What is Cloud computing..?

 Cloud computing - 

Cloud computing is all-around us. It is now the most discussed issue. Businesses are talking about using cloud software and solutions to cut operating costs. We utilize emails that are saved in a remote place. We submit our photos to a service that keeps them in the cloud (ex - iCloud). Our files are kept on the Amazon Cloud Drive. Our videos have been posted to YouTube. It's difficult to picture a future in which cloud computing hasn't had an impact on our lives. So, precisely what is cloud computing?

The phrase "cloud computing" refers to a method of accessing software, infrastructure, and computer power from a location other than our own. The materials are typically stored on someone else's machine or in a remote data center. Nowadays, the reach of cloud computing is so broad that resources are often situated in countries and continents where we have no idea where they are. Consider the emails you have in your Gmail inbox. Our computers do not store the emails. Google serves these emails from servers in any of Google's data centers in the Americas, Asia, or Europe.

The end users are unaware about any aspects within the cloud, including apps, platforms, and infrastructure. All users require are access devices like as computers, phones, tablets, and so on, as well as network connectivity to the cloud, which is often supplied by cloud service providers.

Definition of Cloud Computing - 

Cloud computing is the supply of computing as a service rather than a product, in which shared resources, software, and information are delivered as a utility (similar to the electrical grid) to computers and other devices over a network (usually the Internet) - Wikipedia

Cloud computing is a network access model that enables ubiquitous, convenient, on demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (ex- networks, servers, storage, applications and services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or interaction from service providers. The National Institute of Standards and Technology is an acronym for the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)

By definition, "cloud computing" refers to the on-demand delivery of IT resources and applications over the Internet with pay-as-you-go pricing. - Amazon.com

The practice of storing, managing, and processing data on a network of distant servers housed on the Internet rather than a local server or a personal computer. -  Google.com

The cloud computing concept, according to NIST, is made up of five key features, three service models, and four deployment methods.

Cloud Computing History - 

Cloud computing is the outcome of the advancement of several fundamental technological principles, including virtualization, grid computing, multi-tenancy, scalability, and the exponential rise in computer power and storage.

Although the specific origins of cloud computing are unknown, the concept of cloud computing has existed since the 1950s, when mainframe computers were accessible for high-volume computing operations. Mainframes were expensive and cumbersome to operate.

To make better use of them, a method arose that allowed a number of thin clients (or static computer terminals) to share mainframe processing capacity. This is how the words "resource pooling" and "time-sharing," which are fundamental terminology connected with cloud computing, became commonplace.

Telecommunications service providers used virtual private networks (VPNs) to effectively control network traffic in the 1990s. They would route traffic to the available servers based on the demand load. This occurred at the infrastructure and data center levels without the users' knowledge. The cloud symbol was first used by telecommunications service providers to demarcate the boundaries between network service providers and customers. In other words, it is equivalent to telling end customers, "You don't need to know where or how you acquire your network bandwidth as long as it is accessible to you continuously." Let us handle it." Essentially, here is where the notion of Infrastructure-as-a-Service was born.

The emergence and evolution of Cloud computing to its current form occurred during the decade of the 2000s. Scientists and engineers investigated strategies to broaden the scope of Cloud computing beyond apps and platforms. Technology businesses made significant advances in their Cloud products and services. The "pay-as-you-go" pricing concept was introduced and popularized throughout this decade. Gartner anticipated that cloud computing will alter the interaction between IT service customers and suppliers. It also noted that "organizations are shifting from company-owned hardware and software assets to per-use service-based models," implying that the "projected transition to computing...will result in spectacular growth in some areas and severe decrease in others."

This decade saw significant advances in cloud technology. OpenNebula released open-source software for deploying private and hybrid clouds in 2008. Rackspace, another key competitor in the Cloud domain, introduced OpenStack, an open-source cloud platform, in 2008. IBM released the SmartCloud architecture in 2011 to assist Smarter Planet.

Companies like Microsoft, Amazon, and Oracle have also released their own Cloud products and services. Most IT organizations now have some sort of presence in the Cloud industry. Cloud computing has become so commonplace that people no longer discuss its promise or implementation issues. The discussion in town is about how Cloud platforms may be leveraged for next-generation technologies like Big Data, the Internet of Things, Mobility, Analytics, Digitization, and Advanced Research.

Characteristics of Cloud Computing - 

• Shared Infrastructure - A virtualized software approach that allows physical services, storage, and networking capabilities to be shared. Regardless of deployment option, cloud infrastructure attempts to maximize available infrastructure across a large number of users.

• Dynamic Provisioning - Allows for the delivery of services based on current demand. This is accomplished automatically using software automation, allowing for the growth and contraction of service capabilities as required. This dynamic scaling must be accomplished while maintaining high levels of dependability and security.

• Network Connection - Requires internet access from a wide range of devices, including PCs, laptops, and mobile devices, using standards-based APIs (for example, ones based on HTTP). Everything from using business applications to deploying cloud services is covered.

• Managed Metering - Metering is used to manage and optimize the service, as well as to offer reporting and invoicing information. In this manner, customers are invoiced for services based on how much they really consumed throughout the billing period.

Cloud Computing Service Models - 

Cloud Providers offer services that can be grouped into three categories.

1. Software as a Service (SaaS) - In this approach, the consumer receives a whole application as a service on demand. A single instance of the service runs on the cloud, serving numerous end users. Customers do not need to invest in servers or software licenses up front, and provider expenses are reduced because just a single application needs to be hosted and maintained. SaaS is now provided by firms such as Google, Salesforce, Microsoft, Zoho, and others.

2. Platform as a Service (PaaS) - In this case, a layer of software or a development environment is wrapped and made available as a service, upon which additional higher layers of service can be developed. The consumer is free to create his own apps that operate on the provider's infrastructure. PaaS providers offer a preset mix of OS and application servers to fulfill the management and scalability needs of the applications, such as the LAMP platform (Linux, Apache, MySql, and PHP), limited J2EE, Ruby, and so on. PaaS examples include Google App Engine, Force.com, and others.

3. Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) - IaaS delivers basic storage and computing capabilities as network-based standardized services. To manage workloads, servers, storage systems, networking equipment, data center space, and so on are pooled and made accessible. Typically, the customer would put his own software on the infrastructure. Amazon, GoGrid, 3 Tera, and more well-known instances.

Cloud Computing Deployment types -

1. Public Cloud -

Third-party owned and controlled public clouds provide improved economies of scale to consumers by spreading infrastructure expenses among a diverse set of users, providing each individual client an appealing low-cost, "Pay-as-you-go" model. All clients use the same infrastructure pool, with very minor variations in configuration, security, and availability. The cloud provider manages and supports these. One of the benefits of a public cloud is that it may be larger than a corporate cloud, allowing for smooth, on-demand scaling.

2. Private Cloud -

Private clouds are designed specifically for a single company. They strive to solve data security problems and provide better control, which is generally unavailable in a public cloud. A private cloud can be of two types:

On-premise Private Cloud: Also known as internal clouds, on-premise private clouds are hosted within one's own data center. This paradigm provides a more consistent method and protection, but it has size and scalability limitations. IT departments would also have to pay capital and operating expenses for physical resources. This is best suited for applications that require total infrastructure management and configuration, as well as security.

Externally hosted Private Cloud: This sort of private cloud is hosted externally with a cloud provider, who provides an exclusive cloud environment with complete privacy assurance. This is best suited for organizations who do not want to share physical resources in a public cloud.

3. Hybrid Cloud -

Hybrid clouds incorporate the benefits of both public and private cloud platforms. With a Hybrid Cloud, service providers can use third-party Cloud Providers in full or in part, enhancing computational flexibility. The Hybrid cloud system can deliver on-demand, externally provisioned scalability. The capacity to supplement a private cloud with public cloud resources can be utilized to manage unexpected increases in workload.

4. Community Cloud - 

The cloud infrastructure is shared by several enterprises with comparable interests and needs. Because the expenditures are divided across the organizations, this may help to decrease the capital expenditure costs for its establishment. The procedure might take place in-house or on-site with a third party.

Cloud Computing Companies -

Many organizations provide cloud-based services. Some significant examples are as follows.,

• Google.com - Has its own private cloud, which it utilizes to supply Google Docs and a variety of other services to its customers, such as email access, document apps, text translations, maps, web analytics, and so on.

• Microsoft.com – Microsoft offers the Microsoft® Office 365® online service, which allows content and business intelligence tools to be migrated to the cloud, and Microsoft currently makes its office apps available in the cloud.

• Salesforce.com — Runs its application stack on the cloud for its clients, and its Force.com and Vmforce.com products provide platforms for developers to build bespoke cloud services.

• Amazon.com - Web Services (AWS) – It offers a cloud computing platform for companies of all sizes. AWS enables businesses to select their own computing platform based on their needs and pay only for what they use. AWS offers the following services: Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud, Amazon Simple Storage Services, Amazon Virtual Private Cloud, Amazon Cloudfront, Amazon Relational Database, and Amazon Simple Queue Services.

Communications in the Cloud -

Making services available in the cloud for service developers is dependent on the type of service and the device(s) used to access it. The method might be as easy as a user clicking on the appropriate web page, or it could include an application utilizing an API to access cloud services. Telcos are beginning to leverage clouds to launch their own services as well as those built by others, but employing Telco infrastructure and data. The idea is that the Telco's communications infrastructure will generate wealth.

Using the Communications Services

When communications services are hosted in the cloud, they can expand their capabilities, stand alone as service offers, or add new interaction capabilities to existing services.

Cloud-based communications services allow enterprises to integrate communications capabilities into corporate applications such as ERP and CRM systems. These may be accessible through a smartphone for "on the go" business employees, allowing for better productivity when away from the office.

These services are in addition to the support of VoIP system, collaboration system, and conferencing system installations for both audio and video. They may be accessible from anywhere and integrated into existing systems to expand their capabilities, as well as stand alone as service offers. In terms of social networking, leveraging cloud-based communications allows for click-to-call capabilities from social networking sites, access to Instant Messaging systems, and video communications, all of which help to extend the interconnection of individuals within the social circle.

Accessing through Web APIs

APIs, mainly Web 2.0 RESTful APIs, are used to access communications capabilities in a cloud-based environment, allowing application development outside the cloud to take advantage of the communication infrastructure within it.

These APIs provide up a world of communication options for cloud-based applications, restricted only by the cloud's media and signaling capabilities. Today's media services enable audio and video communications and administration across a wide range of codecs and transport types. These complications may be reduced by leveraging Web APIs, and material can be supplied to the remote device more easily. APIs also allow other services to communicate with one another, creating new opportunities and helping to boost Average Revenue per User (ARPU) and attachment rates, particularly for telcos.

Media Server Control Interfaces

APIs, mainly Web 2.0 RESTful APIs, are used to access communications capabilities in a cloud-based environment, allowing application development outside the cloud to take advantage of the communication infrastructure within it.

These APIs provide up a world of communication options for cloud-based applications, restricted only by the cloud's media and signaling capabilities. Today's media services enable audio and video communications and administration across a wide range of codecs and transport types. These complications may be reduced by leveraging Web APIs, and material can be supplied to the remote device more easily. APIs also allow other services to communicate with one another, creating new opportunities and helping to boost Average Revenue per User (ARPU) and attachment rates, particularly for telcos.

Thank you for read. Good Luck!

UBApepi team