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Ask HN: Adding 2 + 2 on the Cloud ?

3 points by IgorCarron ↗ HN
I realize the title may be a little provocative but here is what I am looking for.

Let us imagine I have a complex python/basic/lisp/fortran/matlab program that can take two inputs and produce the result of an algorithm implemented in that complex program.

How do I go about setting up a service on the cloud where the program can be run by others and billed to me ?

Is there a basic tutorial somewhere on this topic ?

Thanks in advance,

Igor.

9 comments

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bshep
Maybe something using Amazons MapReduce and DevPay or FlexiblePayments?

I wouldnt know how to set up what you want but maybe you can find something in their forums.

BTW: I've used their EC2 and S3 services and I'm very happy so far.

wmf
This sounds like a paid AMI.

Edit: In retrospect that's not what you want, since for paid AMIs the bill goes to the customer.

pskomoroch
What do you mean by "billed to me"? Do you mean you pay for the costs of user's computations, or users pay you to compute an answer?
IgorCarron
It means I get to pay for their computations. The intent is to bill them later on that service and other services.
pskomoroch
In that case, there is nothing really cloud specific here... you just need to build a standard web app or web service that accepts user input and runs some calculations in the background. Any Rails or Django tutorial will be a good start. If you expect large jobs that require a lot of number crunching in the background then running jobs in batches with Hadoop or MPI are good options. In Rails, you can use delayed_job, SQS, or any of the other work queue systems out there to handle the background tasks.
stcredzero
Someone should do this for render farms. We'd see more brilliant home-grown sci-fi film making like this:

http://www.starwreck.com/

They had a 3 PC render farm running two years to make the film. Most of the interior shots were green-screened with digital backgrounds, and they look gorgeous.

(Finding attractive actresses who will become the girlfriend and provide free acting to the film effort is still left up to the user.)