Ultimate cloud speed tests: Amazon vs. Google vs. Windows Azure

It's also important to recognize that there can be quite a bit of markup hidden in these prices. For comparison, I also ran the benchmarks on a basic eight-core (AMD FX-8350) machine with 16GB of RAM on my desk. It was generally faster than Windows Azure's eight-core machine, just a bit slower than Google's eight-core machine, and about the same speed as Amazon's eight-core box. Yet the price was markedly different. The desktop machine cost about $600, and you should be able to put together a server in the same ballpark. The Google machine costs 82 cents per hour or about $610 for a 31-day month. You could start saving money after the first month if you build the machine yourself.

The price of the machine, though, is just part of the equation. Hosting the computer costs money, or more to the point, hosting lots of computers costs lots of money. The cloud services will be most attractive to companies that need big blocks of compute power for short sessions. If they pay by the hour and run the machines for only a short block of time, they can cut the costs dramatically. If your workload appears in short bursts, the markup isn't a problem because any machine you own will just sit there most of the day waiting, wasting cycles and driving up the air conditioning bills.

All of these facts make choosing a cloud service dramatically more complicated and difficult than it might appear. The marketing is glossy and the imagery makes it all look comfy, but hidden underneath is plenty of complexity. The only way you can tell if you're getting what you're paying for is to test and test some more. Only then can you make a decision about whether the light, airy simplicity of a cloud machine is for you.

This article, "Ultimate cloud speed tests: Amazon vs. Google vs. Windows Azure," was originally published at InfoWorld.com. Follow the latest developments in cloud computing at InfoWorld.com. For the latest business technology news, follow InfoWorld.com on Twitter.