter.

Abiquo platform:

It works like a plug and play system. Using generic connectors developed by abiquo the development is becomes just too easy. The connectors employed are the following:

• Bluetooth connector.
• Zigbee connector.
• Twitter connector.
• Weather connector.

It’s easy to set up (it only takes a few minutes). A developer can connect inputs and outputs almost transparently. He or she does not need to understand Bluetooth, Zigbee or the other technologies. He only connects the data to show the information in the different interfaces.

The schema:

The cool features:

Using the abiquo platform you can obtain the following benefits:

• You can modify the hardware and you don’t need to change the applications.
• You don’t have the hardware dedicated. The devices are connected to the same network and they can be used by other applications.
• Reduce the time to market of your applications and ease code reuse.

Future:

Abiquo is finding industrial partners and public institutions to develop the optimization of water cycle. An ambitious project where abiquo applys its concept of “distributed intelligence“.

The idea is to create a distributed and large wireless sensor network of low-cost sensors to control key places (greens, rivers, drains, etc.), connected to 2.0 webs to sensitize the citizen and connected to water utility industries and public administration to optimize the water consumption.

Please, you can send mail to contact@abiquo.com to ask us about the demo.

Tags: 2.0, Abiquo, bluetooth, m2m, water, web services, zigbee