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Cloud Computing Notes - 1

The document summarizes the history and evolution of cloud computing. It discusses how cloud computing originated from mainframe computers in the 1950s that utilized time sharing to allow multiple users to access the same data storage and CPU power. Virtualization technology evolved in the 1970s to allow multiple virtual systems to exist on the same physical hardware. As technologies improved, servers were virtualized into shared hosting environments using hypervisors. This enabled companies to split one physical node into multiple virtual systems to reduce hardware costs and provide on-demand access to computing resources over the internet, which is the basis of modern cloud computing.

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Hanzala Khan
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12 views5 pages

Cloud Computing Notes - 1

The document summarizes the history and evolution of cloud computing. It discusses how cloud computing originated from mainframe computers in the 1950s that utilized time sharing to allow multiple users to access the same data storage and CPU power. Virtualization technology evolved in the 1970s to allow multiple virtual systems to exist on the same physical hardware. As technologies improved, servers were virtualized into shared hosting environments using hypervisors. This enabled companies to split one physical node into multiple virtual systems to reduce hardware costs and provide on-demand access to computing resources over the internet, which is the basis of modern cloud computing.

Uploaded by

Hanzala Khan
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Lecture Notes 1

introduction to cloud computing


History and Evolution of Cloud Computing
Cloud computing is an evolution of technology over time.
The concept of cloud computing dates to the 1950s when large-scale mainframes with high-volume
processing power became available.
In order to make efficient use of the computing power of mainframes, the practice of time
sharing, or resource pooling, evolved.

Using dumb terminals, whose sole purpose was to facilitate access to the mainframes, multiple
users were able to access the same data storage layer and CPU power from any terminal.
In the 1970s, with the release of an operating system called Virtual Machine or VM, it became
possible for mainframes to have multiple virtual systems, or virtual machines, on a single
physical node.

The virtual machine operating system evolved the 1950s application of shared access of
a mainframe by allowing multiple distinct compute environments to exist on the same
physical hardware.
Each virtual machine hosted guest operating systems that behaved as though they had their
own memory, CPU, and hard drives, even though these were shared resources.
Virtualization thus became a technology driver and a huge catalyst for some of the biggest
evolutions in communications and computing.

Cloud Computing Course instructor Sana gul


Even 20 years ago, physical hardware was quite expensive.
With the internet becoming more accessible, and the need to make hardware costs more viable,
servers were virtualized into shared hosting environments, virtual private servers, and
virtual dedicated servers, using the same types of functionality provided by the virtual
machine operating system.

So, for example, if a company needed ‘x’ number of physical systems to run their applications,
they could take one physical node and split it into multiple virtual systems.
This was enabled by hypervisors.
A hypervisor is a small software layer that enables multiple operating systems to run
alongside each other, sharing the same physical computing resources.
A hypervisor also separates the Virtual Machines logically, assigning each its own slice of
the underlying computing power, memory, and storage, preventing the virtual machines from
interfering with each other.
Cloud Computing Course instructor Sana gul
.
If, for example, one operating system suffers a crash or a security compromise,
the others keep working.
As technologies and hypervisors improved and were able to share and deliver resources reliably,
some companies decided to make the cloud’s benefits accessible to users who didn’t
have an abundance of physical servers to create their own cloud computing infrastructure.

NIST Definition
Cloud computing, also referred to as “the cloud,” is the delivery of on-demand computing
resources. Everything from applications to data centers, over the internet on a pay-for-use
basis.
To get a common understanding of cloud computing, let’s start with the US National Institute
of Standards and Technology (NIST’s) definition of cloud computing.
NIST defines
cloud computing as a model for enabling convenient, on-demand network access
to a shared pool of configurable computing resources, that can be rapidly provisioned
and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction.

Examples of computing resources are :


Cloud Computing Course instructor Sana gul
• networks
• servers
• storage
• Applications
• services.

This cloud model is composed of five essential characteristics, three deployment models,
and three service models.

Let’s start with understanding the five essential characteristics of the cloud, which
include on-demand self-service, broad network access, resource pooling, rapid elasticity,
and measured service.

On-demand Self-service, the 1st characteristic, means that you get access to cloud resources
such as the processing power, storage, and network you need, using a simple interface,
without requiring human interaction with each service provider.
The 2nd characteristic, Broad Network Access, means that cloud computing resources can be
accessed via the network through standard mechanisms and platforms such as mobile phones,
tablets, laptops, and workstations.
The 3rd characteristic, Resource Pooling, is what gives cloud providers economies of
scale, which they pass on to their customers, making cloud cost-efficient.
Using a multi-tenant model, computing resources are pooled to serve multiple consumers; cloud

Cloud Computing Course instructor Sana gul


resources are dynamically assigned and reassigned, according to demand, without customers
needing to concern themselves with the physical location of these resources.
Rapid Elasticity, the 4th characteristic, implies that you can access more resources
when you need them, and scale back when you don’t, because resources are elastically
provisioned and released.
And the 5th characteristic, Measured Service, means that you only pay for what you use or
reserve as you go. if you’re not using resources, you’re not paying.
Resource usage is monitored, measured, and reported transparently based on utilization.
As we see, cloud computing is really about utilizing technology “as a service”, leveraging
remote systems on-demand over the open internet, scaling up and scaling back, and paying for
what you use.
It is a revolution in that it has changed the way the world consumes compute services,
by making them more cost-efficient while also making organizations more agile in responding
to changes in their markets.

Homework: Explore the use cases of computing resources around you e.g. which
business providers are shifted to cloud for what purpose. Read at least 2 senorios for
each computing resource.

Cloud Computing Course instructor Sana gul

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