Cloud computing

Introduction

Cloud computing is Internet-based computing, whereby shared resources, software, and

information are provided to computers and other devices on demand.

Cloud computing is a paradigm shift following the shift from mainframe to client–server in the
early 1980s. Details are abstracted from the users, who no longer have need for expertise in, or
control over, the technology infrastructure "in the Cloud" that supports them. Cloud computing
describes a new supplement, consumption, and delivery model for IT services based on the
Internet, and it typically involves over-the-Internet provision of dynamically scalable and often
virtualized resources. It is a byproduct and consequence of the ease-of-access to remote
computing sites provided by the Internet. This frequently takes the form of web-based tools or
applications that users can access and use through a web browser as if it were a program installed
locally on their own computer.

The term "Cloud" is used as a metaphor for the Internet, based on the Cloud drawing used in the
past to represent the telephone network and later to depict the Internet in computer network
diagrams as an abstraction of the underlying infrastructure it represents. Typical Cloud
computing providers deliver common business applications online that are accessed from another
Web service or software like a Web browser, while the software and data are stored on servers.
Comparisons

Cloud computing derives characteristics from, but should not be confused with:

 Autonomic Computing — "computer systems capable of self-management"

 Client–Server Model – Client–server computing refers broadly to any distributed
application that distinguishes between service providers (servers) and service requesters
(clients)
 Grid Computing — "a form of distributed computing and parallel computing, whereby a
'super and virtual computer' is composed of a cluster of networked, loosely coupled
computers acting in concert to perform very large tasks"
 Mainframe — powerful computers used mainly by large organizations for critical
applications, typically bulk data processing such as census, industry and consumer
statistics, enterprise resource planning, and financial transaction processing
 Utility Computing — the "packaging of computing resources, such as computation and
storage, as a metered service similar to a traditional public utility, such as electricity”
 Peer-to-Peer – a distributed architecture without the need for central coordination, with
participants being at the same time both suppliers and consumers of resources (in contrast
to the traditional client–server model)

Architecture

Cloud architecture, the systems architecture of the

software systems involved in the delivery of Cloud
computing, typically involves multiple Cloud components
communicating with each other over application
programming interfaces, usually web services. This
resembles the Unix philosophy of having multiple
programs each doing one thing well and working together
over universal interfaces. Complexity is controlled and
the resulting systems are more manageable than their monolithic counterparts. The two most
significant components of Cloud computing architecture are known as the front end and the back
end. The front end is the part seen by the client, i.e. the computer user. This includes the client’s
network (or computer) and the applications used to access the Cloud via a user interface such as
Internet Explorer. The back end of the Cloud computing architecture is the ‘Cloud’ itself,
comprising various computers, servers and data storage devices
Characteristics

 Agility improves with users' ability to rapidly and inexpensively re-provision

technological infrastructure resources
 Cost is claimed to be greatly reduced and capital expenditure is converted to operational
expenditure. This ostensibly 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 computing tasks. Pricing on a utility computing basis is fine-grained with
usage-based options and fewer IT skills are required for implementation (in-house)
 Device and location independence enable users to access systems using a web browser
regardless of their location or what device they are using (e.g., PC, mobile). As
infrastructure is off-site (typically provided by a third-party) and accessed via the
Internet, users can connect from anywhere.
 Multi-tenancy enables sharing of resources and costs across a large pool of users thus
allowing for:
 Centralization of infrastructure in locations with lower costs (such as real
estate, electricity, etc.)
 Peak-load capacity increases (users need not engineer for highest
possible load-levels)
 Utilization and efficiency improvements for systems that are often only
10–20% utilized

 Reliability is improved if multiple redundant sites are used, which makes well designed
Cloud computing suitable for business continuity and disaster recovery. Nonetheless,
many major Cloud computing services have suffered outages, and IT and business
managers can at times do little when they are affected
 Scalability via dynamic ("on-demand") provisioning of resources on a fine-grained, self-
service basis near real-time, without users having to engineer for peak loads. Performance
is monitored and consistent and loosely coupled architectures are constructed using web
services as the system interface. One of the most important new methods for overcoming
performance bottlenecks for a large class of applications is data parallel programming on
a distributed data grid
 Security could improve due to centralization of data, increased security-focused
resources, etc., but concerns can persist about loss of control over certain sensitive data,
and the lack of security for stored kernels. Security is often as good as or better than
under traditional systems, in part because providers are able to devote resources to
solving security issues that many customers cannot afford. Providers typically log
accesses, but accessing the audit logs themselves can be difficult or impossible.
 Furthermore, the complexity of security is greatly increased when data is distributed over
a wider area and / or number of devices.
 Maintenance Cloud computing applications are easier to maintain, since they don't have
to be installed on each user's computer. They are easier to support and to improve since
the changes reach the clients instantly.
 Metering Cloud computing resources usage should be measurable and should be metered
per client and application on daily, weekly, monthly, and annual basis. This will enable
clients on choosing the vendor Cloud on cost and reliability (QoS)

Layers

 Client

A Cloud client consists of computer hardware and/or computer

software that relies on Cloud computing for application delivery,
or that is specifically designed for delivery of Cloud services and
that, in either case, is essentially useless without it. Examples
include some computers, phones and other devices, operating
systems and browsers

 Application

Cloud application services or "Software as a Service (SaaS)"

deliver software as a service over the Internet, eliminating the
need to install and run the application on the customer's own
computers and simplifying maintenance and support. Key
characteristics include

 Network-based access to, and management of, commercially available (i.e., not
custom) software
 Activities that are managed from central locations rather than at each customer's
site, enabling customers to access applications remotely via the Web
 Application delivery that typically is closer to a one-to-many model (single
instance, multi-tenant architecture) than to a one-to-one model, including
architecture, pricing, partnering, and management characteristics
 Centralized feature updating, which obviates the need for downloadable patches
and upgrades.
 
 Platform

Cloud platform services or "Platform as a Service (PaaS)" deliver a computing platform and/or
solution stack as a service, often consuming Cloud infrastructure and sustaining Cloud
applications. It facilitates deployment of applications without the cost and complexity of buying
and managing the underlying hardware and software layers

 Infrastructure

Cloud infrastructure services or "Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)" delivers computer

infrastructure, typically a platform virtualization environment as a service. Rather than
purchasing servers, software, data center space or network equipment, clients instead buy those
resources as a fully outsourced service. The service is typically billed on a utility computing
basis and amount of resources consumed (and therefore the cost) will typically reflect the level
of activity. It is an evolution of virtual private server offerings

 Server

The server layer consists of computer hardware and/or computer software products that are
specifically designed for the delivery of Cloud services, including multi-core processors, Cloud-
specific operating systems and combined offerings
Deployment models

Cloud computing types

 Public Cloud
Public Cloud or external Cloud
describes Cloud computing in 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

 Community Cloud

A community Cloud may be established where several organizations have similar requirements
and seek to share infrastructure so as to realize some of the benefits of Cloud computing. With
the costs spread over fewer users than a public Cloud (but more than a single tenant) this option
is more expensive but may offer a higher level of privacy, security and/or policy compliance.
Examples of community Cloud include Google's "Gov Cloud".

 Hybrid Cloud

A hybrid Cloud environment consisting of multiple internal and/or external providers "will be
typical for most enterprises". By integrating multiple Cloud services users may be able to ease
the transition to public Cloud services while avoiding issues such as PCI compliance.

Another perspective on deploying a web application in the Cloud is using Hybrid Web Hosting,
where the hosting infrastructure is a mix between Cloud Hosting for the web server, and
Managed dedicated server for the database server.
  Private Cloud

The concept of a Private Computer Utility was first described by Douglas Park hill in his 1966
and the idea was based upon direct comparison with other industries (e.g. the electricity industry)
and the extensive use of hybrid supply models to balance and mitigate risks.

Private Cloud and internal Cloud have been described as neologisms, however the concepts itself
pre-dates the term Cloud by 40 years. Even within modern utility industries, hybrid models still
exist despite the formation of reasonably well functioning markets and the ability to combine
multiple providers.

Cloud Storage

Cloud storage is a model of networked online storage where data is stored on multiple virtual
servers, generally hosted by third parties, rather than being hosted on dedicated servers. Hosting
companies operate large data centers; and people who require their data to be hosted buy or lease
storage capacity from them and use it for their storage needs. The data center operators, in the
background, virtualizes the resources according to the requirements of the customer and expose
them as storage pools, which the customers can themselves use to store files or data objects.
Physically, the resource may span across multiple servers.

 Cloud storage advantages

 Companies need only pay for the storage they actually use
 Companies do not need to install physical storage devices in their own datacenter or
offices, which reduces IT and hosting costs
 Storage maintenance tasks, such as backup, data replication, and purchasing
additional storage devices are offloaded to the responsibility of a service provider,
allowing organizations to focus on their core business
  Potential concerns in Cloud Storage
 Security of stored data and data in transit may be a concern when storing sensitive
data at a Cloud storage provider
 Performance may be lower than local storage
 Reliability and availability depends on wide area network availability and on the level
of precautions taken by the service provider

The Intercloud

The Intercloud is an interconnected global "cloud of clouds" and an extension of the Internet
"network of networks" on which it is based. The term was first used in the context of cloud
computing in 2007 when Kevin Kelly opined that "eventually we'll have the intercloud, the cloud
of clouds. This Intercloud will have the dimensions of one machine comprising all servers and
attendant cloudbooks on the planet." It became popular in 2009 and has also been used to
describe the datacenter of the future

The Intercloud scenario is based on the key concept that each single cloud does not have infinite
physical resources. If a cloud saturates the computational and storage resources of its
virtualization infrastructure, it could not be able to satisfy further requests for service allocations
sent from its clients. The Intercloud scenario aims to address such situation, in fact, each cloud
can use the computational and storage resources of the virtualization infrastructures of other
clouds. Such form of pay-for-use introduces new business opportunities among cloud providers.
Nevertheless, the Intercloud raises many challenges concerning cloud federation, security,
interoperability, QoS, monitoring and billing
Challenges

 Major Challenges

 Requires a constant Internet connection

 No internet means no access to even your own documents
 Features might be limited
 This situation is bound to change. For example, you can do a lot more
with Microsoft PowerPoint than with Google Presentation's web-based
offering. The basics are similar, but the cloud application lacks many
of PowerPoint's advanced features.
 Stored data might not be secure
 How secure is the cloud?
 Can unauthorized users gain access to your confidential data?
 Only time will tell if your data is secure in the cloud
 Stored data can be lost
 Theoretically, data stored in the cloud is safe, replicated across
multiple machines. But data loss can happen

 Top 10 Obstacles and Opportunities for Cloud Computing

 Availability of a Service
 Users expect availability from new services, which is hard to do. Just as
large Internet service providers use multiple network providers so that
failure by a single company will not take them off the air, the only
possible solution to very high availability is multiple Cloud Computing
providers. The high-availability computing community has long followed
the mantra “no single source of failure,”

 Data Lock-In
 Software stacks have improved interoperability among platforms, but the
APIs for Cloud Computing have not been the subject of active
standardization. Thus, customers cannot easily extract their data and
programs from one site to run on another. Concern about the difficult of
 extracting data from the cloud is preventing some organizations from
adopting Cloud Computing
 Data Confidentiality and Audit ability
 Current cloud offerings are essentially public (rather than private)
networks, exposing the system to more attacks. We believe that there are
no fundamental obstacles to making a cloud-computing environment as
secure as the vast majority of in-house IT environments, and that many of
the obstacles can be overcome immediately with well understood
technologies such as encrypted storage, Virtual Local Area Networks, and
network middle boxes (e.g. firewalls, packet filters).

 Data Transfer Bottlenecks

 Applications continue to become more data-intensive. Cloud users and
cloud providers have to think about the implications of placement and
traffic at every level of the system if they want to minimize costs. One
opportunity to overcome the high cost of Internet transfers is to ship disks

 Performance Unpredictability
 Multiple Virtual Machines can share CPUs and main memory surprisingly
well in Cloud Computing, but that I/O sharing is more problematic. One
opportunity is to improve architectures and operating systems to
efficiently virtualize interrupts and I/O channels. Technologies such as
PCI express are difficult to virtualize, but they are critical to the cloud.
Another possibility is that flash memory will decrease I/O interference.
Flash memory can sustain many more I/Os per second per gigabyte of
storage than disks, so multiple virtual machines with conflicting random
I/O workloads could coexist better on the same physical computer without
the interference we see with mechanical disks. Another unpredictability
obstacle concerns the scheduling of virtual machines for some classes of
batch processing programs, specifically for high performance computing.

 Scalable Storage
 Three properties whose combination gives Cloud Computing its appeal:
short-term usage (which implies scaling down as well as up when
resources are no longer needed), no up-front cost, and infinite capacity on-
demand. While it’s straightforward what this means when applied to
computation, it’s less obvious how to apply it to persistent storage.

 Bugs in Large-Scale Distributed Systems

 One of the difficult challenges in Cloud Computing is removing errors in
these very large scale distributed systems. A common occurrence is that
these bugs cannot be reproduced in smaller configurations, so the
debugging must occur at scale in the production datacenters. One
opportunity may be the reliance on Virtual Machines (VM) in Cloud
Computing. Many traditional SaaS providers developed their
infrastructure without using VMs, either because they preceded the recent
 popularity of VMs or because they felt they could not afford the
performance hit of VMs
 Scaling Quickly
 Reason for scaling is to conserve resources as well as money. Since an idle
computer uses about two-thirds of the power of a busy computer, careful
use of resources could reduce the impact of datacenters on the
environment, which is currently receiving a great deal of negative
attention. Cloud Computing providers already perform careful and low
overhead accounting of resource consumption. By imposing per-hour and
per-byte costs, utility computing encourages programmers to pay attention
to efficiency (i.e., releasing and acquiring resources only when necessary),
and allows more direct measurement of operational and development
inefficiencies.

 Reputation Fate Sharing

 Reputations do not virtualize well. One customer’s bad behavior can affect
the reputation of the cloud as a whole. Another legal issue is the question
of transfer of legal liability—Cloud Computing providers would want
legal liability to remain with the customer and not be transferred to them
(i.e., the company sending the spam should be held liable).

 Software Licensing
 Current software licenses commonly restrict the computers on which the
software can run. Users pay for the software and then pay an annual
maintenance fee. Hence, many cloud computing providers originally relied
on open source software in part because the licensing model for
commercial software is not a good match to Utility Computing

 Barriers to Cloud Computing

 Customer Perspective

 Data Security
Many customers don’t wish to trust their data to “the
cloud”
Data must be locally retained for regulatory reasons
 Latency
The cloud can be many milliseconds away
Not suitable for real-time applications
 Application Availability
Cannot switch from existing legacy applications
Equivalent cloud applications do not exist
Not all applications work on public clouds
  Vendor Perspective
 Service Level Agreements
 What if something goes wrong?
 What is the true cost of providing SLAs?
 Business Models
 SaaS/PaaS models are challenging
 Much lower upfront revenue
 Customer Lock-in
 Customers want open/standard APIs
 Need to continuously add value
 Each applications is unique

Security
The relative security of cloud computing services is a contentious issue which may be delaying
its adoption. Some argue that customer data is more secure when managed internally, while
others argue that cloud providers have a strong incentive to maintain trust and as such employ a
higher level of security.
The Cloud Security Alliance is a non-profit organization formed to promote the use of best
practices for providing security assurance within Cloud Computing

Availability and Performance

In addition to concerns about security, businesses are also worried about acceptable levels of
availability and performance of applications hosted in the cloud

There are also concerns about a cloud provider shutting down for financial or legal reasons,
which has happened in a number of cases

Sustainability
Although cloud computing is often assumed to be a form of "green computing", there is as of yet
no published study to substantiate this assumption.

Conclusion

 Cloud computing is the fastest growing part of IT

 Tremendous benefits to customers of all sizes
 Cloud services are simpler to acquire and scale up or down
 Key opportunity for application and infrastructure vendors
 Public cloud work great for some but not all applications
 Private cloud offer many benefits for internal applications
 Public and private clouds can be used in combination
