What is Cloud and how it works?

Cloud computing is internet-based computing in which large groups of remote servers are networked to allow sharing of data-processing tasks, centralized data storage, and online access to computer services or resources. Clouds can be classified as public, private or hybrid.

The term "moving to cloud" also refers to an organization moving away from a traditional

CAPEX model (buy the dedicated hardware and depreciate it over a period of time)

 To

 OPEX model (use a shared cloud infrastructure and pay as one uses it).

Cloud computing allows companies to avoid upfront infrastructure costs, and focus on projects

Cloud vendors are experiencing growth rates of 50% per annum.

The popularization of the term can be traced to 2006 when Amazon.com introduced the Elastic Compute Cloud.

Cloud computing exhibits the following key characteristics:

• Agility improves with users' ability to re-provision technological infrastructure resources
• Cost reductions claimed by cloud providers.
• Device and location independence.
• Maintenance of cloud computing applications is easier.

Multitenancy enables sharing of resources and costs across a large pool of users thus allowing for:

• Centralization of infrastructure in locations with lower costs (such as real estate, electricity, etc.)
• Peak-load capacity increases (users need not engineer for highest possible load-levels)
• Utilisation and efficiency improvements for systems that are often only 10–20% utilised.
• On-demand self-service.
• Broad network access.
• Resource pooling.
• Rapid elasticity.

Why is cloud required?

­Let's say you're an executive at a large corporation:
 Your particular responsibilities include making sure that all of your employees have the right hardware and software they need to do their jobs.

 Buying computers for everyone isn't enough -- you also have to purchase software or software licenses to give employees the tools they require.

 Whenever you have a new hire, you have to buy more software or make sure your current software license allows another user.

 It's so stressful that you find it difficult to go to relax on your huge pile of money every day.
Soon, there may be an alternative for executives like you!

Instead of installing a suite of software for each computer, you'd only have to load one application. That application would allow workers to log into a Web-based service which hosts all the programs the user would need for his or her job.

 Remote machines owned by another company would run everything from e-mail to word processing to complex data analysis programs.

 This is what cloud computing is all about and it could change the entire computer industry.
In a cloud computing system, there's a significant workload shift. Local computers no longer have to do all the heavy lifting when it comes to running applications. The network of computers that make up the cloud handles them instead.

Hardware and software demands on the user's side decrease. The only thing the user's computer needs to be able to run is the cloud computing system's interface software, which can be as simple as a Web browser, and the cloud's network takes care of the rest.

There's a good chance you've already used some form of cloud computing. If you have an e-mail account with a Web-based e-mail service like Gmail then you've had some experience with cloud computing.
 Instead of running an e-mail program on your computer, you log in to a WEB e-mail account remotely. The software and storage for your account doesn't exist on your computer -- it's on the service's computer cloud.

Cloud Computing Architecture

When talking about a cloud computing system, it's helpful to divide it into two sections:

 The front end (The side the computer user, or client sees).

 AND

 The back end (The back end is the "cloud" section of the system).

 They connect to each other through a network usually the Internet.

The front end includes the client's computer (or computer network) and the application required to access the cloud computing system. Not all cloud computing systems have the same user interface. Services like Web-based e-mail programs leverage existing Web browsers like Google Chrome or any standard android mobile browser. Other systems have unique applications that provide network access to clients.

On the back end of the system are the various computers, servers and data storage systems that create the "cloud" of computing services. In theory, a cloud computing system could include practically any computer program you can imagine, from data processing to video games. Usually, each application will have its own dedicated server.

A central server administers the system, monitoring traffic and client demands to ensure everything runs smoothly.

 It follows a set of rules called protocols and uses a special kind of software called middleware.

 Middleware allows networked computers to communicate with each other. Most of the time, servers don't run at full capacity. That means there's unused processing power going to waste. It's possible to fool a physical server into thinking it's actually multiple servers, each running with its own independent operating system. The technique is called server virtualization. By maximizing the output of individual servers, server virtualisation reduces the need for more physical machines.

If a cloud computing company has a lot of clients, there's likely to be a high demand for a lot of storage space. Some companies require hundreds of digital storage devices. Cloud computing systems need at least twice the number of storage devices it requires to keep all its clients' information stored.

 That's because these devices, like all computers, occasionally break down. A cloud computing system must make a copy of all its clients' information and store it on other devices.

 The copies enable the central server to access backup machines to retrieve data that otherwise would be unreachable.

 Making copies of data as a backup is called redundancy.

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Below is a introduction to Google Drive: 

Google Drive on the web

Use Google Drive on the web to store and organize all your files. You get 15 GB of free storage across Google Drive, Gmail, and Google+ Photos. If you run out, you can buy more storage.

With Google Drive on the web, you can:

• Create, add, or upload a file with a single button.
• Easily find and add shared files.
• Single-click a file to select it and double-click to open it.
• Drag and drop files and folders, just like you do on your desktop.
• Share files with others and choose what they can do with them: view, comment, or edit.
• Access your files even when you’re not connected to the Internet.

Google Drive on your mobile device

If you’re on the go, you can still access all of your files. Just download Google Drive on your phone or tablet and you’re all set.

With Google Drive on your mobile device, you can:

• View, share, and organize your files.
• Upload and store new files directly from your phone or tablet.
• Print files from your mobile device.
• Scan important documents using the camera on your mobile device.
• Access your files even when you’re not connected to the Internet.

Google Drive on your computer

Download Google Drive on your Mac/PC to keep files on your desktop synced with your files stored on the web. This means that anything you share, move, modify, or put in the trash will be reflected in Google Drive on the web the next time your computer syncs.

With Google Drive on your Mac/PC, you can:

• Drag files into and out of the folder.
• Rename files.
• Move files and folders around.
• Edit and save files.
• Move files to trash.
• Access your files even when you’re not connected to the Internet.

By Ninad Naik,

Member,

Google Club,

SYIT.