OStatic

Plumbing is what cloud computing is all about. Your company will likely be using cloud computing techniques to manage computing resources very soon if you aren't already. These concepts apply equally well to big enterprise and small startups, companies that own their infrastructure and those that choose to use services like Amazon EC2 or Mosso. Puppet offers a great system automation framework, but how do you get up and running with those systems? That's where Enomalism comes in.

Open Source Asterisk PBX maker Digium released it's widely anticipated mid-range appliance today called the AA300. The product is a custom PC intended for businesses that need around 150 telephones, and it runs Switchvox SMB software. Some resellers have expressed consternation at the pricing model Digium has chosen for its new devices.

This is the first of our weekly Cloudy Saturday columns that will delve into using cloud computing techniques to manage your own server farms, both large and small. This week we'll talk about the Puppet automation system from Reductive Labs. Puppet is built upon the legacy of the venerable Cfengine system, but takes things to a whole new level.