Speaker
Description
Since its debut decades ago, "the Cloud" has been stagnating in the same centralized architecture: one single webfarm serving millions of users. Parallely, the advent of peer-to-peer (p2p) solutions, from file sharing to VPN, showed that a distributed architecture can outperform a centralized one, but the lack of control often led to other inefficiencies.
Cubbit is a hybrid cloud architecture comprised of a network of p2p devices (the "Swarm") coordinated by a central optimization server. By intelligent management of bandwidth, CPU time, and storage contributed by the Swarm, Cubbit recycles these unused raw resources to offer performant, encrypted, and green cloud services. Operating costs are strongly reduced with respect to the centralized paradigm, allowing for Cloud services that are sustainable without the need for monthly fees from the consumer.
Here, we will present the architectural principles behind Cubbit "sync&share" cloud service. A particular focus will be dedicated to the environmental impact of the Cloud, which is today estimated to consume as much as the whole Brasil. Cubbit reduces the impact per Gigabyte of a factor 10 compared to standard webfarm hardware, providing an example of how a radical shift of paradigm can benefit both the final consumer and society as a whole.
