Cloud Computing PDF

Cloud Computing DECAP470 Edited by Ajay Kumar Bansal Cloud Computing Edited By: Ajay Kumar Bansal  Title: CLOUD COMPUTING Author’s Name: Dr. Tarandeep Kaur Published By : Lovely P...

Cloud Computing DECAP470 Edited by Ajay Kumar Bansal Cloud Computing Edited By: Ajay Kumar Bansal  Title: CLOUD COMPUTING Author’s Name: Dr. Tarandeep Kaur Published By : Lovely Professional University Publisher Address: Lovely Professional University, Jalandhar Delhi GT road, Phagwara - 144411 Printer Detail: Lovely Professional University Edition Detail: (I) ISBN: 978-93-94068-33-9 Copyrights@ Lovely Professional University  CONTENT Unit 1: Cloud Computing Introduction 1 Dr. Tarandeep Kaur, Lovely Professional University Unit 2: Cloud Computing Architecture and Models 20 Dr. Tarandeep Kaur, Lovely Professional University Unit 3: Cloud Services 46 Dr. Tarandeep Kaur, Lovely Professional University Unit 4: Introduction to Big Data 74 Dr. Tarandeep Kaur, Lovely Professional University Unit 5: File system in Cloud 100 Dr. Tarandeep Kaur, Lovely Professional University Unit 6: Collaborating using Google Cloud 117 Dr. Tarandeep Kaur, Lovely Professional University Unit 7: Collaborating on Event Management 146 Dr. Tarandeep Kaur, Lovely Professional University Unit 8: Collaborating on Project Management 172 Dr. Tarandeep Kaur, Lovely Professional University Unit 9: Collaborating on Databases and Web-basedCommunication 191 Dr. Tarandeep Kaur, Lovely Professional University Unit 10: Virtualization Concepts 215 Dr. Tarandeep Kaur, Lovely Professional University Unit 11: Virtual Machine 233 Dr. Tarandeep Kaur, Lovely Professional University Unit 12: Security and standards in Cloud 254 Dr. Tarandeep Kaur, Lovely Professional University Unit 13: Application of Cloud Computing and RelatedTechnologies 273 Dr. Tarandeep Kaur, Lovely Professional University Unit 14: Additional Cloud Concepts 305 Dr. Tarandeep Kaur, Lovely Professional University  Notes Dr. Tarandeep Kaur, Lovely Professional University Unit 01: Cloud Computing Introduction Unit 01: Cloud Computing Introduction CONTENTS Objectives Introduction 1.1 What is Cloud Computing? 1.2 Cloud Properties: Google’s Perspective 1.3 History of Cloud Computing 1.4 Evolution of Cloud Computing 1.5 Essential Cloud Computing Concepts 1.6 Components of Cloud Computing 1.7 Characteristics of Cloud Computing 1.8 Issues of Cloud Computing 1.9 Challenges in Cloud Computing 1.10 Applications of Cloud Computing Summary Keywords Self Assessment Answers for Self Assessment Review Questions Further Readings Objectives After studying this unit, you will be able to:  review thefundamentals of cloud computing and related concepts.  identify the history and evolution of cloud computing.  understand the characteristics and advantages of cloud computing.  explore and learn about the different cloud components.  discover the challenges faced in cloud computing.  investigate the applications of cloud computing. Introduction Cloud refers to a Network or Internet. Cloud is something, which is present at remote location. Cloud can provide services over network, that is, on public networks or on private networks, that is, Wide Area Networks (WANs), Local Area Networks (LANs), or Virtual Private Networks (VPNs). Applications such as e-mail, web conferencing, customer relationship management (CRM), all run in cloud. Lovely Professional University 1 Notes Cloud Computing Figure 1: Examples of Cloud Computing 1.1 What is Cloud Computing? Cloud computing has embarked a revolution in accessing, provisioning and consumption of the information and computing in the ICT industry. It has emerged as a novel paradigm of high- performance and large-scale computing that actuates relocation of computing and data from desktops and personal computers to big data centers. Cloud is a construct (infrastructure) that allows to access application that actually resides at a remote location of another internet connected device, most often, this will be a distant datacenter. Cloud computing takes the technology, services, and applications that are similar to those on the Internet and turns them into a self-service utility (Figure 1). Cloud provides an abstraction based on the notion of pooling physical resources and presenting them as a virtual resource. It is a new model for provisioning resources, for staging applications, and for platform-independent user access to services. “Cloud computing is a model for enabling ubiquitous, convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computer resources (networks, servers, storage, applications, and services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction” (Figure 2). Figure 2: Cloud Scenario Cloud computing refers to manipulating, configuring, and accessing the applications online. It offers online data storage, infrastructure and application and involves both a combination of software and hardware- based computing resources delivered as a network service. Example:Suppose we want to install MS-Word in our organization’s computer. We have to bought the CD/DVD of it an install it or can setup a S/W distribution server to automatically install this application on your machine. Every time Microsoft issued a new version, we have to perform the same task. If some other company hosts your application, that is, they handle the cost of servers and manage the software updates. The customers are charged as per their utilization, that is, as per 2 Lovely Professional University  Notes Unit 01: Cloud Computing Introduction the usage (Figure 3). It reduces the cost of using that software along with the reduction in the cost of installation of heavy servers. Additionally, cloud aids in reducing the cost of electricity bills. The client The service does not providers pay for need to pay hardware and for maintenance hardware and maintenanc e Figure 3: Cloud Client-Server Perspective Clouds can come in many different types, and services and applications that run on clouds may or may not be delivered by a cloud service provider. The different types and levels of cloud services mean that it is important to define what type of cloud computing system you are working with. Cloud Computing Collaboration With the growth of the Internet, there was no need to limit group collaboration to a single enterprise’s network environment. The users from multiple locations within a corporation, and from multiple organizations, desired to collaborate on projects that crossed company and geographic boundaries. Projects had to be housed in the “cloud” of the Internet, and accessed from any Internet-enabled location. The concept of cloud-based documents and services took wing with the development of large server farms, such as those run by Google and other search companies. Cloud-collaboration is also termed as Internet-based group collaboration. 1.2 Cloud Properties: Google’s Perspective Cloud computing is user-centric: Once you as a user are connected to the cloud, whatever is stored there—documents, messages, images, applications, whatever—becomes yours. In addition, not only is the data yours, but you can also share it with others. In effect, any device that accesses your data in the cloud also becomes yours. Cloud computing is task-centric: Instead of focusing on the application and what it can do, the focus is on what you need done and how the application can do it for you., Traditional applications—word processing, spreadsheets, email, and so on—are becoming less important than the documents they create. Cloud computing is powerful: Connecting hundreds or thousands of computers together in a cloud creates a wealth of computing power impossible with a single desktop PC. Cloud computing is accessible: Because data is stored in the cloud, users can instantly retrieve more information from multiple repositories. You’re not limited to a single source of data, as you are with a desktop PC. Cloud computing is intelligent: With all the various data stored on the computers in a cloud, data mining and analysis are necessary to access that information in an intelligent manner. Cloud computing is programmable: Many of the tasks necessary with cloud computing must be automated. For example, to protect the integrity of the data, information stored on a single computer in the cloud must be replicated on other computers in the cloud. If that one computer goes offline, the cloud’s programming automatically redistributes that computer’s data to a new computer in the cloud. Task: Explore the different cloud services offered by Google. Lovely Professional University 3 Notes Cloud Computing 1.3 History of Cloud Computing Before emerging the cloud computing, there was Client/Server computing which is basically a centralized storage in which all the software applications, all the data and all the controls are resided on the server side. If a single user wants to access specific data or run a program, he/she need to connect to the server and then gain appropriate access, and then he/she can do his/her business (Figure 4). Centralized storage All the computers Emergence of Distributed Computing in which all the are networked the concept of Cloud Computing software together and share cloud Client-Server Computing applications, all their resources the data and all when needed. computing the controls are resided on the server side. Figure 4: Convergence to Cloud Computing Then after, distributed computing came into picture, where all the computers are networked together and share their resources when needed. On the basis of above computing, there was emergence of the concept of cloud computing. Cloud computing was invented in the early 1960s by J.C.R Licklider (Joseph Carl RobnettLicklider), an American Psychologist and Computer Scientist. During his network research work on ARPANet (Advanced Research Project Agency Network), trying to connect people and data all around the world, he gave an introduction tocloud computing technique which we all know today. Born on March 11th, 1915 in St. Louis, Missouri, US, J.C.R Licklider pursued his initial studies from Washington University in 1937 and received a BA Degree with three specializations including physics, maths, psychology. Later in the year 1938, Licklider completed his MA in psychology and received his Ph.D. from the University of Rochester in the year 1942. His interest in Information Technology and looking at his years of service in different areas and achievements, made him appointed as Head of IPTO at ARPA (US Department of Defense Advanced Research Project Agency) in the Year 1962. His aim led to ARPANet, a forerunner of today’s Internet. At around in 1961, John MacCharty suggested in a speech at MIT that computing can be sold like a utility, just like a water or electricity. In 1999, Salesforce.com started delivering of applications to users using a simple website. The applications were delivered to enterprises over the Internet, and this way the dream of computing sold as utility were true. The beauty of the cloud computing phase went on running throughout the era of the 21 st Century. In 2002, Amazon started Amazon Web Services, providing services like storage, computation and even human intelligence. However, only starting with the launch of the Elastic Compute Cloud in 2006 a truly commercial service open to everybody existed. By 2008, Google too introduced its beta version of the search engine. In 2009, Google Apps also started to provide cloud computing enterprise applications. Earlier announced by Microsoft in the year 2008, it released its cloud computing service named Microsoft Azure for testing, deployment and managing applications and services. In the year 2012, Google Compute Engine was released but was rolled to the public. By the end of Dec 2013, Oracle introduced Oracle Cloud with three primary services for business (IaaS, PaaS and SaaS). Currently, as per records, Linux and Microsoft Azure share most of their work parallel. 4 Lovely Professional University  Notes Unit 01: Cloud Computing Introduction 1.4 Evolution of Cloud Computing Growth of cloud computing is not an instantaneous task but has transited from several intermediate stages. Beginning from an era of mainframe computing where huge and powerful mainframe systems supported many users connected through dummy terminals and running data management applications. There exist five intermediary stages from mainframe computing to the use of personal stand-alone computers running desktop applications deriving personal computingto the influx of interconnected computers converging to networking computing.This stage saw the growth of local networks connected to other networks creating a globally interconnected network such as the Internet for utilizing remote applications and resources. The networked computers usually functioned in autonomic fashion resulting in autonomic computing or followed client-server architectures resulting in client-server computing.Figure 5 lists the evolution of cloud computing. The development of grid computing followed by the rise of cloud computing and is characterized as:  Development of grid computing offered sharing of computing power and resources spread across multiple geographical domains.  The recent stage involves rise of cloud computing where service-oriented, market-based computing applications are predominant.  Virtualization meets the Internet. Figure 5: Evolution of Cloud Computing 1.5 Essential Cloud Computing Concepts “Cloud” makes reference to the two essential concepts: 1. Abstraction: Cloud computing abstracts the details of system implementation from users and developers. Applications run on physical systems that aren't specified, data is stored in locations that are unknown, administration of systems is outsourced to others, and access by users is ubiquitous (Present or found everywhere). 2. Virtualization: Cloud computing virtualizes systems by pooling and sharing resources. Systems and storage can be provisioned as needed from a centralized infrastructure, costs Lovely Professional University 5 Notes Cloud Computing are assessed on a metered basis, multi-tenancy is enabled, and resources are scalable with agility. Who Benefits from Cloud Computing? Collaborators:If you often collaborate with others on group projects. The ability to share and edit documents in real time between multiple users is one of the primary benefits of web-based applications. Example, that you’re in charge of an upcoming presentation to the senior management of your company. You need to work with the heads of your company’s various departments, which happen to be based in a half-dozen locations. Given everyone’s busy schedules, it’s tough enough to schedule a group conference call. How in the world can all of you get together to create a cohesive presentation? Just like Google Presentations! Road Warriors:When you work at one office today, at home the next day, and in another city the next, it’s tough to keep track of all your documents and applications. You may end up with one version of a document on your work PC, another on your laptop, and a third on your home PC—and that’s if you remember to copy that document and take it with you from one location to the next. When you’re in the office, you log in to your web-based app and access your stored document. Even if you travel to another city and the same application and document are still available to you. Cost-Conscious Users:Another group of users who should gravitate to cloud computing are those who are cost conscious. With cloud computing you can save money on both your hardware and software. Hardware-wise, there’s no need to invest in large hard disks or super- fast CPUs. Because everything is stored and run from the web, you can cut costs by buying a less fully. Cost-Conscious IT Departments:Many corporate IT departments are also becoming enamored of the cloud computing model. Although they might appreciate the software savings we just discussed, for them bigger savings result from having to buy fewer central servers. Users with Increasing Needs:Hardware-based cost savings also apply to individual computer users. Do you need more hard-disk space to store all your digital photos and MP3 files? You could purchase a new external hard drive, or you could utilize lower-cost (or free) cloud storage instead. Advantages of Cloud Computing Cloud computing is an emerging technology that almost every company is being switched to from its on-premises technologies. Whether it is public, private, or hybrid, cloud computing has become an essential factor for companies to rise up to the competition. Let us find out why the cloud is so much preferred over the on-premises technologies. Cost Efficiency: The biggest reason behind companies shifting to cloud computing is that it takes considerably lesser cost than any on-premise technology. Now, companies need not store data in disks anymore as the cloud offers enormous storage space, saving money and resources. CapEx and OpEx costs are reduced because resources are only acquired when needed and are only paid for when used. High speed: Cloud computing lets us deploy the service quickly in fewer clicks. This quick deployment lets us get the resources required for our system within minutes. Excellent Accessibility: Storing information in the cloud allows us to access it anywhere and anytime regardless of the machine making it a highly accessible and flexible technology of the present times. Back-up and Restore data: Once data is stored in the cloud, it is easier to get its back-up and recovery, which is quite a time-consuming process in on-premise technology. 6 Lovely Professional University  Notes Unit 01: Cloud Computing Introduction Manageability: Cloud computing eliminates the need for IT infrastructure updates and maintenance since the service provider ensures timely, guaranteed, and seamless delivery of our services and also takes care of all the maintenance and management of our IT services according to the service-level agreement (SLA). Sporadic Batch Processing: Cloud computing lets us add or subtract resources and services according to our needs. So, if the workload is not 24/7, we need not worry about the resources and services getting wasted and we won’t end up stuck with unused services. Strategic Edge: Cloud computing provides a company with a competitive edge over its competitors when it comes to accessing the latest and mission-critical applications that it needs without having to invest its time and money on their installations. Disadvantages of Cloud Computing Every technology has both positive and negative aspects that are highly important to be discussed before implementing it. Vulnerability to Attacks: Storing data in the cloud may pose serious challenges of information theft since in the cloud every data of a company is online. Security breach is something that even the best organizations have suffered from and it’s a potential risk in the cloud as well. Although advanced security measures are deployed on the cloud, still storing confidential data in the cloud can be a risky affair. Network Connectivity Dependency: Cloud computing is entirely dependent on the Internet. This direct tie-up with the Internet means that a company needs to have reliable and consistent Internet service as well as a fast connection and bandwidth to reap the benefits of cloud computing. Downtime: Downtime is considered as one of the biggest potential downsides of using cloud computing. The cloud providers may sometimes face technical outages that can happen due to various reasons, such as loss of power, low Internet connectivity, data centers going out of service for maintenance, etc. This can lead to a temporary downtime in the cloud service. Vendor Lock-In: When in need to migrate from one cloud platform to another, a company might face some serious challenges because of the differences between vendor platforms. Hosting and running the applications of the current cloud platform on some other platform may cause support issues, configuration complexities, and additional expenses. The company data might also be left vulnerable to security attacks due to compromises that might have been made during migrations. Limited Control: Cloud customers may face limited control over their deployments. Cloud services run on remote servers that are completely owned and managed by service providers, which makes it hard for the companies to have the level of control that they would want over their back-end infrastructure. 1.6 Components of Cloud Computing Cloud computing solution is made up of several elements and these elements make up the three components of a cloud computing solution (Figure 6). a) Clients b) The data center, and c) Distributed servers. Lovely Professional University 7 Notes Cloud Computing Figure 6: Cloud Computing Components A. Clients: Devices that end users interact with to manage their information on cloud. There can be different types of clients such as:  Mobile Clients: Includes PDAs or smartphones, like a Blackberry, Windows Mobile Smartphone, or an iPhone.  Thin Clients: Computers that do not have internal hard drives, but rather let the server do all the work, but then display the information.  Thick Clients: Thick clients are regular computer, using a web browser like Firefox or Internet Explorer to connect to the cloud. A thin client is a computing device that's connected to a network. Unlike a typical PC or “fat client,” that has the memory, storage and computing power to run applications and perform computing tasks on its own, a thin client functions as a virtual desktop, using the computing power residing on the networked servers. Advantages of Using Thin Clients Thin clients are becoming an increasingly popular solution, because of their price and effect on the environment.  Lower hardware costs:Thin clients are cheaper than thick clients because they do not contain as much hardware. They also last longer before they need to be upgraded or become obsolete.  Lower IT costs:Thin clients are managed at the server and there are fewer points of failure.  Security: Since the processing takes place on the server and there is no hard drive, there’s less chance of malware invading the device. Also, since thin clients don’t work without a server, there’s less chance of them being physically stolen.  Data security: Since data is stored on the server, there’s less chance for data to be lost if the client computer crashes or is stolen.  Less power consumption:Thin clients consume less power than thick clients. This means you’ll pay less to power them, and you’ll also pay less to air-condition the office.  Ease of repair or replacement: If a thin client dies, it’s easy to replace. The box is simply swapped out and the user’s desktop returns exactly as it was before failure.  Less noise: Without a spinning hard drive, less heat is generated and quieter fans can be used on the thin client. B. Datacenter: Datacenter has a collection of servers where the application to which you subscribe is housed. It is a large room in the basement of your building or a room full of servers on the other side of the world that you access via the Internet. There is a growing trend in the IT world of virtualizing servers. The software can be installed allowing multiple instances of virtual servers to be used. There can be half a dozen virtual servers running on one physical server. 8 Lovely Professional University  Notes Unit 01: Cloud Computing Introduction C. Distributed Servers: The distributed servers are in geographically disparate locations. They give the service provider more flexibility in options and security. For instance, Amazon has their cloud solution in servers all over the world. If something were to happen at one site, causing a failure, the service would still be accessed through another site. Other Components of Cloud Computing There are other components of cloud computing such as cloud services;platforms; applications; storage; and infrastructure. Cloud Services: Cloud services, products and solutions that are used and delivered real-time via internet media.Example: Identity - OpenID, OAuth, etc. Integration - Amazon Simple Queue Service. Payments - PayPal, Google Checkout. Mapping - Google Maps, Yahoo! Maps. Cloud Applications: Applications that use cloud computing in software architecture so that users don't need to install but they can use the application using a computer.Example: Peer-to-peer - BitTorrent, SETI, and others. Web Application - Facebook. SaaS - Google Apps, SalesForce.com, and others Cloud Platform: A service in the form of a computing platform consisting of hardware and infrastructure software. Service in the form of a computing platform which contains infrastructure hardware and software. Example: Web Application Frameworks - Python Django, Rubyon Rails,.NET Web Hosting Propietary- Force.com Cloud Storage: Cloud storage involves the process of storing data as a service.Example: Database- Google Big Table, Amazon SimpleDB. Network Attached Storage- NirvanixCloudNAS, MobileMe iDisk Cloud Infrastructure: Cloud infrastructure involves the delivery of computinginfrastructure as a service.Example: Grid Computing- Sun Grid. Full Virtualization- GoGrid, Skytap. Compute- Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) 1.7 Characteristics of Cloud Computing Cloud computing harnesses the power of the Internet to allow organizations to remain productive despite the COVID-19 pandemic and work from home arrangements. The technology helps businesses maximize their resources because they don’t need to buy their physical servers. Everything is online. Everything is in the cloud. On-demand self-service– A user can provision computing capabilities, such as server time and storage, as needed without requiring human interaction. Broader network access– Capabilities are available over a network and typically accessed by the users’ mobile phones, tablets, laptops, and workstations. Shared resource pooling– The provider’s computing resources are pooled to serve multiple users using a multi-tenant model, with different physical and virtual resources dynamically assigned and Lovely Professional University 9 Notes Cloud Computing reassigned according to consumer demand. Examples of resources include storage, processing, memory, and network bandwidth. Rapid elasticity– Capabilities can be elastically provisioned and released, in some cases automatically, to scale rapidly outward and inward as needed. For the user, the capabilities available for provisioning often appear to be unlimited and can be appropriated in any quantity at any time. Measured service– Cloud systems automatically control and optimize resource use by leveraging a metering capability appropriate to the type of service (e.g., storage, processing, bandwidth, and active user accounts). The resource usage can be monitored, controlled, and reported, providing transparency for both the provider and user of the service. It follows a “Pay as you grow” modelor for internal IT departments to provide IT chargeback capabilities. The usage of cloud resources is measured and user is charged based on some metrics such as amount of CPU cycles used, amount of storage space used, number of network I/O requests etc. are used to calculate the usage charges for the cloud resources. Performance-Dynamic allocation of resources as per the application workloads helps to easily scale up or down and maintain performance. Reduced costs-Cost benefits for applications as only as much computing and storage resources are required can be provisioned dynamically and upfront investment in purchase of computing assets to cover worst case requirements is avoided. Outsourced Management-Cloud computing allows the users to outsource the IT infrastructure requirements to external cloud providers and save upfront capital investments. This helps in easiness of setting IT infrastructure and pay only for the operational expensesfor the cloud resources used. Figure 7: Service-Oriented Architecture Multitenancy: Multitenancy allows multiple users to make use of the same shared resources. Modern applications such as Banking, Financial, Social networking, e-commerce, B2B etc. are deployed in cloud environments that support multi-tenanted applications. Service Oriented Architecture (SOA): SOAis essentially a collection of services which communicate with each other.SOA provides a loosely-integrated suite of services that can be used within multiple business domains (Figure 7). The approach here is usually implemented by Web service model. 1.8 Issues of Cloud Computing Security and Privacy:Security has indeed been a primary, and valid, concern from the start of cloud computing technology: you are unable to see the exact location where your data is stored or being processed. This increases the cloud computing risks that can arise during the implementation or management of the cloud.When we say security and privacy, we are talking about the user data that is stored on Cloud Service Providers (CSP) data centers. A CSP should abide by the rules of not sharing confidential data or any data that matters to the users. The data centers must be secure and privacy of the data should be maintained by a CSP. There is always concern about the actual location of your data, where it is stored and processed. Before onboarding, yourself on the cloud computing platform one should always check the data security and data recovery (in case of disaster) policy of the CSP. 10 Lovely Professional University  Notes Unit 01: Cloud Computing Introduction Cost Management and Containment:Cloud computing can be expensive if you don’t know how to manage your computing resources and take maximum advantage of them. Many times, the organizations dwell in a mindset of pay-as-you-go and spend more on cloud than they would have on on-premise infrastructure. One should always optimize the cost by financial analytics and reporting the usage for better monitoring of cost.For the most part, cloud computing can save businesses money. In the cloud, an organization can easily ramp up its processing capabilities without making large investments in new hardware. Businesses can instead access extra processing through pay-as-you-go modelsfrom public cloud providers. However, the on-demand and scalable nature of cloud computing services make it sometimes difficult to define and predict quantities and costs. Lack of Resources/ Expertise:Cloud challenges companies and enterprises. As the usage of cloud technologies is increasing, tools to manage it are getting sophisticated, finding experts on top of this in cloud computing is becoming a bottleneck to many organizations. The organizations are increasingly placing more workloads in the cloud while cloud technologies continue to rapidly advance. Due to these factors, organizations are having a tough time keeping up with the tools. Also, the need for expertise continues to grow. Such challenges can be minimized through additional training of IT and development staff.Many companies are adopting automated cloud management technologies but it’s always better to train individuals to satisfy the need of time. Presently, DevOps tools like Chef and Puppet are heavily used in the IT industry. Governance/ Control:In cloud computing, infrastructure resources are under CSP’s control and end-users or companies have to abide by the governance policies from CSP. The traditional IT teams have no control over how and where their data is and processed. IT governance should assure how infrastructure assets from CSP are being used. To overcome the downfalls and challenges, onboarding to Cloud, IT must adapt its orthodox way of governance and process control to the induct cloud. Now, IT is playing an important role in benchmarking cloud services requirements and policies. Thus, the proper IT governance should ensure IT assets are implemented and used according to agreed-upon policies and procedures; ensure that these assets are properly controlled and maintained; and ensure that these assets are supporting your organization’s strategy and business goals. Compliance:When organizations are moving their native data to a cloud, they need to comply with particular general body policies if the data is from public sources. Although, finding a cloud provider who will comply with these policies is difficult to find, or one needs to negotiate on that front.Many CSPs are coming with flexible compliance policies for data acquisition and cloud infrastructure.An issue for anyone using backup services or cloud storage. Every time a company moves data from the internal storage to a cloud, it is faced with being compliant with industry regulations and laws.Depending on the industry and requirements, every organization must ensure thesestandards are respected and carried out.This is one of the many challenges facing cloud computing, and although the procedure can take a certain amount of time, the data must be properly stored. Managing Multiple Clouds: The challenges facing cloud computing haven’t just been concentrated in one, single cloud.The state of multi-cloud has grown exponentially in recent years. But managing multi-cloud infrastructure contrary to a single cloud is very challenging given all the above data-driven challenges. The companies are shifting or combining public and private clouds and, as mentioned earlier, tech giants like Alibaba and Amazon are leading the way.Approximately, 81% of companies are having multi-cloud strategies and have a hybrid cloud structure (public and private clouds). Companies are opting for a multi-cloud scenario because some of the services are cost-effective in public and to manage cost-effectively this cloud model has been very successful in recent years. However, managing such highly networked architecture is a difficult task. Performance:When a business moves to the cloud it becomes dependent on the service providers. The next prominent challenges of moving to cloud computing expand on this partnership.The performance of the organization’s BI and other cloud-based systems is also tied to the performance of the cloud provider when it falters. When your provider is down, you are also down.Cloud computing is on-demand compute service and supports multitenancy, thus performance should not suffer over the acquisition of new users. The CSP should maintain enough resources to serve all the users and any ad-hoc requests. Building a Private Cloud:Creating an internal or private cloud will cause a significant benefit: having all the data in-house. But IT managers and departments will need to face building and gluing it all together by themselves, which can cause one of the challenges of moving to cloud Lovely Professional University 11 Notes Cloud Computing computing extremely difficult.Many tasks such as grabbing an IP address cloud software layer, setting up a virtual local area network (VLAN), load balancing, firewall rule-setting for the IP address, server software patch, arranging nightly backup queue are quite complex associated tasks for a private cloud.Although building a private cloud isn’t a top priority for many organizations, for those who are likely to implement such a solution, it quickly becomes one of the main challenges facing cloud computing – private solutions should be carefully addressed.Many companies are planning to do so because the cloud will on-premise and they will have all the data authority over shared cloud resources. Segmented Usage and Adoption: Most organizations did not have a robust cloud adoption strategy in place when they started to move to the cloud. Instead, ad-hoc strategies sprouted, fueled by several components. One of them was the speed of cloud adoption. Another one was the staggered expiration of data center contracts/equipment, which led to intermittent cloud migration. Finally, there also were individual development teams using the public cloud for specific applications or projects. Migration:One of the main cloud computing industry challenges in recent years concentrates on migration. This is a process of moving an application to a cloud. An although moving a new application is a straightforward process, when it comes to moving an existing application to a cloud environment, many cloud challenges arise. 1.9 Challenges in Cloud Computing Hosting and running the applications of the current cloud platform on some other platform may cause support issues, configuration complexities, and additional expenses. The company data might also be left vulnerable to security attacks due to compromises that might have been made during migrations. The various challenges being faced include: Service Quality:Service quality should be good and is a major concern of the end-user. The whole ecosystem of cloud computing is presented in virtual environments and thus the CSP should give what is promised in terms of service, be it compute resources or customer satisfaction. Interoperability:CSP’s services should be flexible enough to integrate itself into other platforms and services provided by other CSPs. The data pipeline should be easy to integrate and should drive improved performance. There are a lot of challenges in cloud computing like Big data analysis, long hall transfer, transferring data problems but still, it is the best computing resource available to date. Availability and Reliability:Data and service from CSP should be available at all times irrespective of the external condition or the ideal condition. Computing resources should be available for the users and their operability should be reliable. Portability:If the users want to migrate from one CSP to others, the vendor should not lock-in customer data or services and the migration should be ease. There are different laws over data in different countries. Cloud Integration:Several companies, especially those with hybrid cloud environments report issues associated with having their on-premise apps and tools and public cloud for working together.According to survey, 62% of respondents said integration of legacy systems as their biggest challenge in multi-cloud. Although, combining new cloud-based apps and legacy systems needs resources, expertise, and time but still several companies are considering that the perks of cloud computing dominate the backlogs of this technology. Vendor Lock-in:Entering a cloud computing agreement is easier than leaving it. “Vendor lock-in” happens when altering providers is either excessively expensive or just not possible.It could be that the service is nonstandard or that there is no viable vendor substitute.It is important to guarantee the services you involve are typical and transportable to other providers, and above all, understand the requirements.When in need to migrate from one cloud platform to another, a company might face some serious challenges because of the differences between vendor platforms. 1.10 Applications of Cloud Computing Cloud Service Providers (CSP) are providing many types of cloud services and now if we say that cloud computing has touched every sector by providing various cloud applications. The sharing 12 Lovely Professional University  Notes Unit 01: Cloud Computing Introduction and management of resources is easy in cloud computing that’s why it is one of the dominant fields of computing. Many properties have made it an active component in different fields. 1. Online Data Storage: Cloud computing allows storing data like files, images, audios, and videos, etc. on the cloud storage. The organization need not set physical storage systems to store a huge volume of business data which costs so high nowadays. As they are growing technologically, data generation is also growing with respect to time, and storing that becoming problem. In that situation, Cloud storage is providing this service to store and access data any time as per requirement. Example: Google Drive, DropBox, iCloud etc. 2. Backup and Recovery: Cloud vendors provide security from their side by storing safe to the data as well as providing a backup facility to the data. They offer various recovery application for retrieving the lost data. In the traditional way, backup of data is a very complex problem and also it is very difficult sometimes impossible to recover the lost data. But cloud computing has made backup and recovery applications very easy where there is no fear of running out of backup media or loss of data. 3. Bigdata Analysis: We know the volume of big data is so high, such that, storing that in the traditional data management system for an organization is impossible. Cloud computing has resolved that problem by allowing the organizations to store their large volume of data in cloud storage without worrying about physical storage. Next comes analyzing the raw data and finding out insights or useful information from it is a big challenge as it requires high-quality tools for data analytics. Cloud computing provides the biggest facility to organizations in terms of storing and analyzing big data. 4. Anti-Virus Applications: Previously, organizations were installing antivirus software within their system even if we will see we personally also keep antivirus software in our system for safety from outside cyber threats. But, nowadays, cloud computing provides cloud antivirus software which means the software is stored in the cloud and monitors your system/organization’s system remotely. This antivirus software identifies the security risks and fixes them. Sometimes also they give a feature to download the software. 5. E-commerce Application: Cloud-based e-commerce allows responding quickly to the opportunities which are emerging. Users respond quickly to the market opportunities as well as the traditional e-commerce responds to the challenges quickly. Cloud-based e-commerce gives a new approach to doing business with the minimum amount as well as minimum time possible. Customer data, product data, and other operational systems are managed in cloud environments. 6. Cloud computing in Education: Cloud computing in the education sector brings an unbelievable change in learning by providing e-learning, online distance learning platforms, and student information portals to the students. It is a new trend in education that provides an attractive environment for learning, teaching, experimenting, etc. to students, faculty members, and researchers. Everyone associated with the field can connect to the cloud of their organization and access data and information from there. 7. Technology-enhanced Learning or Education as a Service (EaaS):There are the following education applications offered by the cloud- Example: Google Apps for Education: Google Apps for Education is the most widely used platform for free web-based email, calendar, documents, and collaborative study. Chromebooks for Education: Chromebook for Education is one of the most important Google's projects. It is designed for the purpose that it enhances education innovation. Lovely Professional University 13 Notes Cloud Computing Tablets with Google Play for Education: It allows educators to quickly implement the latest technology solutions into the classroom and make it available to their students. 8. Testing and development: Setting up the platform for development and finally performing different types of testing to check the readiness of the product before delivery requires different types of IT resources and infrastructure. But Cloud computing provides the easiest approach for development as well as testing even if deployment by using their IT resources with minimal expenses. Organizations find it more helpful as they got scalable and flexible cloud services for product development, testing, and deployment. 9. E-Governance Applications: Cloud computing can provide its services to multiple activities conducted by the government. It can support the government to move from the traditional ways of management and service providers to an advanced way of everything by expanding the availability of the environment, making the environment more scalable and customized. It can help the government to reduce the unnecessary cost in managing, installing, and upgrading applications and doing all these with help of could computing and utilizing that money public service. 10. Cloud Computing in Medical Fields: In the medical field also nowadays cloud computing is used for storing and accessing the data as it allows to store data and access it through the internet without worrying about any physical setup. It facilitates easier access and distribution of information among the various medical professional and the individual patients. Similarly, with help of cloud computing offsite buildings and treatment facilities like labs, doctors making emergency house calls and ambulances information, etc can be easily accessed and updated remotely instead of having to wait until they can access a hospital computer. Example: Telehealth, Medi-Cloud, Technology-enhanced Healthcare 11. Entertainment Applications: Many people get entertainment from the internet, in that case, cloud computing is the perfect place for reaching to a varied consumer base. Therefore, different types of entertainment industries reach near the target audience by adopting a multi-cloud strategy.Cloud-based entertainment provides various entertainment applications such as online music/video, online games and video conferencing, streaming services, etc and it can reach any device be it TV, mobile, set-top box, or any other form. It is a new form of entertainment called On-Demand Entertainment (ODE).Entertainment industries use a multi-cloud strategy to interact with the target audience. Cloud computing offers various entertainment applications such as online games and video conferencing. Online games:Today, cloud gaming becomes one of the most important entertainment media. It offers various online games that run remotely from the cloud. The best cloud gaming services are Shaow, GeForce Now, Vortex, Project xCloud, and PlayStation Now. Video conferencing apps:Video conferencing apps provides a simple and instant connected experience. It allows us to communicate with our business partners, friends, and relatives using a cloud-based video conferencing. The benefits of using video conferencing are that it reduces cost, increases efficiency, and removes interoperability. 12. Art Applications: Cloud computing offers various art applications for quickly and easily design attractive cards, booklets, and images. Some most commonly used cloud art applications are given below: 14 Lovely Professional University  Notes Unit 01: Cloud Computing Introduction Moo: One of the best cloud art applications. It is used for designing & printing business cards, postcards, & mini cards. Vistaprint: Vistaprint allows us to easily design various printed marketing products such as business cards, Postcards, Booklets, and wedding invitations cards. Adobe Creative Cloud: Adobe creative cloud is made for designers, artists, filmmakers, and other creative professionals. It is a suite of apps which includes PhotoShop image editing programming, Illustrator, InDesign, TypeKit, Dreamweaver. 13. Management Applications: Cloud computing offers various cloud management tools which help admins to manage all types of cloud activities, such as resource deployment, data integration, and disaster recovery. These management tools also provide administrative control over the platforms, applications, and infrastructure.Some important management applications are: Toggl: Toggl helps users to track allocated time period for a particular project. Evernote: Evernote allows you to sync and save your recorded notes, typed notes, and other notes in one convenient place. It is available for both free as well as a paid version. It uses platforms like Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, Browser, and Unix. Outright: Outright is used by management users for the purpose of accounts. It helps to track income, expenses, profits, and losses in real-time environment. GoToMeeting: GoToMeeting provides Video Conferencing and online meeting apps, which allows you to start a meeting with your business partners from anytime, anywhere using mobile phones or tablets. Using GoToMeeting app, you can perform the tasks related to the management such as join meetings in seconds, view presentations on the shared screen, get alerts for upcoming meetings, etc. 14. Social Applications: Social cloud applications allow a large number of users to connect with each other using social networking applications such as Facebook, Twitter, Linkedln, etc. There are the following cloud based social applications- Facebook: Facebook is a social networking website which allows active users to share files, photos, videos, status, more to their friends, relatives, and business partners using the cloud storage system. On Facebook, we will always get notifications when our friends like and comment on the posts. Twitter: Twitter is a social networking site. It is a microblogging system. It allows users to follow high profile celebrities, friends, relatives, and receive news. It sends and receives short posts called tweets. LinkedIn: LinkedIn is a social network for students, freshers, and professionals. With respect to this as a cloud, the market is growing rapidly and it is providing various services day by day. So, in the future cloud computing is going to touch many more sectors by providing more applications and services. Lab Exercise: Explore the different service providers of Cloud computing? Summary Cloud computing offers various cloud management tools which help admins to manage all types of cloud activities, such as resource deployment, data integration, and disaster recovery. Cloud computing refers to manipulating, configuring, and accessing the applications online. Lovely Professional University 15 Notes Cloud Computing Cloud computing virtualizes systems by pooling and sharing resources. Systems and storage can be provisioned as needed from a centralized infrastructure, costs are assessed on a metered basis, multi-tenancy is enabled, and resources are scalable with agility. Cloud computing eliminates the need for IT infrastructure updates and maintenance since the service provider ensures timely, guaranteed, and seamless delivery of our services and also takes care of all the maintenance and management of our IT services according to the service- level agreement (SLA). Cloud computing can be expensive if you don’t know how to manage your computing resources and take maximum advantage of them. Cloud computing lets us deploy the service quickly in fewer clicks. This quick deployment lets us get the resources required for our system within minutes. Keywords  Service Oriented Architecture (SOA): SOAis essentially a collection of services which communicate with each other.SOA provides a loosely-integrated suite of services that can be used within multiple business domains.  Abstraction: Cloud computing abstracts the details of system implementation from users and developers. Applications run on physical systems that aren't specified, data is stored in locations that are unknown, administration of systems is outsourced to others, and access by users is ubiquitous.  Cloud:Cloud refers to a Network or Internet. A cloud is usually defined as a large group of interconnected computers. These computers include network servers or personal computers.  Cloud computing:Cloud computing is a model for enabling ubiquitous, convenient, on- demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computer resources (networks, servers, storage, applications, and services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction.  Cloud computing collaboration: The users from multiple locations within a corporation, and from multiple organizations, desired to collaborate on projects that crossed company and geographic boundaries. Projects had to be housed in the “cloud” of the Internet, and accessed from any Internet-enabled location. Cloud-collaboration is also termed as Internet-based group collaboration.  Multitenancy: In cloud computing, multitenancy means that multiple customers of a cloud vendor are using the same computing resources. Despite the fact that they share resources, cloud customers aren't aware of each other, and their data is kept totally separate.  Thick clients:Thick clients are regular computers, using a web browser like Firefox or Internet Explorer to connect to the cloud. Self Assessment 1. Which of the following is an important component of Cloud computing? A. Fat Clients B. Virtualization C. Abstraction D. CapEx 16 Lovely Professional University  Notes Unit 01: Cloud Computing Introduction 2. The computers that do not have internal hard drives, but rather let the server do all the work, but then display the information are __________. A. Fat Client B. Thick Client C. Thin Client D. Internal HDD Computers 3. ___________ is a construct (infrastructure) that allows to access application that actually resides at a remote location of the other internet connected device, most often, this will be a distant datacenter. A. Grid computing B. Client-server computing C. Cloud computing D. Utility computing 4. The scenario in where the applications running on the physical systems aren't specified; data is stored in locations that are unknown represents ____________ in cloud computing. A. Virtualization B. Abstraction C. Collaboration D. Vendor Lock In 5. SLA in cloud computing stands for A. Service-Low Agreements B. Software-Level Approach C. Software-Low Approach D. Service-Level Agreements 6. ___________ as a utility is a dream from the beginning of the computing industry itself. A. Software B. Hardware C. Computing D. Model 7. Cloud computing refers to which of the following: A. Application and services that run on a distributed network using virtualized resource B. Application that runs on a distributed network using virtualized resource C. Services that run on a distributed network using virtualized resource D. None of the above 8. Which of the following is the main concern related to cloud computing? A. Security B. Cost C. Space D. Platforms 9. The capability of cloud computing where a user can provision computing capabilities, such as server time and storage, as needed without requiring human interaction corresponds to Lovely Professional University 17 Notes Cloud Computing A. Broad Network Access B. On-demand Self-service C. Elasticity D. Resource Pooling 10. The outsourced cloud management aids in A. Saving the upfront capital investments B. Easiness of setting IT infrastructure C. Paying only for operational expenses D. All of the above 11. ___________ allows multiple users to make use of the same shared resources such as Banking, Financial, Social networking, e-commerce, B2B etc. A. Multitenancy B. Distribution C. Virtualization D. Abstraction 12. SOA in cloud computing stands for A. Software oriented applications B. Server oriented approach C. Service optimal approach D. Service Oriented Architecture 13. CSPs stands for A. Cloud Service Provisioners B. Cloud Service Providers C. Cloud Software Providers D. Cloud Software Provisioners 14. __________ allow a large number of users to connect with each other using social networkingapplications such as Facebook, Twitter, Linkedln etc. A. Social cloud applications B. E-Commerce applications C. Telehealth applications D. Tele-Learning applications 15. Which one of the following is cloud platform by Amazon? A. Azure B. AWS C. Cloudera D. All of the mentioned 18 Lovely Professional University  Notes Unit 01: Cloud Computing Introduction Answers for Self Assessment 1. A 2. C 3. C 4. B 5. D 6. C 7. A 8. A 9. B 10. D 11. A 12. D 13. B 14. A 15. B Review Questions 1. What is cloud computing? What are its characteristics? 2. Discuss the various components of cloud computing? 3. List the different applications of cloud computing? 4. What different challenges are faced in cloud computing? 5. Discuss in detail the evolution of cloud computing and its history? 6. What are the benefits and disadvantages of cloud computing? 7. How cloud computing has supported collaboration? Explain with examples. 8. Compare thin and thick clients? List the advantages of using the thin clients? 9. Elaborate on the following cloud challenges: a) Compliance b) Security and privacy c) Migration 10. What does the Google’s perspective on cloud computing says? Elaborate. Further Readings Cloud Computing: Concepts, Technology and Architecture by Erl, Pearson Education. Cloud Computing Black Book by Kailash Jayaswal,JagannathKallakurchi, Donald J. Houde, Deven Shah, Kogent Learning Solutions, DreamTech Press. Web Links https://www.ibm.com/cloud/learn/cloud-computing What is cloud computing? A beginner’s guide | Microsoft Azure Cloud Computing (w3schools.in) What is Cloud Computing? - Cloud Computing Fundamentals Training - Bing video What is Cloud Computing? | Cloud Computing Fundamentals | AWS Training | Edureka | AWS Rewind - 1 - Bing video Lovely Professional University 19  Notes Unit 02: Cloud Computing Architecture and Models Dr. Tarandeep Kaur, Lovely Professional University Unit 02: Cloud Computing Architecture and Models CONTENTS Objectives Introduction 2.1 Why Cloud Computing Matters 2.2 Benefit of Group Collaboration for Both Individuals and Organizations 2.3 Issues in Cloud Computing 2.4 Considerations for Getting into the Cloud 2.5 Cloud Architecture 2.6 Cloud Storage 2.7 Cloud Business Models Summary Keywords Self Assessment Answers for Self Assessment Review Questions Further Readings Objectives After studying this unit, you will be able to:  understand why cloud computing matters.  know about the issues in cloud.  explore the cloud architecture and cloud storage.  discuss the NIST cloud computing reference model and cloud cube model. Introduction Cloud refers to a Network or Internet. Cloud is something, which is present at remote location. Cloud can provide services over network, that is, on public networks or on private networks, that is, Wide Area Networks (WANs), Local Area Networks (LANs), or Virtual Private Networks (VPNs). Applications such as e-mail, web conferencing, customer relationship management (CRM), all run in cloud. Cloud computing is a subscription-based delivery model that provides scalability, fast delivery and greater IT efficiencies. Cloud has as removed many physical and financial barriers to aligning IT needs with evolving business goals. With a promise to deliver better applications, platforms and infrastructure quickly and cheaply, cloud computing has become a major force for business innovation across all industries. Cloud Computing in Today’s World Cloud computing’s ability to provide elastic scalability, faster service delivery, greater IT efficiency and a subscription-based accounting model has broken down many of the physical and financial barriers to aligning IT with evolving business goals. With the promise to deliver better business models and services quickly and cheaply, cloud computing has become a major driver of business innovation across all industries.Today, cloud computing has moved to the center of many organizations’ technology strategies. 20 Lovely Professional University Notes Cloud Computing Cloud computing’s technological advantages with its ability to scale computing resources up and down, more reliable network connections and the ubiquity of big data– makes it appealing to organizations of all sizes has led it to greatest technological innovation. The cloud provides not only delivery of software services, but data storage as well. The growth and flexibility offered by cloud infrastructure has enabled organizations to explore the full potential of data assets in a fast and cost-effective manner. Cloud platforms are now an integral part of many organizations’ data strategies. However, the shift to cloud has not been without problems. The migration of critical business data from on-site, secured data centers to storage on public cloud platforms has raised concerns over data security. This has been the case specifically around personal, customer data storage. 2.1 Why Cloud Computing Matters Technology has evolved fast over the last few years. People used to run businesses in different ways before the invention of cloud computing. Like in other industries, technology advancement has an impact on the business as well. Before businesses started relying on it, managers had to run applications from servers on their premises. Some even had to hire extra IT experts to help them create their data centres. This reduced their profit margins because they had to pay them a lot of cash. However, things have changed nowadays. A major revolution has been brought to the business world by cloud technology. This technology has made business to run smoothly plus experience growth. Cloud technology leverages virtualization. Cloud services are maintained at a remote data centre. You can also find them in Amazon web services. This technology can be applied to all companies. So, how does cloud technology trigger business development? Let us find out here below: Cloud technology has changed the business world a lot. It has improved efficiency, productivity, and overall performance. There are a few reasons why cloud technology matters for business growth: Cost-Effectiveness:This technology is a game-changer because you do not have to hire extra IT experts or resources to help you in data management. You will only pay for the services you need to remain competitive or enjoy growth in your business. You do not pay for the services you no longer need. Businesses can grow fast when using this technology because there will be no maintenance, labor, or purchasing costs. You only pay a monthly subscription fee for the services your business needs from your cloud technology service provider. Digitalizes Business:These days, businesses are switching to digital marketing strategies. There are many businesses around the world. And for you to remain competitive, you have to embrace digital transformation. But this does not mean going paperless only. Do you want your business to grow fast? Then, why don’t you make your business operations digital? If you want to avoid losses during the digital migration, consider hiring a reliable cloud technology company. Outsourcing the entire digital transformation process will cut the risk of improper migration. Do stick to the traditional ways of operating because they are costly, slow, and outdated. Offers Better Data Backups and Recovery: Cloud technology offers a lot of benefits, but cloud storage tends to be the greatest deal. Cloud storage can be accessed from anywhere, anytime, and with any device. Thus, businesses with remote workers or offices can benefit a lot from this technology. Are you looking for a reliable business backup and recovery process? Cloud technology is the ideal choice for you because it has an integrated process that keeps your relevant business data safe all the time. You no longer worry about cyber-attacks, natural disasters, or physical thefts as your data is secured and protected. Your data is not stored in one place because the service provider will distribute it to remote data centres. Even if a disaster hits your business premises, you will retrieve the necessary data stored in the clouds. Thus, resuming your operations normally as if nothing happened. Seamless Scalability:This is another reason why you need cloud technology in your business. If your business uses the IaaS cloud, it will be easier to subscribe to the whole IT infrastructure. Hence, you will not need to buy hardware during the process. If there is a need to add or remove servers in your infrastructure, scaling up and down will be quick and seamless. Flexibility:Cloud-based services are ideal for businesses with growing or fluctuating bandwidth demands. If your needs increase, it’s easy to scale up your cloud capacity, drawing on the service’s remote servers. Likewise, if you need to scale down again, the flexibility is baked into the Lovely Professional University 21  Notes Unit 02: Cloud Computing Architecture and Models service. This level of agility can give businesses using cloud computing a real advantage over competitors– it’s not surprising that businesses identify operational agility as a key reason for cloud adoption. Increasing Business Competitiveness:Many businesses are forced to be quick and efficient when adapting to the marketplace changes because competition keeps rising up. They can benefit a lot from the flexible and customizable cloud technology solutions. This may help them increase their agility in their operations. Geographical Dispersion:Cloud computing allows you to work anytime and from anywhere, provided you have an internet connection. Since most established cloud services also offer mobile apps, you’re not even restricted by which device you’ve got to hand.Businesses can offer more flexible working perks to employees, so they can enjoy the work-life balance that suits them– without productivity taking a hit. Home office is an attractive option for many employees and now, thanks to cloud services, an increasingly accessible idea too. For Developers:Cloud computing provides increased amounts of storage and processing power to run the applications they develop. Cloud computing also enables new ways to access information, process and analyze data, and connect people and resources from any location anywhere in the world. In essence, it takes the lid off the box; with cloud computing, developers are no longer boxed in by physical constraints. For IT Departments:For IT departments, cloud computing offers more flexibility in computing power, often at lower costs. With cloud computing, IT departments don't have to engineer for peak- load capacity, because the peak load can be spread out among the external assets in the cloud. And, because additional cloud resources are always at the ready, companies no longer have to purchase assets (servers, workstations, and the like) for infrequent intensive computing tasks. If you need more processing power, it's always there in the cloud—and accessible on a cost-efficient basis. For End-Users:For end users, cloud computing offers all these benefits and more. An individual using a web-based application isn't physically bound to a single PC, location, or network, his applications and documents can be accessed wherever he is, whenever he wants.Gone is the fear of losing data if a computer crashes out. Documents hosted in the cloud always exist, no matter what happens to the user's machine. 2.2 Benefit of Group Collaboration for Both Individuals and Organizations The users from around the world can collaborate on the same documents, applications, and projects, in real time. A whole new world of collaborative computing, all enabled by the notion of cloud computing. Streamlined content: The more employees and partners collaborate on documents, the greater the need for watertight document control. Before the cloud, workers had to send files back and forth as email attachments to be worked on by one user at a time. Sooner or later – usually sooner – you end up with a mess of conflicting file content, formats and titles. The greater visibility means improved collaboration, which ultimately means better work and a healthier bottom line. If you’re still relying on the old way, it could be time to try something a little more streamlined. For Everyone:For everyone concerned, cloud computing does all this at lower costs, because the cloud enables more efficient sharing of resources than does traditional network computing.When you tap into the power of the cloud, you get supercomputing power at PC prices—something that offers particular appeal to individuals and small businesses. With cloud computing, hardware doesn't have to be physically adjacent to a firm's office or data center; cloud infrastructure can be located anywhere, including and especially areas with lower real estate and electricity costs.Cloud has transformed our lives as individuals as well. Many of us use cloud services every day. When we update our status on social media, binge a new streaming series, or check our bank accounts we're most likely using applications that are hosted by cloud services. These apps are accessed through an internet connection rather than installed on our hard drives or devices. For Innovation:Cloud opens up a wide range of opportunities for innovation and creative business models, especially with the growing number of readily available cloud-based services out there for entrepreneurs to use. Cloud is a relatively new and exciting frontier in the tech and 22 Lovely Professional University Notes Cloud Computing business worlds, offering those with great ideas the opportunity to find their own niche in the market with very little competition. For Improving Service Delivery:While any of the above benefits are a great incentive for moving a business to the cloud, effective implementation of new customer relationship management (CRM) tools through cloud services are the icing on the cake. This is why Salesforce pioneered enterprise cloud computing. From CRM to marketing automation, most of the solutions are entirely cloud- based. They help to streamline both business and the way customers interact with it– all at the same time. Cloud technology is helping businesses and people weather the ongoing storm caused by the global pandemic. The companies are seizing on cloud as the key enabler to complete their digital transformation, and the COVID pandemic has further accelerated this mandate. Cloud is becoming a top C-suite agenda item as businesses are transitioning from a piece-meal approach to a more holistic end-to-end digital transformation with Cloud at its core. The winners of tomorrow will be the ones that navigate this change rapidly, make the right choices and engage with the appropriate partners to augment their own capabilities.Cloud technology, people and businesses accelerate and requires speed, new thinking, and an entirely different level of skills and investments to achieve end-to-end digital transformation. Now, more than ever, cloud is vital to help businesses reopen, reinvent, and outmaneuver uncertainty. 2.3 Issues in Cloud Computing Hosting and running the applications of the current cloud platform on some other platform may cause support issues, configuration complexities, and additional expenses. The company data might also be left vulnerable to security attacks due to compromises that might have been made during migrations. The various challenges being faced include: Operational Complexity: One of the things that makes cloud services more difficult from traditional ones is that there’s a lot of operational complexity that comes along with the shift. Building the capabilities, software and systems required to maintain a business in the cloud isn’t always easy, which can make it difficult to scale and deliver products and services to an ever- growing market.This may not apply to those who just want to take advantage of cloud-based services, but is a serious concern for those starting a cloud-based business. Lack of Customization: While cloud-based software can be great for getting things done, it may lack one feature that some businesses demand: customization. Generally, cloud-based software providers deliver a great product, but it’s also a generic one meant to serve the needs of a wide range of businesses and individuals. For some companies who need customized software to do business, this may simply not be an option. Data Security and Privacy: Security has indeed been a primary, and valid, concern from the start of cloud computing technology: you are unable to see the exact location where your data is stored or being processed. This increases the cloud computing risks that can arise during the implementation or management of the cloud.When we say security and privacy, we are talking about the user data that is stored on Cloud Service Providers (CSP) data centers. A CSP should abide by the rules of not sharing confidential data or any data that matters to the users. The data centers must be secure and privacy of the data should be maintained by a CSP. There is always concern about the actual location of your data, where it is stored and processed. Before onboarding, yourself on the cloud computing platform one should always check the data security and data recovery (in case of disaster) policy of the CSP. The cloud can provide amazing security, if done right, but not every vendor is of the same quality.Some may not offer services that can provide you with the level of security you need for sensitive data, and major leaks can occur anywhere, cloud or otherwise, if proper precautions aren’t taken.In terms of security concerns of cloud technology, we don’t find answers to some questions. Mysterious threats like website hacking and virus attack are the biggest problems of cloud computing data security.Before utilizing cloud computing technology for a business, entrepreneurs should think about these things. Once you transfer important data of your organization to a third party, you should make sure you have a cloud security and management system.Cybersecurity experts are more aware of cloud security than any other IT professional.According to Crowd Research Partners survey, 9 out of 10 cybersecurity experts are concerned regarding cloud security. Also, they are worried about the violation of confidentiality, data privacy, and data leakage and loss. Lovely Professional University 23  Notes Unit 02: Cloud Computing Architecture and Models Performance:When a business moves to the cloud it becomes dependent on the service providers. The next prominent challenges of moving to cloud computing expand on this partnership.The performance of the organization’s BI and other cloud-based systems is also tied to the performance of the cloud provider when it falters. When your provider is down, you are also down.Cloud computing is on-demand compute service and supports multitenancy, thus performance should not suffer over the acquisition of new users. The CSP should maintain enough resources to serve all the users and any ad-hoc requests. Dealing with Multi-Cloud Environments: These days, maximum companies are not only working on a single cloud. As per the RightScale report revelation, nearly 84% of the companies are following a multi-cloud strategy and 58% already have their hybrid cloud tactic that is combined with the public and private cloud.A long-term prediction on the future of cloud computing technology gives a more difficulty encountered by the teams of IT infrastructure. However, the professionals have also suggested the top practices like re-thinking procedures, training staff, tooling, active vendor relationship management, and doing the study. Cloud Migration: Although releasing a new app in the cloud is a very simple procedure, transferring an existing application to a cloud computing environment is tougher.According to the report, 62% said that their cloud migration projects were tougher than they anticipated. Alongside this, 64% of migration projects took more time than predicted and 55% went beyond their budgets.Especially, some organizations migrating their apps to the cloud reported downtime during migration (37%), issues syncing data before cutover (40%), the problem having migration tools to work well (40%), slow data migration (44%), configuring security issues (46%), and time- consuming troubleshooting (47%).And to solve over these issues, nearly 42% of the IT experts said they wished they had increased their budgets, around 45% wished to have employed an in-house professional, 50% wanted to set a longer project duration, 56% of them wanted they had performed more pre-migration testing. Cloud Integration: Finally, several companies, especially those with hybrid cloud environments report issues associated with having their on-premise apps and tools and public cloud for working together.According to survey, 62% of respondents said integration of legacy systems as their biggest challenge in multi-cloud.Likewise, in a Software One report on cloud cost, 39% of those assessed said integrating legacy systems was one of their biggest worries while utilizing the cloud. Also, combining new cloud-based apps and legacy systems needs resources, expertise, and time. Unauthorized Service Providers: It is a new concept for most of the business organizations. A normal businessman is not able to verify the genuineness of the service provider agency. It’s very difficult for them to check the whether the vendors meet the security standards or not. There is need for an ICT consultant to evaluate the vendors against the worldwide criteria. It is necessary to verify that the vendor must be operating this business for a sufficient time without having any negative record in past. Vendor continuing business without any data loss complaint and have a number of satisfied clients. Market reputation of the vendor should be unblemished. Hacking of Brand: Cloud involves some major risk factors like hacking. Some professional hackers are able to hack the application by breaking the efficient firewalls and steal the sensitive information of the organizations. A cloud provider hosts numerous clients; each can be affected by actions taken against any one of them. When any threat came into the main server it affects all the other clients also. As in distributed denial of service attacks server requests that inundate a provider from widely distributed computers. Cloud Management:Managing a cloud is not an easy task. It consists of a lot of technical challenges. A lot of dramatic predictions are famous about the impact of cloud computing. People think that traditional IT department will be outdated and research supports the conclusions that cloud impacts are likely to be more gradual and less linear. Cloud services can easily change and update by the business users. It does not involve any direct involvement of IT department. It is a service provider’s responsibility to manage the information and spread it across the organization. So, it is difficult to manage all the complex functionality of cloud computing. Sustainability: Sustainability refers to minimizing the effect of cloud computing on environment. Indeed, citing the server’s effects on the environmental effects of cloud computing, in areas where climate favors natural cooling and renewable electricity is readily available. The countries with favorable conditions, such as Finland, Sweden, and Switzerland are trying to attract cloud computing data centers. But other than nature’s favors, would these countries have enough technical infrastructure to sustain the high-end clouds. 24 Lovely Professional University Notes Cloud Computing Cost Management and Containment:Cloud computing can be expensive if you don’t know how to manage your computing resources and take maximum advantage of them. Many times, theorganizations dwell in a mindset of pay-as-you-go and spend more on cloud than they would have on on-premise infrastructure. One should always optimize the cost by financial analytics and reporting the usage for better monitoring of cost.For the most part, cloud computing can save businesses money. In the cloud, an organization can easily ramp up its processing capabilities without making large investments in new hardware. Businesses can instead access extra processing through pay-as-you-go modelsfrom public cloud providers. However, the on-demand and scalable nature of cloud computing services make it sometimes difficult to define and predict quantities and costs. Lack of Resources/ Expertise:Cloud challenges companies and enterprises. As the usage of cloud technologies is increasing, tools to manage it are getting sophisticated, finding experts on top of this in cloud computing is becoming a bottleneck to many organizations. The organizations are increasingly placing more workloads in the cloud while cloud technologies continue to rapidly advance. Due to these factors, organizations are having a tough time keeping up with the tools. Also, the need for expertise continues to grow. Such challenges can be minimized through additional training of IT and development staff.Many companies are adopting automated cloud management technologies but it’s always better to train individuals to satisfy the need of time. Presently, DevOps tools like Chef and Puppet are heavily used in the IT industry. Governance/ Control: In cloud computing, infrastructure resources are under CSP’s control and end-users or companies have to abide by the governance policies from CSP. The traditional IT teams have no control over how and where their data is and processed. IT governance should assure how infrastructure assets from CSP are being used. To overcome the downfalls and challenges, onboarding to Cloud, IT must adapt its orthodox way of governance and process control to the induct cloud. Now, IT is playing an important role in benchmarking cloud services requirements and policies. Thus, the proper IT governance should ensure IT assets are implemented and used according to agreed-upon policies and procedures; ensure that these assets are properly controlled and maintained; and ensure that these assets are supporting your organization’s strategy and business goals. Compliance: When organizations are moving their native data to a cloud, they need to comply with particular general body policies if the data is from public sources. Although, finding a cloud provider who will comply with these policies is difficult to find, or one needs to negotiate on that front.Many CSPs are coming with flexible compliance policies for data acquisition and cloud infrastructure.An issue for anyone using backup services or cloud storage. Every time a company moves data from the internal storage to a cloud, it is faced with being compliant with industry regulations and laws.Depending on the industry and requirements, every organization must ensure thesestandards are respected and carried out.This is one of the many challenges facing cloud computing, and although the procedure can take a certain amount of time, the data must be properly stored. Building a Private Cloud: Creating an internal or private cloud will cause a significant benefit: having all the data in-house. But IT managers and departments will need to face building and gluing it all together by themselves, which can cause one of the challenges of moving to cloud computing extremely difficult.Many tasks such as grabbing an IP address cloud software layer, setting up a virtual local area network (VLAN), load balancing, firewall rule-setting for the IP address, server software patch, arranging nightly backup queue are quite complex associated tasks for a private cloud.Although building a private cloud isn’t a top priority for many organizations, for those who are likely to implement such a solution, it quickly becomes one of the main challenges facing cloud computing – private solutions should be carefully addressed.Many companies are planning to do so because the cloud will on-premise and they will have all the data authority over shared cloud resources. Segmented Usage and Adoption:Most organizations did not have a robust cloud adoption strategy in place when they started to move to the cloud. Instead, ad-hoc strategies sprouted, fueled by several components. One of them was the speed of cloud adoption. Another one was the staggered expiration of data center contracts/equipment, which led to intermittent cloud migration. Finally, there also were individual development teams using the public cloud for specific applications or projects. Lovely Professional University 25  Notes Unit 02: Cloud Computing Architecture and Models 2.4 Considerations for Getting into the Cloud Take it Slow and Prepare for Roadblocks: When getting into cloud computing, it’s smart to take things slow and to start small. It’s a different way of working than some are used to and can have a bit of a learning curve for less tech-savvy employees. Understand that Even Tech-savvy Companies Struggle with Cloud Business:According to recent research from Accenture, even high-tech companies are still struggling to find their way using the new business model. While there are many ways that cloud-based business is easier, there are many other aspects that are quite complex and haven’t quite been puzzled out yet even by those leading the industry. That’s both good and bad. Good, because there’s room for new players in the market, and bad because, well, it does make things a bit more difficult for those entering into cloud-based businesses. Locate the Services for Each Part of your Business: If you’re going to go all in on the cloud, you’ll need to find services that will work for every part of your business.That means not only getting the basics like word processing and CRM taken care of, but also finding tools that those in HR and accounting will appreciate as well. Decide the Level of Cloud Services that are Right for your Business: Of course, not every business is cloud-ready. Everyone will have their own level of comfort with working in the cloud and some may just be better off providing what they offer in a more traditional format. There’s nothing wrong with that if that’s what’s working, but make sure to do a careful analysis before deciding. Have a Plan: While you may only be employing a small number of cloud services now, you want to have a plan for the role cloud-based computing will play in your business in the future. If you’re seeking to start your own cloud-based business, then a plan is obviously a must as well. Be Creative: Look for ways to use free or low-cost cloud programs to cut down on your operational cos