Cloud Computing is HERE!!!
The first question that arises into the mind after hearing this term is: "Is it cloud of computers??" The answer is: "Oh yes it is". In cloud computing, an user's applications and documents are shifted from desktop to the cloud, where thousands of computers and servers are linked together and accessible through the Internet or the "cloud". Cloud computing is a style of computing in which dynamically scalable and often virtualized resources are provided as a service over the Internet. Users need not have knowledge of, expertise in, or control over the technology infrastructure in the "cloud" that supports them.
The concept generally incorporates combinations of the following:
* Infrastructure as a service (IaaS)
* Platform as a service (PaaS)
* Software as a service (SaaS)
* Other recent technologies that rely on the Internet to satisfy the computing needs of users. Cloud computing services often provide common business applications online that are accessed from a web browser, while the software and data are stored on the servers.
The term cloud is used as a metaphor for the Internet, based on how the Internet is depicted in computer network diagrams and is an abstraction for the complex infrastructure it conceals.
Architecture:
Cloud architecture, the systems architecture of the software systems involved in the delivery of cloud computing, comprises hardware and software designed by a cloud architect who typically works for a cloud integrator. It typically involves multiple cloud components communicating with each other over application programming interfaces, usually web services
This closely resembles the Unix philosophy of having multiple programs doing one thing well and working together over universal interfaces. Complexity is controlled and the resulting systems are more manageable than their monolithic counterparts.
Cloud architecture extends to the client, where web browsers and/or software applications access cloud applications.
Cloud storage architecture is loosely coupled, where metadata operations are centralized enabling the data nodes to scale into the hundreds, each independently delivering data to applications or users.
Find out more @ the original resourcs of this blog (Wikipedia):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud_computing
Comments on cloud computing by IBM:
"Cloud computing is an emerging approach to shared infrastructure in which large pools of systems are linked together to provide IT services." - Shashi B Mal- Director, Systems & Technology Group, IBM India/South Asia
Read IBM's article on it at:
http://www.ibm.com/news/in/en/2008/01/31/v675609i13009t25.html
Let's see the clouds :)
BTW new post coming soon.
Cheers,
Richie
