What is Cloud Computing ?
Introduction
Suppose you're an executive at a large corporation. Your responsibilities include making sure that all of your employees have the right hardware and software they need to do their jobs. Buying computers for everyone isn't enough you also have to purchase software or software licenses to give employees the tools they need. Whenever you have a new hire, you have to buy more software or make sure your current software license allows another user. Soon, there may be an alternative for executives like you. Instead of installing a suite of software for each computer, you'd only have to load a browser. The browser would allow workers to log into a web-based service which hosts all the programs the user would need for his or her job. Remote machines owned by another company would run everything from e-mail to word processing to complex data analysis programs. It's called cloud computing, and it will change the entire computer industry.
What is Cloud Computing?
Cloud computing is a style of computing in which dynamically scalable and often virtualized resources are provided as a service over the Internet. Users need not have knowledge of, expertise in, or control over the technology infrastructure "in the cloud" that supports them.
The concept incorporates infrastructure as a service (LaaS), platform as a service (PaaS) and software as a service (SaaS) as well as other recent technology trends that have the common theme of reliance on the Internet for satisfying the computing needs of the users. Cloud computing services usually provide common business applications online that are accessed from a web browser, while the software and data are stored on the servers.
The term cloud is used as a metaphor for the Internet, based on how the Internet is depicted in computer network diagrams, and is an abstraction for the complex infrastructure it conceals.
Characteristics
The customers engaging in cloud computing do not own the physical infrastructure serving as host to the software platform in question. Instead, they rent usage from a third-party provider. They consume resources as services they use. Many cloud-computing offerings are analogous to how traditional utilities like electricity or water are consumed, while others are billed on a subscription basis.
Architecture
The majority of cloud computing infrastructure, as of 2009, consists of reliable services delivered through data centers and built on servers whit differentlevels of virtualization technologies. the services are accessible anywhere that has access to networking infrastructure. The Cloud appears as a single point of access for all the computing needs of consumers. Commercial offerings need to meet the quality of service requirements of customers and typically offer service level agreements. Open standards are critical to the growth of cloud computing and open source software has provided the foundation for many cloud computing implementations.
Components of Cloud Computing Application
A cloud application often eliminates the need to install and run the application on the customer's own computer, thus alleviating the burden of software maintenance, ongoing operation, and support.
Client
A cloud client consists of computer hardware and/or computer software which relies on cloud computing for application delivery, or which is specifically designed for delivery of cloud services and which, in either case, in essentially useless without it.
Infrastructure
Cloud infrastructure, such as Infrastructure as a service, is the delivery of computer infrastructure, typically a platform virtualization environment, as a service.
Platform
A cloud platform, such as Platform as a service, the delivery of a computing platform, facilitates deployment of applications without the cost and complexity of buying and managing the underlying hardware and software layers.
Service
A cloud service includes products, services and solutions that are delivered and consumed in real-time over the Internet.
Storage
Cloud storage involves the delivery of data storage as a service, including database-like services, often billed on a utility computing basis, e.g, per gigabyte per month.
References
Keep an eye on cloud computing
http://www.ntworkworld.com/newsletters/itlead/2008/070708itlead.html
Microsoft plans "cloud" Operating System
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/28/technology/28soft.html
InfoWorld: what-cloud-computing-really-means
http://www.infoworld.com/cloudComputing/what-cloud-computing-really-means-031.html
Cloud Computing: The Evolution of Software-as-a-Service
http://knowledge.wpcarey.asu.edu/article.cfm/articleid=1614
Source
Suppose you're an executive at a large corporation. Your responsibilities include making sure that all of your employees have the right hardware and software they need to do their jobs. Buying computers for everyone isn't enough you also have to purchase software or software licenses to give employees the tools they need. Whenever you have a new hire, you have to buy more software or make sure your current software license allows another user. Soon, there may be an alternative for executives like you. Instead of installing a suite of software for each computer, you'd only have to load a browser. The browser would allow workers to log into a web-based service which hosts all the programs the user would need for his or her job. Remote machines owned by another company would run everything from e-mail to word processing to complex data analysis programs. It's called cloud computing, and it will change the entire computer industry.
What is Cloud Computing?
Cloud computing is a style of computing in which dynamically scalable and often virtualized resources are provided as a service over the Internet. Users need not have knowledge of, expertise in, or control over the technology infrastructure "in the cloud" that supports them.
The concept incorporates infrastructure as a service (LaaS), platform as a service (PaaS) and software as a service (SaaS) as well as other recent technology trends that have the common theme of reliance on the Internet for satisfying the computing needs of the users. Cloud computing services usually provide common business applications online that are accessed from a web browser, while the software and data are stored on the servers.
The term cloud is used as a metaphor for the Internet, based on how the Internet is depicted in computer network diagrams, and is an abstraction for the complex infrastructure it conceals.
Characteristics
The customers engaging in cloud computing do not own the physical infrastructure serving as host to the software platform in question. Instead, they rent usage from a third-party provider. They consume resources as services they use. Many cloud-computing offerings are analogous to how traditional utilities like electricity or water are consumed, while others are billed on a subscription basis.
Architecture
The majority of cloud computing infrastructure, as of 2009, consists of reliable services delivered through data centers and built on servers whit differentlevels of virtualization technologies. the services are accessible anywhere that has access to networking infrastructure. The Cloud appears as a single point of access for all the computing needs of consumers. Commercial offerings need to meet the quality of service requirements of customers and typically offer service level agreements. Open standards are critical to the growth of cloud computing and open source software has provided the foundation for many cloud computing implementations.
Components of Cloud Computing Application
A cloud application often eliminates the need to install and run the application on the customer's own computer, thus alleviating the burden of software maintenance, ongoing operation, and support.
Client
A cloud client consists of computer hardware and/or computer software which relies on cloud computing for application delivery, or which is specifically designed for delivery of cloud services and which, in either case, in essentially useless without it.
Infrastructure
Cloud infrastructure, such as Infrastructure as a service, is the delivery of computer infrastructure, typically a platform virtualization environment, as a service.
Platform
A cloud platform, such as Platform as a service, the delivery of a computing platform, facilitates deployment of applications without the cost and complexity of buying and managing the underlying hardware and software layers.
Service
A cloud service includes products, services and solutions that are delivered and consumed in real-time over the Internet.
Storage
Cloud storage involves the delivery of data storage as a service, including database-like services, often billed on a utility computing basis, e.g, per gigabyte per month.
References
Keep an eye on cloud computing
http://www.ntworkworld.com/newsletters/itlead/2008/070708itlead.html
Microsoft plans "cloud" Operating System
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/28/technology/28soft.html
InfoWorld: what-cloud-computing-really-means
http://www.infoworld.com/cloudComputing/what-cloud-computing-really-means-031.html
Cloud Computing: The Evolution of Software-as-a-Service
http://knowledge.wpcarey.asu.edu/article.cfm/articleid=1614
Source
- NU Newsletter, September 2010/January 2011, p.142
