> The LAMP (Linux, Apache, Mysql, PHP) stack great for small websites
> and web apps...but what happens when you need scalability? There is no
> easy and cheap way to scale.

> The only way to scale with the LAMP stack is to add more
> servers...but...once you split each component onto a separate server
> what next? If you need to scale mysql you need a cluster, if you need
> to scale apache then you need a load balancer and several servers. It
> all becomes expensive, time consuming and littered with problems. I
> have run many sites like this...one such site had over 20 servers! I
> just don't think that is is sustainable.

> Over the past year I have been working with cloud computing quite a
> bit. It is not easy to move a web application to a cloud computing
> platform. There are heaps of technical challenges, but, each challenge
> is worth overcoming because of the huge advantages.

> Let me give you an example...if you want to bring publicity to your
> site or service you must aspire to get it listed in slashdot, or
> techcrunch or something like that. Well...how do you think you could
> scale for the traffic? Simple...create a scalable architecture, host
> it on Amazon EC2, and then simply "turn the knob" (so to speak) when
> traffic surges. They pay for actual usage while those servers are
> active, and then simply turn that knob back down when the surge
> subsides. No huge investment, no servers to install in your data
> center...no fuss!

> Web-scale is all about huge growth. If your business is in this area
> then cloud computing is your friend.

> Ross