Foreword: Scaling the Tidal Wave

The challenge we all face is comparable to scaling a tidal wave. It's that big and that kinetic.

We've already moved from a network of computers to a network of things that embed computers wireless phones, two-way pagers, and other handsets, plus game players, teller machines, and automobiles. In short, billions of potential connections.

We are now beginning to build a network of things. Trillions of things. Things you'd hardly think of as computers so-called "sub-IP" devices such as environmental sensors and radio frequency identification tags.

Soon, we'll be adding miniature ID tags to all kinds of products so that we can instantly discover not only the price of the item, but where and when it was made, how it was delivered, and a host of other useful data. In fact, such tags promise to enhance the efficiency of the whole supply chain, from maker to user to recycler.

One of the interesting side effects will be a shift in the flow of information. Right now, most information flows outward on the Internet to end users. In the future, more information will flow back to the data center, much in the way a pit crew gathers telemetry from a race car today.

But, the unprecedented scale of this "network of things" raises serious concerns. How on earth is anyone supposed to manage all of the devices, all of the data, and all of the infrastructure? Building N1 Grid Solutions provides a solution, a way to turn your data center into a single pool of resources that can be dynamically allocated.

The aim of the N1 Grid technology is to automate change management, reduce complexity, better utilize resources, and lower total cost of ownership. What's more, N1 Grid solutions will make it possible to take distributed applications from concept to wide-scale deployment far more quickly.

With this new architecture, computers will not attach to networks, they will be built from networks. This shift enables you to operate on a radically higher scale 10,000-plus microprocessors, exabytes of storage, terabits of bandwidth, and billions of IP connections.

All of which will be imperative if you don't want to find yourself eating sand when the tidal wave hits.

Greg Papadopoulos
Chief Technology Officer
Sun Microsystems, Inc.