Cloud computing

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Cloud computing is a computing paradigm shift where computing is moved away from personal computers or an individual application server to a “cloud” of computers. Users of the cloud only need to be concerned with the computing service being asked for, as the underlying details of how it is achieved are hidden. This method of distributed computing is done through pooling all computer resources together and being managed by software rather than a human.

The services being requested of a cloud are not limited to using web applications, but can also be IT management tasks such as requesting of systems, a software stack or a specific web appliance.

This simplifies IT management as well as increases efficiencies of system resources. IT administrators no longer need to install software and manually setup all the systems, but instead they have management software do this. Resources are used more efficiently as computers can be consolidated to be used for more tasks. This ensures underutilized systems do not sit idle.

1 Architecture
2 Cloud storage
3 Cloud services
4 See also
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Architecture

The architecture behind cloud computing is a massive network of "cloud servers" interconnected as if in a grid running in parallel, sometimes using the technique of virtualization to maximize computing power per server.

It is made up of a front-end interface which allows a user to select a service from a catalog. This request gets passed to the system management which finds the correct resources, and then calls the provisioning services which carves out resources in the cloud. The provisioning service may deploy the requested stack or web application as well.

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User Interaction Interface: This is how users of the cloud interface with the cloud to request services.

Services Catalog: This is the list of services which a user could request.

System Management: This is the piece which manages the computer resources available.

Provisioning Tool: This tool carves out the systems from the cloud to deliver on the requested service. It may also deploy the required images.

Monitoring & Metering: This optional piece tracks the usage of the cloud so the resources used can be attributed to a certain user.

Servers: The servers get managed by the system management tool. They can be either virtual or real.

[edit] Cloud storage

Cloud storage is a model of networked data 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, virtualize the resources according to the requirements of the customer and expose them as virtual servers, which the customers can themselves manage. Physically, the resource may span across multiple servers.