Cloud computing can be described as a term used to explain both type of application and platform. It is an Internet based development and services. Where services or data are available from anywhere, Services or data are hosted on someone else’s infrastructure, the result is a utility computing model similar to traditional that of traditional utilities, like gas and electricity. You pay for what you would like.
A cloud computing platform dynamically supplies, configures, reconfigures, and deprovisions servers as needed. Servers in the cloud can be physical machines including huge data centres manipulating huge information or virtual machines. Advanced clouds typically include other computing resources such as storage area networks (SANs) this architecture provides to attach remote computer storage devices, network equipment, firewall and other security devices for that cloud.
Cloud computing also describes applications that are extended to be accessible through the Internet. These cloud applications use large data centres and powerful servers that host Web applications and Web services. Anyone with a suitable Internet connection and a standard browser can access a cloud application.
Cloud computing also supports grid computing, cloud can provide quickly physical and virtual infrastructure on which grid computing can be done. Cloud also supports non-grid environments which includes web architecture such as 3-tier web architecture.
Cloud computing infrastructures can help and allow enterprises to achieve efficient usage of their IT hardware and software investments. They do this by breaking down the physical barriers inherent in isolated systems, and automating the management of the group of systems as a single entity. Cloud computing is an example of an ultimately virtualized system, and a natural evolution for data centers that employ automated systems management, workload balancing, and virtualization technologies. A cloud infrastructure can be a cost efficient model for delivering information services, reducing IT management complexity, promoting innovation, and increasing responsiveness through real-time workload balancing.
In cloud computing infrastructure there are concepts which incorporates:
-SaaS (Software as a service)
-PaaS (Platform as a Service)
-IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service)
-Software infrastructure as a service
-System infrastructure as a service
-SaaS (Software as a service):
In cloud computing it is model of software deployment which will be in cloud where an application is licensed for use as a service provided to customers when they need or demand.
-PaaS (Platform as a Service):
In cloud computing it is an outcome or outgrowth of the Software as a Service application delivery model. The PaaS model makes all of the facilities required to support the complete life .
cycle of building and delivering web applications and services entirely available from the Internet or cloud.
--IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service)
It can be explained as in cloud computing resources which will be used would delivered as a service including servers, network equipment, memory, CPU, disk space, data centre facilities
Fig 1 : Cloud Tiered Architecture
Cloud Platform providers:
Cloud computing infrastructure tech&solution provider:
• 3Tera - AppLogic grid OS used as cloud computing platform by service providers and enterprises
• Appistry - Cloud computing middleware - Enables easily scalable cloud computing in the enterprise.
• Cassatt - Cassatt Active Response platform enables administrators to set policies to power physical and virtual servers safely on and off and pool their computing resources.
• CloudHan - Cloud tech and infrastructure consultant, in China.
• CloudScale Networks - Cloud enabler. Currently in private ALPHA only
• Joyent - Cloud Infrastructure (Accelerators), and consulting for developers and enterprise.
• Q-layer - provides software for data centers that enables cloud computing, support VSAN, VLAN, VPDC, currently support VMware ESX.
• Skytap - IaaS service optimized for QA, Training, Demo, and Ops Testing. Supports Vmware Xen hypervisors & Windows, Linux & Solaris OS guests.
Cloud computing infrastructure provider:
• Agathon Group - Cloud provider. Services include highly available VPS, virtual private datacenters and ready-to-use LAMP stacks. Self-service ordering. Custom development and managed services available.
• Amazon Web Services - Amazon EC2/S3 (Hardware-a-a-S & Cloud Storage)
• CohesiveFT - CohesiveFT Elastic Server On-Demand
• ElasticHosts - UK-based instant, on-demand servers in the cloud
• Flexiscale - Another instant provisioner of web servers with some advanced features like auto-scaling coming soon.
• GoGrid - instant, on-demand servers offering "control in the cloud". Deploy Windows/Linux servers via web-interface in minutes
• GridLayer - Cloud Provider. A service by Layered Technologies that delivers Virtual Private Datacenters and virtual private servers from grids of commodity servers
• LayeredTechnologies - Cloud Provider. provider of on-demand hosting and cloud and utility computing solutions through its brand GridLayer
• Mosso - Rackspace's cloud hosting service
• Newservers - Instant provisioning of web servers either Windows or Linux
• Plura Processing - On-demand infrastructure for high-performance computing
Cloud computing Paas provider:
• Aptana Cloud - Elastic Elastic Application Cloud™ featuring fully stacked and integrated PHP app engines, Ajax/Jaxer app engines, and soon Ruby on Rails app engines -- ready to use and ready to scale as you need it.
• Bungee Connect - Provides end to end tools and systems required to develop, deploy and host web applications (Platform as a Service)
• Coherence - Oracle Coherence Data Grid for EC2 and other cloud platforms
• Force.com - Salesforce.com's application development platform (PaaS)
• GigaSpaces - middleware for the cloud, "cloudware"
• Google AppEngine - (PaaS)Now support python
• Heroku - Ruby on Rails in their Cloud
• Morph Labs - Fully managed, open, elastically-scalable, end-to-end deployment and delivery platform for Ruby on Rails and Java (Jetty, JRuby, Groovy and Grails) web applications. Leverages AWS, but completely abstracts details and complexities from developers.
• Quickbase - Easy to use application builder from Intuit
• Qrimp - An AJAX based PaaS
• RightScale - RightScale provides a platform and expertise that enable companies to create scalable web applications running on Amazon’s Web Services that are reliable, easy to manage, and cost less
• Stax - Java Platform as a Service
Cloud computing based service provider:
• CAM Solutions - Monitoring-as-a-Service(TM)
• CloudStatus- CloudEnabler. Real-time performance trending of cloud infrastructure (currently AWS).
• Kaavo's IMOD is an easy to use online application. Cloud Computing Made Easy.
• Microsoft Mesh
• Nasstar - SaaS provider. Business grade Hosted Desktop service, UK market leaders.
• Nirvanix - Cloud Storage
• TrustSaaS - uptime monitoring and alerting service ('SaaS Weather Report') for Software as a Service (SaaS) run by an independent third party.
• UtilityStatus - Utility Computing Platform for SaaS charged in elapsed CPU time running on EC2.
Semantic computing Cloud service provider:
• ThoughtExpress - Generic Enterprise Management Service based in semantics supported by semantic computing cloud to perform enterprise information processing to deliver: BPM, BI, enterprise modelling & semantic human interface without the need to program.
Cloud End-Points:
• XPack - a dedicated cloud end-point from Moderro Technologies. A solid-state, power-saving, VESA mountable desktop appliance with custom desktop environment designed for web applications.
Cloud Storage architecture:
Cloud storage is a form of networked data storage where data is stored on various virtual servers; it is generally hosted by third parties, rather than being hosted on dedicated servers. Hosting companies operate large data centres which they dedicatedly maintain these data centres and provide infrastructure for those who want an infrastructure for their businesses or companies; and people who require their data to be hosted buy or lease storage capacity from them and use it for their storage needs. The data centre operators, in the background, virtualizes the resources, give feasible plan for their storage needs according to the requirements of the customer and expose them as virtual servers, which the customers can themselves manage. Physically, the resource may span across multiple/various servers. In some services, such as Nirvanix(cloud storage), the system may span multiple data centres or even continents that mean data centres will be dispersed with the defined location even in continents.
Nowadays storage has different infrastructure companies and businesses select to implement their cloud storage depending on their needs.
NAS(Network Attached Storage) , SAN( Storage Area Network ) , DAS (Direct Attach Storage).
Fig: 2: defining functions of DAS, NAS, SAN
Cloud storage : uses , types and architecture:
Cloud storage uses are for:
-Backup
-File Sharing
-Data Synchronization
-Media distribution
-Data Archiving
Types of cloud storage include:
Public Cloud:
-Provided by a services provider
-Low upfront cost
-Public, accessible anywhere there is an internet connection.
Private Cloud:
-Internal implemented and managed
-Lower long term cost
-Accessible only behind your firewalls
New Cloud Trends:
In cloud storage architecture there are different approaches to building a cloud or huge scaled NAS(Network Attached Storage) system, it is an upcoming trend relevant to enterprise IT managers looking to build private cloud for their usage or for service providers , architecture falls in two categories with an option of delivering software as a services.
Tightly Coupled Symmetric architecture (TCS)
Loosely Coupled Asymmetric architecture (LCA)
Tightly Coupled Symmetric architecture (TCS)
TCS systems were built to solve the single-file performance challenges that limited traditional NAS. The industry responded by creating products that leverage the TCS architecture, many nodes acting in parallel with distributed lock management (locking different parts of a file for writing) and cache coherency. The solution is elegant for the single-file throughput problem.
Loosely Coupled Asymmetric architecture (LCA)
LCA systems take a different approach to scale-out. Instead of implementing a strategy where every node knows everything about every action, LCA leverages a central metadata control server that is out of the data path. Centralization provides many benefits and enables a new level of scalability
In the upcoming trends of deploying cloud storage LCA is the next generation architecture which will be used
| Vendors | Tightly coupled symmetric | Loosely coupled Asymmetric | Service offering | Hardware appliances | Software only |
| Parascale | |
| | |
|
| Amazon | |
|
| | |
| Nirvanix | |
|
| | |
Table 1: Even in the top vendors and cloud platform providers they use LCA
In new trends of cloud storage enterprises are doing good effort to maintain stability and scalability, In the following table most cloud storage platforms are supporting the following new features which is needed to ensure proper storage
| Features | Description |
| Storage Size | Unlimited |
| Single File Size | 1byte to 5GB |
| Maximum Number of files | Unlimited |
| Maximum Number of boxes | 100 |
| Maximum Number of folders | Unlimited |
| Maximum Number of files in same folder | Unlimited |
| File ACL | Supported |
| Box ACL | Supported |
| Support Private Access | Yes |
| Support Public Access | Yes |
| Support File Access Authentication | Yes |
| Support Customized Folder and File name | Yes |
| Single naming for global storage cloud | Yes |
| Supported web services API | REST |
| Support API authentication | Yes |
| Support Global Namespace | Yes |
Table 2
In latest trends virtualization 2.0 is about the merging of new services to enhance what has been virtualized. With storage virtualization 2.0, the virtualization engine will be able to virtualizes lower level midrange and legacy storage and promote their performance, functionality, availability, connectivity and to enterprise class storage levels.
recessionary complications, indications are that virtualization in all its forms will help the
next twelve months become IT's Year of Finding More Efficiency. In data storage, this means finding and utilizing as much disk capacity as can be identified to make best use of existing hardware and software, so that costs can be contained.
More capacity for all this digital data must keep coming online to serve as the backstop for this explosion. Enterprises and consumers alike continue to invest in storage hardware and software, although the
numbers crunchers are getting nervous. Nonetheless, most storage providers are in the pink, while a number of other IT product and service vendors are seeing red
Some other storage trends which will be effective in 2009
- Virtualized storage and any other IT product that reduces costs will be in demand.
- Green IT data center strategies will continue to be deployed
- Virtualized storage and any other IT product that reduces costs will be in demand
-Automation of virtualized resources will become more strategic to the
success of enterprises. "Efficiency" is the operative term here.
-Storage and services in the cloud will move beyond the talk/testing
stage and get into regular production, most likely later in the year.
-A new generation of mainframes is well-positioned as the default "security blanket" for IT organizations.
-Green IT data centre strategies will continue to be deployed\
-Another latest trend which will be very effective in coming years is the adoption of active archives that is to move data to a secondary storage medium that can be readily accessed if required and to keep the records of files which are rarely accessed and to eliminate them , it enhances the performance of production, the reason being focused on active archiving is that in the recent increased oversight due to bailouts, increased law action/litigation and compliance requirements more businesses will need to deploy these active archives for their emails and other electronic records , it will also benefit in operational cost through removal of old data from production working set.
Cloud security:
The age of connectivity is definitely upon us. With information flowing freely in and from all directions and electronic commerce knocking down new doors, network security has come to include a lot more than just using a good firewall to connect to the Internet.
Computer networks are typically a shared resource used by many applications representing different interests. The Internet is particularly widely shared, being used by competing businesses, mutually antagonistic governments, and opportunistic criminals. Unless security measures are taken, a network conversation or a distributed application may be compromised by an adversary.
Consider some threats to secure use of, for example, the World Wide Web. Suppose you are a customer using a credit card to order an item from a website.
An obvious threat is that an adversary would eavesdrop on your network communication, reading your messages to obtain your credit card information. How might that eavesdropping be accomplished? It is trivial on a broadcast network such as an Ethernet, where any node can be configured to receive all the message traffic on that network. Wireless communication can be monitored without any physical
connection. More elaborate approaches include wiretapping and planting spy software on any of the chain of nodes involved. Only in the most extreme cases, such as national security, are serious measures taken to prevent such monitoring, and the Internet is not one of those cases. It is possible and practical, however, to encrypt messages so as to prevent an adversary from understanding the message contents. A protocol that does so is said to provide confi dentiality . Taking the
concept a step further, concealing the quantity or destination of communication is called traffic confi dentiality —because merely knowing how much communication is going where can be useful to an adversary in some situations.
Even with confidentiality there still remain threats for the website customer. An adversary who can’t read the contents of your encrypted message might still be able to change a few bits in it, resulting in a valid order for, say, a completely different item or perhaps 1,000 units of the item. There are techniques to detect, if not prevent, such tampering. A protocol that detects such message tampering provides data integrity . The adversary could alternatively transmit an extra copy of your message in a replay attack . To the website, it would appear as though you had simply ordered another of the same item you ordered the first time. A protocol that detects replays provides originality . Originality would not, however, preclude the adversary intercepting your order, waiting a while, then transmitting it—in effect, delaying your order. The adversary could thereby arrange for the item to arrive on your doorstep while you are away on vacation, when it can be easily snatched. A protocol that detects such delaying tactics is said to provide timeliness . Data integrity, originality, and timeliness are considered aspects of the more general property of integrity .
The endpoints of the system were devices with minimal
intelligence like Bakelite phones and terminal computers. All the logic needed to perform functions, such as connecting a long-distance call, was contained in the public switched telephone network.
In latest trends there should be carrier monitoring provided for added protection in the cloud.
Alert customers to threats before they hit. Carriers’ sophisticated event correlation tools can detect suspect activity on their portion of the Internet backbone before it affects customers. An early warning system allows customers to decide what actions they need to take to stop the business from being affected, such as blocking traffic or patching systems.
Block unwanted traffic. A large amount of the traffic that reaches corporate perimeter firewalls is malicious. Carriers can detect worm traffic and scanning activity on the IP backbone and then use network-based firewalls to block traffic from reaching a corporation’s firewall.
In cloud network, start trusting the network service provider. Customers haven’t traditionally thought of their network service provider as someone they trust implicitly.
Security is one of the largest concerns for the adoption of Cloud Computing. We outline seven risks a Cloud user should raise with vendors before committing : 1) Privileged user access: sensitive data processed outside the enterprise needs the assurance that they are only accessible and propagated to privileged users; 2) Regulatory compliance: a customer needs to verify if a Cloud provider has external audits and security certifications and if their infrastructure complies with some regulatory security requirements; 3) Data location: since a customer will not know where her data will be stored, it is important that the Cloud provider commit to storing and processing data in specific jurisdictions and to obey local privacy requirements on behalf of the customer; 4) Data segregation: one needs to ensure that one customer’s data is fully segregated from another customer’s data; 5) Recovery: it is important that the Cloud provider has an efficient replication and recovery mechanism to restore data if a disaster occurs; 6) Investigative support: Cloud services are especially difficult to investigate, if this is important for a customer, then such support needs to be ensured with a contractual commitment; and 7) Long-term viability: your data should be viable even the Cloud provider is acquired by another company.
Conclusion and lights to the future:
In this paper, we show that what are the architectures and platform of Cloud computing technology to explain the latest trends in cloud which will be soon implemented for better services in cloud storage and cloud security , which are the most key concern of today’s and tomorrow’s businesses. With the changing environment in every type of business if they want any services in cloud then there are solutions which can be implemented according to the business requirements which gives services of your need which is everything as a service in which anything you want for your business will be provided as a service. Where cloud is itself becoming utility and businesses will be using it as a service.
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I Like to dedicate this post to my dear friend who died last year, he has done a great with me to find and summaries this report. May Gold Blessed his souls
