El Reg wrote:Japan weather bods rain on using cloud for tsunami warning data-crunching
The agency which predicts tsunamis and earthquakes in Japan has poured cold water on the idea of using the cloud to underpin its supercomputing operations.
While cloud vendors have been touting supercomputing on tap for a few years now, Tatsuya Kimura, head of the office of international affairs at the Japan Meteorological Agency, questioned their suitability for the crucial predictions his agency has to make.
In the event of a major earthquake, the agency has to make a call in minutes as to whether to issue a tsunami alert. As well as providing Japan's weather services including tracking typhoons, the agency also issues earthquake warnings for the “Tokai” area, where the tectonic plates are particularly well understood.
“It’s a time-critical service,” he told journalists at agency's Tokyo HQ today. “We can’t say the warning was late because of the cloud service... I think it’s a little unlikely to move to the cloud.”
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Quite sensible IMHO.
