Abstract: Techniques for encoding data in grid encoded data storage systems are described herein. Data is stored in a grid of shards using grid encoding techniques that store the data in a combination of data shards and derived shards. Because the data is redundantly encoded in the grid of shards, a plurality of distinct copies of the data are reproducible from the grid of shards where each distinct copy is reproducible from a non-overlapping set of shards of the grid of shards.

Abstract: A computing system includes a circuit board assembly and multiple expansion cards connected to one another and also connected to the circuit board assembly. The connected expansion cards form a modular expansion card bus that allows the expansion cards to communicate between each other without routing the communications through the circuit board assembly. In some embodiments, the expansion cards are mounted on a tray that includes mounting pins that engage mounting slots of the expansion cards, allowing for simple installation of various combinations of expansion cards connected together to form a modular expansion card bus.

Abstract: A system or device may implement configuration and testing of network-based service platform resources using a service platform specific language. A configuration file may describe one or more resources of a network-based service platform to be configured, as well as one or more tests to be performed. The configuration file may be described in a service platform specific language for the network-based service platform. When received, the configuration file may be interpreted according to the service platform specific language to identify configuration information for the resources and execution instructions for performing the tests. Requests may be generated and sent to the network-based service platform to configure and provision the resources according to the identified information. Results of the tests may be obtained.

Abstract: Electronic devices, interfaces for electronic devices, and techniques for interacting with such interfaces and electronic devices are described. For instance, this disclosure describes an example electronic device that includes sensors, such as multiple front-facing cameras to detect orientation and/or location of the electronic device relative to an object and one or more inertial sensors. Users of the device may perform gestures on the device by moving the device in-air and/or by moving their head, face, or eyes relative to the device. In response to these gestures, the device may perform operations.

Abstract: Apparatus and method are described that relate to reserved virtual machine instances and location policies. Customers of a provider network can reserve one or more reserved virtual machine instances in a reservation and also specify a location policy for the reservation. The location policy provides restrictions as to which hardware may or may not be used to launch the reserved instances and/or how close together the hardware should or should not be to launch the instances of the reservation. The location policies afford customers some degree of control over which hardware is used by the provider network to launch the instances. As such, customers can help control increase security and/or reduce latency of their instances, or control other aspects of their instances.

Abstract: A provider network includes a service that creates virtual private network (VPN) endpoint nodes. Application programming interfaces are available that the creation of VPN endpoint nodes, peer them together, and attach them to respective virtual private networks to thereby establish communication tunnels between pairs of virtual private networks. Each VPN endpoint node may be implemented as a fault tolerant endpoint node in which the node is created as a plurality of virtual machines. Each of the virtual machines is configured from a common machine image that includes software capable of causing the respective virtual machine to configure a tunnel such as an IPSec tunnel. One of the virtual machines, however, is operated in an active mode, while another virtual machine is configured to operate in a standby mode.

Abstract: Techniques are described for providing users with access to perform commands on network-accessible computing resources. In some situations, permissions are established for user(s) to execute command(s) on computing node(s) provided by an online service, such as by maintaining various permission information externally to those provided computing nodes for use in controlling users' ability to access, use, and/or modify the provided computing nodes. An interface component may use such external permissions information to determine if a particular user is authorized to execute one or more particular commands on one or more particular computing nodes, and to initiate simultaneous and independent execution of the command(s) on the computing node(s) when authorized. The interface component may further aggregate results from each computing node that executed the command(s), prior to providing the results to the user.

Abstract: A cache-and-overflow memory handles both cache and overflow data in a single hardware structure so as to increase speed and reduce supporting hardware structure needed to implement an effective memory system. A single hash value can be used to access either a cache data value or an overflow data value stored in the combined cache-and-overflow memory. If there are a small number of overflow entries, the combined cache-and-overflow memory provides more availability for cache entries. However, overflow entries are provided priority over cache entries. As a result, the combined cache-and-overflow memory dynamically reallocates its space to efficiently store as much as cache as possible until space is needed for overflow data. At that time, the cache data is evicted in a priority order to make space for the overflow data.

Abstract: A service implemented at a first isolated virtual network of a provider network is added to a database of privately-accessible services. Configuration changes that enable network packets to flow between the first isolated virtual network and a second isolated virtual network without utilizing a network address accessible from the public Internet are implemented. Service requests originating at the second isolated virtual network are transmitted to the first isolated virtual network via private pathways of the provider network. Metrics corresponding to service requests directed from the second isolated network to the service are collected and provided to the respective owners of one or both isolated virtual networks.

Abstract: Systems, methods, and computer-readable media are disclosed for generating live broadcasts of product usage from multiple users. In one embodiment, an example method may include determining a product identifier of a product for which a product lifecycle video is to be generated, determining a first camera to use for capturing a first portion of a video of the product, where the first portion corresponds to a first lifecycle stage of the product, and capturing the first portion. Example methods may include determining a second camera to use for capturing a second portion of video of the product, where the second portion corresponds to a second lifecycle stage of the product, capturing the second portion, and causing presentation of the video.

Abstract: A multi-tenant database may maintain a plurality of datasets on a memory device that is subject to degraded operation caused by a subset of possible state transitions within the device's memory cells. A storage engine may identify entropy characteristics of datasets, independently of other datasets hosted on the memory, and use the entropy to construct a symbol table that maps from data within the dataset to symbols that may be stored on the memory device with a minimized number of state transitions.

Abstract: Technologies are provided for preventing transmission of cyclic redundancy check (CRC) errors, and/or other errors, within a computer network that uses cut-through forwarding of network packets. For example, counts of CRC errors can be maintained for network packets processed by network devices. When a CRC error condition is detected based on the counts of CRC errors, cut-through forwarding is disabled on at least a portion of the network (e.g., on one or more specific network ports and/or on one or more specific network devices). While cut-through forwarding is disabled, the affected portion of the network uses store-and-forward for processing network packets. When the CRC error condition no longer exists, then cut-through forwarding is re-enabled on the portion of the network.

Abstract: This disclosure is directed to an unmanned aerial vehicle (“UAV”) that transitions in-flight between vertical flight configuration and horizontal flight configuration by changing an orientation of the UAV by approximately ninety degrees. The UAV may include propulsion units that are coupled to a fuselage or wing. The UAV may include a tail and/or a swing arm that is rotatably coupled to the fuselage and that rotate between different positions. The swing arm may be selectively coupled to cargo. The wing may include wing segments rotatably coupled together by pivots that rotate to position the propulsion units around a center of mass of the UAV when the fuselage is oriented perpendicular with the horizon.

Abstract: Social network postings, including text, images or other media, may provide valuable information regarding a user of the social network with which the postings may be associated. With the authorization of the user, and upon authentication by the social network, an online marketplace may access the social network postings and extract data therefrom, and market one or more recommended items to the user based on the extracted data, which may include color pallets or texture pallets derived from photographs included in the postings.

Abstract: Techniques for determining a command or intent likely to be subsequently invoked by a user of a system are described. A user inputs a command (either via a spoken utterance or textual input) to a system. The system determines content responsive to the command. The system also determines a second command or corresponding intent likely to be invoked by the user subsequent to the previous command. Such determination may involve analyzing pairs of intents, with each pair being associated with a probability that one intent of the pair will be invoked by a user subsequent to a second intent of the pair. The system then outputs first content responsive to the first command and second content soliciting the user as to whether the system to execute the second command.

Abstract: Systems and corresponding methods for optical monitoring of a state of charge or a state of health of a battery are described. For example, the battery monitoring system may include an imaging device that captures images of cells of the battery and determines states of charge of the cells based on observed dimensional changes over time, e.g., relative to reference markers. The observed dimensional changes may also be corrected for dimensional changes due to thermal strain. In addition, states of health of individual cells of the battery may be determined by comparing the dimensional changes of each of the cells over time. Further, the images may be captured at various frequencies, e.g., based on an expected operational duration of the battery and/or based on a current state of charge or state of health.

Abstract: A virtual device representation of an Internet of Things (IoT) device in a service provider environment having device state information associated with the virtual device representation may be identified to enable one or more services of the service provider environment and one or more IoT devices to communicate with the virtual representation of the IoT device. Semantic annotations associated with IoT device data for the IoT device may be identified in a device registry of the service provider environment. A request may be received for data using a URL to communicate with the virtual device representation. Canonical data may be obtained from the IoT device data in the virtual representation and the canonical data may be translated according to the semantic annotations to fulfill the request for data.

Abstract: A transfer rack on one floor of an inventory system can receive multiple containers each carrying an inventory item designated for an operation on a different floor of the inventory system. A vertical lift can move the transfer rack carrying the multiple containers from the one floor to the different floor. On the different floor, the multiple containers may be swapped for different multiple containers each carrying an inventory item designated for an operation on the one floor. The vertical lift may return the transfer rack carrying the different multiple containers to the one floor.

Abstract: A near real-time custom server system includes robots deployed at a data center location and a server assembly controller configured to receive requests for near-real time custom servers. The requests may specify one or more characteristics for the custom servers and the server assembly controller may cause the robots deployed at the data center location to assemble the custom servers and install the custom servers in a server mounting structure of the data center in near real-time. For custom server types requested in lower volumes, the custom servers may be assembled autonomously by respective ones of the robots; and for custom server types requested in higher volumes, the custom servers may be assembled by respective groups of robots working in coordination with one another via an assembly line.