Cloud.com offers Amazon API

The most recent version of Cloud.com is now offering a 'bridge' for the core AWS EC2 services:

"CloudBridge provides a compatibility layer for CloudStack cloud computing software that tools designed for Amazon Web Services with CloudStack.

The CloudBridge is a server process that runs as an adjunct to the CloudStack. The CloudBridge provides an Amazon EC2 compatible API via both SOAP and REST web services."

The functions they support include:

Addresses

AllocateAddress

AssociateAddress

DescribeAddresses

DisassociateAddress

ReleaseAddress

Availability Zones

DescribeAvailabilityZones

Images

CreateImage

DeregisterImage

DescribeImages

RegisterImage

Image Attributes

DescribeImageAttribute

ModifyImageAttribute

ResetImageAttribute

Instances

DescribeInstances

RunInstances

RebootInstances

StartInstances

StopInstances

TerminateInstances

Instance Attributes

DescribeInstanceAttribute

Keypairs

CreateKeyPair

DeleteKeyPair

DescribeKeyPairs

ImportKeyPair

Passwords

GetPasswordData

Security Groups

AuthorizeSecurityGroupIngress

CreateSecurityGroup

DeleteSecurityGroup

DescribeSecurityGroups

RevokeSecurityGroupIngress

Snapshots

CreateSnapshot

DeleteSnapshot

DescribeSnapshots

Volumes

AttachVolume

CreateVolume

DeleteVolume

DescribeVolumes

DetachVolume

Although this list represents the core features of EC2, it doesn't yet cover the upper layers (CloudWatch, Auto Scale, etc.) or the PaaS offering (SNS, SQS, etc.) Regardless, I'm excited to see more emphasis being placed on supporting the AWS standard. It's easy for people to say that IaaS standards don't matter. However, if you're the guy building software on top of IaaS, they matter a WHOLE lot.

Cloud.com is a solid piece of software that has achieved success in the service provider market. To date, they haven't pushed too hard in the enterprise. Their decision to embrace the AWS API is a good one - and is complemented with their decision to use the pieces of OpenStack in their software where appropriate. This idea seems to be getting more traction. I'm hearing more and more people talking about OpenStack like it's a drawer that you reach into and grab out the components that you want - - rather than a holistic platform. I'm not sure if that's what the OpenStack team was shooting for but it's interesting to see guys like Cloud.com being open to leveraging the bits and pieces that they find useful.