I’m proud to announce the conclusion of a risky, year-long assessment of Amazon EC2. As a technology professional and early adopter since the late 80s, I’ve always had a penchant for living on the cutting edge of technology. Cloud computing is no exception. Nearing my two year anniversary as an Amazon Web Services customer, I am pleased with Amazon’s cloud experience. It’s solid, reliable, and extremely flexible. I’ve launched and configured dozens of servers for personal and client projects ranging from databases to VoIP applications. I’ve never experienced a single failure.

So, why was this experiment risky? Until a few months ago, Amazon lacked a permanent storage solution to maintain data in the event a server crashes. Sure, I maintained backups, but I still ran the risk of losing important data. It’s a risk I was ready to take and I’m happy to report that my experiment with cloud computing was successful.

I hope my experience will encourage others to adopt cloud computing for their own projects. If you’re considering Amazon Web Services, I’d be happy to assist you. Just contact me.

Now through December 31, 2008, I am offering discounted, personalized Amazon EC2 services for individuals and businesses for only $250. The following is included in this limited offer:

1. Personalized assistance to setup and configure your Amazon EC2 account
2. 3 hours consulting
3. Setup, configuration and training on how to use a Linux or Windows server in the cloud
4. Setup and configuration of base software and modules for Linux or Windows
5. Additional assistance as necessary (within 3 hour consulting limit)

This offer is ideal for any individual or business interested in the following:

1. Evaluating cloud computing for cost and performance analysis
2. Moving services, data and web sites to the cloud
3. Saving money on data distribution costs
4. And more

If credibility or capability is of concern to you, no worries: There plenty of links to my work in the cloud on Google. I’ve been featured by Amazon at Sylantro’s Global Summit and on their AWS blog for my open source telephony and cloud computing work.

Let’s get started, shall we?

That’s right, folks. I am posting this entry via a remote desktop connection to a virtualized server at Amazon’s vast server farm in Seattle, Washington. What am I talking about? Maybe the announcement that Amazon’s cloud computing platform, EC2, is out of beta with Windows support? Yeah, that might be it!

Right now, I feel like shouting at the top of my lungs about how AMAZING this all really is. For only .125 cents an hour, I can now launch as many Windows Server 2003 ‘virtual machines’ as I’d like. I don’t have to worry about licensing, acquiring server hardware or bandwidth. In just under two minutes with a few clicks (I use the ElasticFox FireFox plugin for EC2), I was able to launch a Windows Server with ease and use it remotely from my laptop here at home.

If you’re not already aware, Ronald Lewis Dot Com runs on an Amazon EC2-based Linux server. It not only runs this web site, but many more! It even manages several phone numbers, voicemails and a lot more thanks to my Asterisk PBX telephone system. I’m overjoyed by Amazon’s announcement of their support for Windows. I cannot begin to explain what a wonderful development this is. It’s another step in the right direction for cloud computing and Internet services overall. Do not underestimate my cool demeanor here. At this point, I want to run around Denver proclaiming that this new development is “the future of computing!” I’m truly speechless right now. Speechless. Numbed. Paralyzed. Wow!

How best to sum this all up? AMAZING! Here’s another reason why I’ve decided to use Amazon’s EC2 platform exclusively for all of my web needs. It doesn’t get any better than this. I can hardly contain my excitement. For those who care about technology and read the announcement, you should already know what a big deal this is. This is a defining moment in computing. Cloud computing is the future! Once again, Amazon has redefined an emerging space with exponential potential! They understand where this space is going and are responding intelligently with robust solutions to meet demand.

More to come on this soon. I’m so psyched at the moment that I cannot think straight. This is just amazing. It’s developments such as this that make me realize how wonderful technology is and how it can inspire a new world of innovation and creativity. Imagine the possibilities for developers and startups seeking to make their mark in the world. They can do so without the costly overhead of co-locating servers or spending outrageous fees on Microsoft licenses. This is a game changer, folks. This is serious business. This changes everything.

Early today, I started the build process of compiling SipXecs on Amazon EC2. SipXecs, like Asterisk, is another open source PBX for the telephony geek at heart. The process of installing SipXecs is a bit involved and I’m still wrangling with a few issues. It’s certainly a matter of “trail and error” at this point.

I’ll keep you updated about my progress. I’m pretty anxious to try out this platform. Once I’ve succeeded in making SipXecs work, I’ll move on to conquer YATE and FreeSWITCH. We already know that Asterisk is a cakewalk — I’ve been using it for months now on EC2.

Follow CloudCrunch on Twitter for the latest updates to this guide, cloud computing tidbits and the upcoming launch!

UPDATE (11/13/08): Thank you to everyone for expressing such a great interest in my upcoming Asterisk guide. I’ve been thinking a lot about how to get this guide out into the world and as it’s my first ever ‘how-to’ guide, I’ve been tracking statistics, gathering feedback and planning for the next step for the official release of the guide.

I am currently working to finally wrap up this guide. I’m a perfectionist, so I want things to be right. It will include many of your suggestions and answers to common questions such as cost, etc. (As a hint, I hardly ever cross the $75/month mark, which falls right in line with running a small-instance server 24 hours a day). I will not be charging for this guide, so I expect the adoption to be huge (there’s been a surprising interest from companies like Nokia, Lucent and others). I’m excited to provide a resource that will teach fellow technologists and enthusiasts the background details to run Asterisk in the cloud on Amazon EC2. This is the future of telephony, folks!

Thanks again for your support!