How Cloud Computing Works?

Cloud computing is a well-know term in the world of information Technology. In simple words cloud computing is an internet based technology, which offers shared computing resources and data to the system and other client based devices. In general, cloud is analogous to the term “internet” and that’s why cloud computing is known as “an internet based computing”.

In a nutshell, word cloud computing can be defined as an IT-based concept in which storing and accessing of data and execution of programs happens over internet.

In this article, I will discuss

• How cloud computing works?
• Cloud computing characteristics
• Service Model – Iaas, Paas, SaaS, MBaas
• Cloud Clients – Public Cloud, Private Cloud, Hybrid Cloud
• Advantages of Cloud Computing

Let’s get started….

How cloud computing works?

In simple language, cloud is a decentralized place that enables you to share information through satellite networks. A host and hosting company are linked to every cloud application that are responsible for maintaining the data centers that provide the storage, security, and computing power required for maintaining the information sent by user to the cloud. 

The major players that are hosting the clouds include Google (Google Drive), Amazon (Amazon Web Services), Apple (iCloud) and Microsoft (Azure). These cloud companies offer users to use their clouds and store data on their networks, this cloud be a free service or come at a price. The most interesting fact is that these hosting companies offer the end user an ecosystem that communicates well between programs and devices.

User can easily upload data or download data on the system when needed.

Also Read – What is Cloud Computing?

Characteristics

Cloud computing is developed by evolution and adoption of existing technology. The aim of cloud computing is to allow users to get benefited by these technologies without having deep knowledge or expertise.

The fundamental technology for cloud computing is visualization. Visualization software divides a physical computing device into one or more “virtual devices”. These virtual devices can be easily accessed and ready to execute computing task. Operating System-level visualization creates a scalable system of multiple independent computing devices. Visualization offers agility required to enhance the speed of IT operation and deducts the cost by developing infrastructure utilization. Automating computing automates in this way through which user can use the resources on demand.

Users regularly come across with different business problems. Cloud computing takes idea from Service-oriented-Architecture.  This Architecture helps the user to break these problems into services which can be integrated to resolve these problems. Cloud computing offers it’s all resources as services and utilize them in well-established standards and best practiced profited in the domain of SOA and provide global and easy accessibility of cloud services in standardized way.

Cloud computing also takes idea from utility computing to offer metric for the services used. These metrics are at the fundamental of the public pay per use models. In additional measured services are important parts of the feedback loop in automatic computing. These services are performed scale -on -demand and automatic Failure recovery.

Cloud computing is a one type of grid computing which has adapted by addressing QoS(quality of services) and reliability problems. Cloud computing introduces the tools and technologies to develop data/compute parallel application with an inexpensive way than a traditional parallel application.

Cloud computing shares characteristics with

• Client-server-model-Client-server computing generally defines as a distributed application which differentiates between service providers and service requesters.
• Computer bureau-During 1960-1980 Computer bureau provided computer services
• Grid computing:  it is form of a distributed and parallel computing in which a super and virtual computer is designed as a cluster of network.
• Fog Computing: It is a distributed computing paradigm. It helps data, compute, storage and application services to be closer to the client or near-user edge device such as network routers. Basically fog computing works on the data at the network level, smart device and client side.
• Dew Computing: Dew computing is located at the ground level for the cloud and fog computing in the existing computing hierarchy. Dew computing generally sends frontiers to computing application, data and low level from the centralized virtual device to end users.
• Main Computing: This type of power computers are basically used by large organization for census, intelligence agencies for enterprise resource purpose and financial transaction processing.
• Utility Computing: This concept is almost similar to the public utility as it has provided a packaging of computing resources such as computation and storage.
• Peer-to-peer:It provides a peer-to–peer connectivity where no need for central co-ordinations.
• Cloud Sand box: It is an isolated computerenvironment where program,code, software and file run without disturbing the application in which it runs.

According tothe definition of the National Institute of Standard Science and Technology cloud computing has five essentialcharacteristics –

• On-demand self service:  A user has computing capabilities such as server time and network storage as required automatically. No human interaction is needed for each service provider.
• Broad network access:  Capabilities are obtainable over the network and can easily accessible by thin or thick user platform(  desktop, laptop, mobile)
• Resource pooling: The providers-computing resources are shared to several consumers using multi-tenant model in which different physical and virtual resources allocated and reallocated according to consumers demand.
• Rapid electricity:Capabilities can be electrically available and leave sometimes automatically to deal with rapidly inward and outward commensurate with demand.
• Measured services: Cloud system has a capability to control and optimize using of resources. To do this it has to leverage a metering capability at point of abstraction acceptable for the type of services(e.g., storage, processing, bandwidth, and active user accounts). 

Service Model

Cloud computing provides their services according to the different service model. The three models areInfrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS).

The NIZT defines the service models as follows

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS):

• Infrastructure as a service model defines as an online service provider that provides a general idea of Infrastructure like physical computing resources, location, data patterning, scaling, security and back up e.t.c. IaaS  provided a capability such that  provision processing, storage, networks, and other fundamental computing resources to the users in which user can to organize and run arbitrary software including operating systems and application software.
• Consumer has control over the operating system, storage, and deployed applications rather than underlying cloud structure. Iaas provides additional resources such as disk-image library, raw  block-storage, file or object storage, firewalls, load balancers, IP addresses, virtual local area network (VLANs), and software bundles.

Platform as a service (PaaS)

• PaaS developer provides a working environment to the application developers. The provider generally designs toolkit and standards for development and also creates channel for distribution and financial transaction.
• Cloud service providers transmit a computing platform which consists of operating system, programming-language execution environment, database, and web server. 
• Application developers are able to develop and run their software on a cloud platform and they don’t need to bear the cost and complexity of buying and organizing the underlying software and hardware layer.
• Cloud users do not have to depend on allocation of resources manually as underlying computer and storage resources scale automatically.
• Some integration and data management providers have also offered specialized applications of PaaS as transmit models for data solutions. For example- iPaas and d PaaS. iPaaS (Integration Platform as a Service) provides an opportunity to the clients to develop, execute and govern integrationflows. dPaaS (Data Platform as a Service) used for deliver integration and data-managementproducts as a completelyorganized way.

Software as a service (SaaS)

• In SaaS users are able to access application software and databases. Cloud providers generally control the infrastructure andplatformby which applications are run.
• In SaaS Model, service providers install, access and control application software in the cloud and cloud clients access the required software from the cloud. Cloud users unable to manage cloud infrastructure and platform in which the applications run.This removes thenecessity for install and run the application on the cloud user’s own computers.

Mobile backend as a service (MBaaS)

• In the mobile backend as a service (MBaaS) model or “backend as a service” (BaaS) helps web app and mobile app developers to provide a way to connect their applications to cloud storage and cloud computing services with application programming Interface (APIs) that is exposed to their applications and custom software Development Kit(SDK)

Cloud Clients

Users access and use cloud computing through different gadgets like desktop, laptops,tabloids and smart phones orany Ethernet enabled device such as Home Automation Gadgets. 

Private Cloud

Private cloud is developed to operate solely for a single organization. It may beorganized internally or by a third-party, and hosted either internally or externally. For a private cloud project needs a significant level and degree of involvement to observe the business environment, and it is necessary for the organization to redevelop ideas on the existing resources.

Public Cloud

Public cloud services are operated over a network that is available for public use. Public cloud services may be independent. Technically there may be a slight dissimilarity  between public and private cloud architecture, however, But Security consideration is completely different for public cloud and it is made for public audience over a non trusted network

Hybrid Cloud

Hybrid cloud is a amalgam of two or more clouds (private, community or public) that remain distinct entities but are tied up together,providing the benefits of multiple deployment models. 

Advantages of cloud computing

Agility	Cloud computing enhances human abilities to re-provision for infrastructure
Cost	Cloud providers have claimed of cost reductions. A public-Cloud computing model changes a capital expenditure into optional expenditure. This lowers barrier to entity as infrastructure is supplied by third party .
Device and location independence	This property allows users to access system using web browser from any location from any devices(mobile or PC).
Maintenance	Maintenance is quite easier. Because it not required to installed user computer and can be accessed from any location.
Multitenancy	This property allows sharing of resources and cost across a vast number of users
Performance	Performance of cloud computing is constantly monitored. Web service constructs a loosely coupled architecture as the system interface.
Productivity	Productivity can be enhanced when multiple users can perform on the same data together
Reliability	By increasing the reliability Could computing supports business continuity and disaster recovery
Security	Cloud computing provides enhance security service by centralization of data, increased security-focused resources, etc

Conclusion

Twenty first century is an age of technology where every tiny object is connected to internet and data is critical to individuals and organizations. Cloud computing is an answer to all the data storage issues. To keep data-loss at a bay and make data recovery easy, cloud computing is the destination.

Cloud computing gives an opportunity to the user to store and access data from cloud instead of hard drives. Giving ease to all to access, upload , download data from anywhere, anytime by using any device.

I hope this article helps you in understanding cloud computing and its working, share you feedback in the comments below!