The Idea of Cloud Computing

Cloud computing can be traced as far as the 1960s when the American computer scientist named John McCarthy stated that computing will become a publicly available service in the future. This is what has happened today and cloud computing has made it all possible. The advantages it offers such as ease of access, versatile service, and cost-effective means of obtaining computing services has made it highly prevalent in the contemporary times especially with the outpouring of developments in computer technology.

The Past

In the past, massive computing was done through utility of supercomputers and mainframes. Supercomputers and mainframes are not bought solely as one package rather they are created by connecting several hundreds to thousands of central processing units (CPU) so that they can divide computing tasks among themselves to get the result faster. Industries specializing in Information Technology (IT) were the ones who are in high need of supercomputers to run and manage all of their computing needs.

The problem with this set-up arises from the cost needed to create a supercomputer or mainframe to the cost of maintaining it in optimal condition. To make a supercomputer or mainframe work, it is not enough to have CPUs lying around but they must be interconnected using a specific technologies, such as a network, so that they can communicate with each other and work as one bigger unit. Buying the devices and creating the tools already contribute to the large chunk of the cost of a supercomputer.

For prolonged usage of the supercomputer, it is needed to define a way to perform maintenance on it. This is to ensure that the supercomputer is performing at its best even if it has been created long time ago. This is also to guarantee the integrity of the data it outputs after massive computation.

The cost of past computing methods was very high and this has paved way into the discovery of more economical means that is used today.

The Present

Today, massive computing can be done with utility of the service offered by a provider that specializes on this industry. It is the provider who has the infrastructure to perform in-depth computations and the provider manages the resources so that various users can efficiently share them. This makes the cost of computing lower compared with the utility of supercomputers in the past and this is the concept of cloud computing.

The term cloud pertains to the boundary of service given by the provider. It usually involves the infrastructure where computing is performed, the platform required to execute it, and the storage media such as a database infrastructure to keep information. Intelligent cloud computing is able to manage all of these resources efficiently and it is able to properly queue and de-queue users who share the cloud.

Proper management of resources and resource sharing is the one responsible for more affordable means of performing large computations. This is one of the main objectives of cloud computing and it has been successful so far.

Tomorrow

As computer technology continue to progress so does the capability of cloud computing. As faster computers and larger virtual storage areas become available, cloud computing will also continuously improve with it. The noticeable effect will probably show on the improvement of the time it takes to perform computing processes. It can be possible in the future that data processed in an hour today can be done in just a minute. Faster processors and connections will be the main proponents of this improvement.

In addition to that, more intelligent software that manages the cloud can get developed in the future. ServerMotion has developed an advanced control panel interface to allow customers direct access to manipulate cloud resources. Not only does this allow the customer to directly control their costs at anytime, but also it allows cloud resources to scale instantly with the click of a button. With this, resources will be more efficiently shared and more users can get their own piece of service without affecting their operations. Efficiency, stability, and integrity will continuously be upheld in the future of cloud computing.

Overview of Cloud Computing

Generally speaking, cloud computing means providing hosted services by means of the internet. The term cloud computing came about due to the representation of the internet as a “cloud” in most information technology diagrams. So, in its simplest sense, the cloud pertains to the World Wide Web.

Decades ago, the structure of information technology was intensely into the use of mainframes, especially in regards to time share computing. This is known as the traditional form of hosting, whereas a set of expensive resources is shared among a larger set of users simultaneously. Cloud computing is an innovation for this kind of service as it translates the use of mainframes into client-server relationships of modern technology.

There are three basic divisions of cloud computing services: Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), and Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS).

Advantages of Cloud Computing

What sets cloud computing apart from older services is that it is very versatile and centered around today’s technologies and use cases. Both sides of this service – the hosting provider and the end user – largely benefit on its advantages.

The user is not limited into purchasing a service that has lots of restrictions. The user has the power to choose which elements of the service to include and which to omit and can quickly scale the level of service up or down based on real-time service needs. The user does not need to immediately invest in buying data storage and processing resources as it can be dynamically modified at anytime. Additionally, the user also does not need to pay for the maintenance of tools needed to run the service as the service provider handles operations of the systems. Moreover, with the use of the Internet, users can easily be connected to the services obtained in any location at any convenient time. This allows for a great deal of practicality in acquiring cloud computing.

On the other hand, the provider also benefits in cloud computing in many ways. It is easier to supply software, infrastructure, or platform through cloud computing. The Internet allows the provider to easily connect with customers and it provides for an inexpensive method of delivering the service, which can ultimately be passed on to the end user. The provider has the sole responsibility of managing the cloud and can decide on how to divide the capability of the cloud to be shared by a number of customers. ServerMotion has developed a number of technologies that allow for the proper management and ensure that resources are never oversubscribed and that cloud requests are managed and processed in real-time.

Public Cloud or Private Cloud

The cloud is divided in to public clouds and private clouds. A public cloud means that the services are offered on a shared platform with the service provider managing and distributing the resources among a set of users. ServerMotion does not oversubscribe resources, so this management is employed effectively and allows for high quality service to be delivered while reducing the overall marginal cost to each additional user. Private clouds, on the other hand, are dedicated virtual resources provisioned for a specific customer and services are provisioned only on these dedicated resources for a specific client, and not shared among other users. Users can opt to have public, private or both clouds in their information technology infrastructure that they find suitable for their needs.

Public and private clouds only differ in the scope of users that they can serve but it does not necessarily mean that public cloud has better features than a private cloud. Since they both aim towards giving simple and controllable way in getting a computing service, the quality they give are also on much the same level.

The future of information technology is molded by cloud computing. Cloud computing is rapidly becoming the trend in information technology services. Due to its great benefits for both the user and the provider, more individuals and companies are shifting towards using it.