Abstract: A method for building, optimizing, and maintaining a computing infrastructure on a cloud computing environment is provided. A user provides a high-level declaration to a cloud environment operating system, specifying the details of the infrastructure that is intended to be built on the cloud. A cloud environment operating system converts the high level declaration to a lower level declaration and then to a series of instructions that can be executed by the cloud to build the desired infrastructure. The cloud environment operating system can also continuously monitor the infrastructure once it is built on the cloud. If the cloud environment operating system notices any discrepancies between the user's original specification and the infrastructure as built on the cloud, the operating system can work to modify the existing infrastructure on the cloud to conform to the infrastructure specified by a user.

Abstract: In some embodiments, a method includes receiving encrypted information associated with a user, and calculating a first portion of a shared secret based on the encrypted information associated with the user. The method also includes defining a completed portion of the shared secret based on the first portion of the shared secret and a second portion of the shared secret and storing the completed portion of the shared secret in a memory for a pre-defined period of time. The method includes defining a ticket based on the completed portion of the shared secret, and sending the ticket to a device associated with the user such that data associated with the ticket is accessible based on the ticket within the pre-defined period of time, and not accessible without the ticket or after the pre-defined period of time.

Abstract: A distributed key/value store system using asynchronous messaging systems is provided. A plurality of instances in a cloud computing environment each execute software that enables reading from and writing to a respective local cache, and that enables sending messages through a messaging queue to a cloud environment operating system. When a configuration value is updated locally at an instance, the instance sends a message to the cloud environment operating system, instructing it to update a database and broadcast the update to other instances through each instance's messaging queue. In some embodiments, each instance may read and write to the database directly, and may publish updates to the queues of other instances directly. In some embodiments, a managed encryption key service is used to encrypt sensitive information, securely distribute it via distributed key/value store systems, and authenticate and decrypt it by instances of the distributed key/value store systems.

Abstract: Techniques for securing and authenticating asynchronous messages using a key manager are provided. A first component sending an asynchronous message to a second component may identify itself to a key manager by a private key and may receive an encrypted signing key from the key manager. The first component may then hash message content, encrypt the hashed message content using the signing key, and send the encrypted result along with the original message content to the receiving component via asynchronous messaging. The receiving component, which may obtain a symmetric signing key from the key manager or from local storage, may decrypt the received encrypted result using the symmetric signing key, and may hash the received original message content using the same hashing algorithm as the sending component; if the two results match, the receiving component may determine that the message is authentic and uncorrupted.

Abstract: A method for building, optimizing, and maintaining a computing infrastructure on a cloud computing environment is provided. A user provides a high-level declaration to a cloud environment operating system, specifying the details of the infrastructure that is intended to be built on the cloud. A cloud environment operating system converts the high level declaration to a lower level declaration and then to a series of instructions that can be executed by the cloud to build the desired infrastructure. The cloud environment operating system can also continuously monitor the infrastructure once it is built on the cloud. If the cloud environment operating system notices any discrepancies between the user's original specification and the infrastructure as built on the cloud, the operating system can work to modify the existing infrastructure on the cloud to conform to the infrastructure specified by a user.

Abstract: In some embodiments, a method includes receiving encrypted information associated with a user, and calculating a first portion of a shared secret based on the encrypted information associated with the user. The method also includes defining a completed portion of the shared secret based on the first portion of the shared secret and a second portion of the shared secret and storing the completed portion of the shared secret in a memory for a pre-defined period of time. The method includes defining a ticket based on the completed portion of the shared secret, and sending the ticket to a device associated with the user such that data associated with the ticket is accessible based on the ticket within the pre-defined period of time, and not accessible without the ticket or after the pre-defined period of time.

Abstract: In some embodiments, a method includes defining a directed acyclic graph that models a social network. The directed acyclic graph can have a set of alteration nodes that collectively define a joint probability. The method also includes predicting an outcome associated with a proposed alteration with the social network based on the directed acyclic graph. The proposed alteration can be associated with an alteration node from the set of alteration nodes. The method further includes sending an indication of the outcome such that an advertising campaign for the social network includes the proposed alteration.