Promoting Open Source Software Through Cloud Deployment: Library à la Carte and Heroku
This presentation explores the deployment of Library à la Carte, a customizable open-source content management system (CMS) in a cloud environment. We will discuss the advantages of cloud deployment, which enhances accessibility and reduces the technical barriers for libraries. Key topics include our pilot project experiences, hosting options like Heroku and Amazon EC2, and future directions for evolving our platform. This initiative aims to streamline library resources for students and faculty, creating a centralized access point to essential academic materials.
Promoting Open Source Software Through Cloud Deployment: Library à la Carte and Heroku
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Presentation Transcript
Promoting Open Source Software Through Cloud Deployment: Library à la Carte, Heroku, and OSU Michael B. Klein Digital Applications Librarian michael.klein@oregonstate.eduMargaret Mellinger Engineering Librarian margaret.mellinger@oregonstate.edu
About Library à la Carte • What is Library à la Carte? • Distribution & Adoption • Cloud Deployment • Why the Cloud? • Hosting Options • Challenges and Compromises • Pilot Project • Evaluation • Future Directions Presentation Overview
Custom content management system • Course assignment pages, subject guides, portal pages and tutorials • Pages built around reusable modules • Text, images, media widgets, links, feeds • Free & open-source • Download, install, and start using • Customizable and extensible What is Library à la Carte?
5 major releases since 2007 • Scores of demo accounts requested • Downloaded hundreds of times • 20+ known installations Distribution
Lack of in-house technical expertise • Installing Ruby and dependencies • Setting permissions • Webserver configuration • Database administration • Running scripts from the command line • Hand-editing configuration files • Installing upgrades/applying patches • Diagnosing and reporting problems • Unwillingness or inability to devote technical or human resources Barriers to Adoption
Pre-installed • Lower the barrier for adoption • Dedicated • Provide libraries with their own installations where they can do real work • Portable • Entire installation can be moved from the cloud to a local install or vice versa • Elastic • Storage space and resources can be allocated on the fly Why the Cloud?
Amazon Web Services • Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) • Controllable via console or API • Infrastructure as a Service (“Bare Metal”) • Small instance: 10¢/hr. = $72/mo. = $864/yr. • Boot volume and storage costs are extra • Refactoring required to take advantage of elasticity • Additional refactoring required to compensate for ephemeral server instances Hosting Options
JumpBox • Portable virtual machine • Still “Bare Metal,” but host-agnostic • Requires acceptance by JumpBox team • Installation, maintenance, and upgrades may require vendor action • Still need to provide hardware or pay EC2 costs Hosting Options
Eucalyptus • Open Source cloud platform • Based on Amazon cloud model and API • Software is free; infrastructure is not • We would have to provide hardware and additional support Hosting Options
Heroku • Platform as a Service • Dedicated Ruby/Rack/Rails platform • Git-based deployment • Ruby API • Automatic, easy scaling and load balancing • Predictable costs • Over 2 dozen available add-ons • Smallest instance: FREE Hosting Options
No server-side file storage • Requires another solution such as Amazon S3 • No dedicated configuration files • Library à La Carte was written for MySQL • Heroku uses PostgreSQL • Developers aren’t necessarily thinking of the cloud when adding new features Challenges and Compromises
Single insitutional partner • Deployed in January 2010 • Goals: • Administer and monitor installation • Track usage, database size, bandwidth • Develop cost model based on likely usage scenarios • Gather feedback from partner Pilot Project
Initial evaluation June 2010 • Overall experience very positive • Need to document differences between standalone and cloud-based app • Users used to page creation had trouble adjusting to content management workflow Pilot Project – Librarian Evaluation
Faculty and students consider Library à la Carte to be a valuable resource • Goal: “Collect all the necessary sources students need to use in their clinical year.” • Students “thrilled with having one starting place.” • Already receiving requests for additional content. Pilot Project – User Evaluation
Administration & Maintenance • 2 software updates in 6 months • 30 minutes to install, including code review • Marginal time cost of updating additional hosted sites would be 2-3 minutes • Support • Installation/configuration support eliminated • Some hand-holding still required Pilot Project – OSU Evaluation
Revisit hosting model • Is Heroku working for us? • Would Amazon EC2 make more sense? • Determine costs based on size and use • Consider other partnerships • Hand hosting off to consortium? Future Directions
Library à La Carte in the Cloud: The Movie See it on YouTube!