1. Cloud Computing Assignment Cloud Computing Assignment Name: Institution: Professor; Date: 1

2. What is Cloud Computing? Cloud Computing is used to describe a new class of network- based computing that occurs over the Internet, – principally a step on from the Utility Computing – a collection of integrated and networked software, hardware and Internet infrastructure (referred to as a platform). – Using the Internet for transport and communication provides software, hardware and networking services to clients These platforms conceal the details and complexity of the underlying infrastructure from users and applications through providing very simple Applications Programming Interface or graphical interface. 2

3. What is Cloud Computing? Additionally, the platform provides services that are always on anytime, anywhere and any place. Pay for the use and as required, elastic – Scale up and down in functionalities and capacity. The software and hardware services are available to – enterprises, corporations, general public and businesses markets 3

4. Cloud Summary Cloud computing is used to refer to Internet-based services and development. Many characteristics define cloud applications services, data and infrastructure: – Remotely hosted: The data or services are hosted on remote infrastructure. – Ubiquitous: The data or services are available from anywhere. – Commodified: This results in a utility computing model that is similar to traditional ones like electricity and gas - you only pay for what you would like! 4

5. Cloud Computing Characteristics Scalability. The infrastructure capacity gives allowance for traffic spikes and reduces delays. Resiliency. The cloud providers have provided solutions to minimize downtime in such events as a disaster. This kind of resiliency gives businesses the sustainability they require during unexpected events. Homogeneity: Irrespective of the cloud architecture and provider, an organization uses, the open cloud makes it easy for them to work and coordinate with other groups, even if the other groups choose different architectures and providers. 5

6. Cloud Computing Characteristics On-demand self-service. The consumer can unilaterally enjoy provision computing capabilities, such as network storage and server time, as required automatically without necessarily requiring human interaction with the services provider. Broad network access. The capabilities are available over the network and can be accessed through standard mechanisms that enhance the use of heterogeneous client platforms (e.g., laptops, mobile phones, and PDAs). 6

7. Cloud Computing Characteristics Resource pooling. The multi-tenant model. There exists a sense of location independence since the customer has no control over the exact location of the resources provided but can specify the location at a higher level of abstraction (e.g., state, country, or datacenter). Examples of these resources include processing, storage, memory, virtual machines and network bandwidth. Rapid elasticity. The capabilities can be elastically and rapidly provisioned, in some instances automatically, to quickly scale out and swiftly released to scale speedily in. To the consumer, the available capabilities for provisioning time and again appear to be unlimited and can be purchased anytime and in any quantity. Measured Service. The cloud systems automatically regulate and optimize resource use through leveraging a metering capability at some abstraction level appropriate to the service type (e.g., active user accounts, processing, storage and bandwidth). 7

8. Different Cloud Computing Layers‏ Application Service (SaaS) ‏ Application Platform Server Platform Storage Platform Dell, Amazon S3, Apple,... EC2, 3Tera, SliceHost, GoGrid, Linode, RightScale Mosso, Google App Engine, Force.com, Facebook, Heroku, Engine Yard, AWS IBM, MS Live/ExchangeLabs, Google Apps; Salesforce.com, Cisco, Quicken Online 8

9. Services Application Development Platform Storage Hosting Cloud Computing Service Layers Description Services – The complete business services such as OpenID, PayPal, OAuth, Alexa, Google Maps Services Application Focused Infrastructure Focused Application – The cloud based software that eliminates the requirement for local installation such as Microsoft Online, Google App Storage – The data storage or cloud-based NAS such as iDisk, CTERA, CloudNAS Development – The software development platforms that are used to build custom cloud-based applications (SAAS & PAAS) such as SalesForce Platform – The cloud-based platforms, specifically provided using virtualization, such as ECC, Amazon, Sun Grid. Hosting – The physical data centers such as the ones run by HP, IBM, NaviSite, etc. 9

10. Basic Cloud Characteristics The “no-need-to-know” characteristic regarding the underlying infrastructure details, applications interface, etc. The “elasticity and flexibility ” allows these systems to automatically scale up and down – utilizing all kinds of resources CPU, server capacity, storage, load balancing, and databases The “pay as much as used and required” type of utility computing and also the “always on! any place and anywhere ” type of network-based computing. 10

11. Basic Cloud Characteristics Clouds are transparent to the users and applications can be built in many ways – proprietary open source, branded products, hardware or software, or off-the-shelf PCs. They are built on bunches of PC servers and off-the-shelf components including Open Source software incorporated with in-house applications and system software. 11

12. Software as a Service (SaaS) SaaS is a model of software deployment in which an application is hosted as a service given to customers over the Internet. Saas alleviates the problems of software support/ maintenance – but users surrender control over software requirements and versions. Terms used in this sphere comprise of – Platform as a Service (PaaS) and – Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) 12

13. Virtualization Virtual workspaces: – The abstraction of an execution environment made dynamically available to authorized customers through the use of well-defined protocols, – Resource quota (e.g. memory share, CPU), – Software configuration (e.g. provided services, O/S,). Implement on Virtual Machines (VMs): – Abstraction of a physical host machine, – Hypervisor intercepts and copies instructions from VMs, and allows management of the VMs, – VMWare, Xen, etc. Provide infrastructure API: – Plug-ins to support/hardware structures Hardware OS App Hypervisor OS Virtualized Stack

14. Virtual Machines VM technology permits multiple virtual machines to operate on a single physical machine. Hardware Virtual Machine Monitor (VMM) / Hypervisor Guest OS (Linux) Guest OS (NetBSD) Guest OS (Windows) VM App Xen VMWare UML Denali etc. 14

15. Virtualization in General Advantages of virtual machines: – Run operating systems where the physical hardware is unavailable, – Easier to create new machines, backup machines, etc., – Software testing using “clean” installs of software and operating systems. – Emulate more machines than are physically available, – Timeshare lightly loaded systems on one host. – Debug problems. – Easy migration of virtual machines (shutdown needed or not). – Run legacy systems! 15

16. What is the purpose and benefits? Cloud computing enables applications and companies which are infrastructure dependent, to be infrastructure-less. Through the use of Cloud infrastructure on “pay as on demand and as used”, all of us can save in operational and capital investment! The clients can: – Store their data on the platform rather than on their servers and their desktop PCs. – Store their applications on the cloud and then use the servers within the cloud to process data and do its manipulations etc. 16

17. Cloud-Sourcing Why cloud-sourcing is becoming a Big Deal: – Using high-scale but at the same time low-cost providers, – Any place/time access via web browser, – Speedy scalability; load sharing and incremental cost, – Can eliminate the need to focus on local IT. Concerns: – Performance, reliability and SLAs, – The data control and service parameters, – Application choices and features. – The interaction between Cloud providers – No standard API – mix of REST and SOAP! – Privacy, compliance, security, trust. 17

18. Cloud Storage Many big Web companies are now exploiting the fact that they possess data storage capacity which can be hired out to others. – Allows data that is stored remotely to be temporarily cached on mobile phones, desktop computers, or other Internet-linked devices. Simple Storage Solution (S3) and Amazon’s Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) are well-known examples – Mechanical Turk 18

19. Opportunities and Challenges The use of cloud offers many opportunities: – It enables services to be used with no need of understanding of their infrastructure. – Cloud computing operates on economies of scale: It significantly lowers the outlay expense for emerging companies, as they would no longer require buying their servers or software. The cost is on-demand pricing. Service providers and vendors claim costs through establishing an on-going revenue stream. – Services and data are stored remotely but are accessible from “anywhere”. 19

20. Opportunities and Challenges On the contrary, there has been criticism against cloud computing: – Use of cloud computing implies dependence on others, and this could limit innovation and flexibility. – Security may become a big issue: It is still unclear how safe the out-sourced data is and when using such services ownership of data is normally unclear. – Additionally, there are issues relating to access and policy: This happens mostly if your data is stored abroad where the policy is different from yours. 20

21. Advantages of Cloud Computing Lower computer costs: – You don’t need a high-powered and very expensive computer to operate cloud computing's web-based applications. Instant software updates: – When an application is web-based, updates occur automatically Better document format compatibility. – There is no format incompatibility issue when everyone is sharing applications and documents in the cloud. 21

22. Advantages of Cloud Computing Improved performance: – With just a few large programs hogging the memory of your computer, you will experience better performance from your computer. Reduced software costs: – Rather than purchasing expensive software programs and applications, you can get them for free. This is because most cloud computing applications come as a suite e.g., Google Docs suite. 22

23. Advantages of Cloud Computing Unlimited storage capacity: – Cloud computing offers virtually limitless storage. Increased data reliability: – If your computer crashes in the cloud, your stored data won’t be affected because it would still be out there in the cloud and still accessible. Universal document access is not a problem with cloud computing because you don’t take your documents with you. 23

24. Advantages of Cloud Computing Easier group collaboration: – The sharing of documents leads directly to greater collaboration. Device independence. – This is because you are no longer tethered to a single network or computer. Latest version availability: – The cloud usually hosts the latest version of your documents after you have done some editing on your document. 24

25. Disadvantages of Cloud Computing Requires a constant Internet connection: – Cloud computing is difficult if one is not connected to the Internet. Doesn’t work well with low-speed connections: – Web-based applications require a lot of bandwidth to download, just as do large documents. Features might be limited: - For instance, you can do a lot with Microsoft PowerPoint than with Google Presentation's web-based offering 25

26. Disadvantages of Cloud Computing Can be slow: – Even when the connection is fast, web-based applications sometimes prove to be slower than accessing a similar software program on your desktop computer. Stored data might not be secure: – This is because all the data is stored in the cloud whose level of security is unknown. Stored data can be lost; – More so if the stored data happens to go missing. There is no backup created. 26

27. The Future Most of the activities grouped together under cloud computing have already been occurring and centralized computing activity is no longer a new phenomenon. Grid Computing was the latest research-led centralized approach However, there are several concerns that the adoption of cloud computing could result in many problems for users. 27

28. References Armbrust, M., Fox, A., Griffith, R., Joseph, A. D., Katz, R., Konwinski, A.,... & Zaharia, M. (2010). A view of cloud computing. Communications of the ACM, 53(4), 50-58. Marinos, A., & Briscoe, G. (2009). Community cloud computing. In Cloud Computing (pp. 472-484). Springer Berlin Heidelberg. Mell, P., & Grance, T. (2011). The NIST definition of cloud computing. 28