What is Cloud Computing?

Thought to answer all following questions in one blog :)

What is Cloud Computing ?
Why do we need Cloud Solutions ?
Where and how can we use Cloud Solutions ?
What is Cloud Information Architecture or reference Model ?
What are Cloud Deployment Models OR Types of CLOUD ?
What are Cloud Implementation Technologies ? 
How to decide which CLOUD Deployment Model suitable for your environment ?

Let's begin .........

Before answering these questions, I would like to ask one question to all the readers .......

Which transport option you will prefer for you ?

A) Buying a Mercedes Car
B) Anytime Pickup and Drop Taxi which is also a Mercedes Car, discounted fare

Now think, How much cost you will have to bare if you decide Option A ?
You have to consider few things, "The car Price as per the Model / Class, the Insurance cost, the fuel consumption (fuel cost), the servicing / washing charges, Good Parking place (home / office), if you need a Driver then his salary, and at last the resale value of it". I hope I covered everything :)

and same considerations for Option B,

- NO initial investment
- NO Insurance Charges
- NO Mileage tension
- NO Servicing / washing Charges
- NO parking place needed
- NO Driver needed
- Will get a Discount if you will pay One Time charges or pay  for a long time
- Flexibility to Change the Car Model anytime

So what is your answer :)

Now consider same question for your Business Infrastructure. Any small / medium / large business requires :

- Land to setup the Infrastructure
- Good configuration Servers
- Required Storage
- Network Equipments
- Backup for your Data
- Firewall, Antivirus for your Software / Application
- Power Supply
- Cooling Systems for your Data center
- Replace old hardware with new
- Upgrade Software and your Applications
- Good technical staff to take care of all above things
MOST IMPORTANT : - Redundancy for all above things

Now why to take the responsibility of all above things ? if any ONE Service Provider can take care of all of them. A Service Provider will give you following features :

- Will give you good Configuration Servers on LEASE
- Will give you SSD/SAS/SATA/RAID configured SAN/NAS/Fibre Channel Storage, you can decide the size
- High quality Network Equipments with 1/4/10/40 GBPS REDUNDANT Network
- Backup Storage space with automated backup for your Data
- Highly secured environment using hardware or Software firewall 
- Redundant Power Supply, Battery Backups, UPS systems
- Cooling Systems with temperature monitoring applications
-  24x7 Technical staff who will take care of your services, applications, software, product

How Service Provider setup Redundancy for Servers ?
Redundancy for servers can be achieved by making a Cluster. A server cluster is a group of servers running flavors of different available Server Operating Systems and working together as a single system to provide high availability of services for clients. When a failure occurs on one computer in a cluster, resources are redirected and the workload is redistributed to another computer in the cluster. You can use server clusters to ensure that users have constant access to important server-based resources.Server clusters are designed for applications that have long-running in-memory state or frequently updated data. Typical uses for server clusters include file servers, print servers, database servers, and messaging servers.

Same way they setup REDUNDANCY for NETWORK, STORAGE and other required hardware.Now, I will not go more deep in technicality, otherwise non-technical people will not read full blog :)


If you get the redundancy in Clusters then why do you need Cloud ? 
Cloud computing is a technology that has the potential to enhance the collaboration, agility, scaling, and availability, and provides the opportunities for cost reduction through optimized and efficient computing.

The cloud model envisages a world where components can be :
- rapidly orchestrated
- provisioned
- implemented and decommissioned
- scaled up or down to provide an on-demand utility-like model of allocation and consumption.

Cloud computing will give you following features with Redundancy :

You will get all these features by paying Monthly, Quarterly, semi-annually, annually charges to theCLOUD Service Provider.

I think I have now answered first 3 QUESTIONS.

What is Cloud Information Architecture ? OR What is Cloud Reference Model ?
1) IAAS : Infrastructure as a Service
Which delivers Computer Infrastructure, typically a platform Virtualization environment used as a SERVICE, includes raw storage and networking. Rather than purchasing servers, software, data-center space, or network equipment, clients instead buy those resources as a fully outsourced and managed service.

2) SAAS : Software as a Service
Also known as "on-demand software," is a software delivery model in which software and its associated data are hosted centrally and are typically in the Internet Cloud and are accessed by users using thin client, normally using a web browser over the Internet.

3) PAAS : Platform as a Service
Which provides the delivery of a computing platform and solution stack as a service. PaaS offerings facilitate deployment of applications without the cost and complexity of buying and managing the underlying hardware and software and provisioning hosting capabilities. This provides all of the facilities required to support the complete life cycle of building and delivering web applications and services entirely available from the Internet.

The best diagram of the reference model is in CSAGUIDE Book for CCSK.

What are Cloud Deployment Models OR Types of CLOUD ?

Following are Cloud Deployment Models OR Types of CLOUD :

1) Public Cloud :
Complete Infrastructure will be with CLOUD Service Provider, you will get the part of resources as per your demand / requirement.

2) Private internal/on-premises & Private external
- You can setup the private cloud in your premises, cloud service provider will provide you the service to build complete infrastructure.
- OR you can buy Private infrastructure from CLOUD Service Provider which will fulfill your resource requirement. The environment / resources will be dedicated to you only and also separate technical staff will be allocated for your private cloud.

3) Community Cloud:
The cloud infrastructure will be shared by several organizations and supports a specific community that has shared concerns like mission, security requirements, policy, or compliance considerations.

4) Hybrid Cloud :
The cloud infrastructure is a composition of two or more clouds (private, community or public) that remain unique entities but are bound together by standardized or proprietary technology that enables data and application portability (e.g., cloud bursting for load-balancing between clouds).The best diagram of the Deployment model is in CSAGUIDE Book for CCSK.

How to decide which CLOUD Deployment Model suitable for your environment ?
Every small / medium / large scale Business has its assets, the biggest asset is DATA and then Applications / Functions / Software / Product comes. So the Asset and the level of Criticality decides CLOUD deployment model for your infrastructure. Also, the budget / investment in CLOUD development decides the Model for you.

Hosting companies requires IAAS, Software companies requires SAAS and platform development companies requires PAAS.

What are Cloud Implementation Technologies ?

Following technologies I am aware of :
- VMware vCloud Director 1.5/5.1
- Microsoft Hyper-V
- RedHat Cloud
- Amazon EC2
- HP Converged Cloud

These technologies are on top of the list. I have few more but I will stop here because the blog is getting bigger and bigger :)


As I am a VMware guy so I will post the complete implementation mechanism of VMware vCloud Director.

I hope this blog will help you to know everything about Cloud.


Thanks for Reading :)