What is Cloud Computing ?

#cloud #beginners #opensource #cloudcomputing

The way we use technology is ever changing. It's an evolution of how and where we access our private, personal and work-related data. From the earliest days of the home computer, accessing data and entertainment from cassettes, to the rise of the Internet and terabytes of storage, technology has revolutionised the way we interact with the world around us.
One form of this technological evolution is the cloud. The cloud is a term used often without knowing exactly what 'the cloud' is, what it does, how it works and what it can off the home and business user. The cloud offers many gr benefits for those who use it. Storage, email, developm collaboration, sharing, streaming; the list goes on.
The future of work and entertainment lies in the cloud So let's see what silver linings cast a gleam on this modern way of life.

What is the cloud? Where is it? What can you do with it? How does it work? These are questions that both home and business users ask regularly. The term 'cloud computing has been bandied about for so long, it's become just another technology phrase. But what does it really mean?

The meaning of the cloud has changed somewhat in recent years, more as it became the new buzzword that pundits and marketing executives liked to throw about. In its most basic, layman's terms, cloud computing is simply accessing a form of digital resource, or service, that isn't installed locally on your computer.

For the home, consumer user, that could mean accessing Gmail. Google Drive, Dropbox, or, in some circumstances, even viewing content through the likes of Netflix or listening to music via Spotify. It's a loose interpretation of what a cloud is, but essentially, it's the same.

From the Small Medium Business (SMB), or Small Medium Enterprise's (SME) point of view, it's a way of consolidating your digital resources and mission-critical content into an always-available, online and accessible solution. This way, mobile workers and clients can access the company content and you don't need to employ technical expertise to maintain the company servers and hardware continually. The ability to offer those shared resources without the technical or financial impact of setting it up, or keeping it maintained, is one of the main draws of using cloud computing over the more traditional setup of an air-conditioned room full of servers; therefore making it a more appealing proposition to both consumer and SMB/SME users.

In 2011, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) brought together a final definition of the term cloud
computing. "Cloud computing is a model for enabling ubiquitous, convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications and services). It can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction."

The NIST went on to list five essential characteristics of cloud computing: on-demand self-service, broad network access, resource pooling, rapid elasticity or expansion, and measured service. Furthermore, there are three listed Service Models: software, platform and infrastructure, and four Deployment Models: public, community, hybrid and private.

The cloud, therefore, has quite a broad definition, encompassing pretty much everything we do and interact with on a daily basis. Throughout this book, we'll take a more in-depth look into the cloud, We'll discover what it consists of, how it works for you as an individual or business user, and how we can build our own cloud service.