National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Issue 2June 2010

this issue Nebula:CloudComputing p.1

BetterBusinesswithEA p.2

ITServiceManagment&Delivery p.3

ComputerworldHonorsLaureate p.4

Office of the Chief Information OfficerNASA CIO LindaY.Cureton

NASA Cloud ComputingPlatform: NebulaSource: Andrea M. Riso and Gretchen Curtis, Ames Research Center

Nebula is an open-source cloud computing platform that was developed to provide an improved alternative to building additional ex-pensive data centers and to provide an easier way for NASA scientists and researchers to share large, complex data sets with external partners and the public.

NebulaisanexcellentexampleofhowNASAischampioningongoingpartnershipswithprivateindustryandacademia.

“Wheninformationisshared,everyonebenefits,”saysNASAChiefTechnologyOfficerforITChrisC.Kemp.

“NASANebulaisdeliveringaservicethatmeetsthecomputationalrequirementsofNASA’sscientificcommunity,”continuesAmesResearchCenterActingCIOJamesF.Williams.

NebulahelpsNASAstakeholdersbypasstheoftenlengthybureaucraticplanningandprocure-mentprocessfornewITinfrastructure,ultimatelysavingNASAtimeandmoney.

Therearemanytechnologicalbenefitsexclu-sivetotheNebulacloudsuchashigh-capacitycomputingandstorageandnetworkconnectivitythatisunmatchedbycommercialcloudprovid-ers(formorebenefitsseesidebar).TheAmesInternetExchange(AIX),whichhoststhecloud,wasformerlyknownas“MaeWest,”asoneoftheoriginalnodesoftheInternet.

Nebula’srevolutionarycontainerinfrastruc-turefeaturesengineeringformaximumflex-ibility,efficiencyandscalability.SupportingNASA’smissions,typicallyincollaborationwithuniversitiesandotherresearchorganizations,Nebula’scloudcomputingapproachtophysi-calinfrastructuremustbeasflexibleastheservicesourpartnershost.

Nebula’smodularinfrastructurecanbemodi-fied,upgraded,expandedandevenphysicallyrelocatedasneedsevolve.Additionally,eachcontainerholdsupto30,000CPUcoresor30petabytes(onepetabyteequalsonemilliongiga-bytes),whichis50percentmoreenergyefficientthancommercialclouds.

TheNebulalaunchwasasapilotprojectatAmesResearchCenter.NASA’sgoalisthatNebulawillserveasaFederaltestbedforcloudtechnology.TheOfficeofManagementandBudget(OMB)recognizesthevalueofpilots,andisencourag-ingFederalAgenciestoinvestigatehowtotakeadvantageofcloudcomputing.

NebulaisoneoftheveryfirstgovernmentcloudsthatmeetsallFederalsecurityrequirements,in-cludingFISMA.Itisoneofthefewcloudsphysi-callylocatedwithinaFederally-securedperimeter.NebulawilladdresskeyITconcernsinvolvingsecurity,portabilityandinteroperabilitythatallgovernmentAgencieswillfaceinimplementingcloudcomputing.

“Whendevelopmentisopen,everyonebenefits,”saysKemp.r

Cloud ComputingFeatures and Benefits

The National Institute of Standards and Tech-nology (NIST) describes cloud computing as “...a model for enabling convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of con-figurable computing re-sources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, ap-plications and services) that can be rapidly provi-sioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction.”

ScalabilityBecause computer and storage resources are provided through an abstracted interface, a cloud computing ar-chitecture allows the supported load on your web application to scale up dramatically, without the costs and delays of provisioning new infra-structure, re-engineering code, etc.

Cost SavingsCloud computing sys-tems can easily provide “pay-as-you-go” stor-age, processing and bandwidth services that fit your present needs. This means that you pay for only what you need, and you share econo-mies of scale with the other cloud “tenants.” Resource usage can be monitored, controlled and reported providing transparency for both the provider and con-sumer of the services. (continued on page 2)

IT Talk

Interior of a Nebula contain-er at Ames has dense comput-ing and storage capabilities and direct current power at rack and carriage level.

Making IT Stellar at NASA

While Johnson Space Center (JSC) is in the business of navigating unknown territories (especially in the cosmos), its Enterprise Architecture (EA) Program is one of the biggest transformations in the Center’s history. JSC’s efforts are part of a broader EA initiative at NASA.

InOctober2009NASACIOLindaY.CuretonspecificallycalledoutEAinannouncingherintentiontomaketheNASAITorgnaizationtheverybestingovernment.

“StrengtheningourEnterpriseArchitectureisoneofmytoppriorities,”saidCureton.

NASA’sEAProgramPlanformstheplanningandinvestmentframeworkforaligningITwiththeNASAmissionandmissionsupportneedsinastructured,prioritizedandintegratedfashion.TheNASAChiefEnterpriseArchitectexecutestheNASAEAProgramPlanincollaborationwithCenterEnterpriseArchitectstoensureplanning,prioritizationandalignmentofinvestmentsthatenablemissionandmissionsup-portobjectivesandresults.

“It’sreallyaboutbusinesstrans-formation(and)everythingyoudoaligningwiththestrategicgoalsofthebusiness,”saidJSCChiefEnterpriseArchitectBobHennan.“We’reinthebusinessofspace,soweensurethateverythingwedo,allthemoneywespend,allthecomponentswebuy,matchthestrategicgoalsoftheagency.”

SohowdoesEAdothis?Aftercapturingtheas-isandto-beorganizinglogicforprocessesandITinfrastructure,architects

produce“blueprints”todefinethecurrentanddesiredoperatingen-vironment,alongwithasequenc-ingplan.

“Youmodelwhatyouhaveforanarchitecturenow.Youdecidewhereyoureallywanttobe,whatyourgoalsare,andyoucreateatransitionplantogetyoufromwhereyouaretowhereyouwanttobe,”saidRicSlater,ProjectManagementandTechnicalIntegrationOfficeChieffortheInformationResourcesDirector-ate.“Thebottomlineisyou’relookingatthebusinessaspectsofhowitworks.”

TheJSCEAProgramiscommit-tedtohelpingwiththecenter’sevolution.JSCrecentlycertified25newEnterpriseArchitectsinathree-monthclass.Thecertifica-tionprogramwasacollaborative,centerwideendeavorthatcom-binedparticipantsfromseveralorganizations,alongwithcontrac-tors,culminatinginapracticumpresentedtocenterandNASAHeadquartersmanagement.

ThedutiesoftheEnterpriseAr-chitectswillincludeperformingITprojectarchitectureassessmentsandservicereviewsthroughoutthecenter.

ArchitectswillstrivetoaddvaluebyensuringalignmentwiththecenterandAgencyarchitecturesandbyhelpingtoestablishastrongbusinesscaseforallmajorinvestments.Theywillemphasizereuse,interoperabilityandtheeliminationofredundancytoim-provebusinessperformanceandproductivity.

“Oneofthebigpurposesofthisissystembusinessagility,”Hennansaid.“Rightnowweneedtobe

agile,becausewe’regettingreadytochangegearsdrasticallywiththeShuttleProgramendingandnowwithConstellationending.We’regoingtobestartingalotofnewprograms.”

EAwillbeamajorplayerasthecenteracclimatestodifferentexplorationgoals.

“Knowingwhatyouhavenow,whereallyourservicesareandthecapabilitiesyouhaveisrealimportant,sowecanquicklyalignthosewiththenewprogramsandsavethecenter,knowledgeandresourceswehavehere,”Hennansaid.“It’sarealcriticaltime,andEnterpriseArchitecturewillplayabigpartinthattransition.”

TheJSCEAProgramoperatesundertheauthorityoftheChiefInformationOfficeratboththecenterandagencylevels.WhileEnterpriseArchitectureworkstoprovidequicksolutions,itisnosilverbullet—itrequireshardworkfromdedicatedteamsatalllevels.r

Building Better Business at NASA

with Enterprise Architecture

Source: Bob Hennan, JSC Chief Enterprise Architect and Catherine E. Williams, Public Relations Specialist

(Cloud Computing Benefits continued from page 1)

Deployment SpeedThe integrated nature of hardware, software and resource provisioning allows rapid develop-ment and deployment of policy-compliant and secure web applications. Customers can unilater-ally provision comput-ing capabilities (vir-tual machine instances, storage, etc.) as needed automatically, without requiring human interac-tion. Also, a consistent set of frameworks, code repositories and web services means that your developers can concen-trate on turning out qual-ity applications without “reinventing the wheel” for low-level infrastruc-ture requirements.

Resource ElasticityComputing resources are aggregated to serve multiple consumers us-ing a multi-tenant model, with different physical and virtual resources dy-namically assigned and reassigned according to demand. This means that your web applica-tions are supported by the full strength of the cloud’s resources and will remain available dur-ing demand spikes.

Integrated Reporting and Policy ComplianceA cloud computing archi-tecture provides a large organization with a single platform for reporting and policy compliance purposes. Managers can obtain detailed reports on resource use for all of their organizational elements, and can set boundaries within the cloud service levels to accomplish IT policy objectives while still delegating the day-to-day control of content and application develop-ment. r

JPL Cloud ComputingBy Tom Soderstrom, IT CTO, Jet Propulsion

Laboratory, California Institute of Technology

JPL’sOfficeoftheCIOhostedalaboratory-wideCloudComputingDayonMay12.Theevent,whichdrewalargeaudienceonsiteandviaJPL-TV,ispartofaseriesofcloudinnovation,explorationandeducationaleventsplannedfor2010.Theeventwasledbythe70-memberJPLCloudWorkingGroup,whosemem-bersincluderepresentativesfromJPL’sOCIO,variousJPLprojectsandlineorganiza-tions,andindustrypartners.

Adrian Gardner Goddard’s New CIO

Adrian Gardner is Goddard Space Flight Center’s new Chief Information Officer (CIO) and Director of the Information Technology and Communications Di-rectorate. Gardner came on-board at Goddard in early February from the National Weather Service where he had served as CIO since January 2007. Prior to his time at the Weather Service, Gardner was with the Department of Energy as the Deputy CIO for Cyber Security from September 2005 to September 2006 and the Deputy CIO for IT Reform from October 2006 to January 2007. He is currently the Chair of the POC Working Group for Data.gov.

Gardner is a Doctoral candidate at the Univer-sity of Southern Califor-nia, School of Public Poli-cy and Planning where he holds a Masters degree in Public Administration. He also holds a Master of Science degree in Environmental Studies from Hood College and a Bachelor of Science in Biological Science and Ecology from the esteemed Tuskegee In-stitute. An Air Force vet-eran, Gardner received the Air Force Achieve-ment Medal in 1987.

Gardner serves on the Board of the District of Columbia Urban League and is a volunteer and mentor to several academic and youth programs. r

The Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL®) is an industry framework of governance and best practices, with orientation specific to IT service, development, finance and operations. ITIL is foster-ing NASA’s alignment with recognition that information is the most important strategic resource any organization has to manage.

NASA’sChiefInformationOf-ficerLindaCuretoncontinuestostrategicallyevolvethewayNASAviewsandimplementsourITservicedeliveryAgency-wide,innovatingthewayweconductITbusiness,championingpositivechangesthroughadoptionoftheITILversion3framework.

“AdaptingtheseITILprocessesthathavebeenrefinedandvet-tedthousandsoftimessupportsourgoalofbeingthebestatIT,enablingourdeliveryofoutstand-ingITservicesforourworld-classscientistsandengineershereatNASA,”explainsCureton.

TheITILframeworkhasquicklybecomeNASA’sspringboardforimprovingservicedelivery,mitigatingdisruptions,increas-ingproductivityandenablingachievementofITbusinessobjectives.Additionally,ITILaddressesnewguidanceandreportingrequirementsfromtheOfficeofManagementandBudget(OMB).

GovernmentandprivateindustryleadersregardITILasthebestandmostcohesiveapproachtoITservicemanagementinexis-tence.SpearheadingourITILini-tiativeonbehalfofNASA’sOCIOisNASA’sServiceIntegrationManagerCliffWard.ThisnewframeworkismovingNASAawayfromthecurrentfederatedman-agementmodeltoanindustry-recognizedServiceManagementandServiceDeliverymodel.

“OurimplementationoftheITILv3frameworkwillenableustoincreaseoureffectivenessinbothmanagementanddeliveryofITservicesacrossourAgency,”

saidWard.“Ourcollaborativeapproachtoconsolidationanddevelopmentofthe‘NASA-ized’ITILprocessesandprocedureswillresultinourachieving‘TheBestoftheBestIT.’”

SignificantsectionsoftheITILframeworkandcertificationpro-cessinclude:

•ServiceStrategy.

•ServiceDesign,withguidanceondesigningITservicesalongwiththeirgoverningITprac-tices,policiesandprocesses.

•ServiceTransition,forthedevelopmentofcapabilitiesintransitioningnewandchangingservicesintooperations.

•ServiceOperation.

•ContinualServiceImprovement,addressinghighestpotentialvalueforcustomersthroughbetterdesign,introductionandoperationofservices,linkingimprovementeffortswithser-vicestrategy,design,transitionandoperation.

TheITInfrastructureLibrary(ITIL)definesserviceas,“…ameansofdeliveringvaluetocustomersbyfacilitatingoutcomescustomerswanttoachievewithouttheownershipofspecificcostsandrisks.”ITILdefinesServiceManage-mentas,“…asetofspecializedorganizationalcapabilitiesforprovidingvaluetocustomersintheformofservices.”

TherearemorethanadozenITILtrainingmodulesavailableonNASA’strainingsystem,SATERNhttp://satern.nasa.gov.r

ITIL: Enabling NASA’s Best Practices in IT

Service Management and Delivery

Source: Andrea M. Riso,Ames Research Center

Attendeessawlivedemonstra-tionsofseveralJPLmissionprototypeapplicationsrunningintheclouds;exploredcloudsecurity,networkandbusinessissues;heardabouttherealmet-ricsandexperiencesofmultiplecloudvendorsandcloudtypes;debatedJPL’sstrategyofkeep-ingcloudcomputingrealforthemissionsthroughearlyexplora-tionofmultipleclouds.Attend-eeswereinvitedtosubmittheirapplicationsviaanonlinetooltotheCloudApplicationSuitabilityModel(CASM),whichhelpstodetermineforwhichcloudanapplicationismostsuited.Theaudiencewasalsogivenaccess

toanonlinecloudcollabora-tionwebsiteandinvitedtoparticipateincontinueddevelopmentofthenewlycre-atedCloudReadinessLevel(CRL)framework.

TheaudienceofJPLersandindustrypartnersunanimouslyagreedthatJPLisontherighttracktowardeffectiveusageofclouds“bykeepingitreal”andthatcloudcomputingcanhavemeasurablebenefitsforJPLandNASA.Withtheaffirmativeconclusionofthisevent,cloudcomputingnowtransitionsfromaPrototypetoapilotactivityatJPL.r

Public site: http://www.nasa.gov/ocio Internal site: http://insidenasa.nasa.gov/ocio

Making IT Stellar at NASA

NationalAeronauticsandSpaceAdministration

Office of the Chief Information Officer300E.Street,SWWashington,DC20546

www.nasa.gov

James Williams Named Computerworld Honors Laureate

JamesF.Williams,ActingChiefInformationOfficerofNASAAmesResearchCenterinSiliconValley,isaLaureateofthe2010Computer-worldHonorsPrograminrecogni-tionofhisvisionaryexcellenceinorganizationalinnovationandstrategicallymanaginginformationtechnologythroughthecreationandimplementationofAmes’sServiceIntegrationManagementproject.

TheServiceIntegrationMan-agementprojectalignsAmesITEnterpriseArchitecturewithNASAAgencystrategicinitiatives,streamliningtheAmesResearchCenterITmissionwithbusinessprocesses,eliminatingorganiza-tionalboundaries.

ServiceIntegrationManagementfeaturesinnovative,reliableITsolutionsthroughenhancementofcostingpracticesandresourcemanagement,thusremovingtheadministrativeburdenofcap-

Antunes Receives Federal 100 Award

GSFC Web Manager Emma An-tunes has received the Fed-eral 100 Award,

which honors individuals whose ideas and ac-complishments have the greatest impact in shaping missions, solutions and results achieved by the government information technology community. Antunes spearheaded the development of God-dard’s Spacebook, an internal Facebook-like application that enables NASA scientists, engi-neers and others to col-laborate on projects. Her efforts in social network-ing have been held up as a model for government organizations.r

turingrequirementsfromeachmanagementdivisionintheorga-nization.Theycanthenfocusondeveloping,testinganddeliveringoptimumITservicesasNASA’s“InnovationEngineforInforma-tionTechnology.”

Williams’goalswithServiceIntegrationManagementincludeputtingthecustomerfirst,aligningAmesITandmanagementpracticeswithNASA’srequire-mentsandstra-tegicinitiativesandconsolidatingmissions,busi-nessprocessesandinformationacrossorganizationalboundaries.WilliamsandAmesResearchCenter,throughServiceIntegra-tionManagement,hasgainedareputationasaninnovatorofITsolutionsforNASAandotherFederalAgencies.

NASAAmesServiceIntegrationManagementprojectreducescomplexity,standardizingthedevelopmentanddeliveryofITAmesResearchCenterhasbeenabletodevelopanddeliverinno-vativenewITsolutionsfasterandmorecost-efficientlythanbefore,

allwhileensuringalignmentwiththevisionfortheNASAEnterpriseArchitec-ture.Anearlyexample

ofthisistheNebulacloud-computing(seecoverstory).AmesisalsodeliveringcriticalsupporttoNASA’sSecurityOp-erationsCenter(SOC).AmescustomerswithinNASAandthroughouttheFederalgovernmentarereapingthebenefitsofWilliams’integratedap-

proachtocustomerservice.

Williams,anativeofPennsylvania,isanuclearandmaterialsengi-neer.The22ndAnnualLaureatesMedalCeremony&GalaAwardsEveningwilltakeplaceinJuneinWashington,D.C.r

August 16-18, 2010National Harbor, Maryland

Register now! www.regonline.com/ocio

Send feedback about IT Talk to John Hopkins at john.hopkins@nasa.gov.