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Definition
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 efficient computing by centralizing storage, memory, processing and bandwidth. Cloud computing is the delivery of computing as a service rather than a product, whereby shared resources, software, and information are provided to computers and other devices as a utility (like the electricity grid) over a network (typically the Internet). Cloud computing provides computation, software applications, data access,data management and storage resources without requiring cloud users to know the location and other details of the computing infrastructure. End users access cloud based applications through a web browser or a light weight desktop or mobile app while the business software and data are stored on servers at a remote location. Cloud application providers strive to give the same or better service and performance than if the software programs were installed locally on end-user computers. 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 Yahoo , 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, 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
Characteristics
Cloud computing exhibits the following key characteristics: Empowerment of end-users of computing resources by putting the provisioning of those resources in their own control, as opposed to the control of a centralized IT service (for example) Agility improves with users' ability to re-provision technological infrastructure resources. Application programming interface (API) accessibility to software that enables machines to interact with cloud software in the same way the user interface facilitates interaction between humans and computers. Cloud computing systems typically use REST-based APIs.
Cost is claimed to be reduced and in a public cloud delivery model capital expenditure is converted to operational expenditure. This is purported to lower 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 phone). As infrastructure is off-site (typically provided by a third-party) and accessed via the Internet, users can connect from anywhere. Virtualization technology allows servers and storage devices to be shared and utilization be increased. Applications can be easily migrated from one physical server to another. 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) Utilisation and efficiency improvements for systems that are often only 1020% utilised. Reliability is improved if multiple redundant sites are used, which makes well-designed cloud computing suitable for business continuity and disaster recovery. Scalability and Elasticity 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. 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 other traditional systems, in part because providers are able to devote resources to solving security issues that many customers cannot afford. However, the complexity of security is greatly increased when data is distributed over a wider area or greater number of devices and in multi-tenant systems that are being shared by unrelated users. In addition, user access to security audit logs may be difficult or impossible. Private cloud installations are in part motivated by users' desire to retain control over the infrastructure and avoid losing control of information security. Maintenance of cloud computing applications is easier, because they do not need to be installed on each user's computer and can be accessed from different places.
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Automatically Updated Owners no longer need to hire people to update more than one server, and it also helps the users who do not like to download updates for the software. The server gets the updates and everyone who uses the service gets the updates without updating anything on their end. Computing Flexibility It has more flexibility than other network computing systems and saves time plus money for people who are in a time crunch. Mobility Like most networks it allows users to connect even without their own computers, meaning you can do your work from anywhere in the world as long as you have a internet connection and a computer access. So you can take your work with you on your wedding and vacations. Applications can be accessed from any computer, anywhere in the world. No Downloads The users do not need to download anything, so that saves time and hard drive space for users. They can just log onto the network. Shared Resources A key component of cloud computing is that companies share resources. With cloud computing, this allows them all to have access to the resources via cloud computing. This again saves businesses time and money by placing their resources all in one location that is easy for their workers to look up and access. Companies can share resources in one place
Drawbacks
Cloud Computing has many benefits, however there are also some associated risks with using cloud computing. These include: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Users do not physically possess storage of their own data, which leaves the responsibility and control of data storage with the provider Users could become dependent upon the cloud computing provider With data held externally, business continuity and disaster recovery are in the hands of the provider Data migration issues when changing cloud provider What happens if your cloud provider goes out of business?
Characteristics of SaaS: 1. Software applications or services are stored remotely 2. A user can then access these services or software applications via the Internet 3. In most cases, a user does not have to install anything onto their host machine, all they require is a web browser to access these services in some cases, additional plug-in/add-on for certain services are needed 4. Network-based manag & access to available software from central locations rather than at each customers site, enabling customers to access applications remotely via the Internet centralized enhancement and patch updating 5. Appl delivery from a one-to-many model, as opposed to a traditional one-to-one model. single-instance, multitenant architecture
Its a means that a third-party provider rents space on their storage to end-users who lack the budget or capital budget to pay for it on their own. Ideal when technical personnel are not available or have inadequate knowledge to implement and maintain that storage infrastructure Given the complexity of current backup, replication, and disaster recovery needs, the service has become popular Hundreds of cloud storage providers on the Web, more seem to be added each day. The biggest advantage is cost savings: Storage rented from provider using a cost-per-gigabyte-stored or perdata-transferred model
Examples of specialized providers 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Google Docs Web email providers like Gmail, Hotmail, and Yahoo! Mail Flickr and Picasa YouTube Hostmonster and GoDaddy store files and data for many client web sites. Facebook and MySpace are social networking sites MediaMax and Strongspace offer storage space for any kind of digital data
Information as a Service:
It refers to the ability to consume any type of remotely hosted information
E.g. stock price information, address validation, credit reporting, through a well-defined interface such as an API ability to mix and match a variety of information from many different sources through a single application or mashup. We can get stock quotes from one information-as-a-service provider,census data from another GeoNames Web API, from geonames.org, o a geographical database containing over 8 million geographical names o provides a broad range of information on each, from its population and form of government to its topology to its road and railway systems and more.
Identity as a Service:
Offers a digital identitya set of bytesto describe the user Based on this information, the application can determine who the user is and what he or she is allowed to do. In-house applications rely on services like Active Directory to provide this information. Clouds, however, have to use their own identity services. If you sign on services to Amazon cloud services, you have to sign on using an Amazondefined identity. Googles App Engine requires a Google account Windows uses Windows Live ID for use with Microsofts cloud applications. OpenID o is an open, decentralized, single sign-on standard that allows users to log in to many services using the same digital identity. o is in the form of a uniform resource locator (URL) and does not rely on a central authority to authenticate a users identity.
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Since a specific type of authentication is not required, nonstandard forms of be used, including smart cards, biometric, or passwords. Used by many organizations, including: Google, IBM, Microsoft, Yahoo!
authentication may
Process as a Service
Remote resource that can bind many resources together, e.g. services & data hosted within the same CC resource or remotely to create business processes Business process: meta-application that spans systems, leveraging key services& information combined into a sequence to form a process These processes are easier to change than are applications and thus provide agility to those who leverage these process engines delivered on demand
Integration as a Service
The ability to deliver a complete integration stack from the cloud including interfacing with applications, semantic mediation, flow control, integration design, and so on. includes most of the features and functions found within traditional enterprise application integration technology, but delivered as a service
SharePoint Services and Dynamics CRM Services - used for businesscontent, collaboration, and solution development in the cloud.
Salesforce
Force.com - on-demand cloud computing platform (PaaS) offers: o Apex, an integrated development environment o Programmable interface, User interface options o Business logic, Workflow and approvals engine o Automatic mobile device deployment o Web services integration, A relational database o Reporting and analytics Visualforce o Framework for creating new interface designs o Enables user interactions that can be built and delivered with no software or hardware infrastructure requirements o uses HTML, AJAX, and Flex, for business applications CRM (customer relationship management) offering consists of the Sales Cloud and the Service Cloud with five core applications: o Sales, o Marketing, o Service, o Collaboration, o Analytics, o Custom applications AppExchange - is a directory of applications built for Salesforce.com by third-party developers. - users can purchase and add to their Salesforce.com environment.