AKSHDEEP

Student of MCA
Department of Computer Science
Baba Farid College, Bathinda
([email protected])
CLOUD COMPUTING: AN OVERVIEW
Abstract- “Cloud” is a collective term for a large number of developments and possibilities. It is not an invention, but more of a “practical innovation”, combining
several earlier inventions into something new and compelling. Much like the iPod is comprised of several existing concepts and technologies (the Walkman, MP3
compression and a portable hard disk), cloud computing merges several already available technologies: high bandwidth networks, virtualization, Web 2.0
interactivity, time sharing, and browser interfaces.
Cloud Computing is a popular phrase that is shorthand for applications that were developed to be rich Internet applications t hat run on the Internet (or “Cloud”).
Cloud computing enables tasks to be assigned to a combination of software and services over a network. This network of servers is the cloud. Cloud computing can
help businesses transform their existing server infrastructures into dynamic environments, expanding and redu cing server capacity depending on their requirements.
A cloud computing platform dynamically provisions, configures, reconfigures, and deprovisions servers as needed. Servers in t he cloud can be physical machines
or virtual machines. Advanced clouds typically include other computing resources such as storage area networks (SANs), network equipment, firewall and other
security devices.

Keywords: Characteristic, Component, Types of Cloud.

requests, reimaging, workload rebalancing, deprovisioning,

INTRODUCTION and monitoring.
Cloud Computing CONCEPT
A cloud is a pool of virtualized computer resources. A cloud
can Host a variety of different workloads, including batch-
style back-end jobs and interactive, user-facing applications,
Allow workloads to be deployed and scaled-out quickly
through the rapid provisioning of virtual machines or physical
machines, Support redundant, self-recovering, highly
scalable programming models that allow workloads to
recover from many unavoidable hardware/software failures,
Monitor resource use in real time to enable rebalancing of
allocations when needed. cloud computing is a model for
enabling convenient, on-demand network access to a shared
pool of configurable computing resources (e.g., networks,
servers, storage, applications, and services) that can be
rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management
effort or service provider interaction.
Necessity
Cloud computing is Internet ("cloud") based development
Cloud computing infrastructures can allow enterprises to and use of computer technology ("computing"). It is a style
achieve more efficient use of their IT hardware and software of computing in which dynamically scalable and often
investments. They do this by breaking down the physical virtualized resources are provided as a service over the
barriers inherent in isolated systems, and automating the Internet. Users need not have knowledge of, expertise in, or
management of the group of systems as a single entity. Cloud control over the technology infrastructure "in the cloud" that
computing is an example of an ultimately virtualized system, supports them.
and a natural evolution for data centers that employ
automated systems management, workload balancing, and The concept incorporates infrastructure as a service (IaaS),
virtualization technologies. Businesses can also save on platform as a service (PaaS) and software as a service (SaaS)
power costs as they reduce the number of servers required as well as Web 2.0 and other recent technology trends which
And with IT staff spending less time managing and have the common theme of reliance on the Internet for
monitoring the data centre, IT teams are well placed to further satisfying the computing needs of the users. Examples of
streamline their operations as staff complete more work on SaaS vendors include Salesforce.com and Google Apps
fewer machines. which provide common business applications online that are
Objectives accessed from a web browser, while the software and data are
A cloud is more than a collection of computer resources stored on the servers.
because a cloud provides a mechanism to manage those
The term cloud is used as a metaphor for the Internet, based
resources. Management includes provisioning, change
on how the Internet is depicted in computer network
diagrams, and is an abstraction for the complex
infrastructure it conceals.

KEY CHARACTERSTICS

Cost
Cost is greatly reduced and capital expenditure is converted
to operational expenditure. This lowers barriers to entry, as
infrastructure is typically provided by a third-party and does
not need to be purchased for one-time or infrequent intensive Figure 1: Components
computing tasks. Pricing on a utility computing basis is fine- A cloud application leverages the Cloud in software
grained with usage-based options and minimal or no IT skills architecture, often eliminating the need to install and run the
are required for implementation. application on the customer's own computer, thus alleviating
Device and Location Independence the burden of software maintenance, ongoing operation, and
Device and location independence enable users to access support.
systems using a web browser regardless of their location or
what device they are using, e.g., PC, mobile. As infrastructure Example: Bittorrent, BOINC Projects, Skype, Facebook,
is off-site (typically provided by a third-party) and accessed Google Apps, SAP and Salesforce
via the Internet the users can connect from anywhere.
A cloud client consists of computer hardware and/or
Multi-Tenancy computer software which relies on cloud computing for
Multi-tenancy enables sharing of resources and costs among application delivery, or which is specifically designed for
a large pool of users, allowing for: delivery of cloud services and which, in either case, is
1. Centralization of infrastructure in areas with lower costs essentially useless without it.
(such as real estate, electricity, etc.) Example: Android, iPhone, Windows Mobile, Google
2. Peak-load capacity increases (users need not engineer Chrome, Mozilla Firefox.
for highest possible load-levels)
3. Utilization and efficiency improvements for systems that Cloud infrastructure, such as Infrastructure as a service, is
are often only 10-20% utilized. the delivery of computer infrastructure, typically a platform
virtualization environment, as a service.
Reliability Example: GoGrid, Skytap, Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud,
Reliability improves through the use of multiple redundant Force.com.
sites, which makes it suitable for business continuity and
disaster recovery. Nonetheless, most major cloud computing A cloud platform, such as Platform as a service, the delivery
services have suffered outages and IT and business managers of a computing platform, and/or solution stack as a service,
are able to do little when they are affected. facilitates deployment of applications without the cost and
complexity of buying and managing the underlying hardware
Scalability
and software layers.
Scalability via dynamic ("on-demand") provisioning of Example: Google App Engine, Mosso.
resources on a fine-grained, self-service basis near real-time,
without users having to engineer for peak loads. Performance A cloud service includes "products, services and solutions
is monitored and consistent and loosely- coupled that are delivered and consumed in real-time over the
architectures are constructed using web services as the system Internet".
interface. Example: Alexa,FPS, MTurk ,SQS, Google Maps, Yahoo!
Security Maps.
Security typically improves due to centralization of data,
Cloud storage involves the delivery of data storage as a
increased security-focused resources, etc., but raises concerns
service, including database-like services, often billed on a
about loss of control over certain sensitive data. Security is
utility computing basis, e.g., per gigabyte per month.
often as good as or better than traditional systems, in part
Example: Amazon SimpleDB, Google App Engine's
because providers are able to devote resources to solving
BigTable datastore, Live Mesh Live Desktop component,
security issues that many customers cannot afford. Providers
MobileMe push functions.
typically log accesses, but accessing the audit logs
themselves can be difficult or impossible.
Sustainability
Sustainability comes about through improved resource
utilization, more efficient systems, and carbon neutrality.
Nonetheless, computers and associated infrastructure are
major consumers of energy.

COMPONENTS
 Public cloud or external cloud describes cloud computing in
ARCHITECTURE the traditional mainstream sense, whereby resources are
dynamically provisioned on a fine-grained, self-service basis
over the Internet, via web applications/web services, from an
off-site third-party provider who shares resources and bills on
a fine-grained utility computing basis.

Private Cloud
Private cloud also referred to as „corporate‟ or „internal‟
cloud. A term used to denote a proprietary computing
architecture providing hosted services on private networks.
This type of cloud computing is generally used by large
companies, and allows their corporate network and data
centre administrators to effectively become in-house.
Hybrid Cloud
A hybrid cloud environment consisting of multiple internal
and/or external providers "will be typical for most
enterprises".
Figure 2: Architecture
CONCUSION
Cloud architecture, the systems architecture of the software
systems involved in the delivery of cloud computing, Cloud Computing is a vast topic It is certainly not possible in
comprises hardware and software designed by a cloud the limited space of a report to do justice to these
architect who typically works for a cloud integrator. It technologies. What is in store for this technology in the near
typically involves multiple cloud components future? Well, Cloud Computing is leading the industry‟s
communicating with each other over application endeavor to bank on this revolutionary technology.
programming interfaces, usually web services. Cloud Computing Brings Possibilities……..
1. Increases business responsiveness
Cloud architecture extends to the client, where web 2. Accelerates creation of new services via rapid
browsers and/or software applications access cloud prototyping capabilities
applications. 3. Reduces acquisition complexity via service oriented
approach
Cloud storage architecture is loosely coupled, where 4. Uses IT resources efficiently via sharing and higher
metadata operations are centralized enabling the data nodes system utilization
to scale into the hundreds, each independently delivering data 5. Reduces energy consumption
to applications or user. 6. Handles new and emerging workloads
7. Scales to extreme workloads quickly and easily
TYPES OF CLOUD 8. Simplifies IT management
9. Platform for collaboration and innovation
10. Cultivates skills for next generation workforce

Cloud Computing is a technology which took the software

and business world by storm. The much deserved hype over
it will continue for years to come.

REFERENCES

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud_computing
[2] Source: Various magazine articles and case studies.
[3] http://wiki.oracle.com/page/Oracle+Cloud+Computing
[4]http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/topics/cloud/articles/
index.html
[5]http://www.dbaoracle.com/t_oracle_cloud_computing.ht
m
[6] http://www.slideshare.net/wrecks/oracle-cloud-
Figure 3: Types of Cloud computing-strategy
Public Cloud