Cloud computing is a technology that uses the internet and central remote servers to maintain data and applications.

Cloud computing allows consumers and businesses to use applications without installation and access their personal files at any computer with internet access. This technology allows for much more inefficient computing by centralizing storage, memory, processing and bandwidth. A simple example of cloud computing is Yahoo email, Gmail, or Hotmail etc. You dont need a software or a server to use them. All a consumer would need is just an internet connection and you can start sending emails. The server and email management software is all on the cloud ( internet) and is totally managed by the cloud service provider Yaho , Google etc. The consumer gets to use the software alone and enjoy the benefits. The analogy is , 'If you need milk , would you buy a cow ?' All the users or consumers need is to get the benefits of using the software or hardware of the computer like sending emails etc. Just to get this benefit (milk) why should a consumer buy a (cow) software /hardware ? Cloud computing is broken down into three segments: "application" "storage" and "connectivity." Each segment serves a different purpose and offers different products for businesses and individuals around the world. In June 2011, a study conducted by VersionOne found that 91% of senior IT professionals actually don't know what cloud computing is and two-thirds of senior finance professionals are clear by the concept, [1] highlighting the young nature of the technology. In Sept 2011, an Aberdeen Group study found that disciplined companies achieved on average an 68% increase in their IT expense because cloud computing and only a 10% reduction in data center power costs.[2]

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A typical cloud computing system. See more computer networking pictures. HowStuffWorks

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Shared Computing Utility Computing Grid Computing Curiosity Project: What is ubiquitous computing?

Let's say you're an executive at a large corporation. Your particular 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 require. Whenever you have a new hire, you have to buy more software or make sure your current software license allows another user. It's so stressful that you find it difficult to go to sleep on your huge pile of money every night. 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 one application. That application 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 could change the entire computer industry. In a cloud computing system, there's a significant workload shift. Local computers no longer have to do all the heavy lifting when it comes to running applications. The network of computers that make up the cloud handles them instead. Hardware and software demands on the user's side decrease. The only thing the user's computer needs to be able to run is the cloud computing system's interface software, which can be as simple as a Web browser, and the cloud's network takes care of the rest. There's a good chance you've already used some form of cloud computing. If you have an e-mail account with a Web-based e-mail service like Hotmail, Yahoo! Mail or Gmail, then you've had some experience with cloud computing. Instead of running an e-mail program on your computer, you log in to a Web e-mail account remotely. The software and storage for your account doesn't exist on your computer -- it's on the service's computer cloud.

Cloud Computing Architecture

When talking about a cloud computing system, it's helpful to divide it into two sections: the front end and the back end. They connect to each other through a network, usually the Internet. The front end is the side the computer user, or client, sees. The back end is the "cloud" section of the system. The front end includes the client's computer (or computer network) and the application required to access the cloud computing system. Not all cloud computing systems have the same user interface. Services like Web-based e-mail programs leverage existing Web browsers like Internet Explorer or Firefox. Other systems have unique applications that provide network access to clients. On the back end of the system are the various computers, servers and data storage systems that create the "cloud" of computing services. In theory, a cloud computing system could include practically any computer program you can imagine, from data processing to video games. Usually, each application will have its own dedicated server. A central server administers the system, monitoring traffic and client demands to ensure everything runs smoothly. It follows a set of rules called protocols and uses a special kind of software called middleware. Middleware allows networked computers to communicate with each other. Most of the time, servers don't run at full capacity. That means there's unused processing power going to waste. It's possible to fool a physical server into thinking it's actually multiple servers, each running with its own independent operating system. The technique is called server virtualization. By maximizing the output of individual servers, server virtualization reduces the need for more physical machines.

If a cloud computing company has a lot of clients, there's likely to be a high demand for a lot of storage space. Some companies require hundreds of digital storage devices. Cloud computing systems need at least twice the number of storage devices it requires to keep all its clients' information stored. That's because these devices, like all computers, occasionally break down. A cloud computing system must make a copy of all its clients' information and store it on other devices. The copies enable the central server to access backup machines to retrieve data that otherwise would be unreachable. Making copies of data as a backup is called redundancy.

Cloud Computing Applications

The applications of cloud computing are practically limitless. With the right middleware, a cloud computing system could execute all the programs a normal computer could run. Potentially, everything from generic word processing software to customized computer programs designed for a specific company could work on a cloud computing system. Why would anyone want to rely on another computer system to run programs and store data? Here are just a few reasons:

Clients would be able to access their applications and data from anywhere at any time. They could access the cloud computing system using any computer linked to the Internet. Data wouldn't be confined to a hard drive on one user's computer or even a corporation's internal network. It could bring hardware costs down. Cloud computing systems would reduce the need for advanced hardware on the client side. You wouldn't need to buy the fastest computer with the most memory, because the cloud system would take care of those needs for you. Instead, you could buy an inexpensive computer terminal. The terminal could include a monitor, input devices like a keyboard and mouse and just enough processing power to run the middleware necessary to connect to the cloud system. You wouldn't need a large hard drive because you'd store all your information on a remote computer. Corporations that rely on computers have to make sure they have the right software in place to achieve goals. Cloud computing systems give these organizations company-wide access to computer applications. The companies don't have to buy a set of software or software licenses for every employee. Instead, the company could pay a metered fee to a cloud computing company. Servers and digital storage devices take up space. Some companies rent physical space to store servers and databases because they don't have it available on site. Cloud computing gives these companies the option of storing data on someone else's hardware, removing the need for physical space on the front end. Corporations might save money on IT support. Streamlined hardware would, in theory, have fewer problems than a network of heterogeneous machines and operating systems. If the cloud computing system's back end is a grid computing system, then the client could take advantage of the entire network's processing power. Often, scientists and researchers work with calculations so complex that it would take years for individual computers to complete them. On a grid computing system, the client could send the calculation to the cloud for processing. The cloud

system would tap into the processing power of all available computers on the back end, significantly speeding up the calculation.

Cloud Computing Concerns

Perhaps the biggest concerns about cloud computing are security and privacy. The idea of handing over important data to another company worries some people. Corporate executives might hesitate to take advantage of a cloud computing system because they can't keep their company's information under lock and key. The counterargument to this position is that the companies offering cloud computing services live and die by their reputations. It benefits these companies to have reliable security measures in place. Otherwise, the service would lose all its clients. It's in their interest to employ the most advanced techniques to protect their clients' data. Privacy is another matter. If a client can log in from any location to access data and applications, it's possible the client's privacy could be compromised. Cloud computing companies will need to find ways to protect client privacy. One way is to use authentication techniques such as user names and passwords. Another is to employ an authorization format -- each user can access only the data and applications relevant to his or her job. Some questions regarding cloud computing are more philosophical. Does the user or company subscribing to the cloud computing service own the data? Does the cloud computing system, which provides the actual storage space, own it? Is it possible for a cloud computing company to deny a client access to that client's data? Several companies, law firms and universities are debating these and other questions about the nature of cloud computing. How will cloud computing affect other industries? There's a growing concern in the IT industry about how cloud computing could impact the business of computer maintenance and repair. If companies switch to using streamlined computer systems, they'll have fewer IT needs. Some industry experts believe that the need for IT jobs will migrate to the back end of the cloud computing system. Another area of research in the computer science community is autonomic computing. An autonomic computing system is self-managing, which means the system monitors itself and takes measures to prevent or repair problems. Currently, autonomic computing is mostly theoretical. But, if autonomic computing becomes a reality, it could eliminate the need for many IT maintenance jobs.

What is cloud computing?

Everyone is talking about the cloud. But what does it mean?
Business applications are moving to the cloud. Its not just a fadthe shift from traditional software models to the Internet has steadily gained momentum over the last 10 years. Looking ahead, the next decade of cloud computing promises new ways to collaborate everywhere, through mobile devices.

Life before cloud computing

Traditional business applications have always been very complicated and expensive. The amount and variety of hardware and software required to run them are daunting. You need a whole team of experts to install, configure, test, run, secure, and update them. When you multiply this effort across dozens or hundreds of apps, its easy to see why the biggest companies with the best IT departments arent getting the apps they need. Small and mid-sized businesses dont stand a chance.

Cloud computing: a better way

With cloud computing, you eliminate those headaches because youre not managing hardware and softwarethats the responsibility of an experienced vendor like salesforce.com. The shared infrastructure means it works like a utility: You only pay for what you need, upgrades are automatic, and scaling up or down is easy. Cloud-based apps can be up and running in days or weeks, and they cost less. With a cloud app, you just open a browser, log in, customize the app, and start using it.

Businesses are running all kinds of apps in the cloud, like customer relationship management (CRM), HR, accounting, and much more. Some of the worlds largest companies moved their applications to the cloud with salesforce.com after rigorously testing the security and reliability of our infrastructure. As cloud computing grows in popularity, thousands of companies are simply rebranding their non-cloud products and services as cloud computing. Always dig deeper when evaluating cloud offerings and keep in mind that if you have to buy and manage hardware and software, what youre looking at isnt really cloud computing but a false cloud.

Cloud 2: Mobility and collaboration

The latest innovations in cloud computing are making our business applications even more mobile and collaborative, similar to popular consumer apps like Facebook and Twitter. As consumers, we now expect that the information we care about will be pushed to us in real time, and business applications in the cloud are heading in that direction as well. With Cloud 2, keeping up with your work is as easy as keeping up with your personal life on Facebook.

How the Cloud Is Transforming IT

In a business world where first movers gain the advantage and IT is central to every decision, IT responsiveness and agility provide a competitive edge. Yet many IT organizations arent quick enough on the uptake because their infrastructures are exorbitant to manage and too complex to easily adapt. Cloud computing provides a vastly more efficient, flexible, and cost-effective way for IT to meet escalating business needs: IT as a Service. VMware offers you an evolutionary and practical path to this new model, with solutions that harness the power of the cloud while ensuring security and preserving the value of your existing technology investments.

Journey to Your Cloud Private Cloud Computing Public/Hybrid Cloud Computing Cloud Foundry - Build, deploy and scale your application in seconds VMware vCloud Architecture Toolkit VMware vFabric Cloud Application Platform Cloud for Service Providers

VMwares Approach: Enabling the Journey to Your Cloud

Virtualization is the essential catalyst for cloud computing. As the virtualization leader, VMware builds on this solid foundation with platforms and solutions to power your cloud infrastructure, build and run robust cloud applications, and supply end-user computing as a cloud-based service. Our approach is comprehensive, but unlike other cloud offerings, its not one-cloud-fits-all. To deliver competitive advantage, cloud computing must be flexibly tailored and aligned to your individual needs. For your enterprise, that could mean a cloud thats internal and private, one that leverages external services, or a hybrid cloud that combines both. Whichever cloud option suits you best, only VMware offers a complete solution stack for building and managing it, plus a broad partner ecosystem to ensure that everything in it works seamlessly and securely. The result is not just any cloud, but your cloudwhere accelerated IT delivers accelerated results for your business. VMwares tailored approach delivers flexibility and security while protecting your existing investments, by enabling:

Efficiency Through Utilization and Automation Resource pooling and a self-managed, dynamically optimized environment dramatically increase IT performanceleveraging existing resources to avoid unnecessary infrastructure investment and technology lock-in. The result is lower total cost of ownership (TCO). Agility with Control Cloud computing aims to empower end-users while ensuring security and preserving IT oversight and authority. The VMware solution interweaves all three, greatly simplifying IT services provisioning and deployment while maintaining IT control, protective safeguards, and regulatory compliance. The IT organization can thus respond more quickly and securely to evolving business needs. Freedom of Choice IT retains the ability to support traditional systems and gains the flexibility to deploy them internally or externally, without being restricted to any single technology or vendor. Developers can build applications that are portable among hybrid, private, and public clouds within a common management and security framework.

Learn more about the journey to the cloud >>

Our Solutions. Your Cloud. Key Advantages.

VMware solutions are engineered and integrated to equip your cloud with a unique combination of benefits: Virtualization Security VMware solutions deliver always-on, virtualization-aware security that adapts to the dynamism of cloud-based deployments while simplifying the protection of endpoints, applications, and the network edge. Learn more about Security & Cloud Computing >> Automation and Management Once IT resources are virtually pooled, business rules, policies, and defined service levels are mapped to them, creating a highly efficient, self-managing infrastructure where IT is available as a service. Learn more about Automation & Cloud Computing >> Learn more about Cloud Computing Management >> Interoperability and Openness With a shared management and security model based on open standards, VMware solutions free you from vendor lock-in, ensuring application portability between internal datacenters and external service provider clouds hosted by VMware vCloud partners. Additionally, the VMware cloud application platform lets developers build robust modern

applications that are portable, dynamic, and optimized for elastically scalable deployment on popular public clouds such as VMforce and Google App Engine.

Self-Service for the Cloud Our approach delivers a new level of IT efficiency by standardizing and automating IT services provisioning and management. Rather than having to wait for manual provisioning, line-of-business units can deploy standardized, preconfigured IT services from a web-based catalog available via a self-service portal. Business units receive tailored services right when they need them, IT administrators are relieved of the bulk of their maintenance burden, and IT preserves control over policies, compliance, and internal chargeback. Pooling and Dynamic Resource Allocation Your IT resources are pooled and abstracted into logical building-blocks of storage, network, and server units effectively creating virtual datacenters. These resource containers are then dynamically allocated to your various applications, governed by defined business rules and user demand. Learn more about Pooling & Dynamic Resource Allocation for Cloud Computing >>

Join the Evolution to Your Cloud

Cloud computing holds the very real promise of agile, efficient IT service delivery with dramatically lower complexity, significantly reduced costs, and much greater business responsiveness. The key to realizing these advantages is tailoring the cloud model to work for your business and your approach to IT. As the acknowledged leader in virtualization and cloud infrastructure, VMware is uniquely positioned to help you transition to your cloudthe private, public, or hybrid cloud environment thats best fits your business needs and goals. Thousands of enterprises have already achieved exceptional results with VMware solutions. And because our

approach is open, flexible, and geared to addressing individual needs, theyve done so without a heavy customization burden. VMware offers a 3-layered solution stack to supports your evolution to the cloud:

Cloud Infrastructure and Management. The foundation for your cloud, based on virtualization and the ability to unify private and public cloud resources with consistent security, compliance, management, and quality of service. Cloud Application Platform. Enabling developers to rapidly build and run modern cloud applications while deploying on premises or off for maximum flexibility. End-User Computing. Creating a modern, user-centric approach to personal computing, delivering secure access to applications and data from any device, anytime and anywhere.

5 Ways to Keep Your Information Secure in the Cloud In 2011, hacking groups like Lulzsec and Anonymous provoked an Internet firestorm by hacking major Web sites like Fox.com and online services like Sony's PlayStation Network. Millions of user accounts were compromised. Usernames, passwords, home addresses and credit card information -- lax Web site security often allows hackers easy access to boatloads of personal information. We can blame corporations for poor security and hackers for maliciously attacking Web sites, but there's a third party often at fault in these attacks: ourselves, the users. No, it's not our fault Web sites get hacked. But poor Web safety habits put us at risk when we shouldn't be. How often do you use the same username and password? Every time you create a new profile? If someone hacked your Facebook account, could they just as easily get into your email inbox? Reusing passwords -- or using weak passwords -- makes you an easy target for identity theft. Remembering multiple passwords can be a pain, but there are Web services that can help. We'll talk about one of the most popular options later in this article. Internet cloud services -- services that store your data on a server rather than on your hard drive so you can access it from any Internet-enabled device -- are more powerful than ever before. Backing up photographs and important documents has never been easier. Google Docs and Gmail can take the place of Microsoft Word and Outlook Express. Banking sites take the place of expensive finance applications. All we have to do is be safe while we use them. Here are some simple safety tips for keeping your data secure in the cloud. First up: making your passwords as tough to crack as Fort Knox.

Is your password something that could be easily guessed, like a pet's name or -- heaven forbid -the word "password"? If so, change it immediately. Hemera/Thinkstock

5: Play Smart with Passwords

Passwords are designed to keep our information safe from prying eyes. They're like locks. A hacker may force the door and break your lock, but most of the time a strong lock keeps people out. But let's be honest: Passwords are annoying. Remembering them is a pain, so we often take the easy way out and use simple passwords that we won't forget. But if they're easy to remember, they're also easy to guess. When the site RockYou.com was hacked in 2009, a security firm examined the 32 million compromised passwords and found that thousands upon thousands of users relied on the same basic phrases. The password "123456" took first place with 290,731 hits; "12345," "123456789," "Password" and "iloveyou" rounded out the top five most-used passwords [source: Tom'sHardware]. If you use one of those passwords, change it. The more complicated your password is, the safer your data will be. It's true, complex passwords won't be as easy to recall. Find a safe place to record your passwords if you can't remember them. The best passwords combine letters, numbers and symbols into an unusual configuration. Don't take the easy route and capitalize the first letter of the word or use the numeral "1" in place of the letter "l" or a zero in place of the letter "O." Throw in a few random numbers or characters like a plus sign (+) or underscore (_) and you'll be far better off than anyone relying on "password123" or "qwerty" to keep them safe. Once you have a good password, what you do next is just as important: Don't spread it around.

4: Don't Reuse or Share Passwords

The annoyance of remembering passwords strikes again. It's bad enough that we tend to use simple, easy-to-remember passwords for our Web logins -- we also tend to pick one or two passwords and use them again and again for our e-mail, banking, Facebook and everything else. That's bad. In fact, that's really bad. If your password is compromised, someone could easily gain access to your e-mail account. And change that password. And then go to every site you're registered on and change those passwords -- the replacement passwords are always sent to your email address. Use different passwords for different sites. At the very least, change up letters, symbols and capitalization if you plan to use the same word or phrase across multiple sites. Make absolutely sure you don't repeat a password across sites that have your credit card information or social security number. Your e-mail password is the most important. Keep it secure and don't use it for any other sites.

One last password tip: Don't tell other people your passwords. Even if you trust them, it's not a particularly good idea. The more people who know your passwords, the greater the chances that those passwords could be accidentally compromised. All these password rules make our online lives more secure, but they don't make them easier. Next up: a tool for taking some of the inconvenience out of password management.

If you wish you only needed one password for all of your cloud computing needs, a password management tool like LastPass can help. iStockphoto.com/pagadesign

3: Manage Passwords with LastPass

LastPass is a password management utility that locks all of your unique passwords behind one master password. That means you can create separate logins for e-mail, Facebook, Twitter, cloud storage and everything else you do online, but still access those accounts by memorizing one single password. Web browsers will remember passwords for you, but LastPass can synchronize your information across multiple browsers and devices and fill in forms with a single click. LastPass will even help you create randomized passwords that no one will ever crack. The service is free, but for a $1 per month premium account you gain access to the mobile version of LastPass for iOS, Android and most other mobile operating systems. What if LastPass gets hacked? That's possible, but LastPasshasprotocolsinplace to encourage users to change their master passwords in the event of a breach. More importantly, validation tools like IP and e-mail address verification make it difficult for an impostor to log in to your LastPass account. LastPass is just one example of a cloud-based service that makes managing data on the Web easier. When it comes to preserving your important pictures and files, finding the right backup services is key.

2: Back Up Your Data

If there's one piece of advice the tech savvy have been espousing for years and years, it's this: Back up your data. A power surge, faulty hard drive platter, robbery or other unexpected system failure could happen when you least expect it, and if your data isn't backed up you'll beat yourself up over it for weeks. Years ago, backing up data was an arduous task. Hard drive storage was costly, but

floppy disks only held a paltry amount of data. Eventually, ZIP disks and CD burners offered enough space to facilitate backups, and DVDs and cheap hard drives made them easier still. But now we have something even better: the cloud. Cloud storage solutions come in all shapes and sizes. Dropbox offers only a couple gigabytes of free storage, but its interface is incredibly simple to use. It creates a folder on your hard drive that's linked to the Web -- all you have to do to upload files is drag them into the folder. WindowsLiveSkydrive is designed to make it easy to view and edit Office documents in the cloud. Amazon's Cloud Drive offers 5 gigabytes of free storage and a Web interface for uploading your files. Other services, like SugarSync and Mozy, focus more on automatically backing up your important data and storing it, rather than making it easily accessible online. Here's the smartest way to backup your data: Don't rely on one service. Store files you access frequently in Dropbox and back up more in a free service like Amazon Cloud Drive. Keep a local backup on a secondary hard drive or on an automated backup drive like Apple'sTimeCapsule. With your data securely backed up and your passwords uncrackable, there's only one thing left to be concerned about: your browsing habits.

1: Be Alert and Play It Safe

Internet hazards like viruses are, for the most part, easy to avoid. Shady Web sites usually look shady; e-mail attachments from spam addresses are never worth opening. Antivirus software is always a smart precaution, but smart browsing is an even greater ally. What does this have to do with protecting your data in the cloud? The same rules apply when it comes to buying online or creating accounts on new Web sites: Make sure the site is trustworthy. If you're buying from a retailer you've never heard of, do a little research on them first. They could have notoriously lax security and have a history of losing customer credit card information to hacking breaches. Finally, be aware of what computers you're logged into. Browsers will often ask to save your login information and keep a login session alive as long as the browser is open. If you log in to Facebook or your e-mail account on a friend's laptop and then leave, you'll likely still be logged in to those sites. If they're trustworthy, that may not be a problem. But what if you're using a public computer? Stay logged in to one of those and anyone could gain access to your account. Yep, that would be bad. Unless you're using your own computer, remember to log out and never save your password and user information. Browse safe, and with a little luck, you'll never have to worry about anyone finding a single one of your online passwords.

Sources

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Markoff, John. "Software via the Internet: Microsoft in 'Cloud' Computing." New York Times. Sep. 3, 2007. pg. C 1. "Middleware." Carnegie Mellon Software Engineering Institute. Retrieved March 12, 2004. http://www.sei.cmu.edu/str/descriptions/middleware_body.html. Naone, Erica. "Computer in the Cloud." Technology Review. Sept. 18, 2007. Retrieved March 12, 2008. http://www.technologyreview.com/Infotech/19397/? a=f "Report sees big shift in IT delivery." IT Week. London. Nov. 5, 2007. Swanson, Bret and Gilder, George. "Unleashing the 'Exaflood.'" Wall Street Journal. Feb. 22, 2008. pg. A 15. "The future of IT? It's not all bad news, Nick Carr says." Network World. Jan. 14, 2008. Vol. 25, Iss. 2. pg. 8.