Joyent Disses Amazon EC2

I'm always skeptical when vendors publish "independent benchmarks" proving them the best. In the '80s and '90s, all the database companies played this game and got a lot of attention -- positive and negative. In particular, I remember some of these benchmarking firms being subsidized by the very company they were testing. Guess who usually came out on top.

Now Joyent, which sells software to cloud service providers, is claiming that Amazon's EC2 eats its dust. The IMS Company tested Joyent's I/O performance, looking at Linux VMs, Windows VMs and Joyent SmartMachines, and in nearly all cases, Joyent was faster.

Cloud consultancy Cloud-Harmony did a bunch of benchmarks last year, but for some reason didn't include Joyent. At the same time, Joyent uses Cloud-Harmony benchmarking tools or frameworks for its tests. The world of benchmarking has more going on behind the scenes than backstage at a beauty pageant!

Joyent may be right, and so should be proud. However, choosing a cloud provider is a complex undertaking, and performance is but one factor. Joyent isn't exactly a newcomer; the company is about 7 years old. And a perusal of its Web site reveals a company with personality, humor and a solid board of directors.

What do you look for in a cloud provider? E-mail thoughts to [email protected].

Posted by Doug Barney on 02/22/2011 at 12:47 PM