As the cloud works
Year of the 2008th was marked not only the global financial crisis, but also emergence of the term "cloud". Authorship is attributed to the head of Google company Eric Schmidt: on one of the performances it used the word 'cloud' (engl. "cloud"). The word was caught up right there by journalists, it allowed in a simple and available form to define the location of virtual services and services. The Cloud computing directory, SaaS, IaaS - projects and solutions is available on TAdviser
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Strictly speaking, term not new: often on schemes of networks by the character of a cloud designated big network, for example the Internet or an intranet of the enterprise. Modern clouds and cloud services – result of implementation of the concept of utility calculations offered in the 1960th years. The idea was in putting away from the user's computer an excess set of programs (quite often expensive) or the equipment, having offered in exchange services for rent: instead of acquisition of the hard drive to subscribe on the cloud storage, instead of installation of the office suite – to use a cloud environment, and so forth. Such approach allows to save the PC resources, to reduce costs on purchase of software or "iron", not to spend time and forces on care of maintenance of all this matter in operating state. Not to mention the accessibility to data and programs from any computer (the smartphone, the tablet) connected to the Internet.[1]
What disappears in a cloud
The visitor of restaurant does not puzzle over features of preparation of tasty dishes, but has general idea of it. With a cloud a situation other: even the users familiar with computers, not always represent that disappears in it. They see only a page in the browser or the interface of the program. To begin to work with a cloud, it is enough to come to the required address, to enter the login and the password. Such actions actually exhaust interaction of the user and a cloud.
Actually the cloud represents set of the servers (a data processing center, DPC) often deleted from each other on long distances, integrated by high-speed network and which are carrying out specific tasks. The exact number of servers to call difficult (the companies keep it a secret), but, for example, in 2009 Google had about one million servers dispersed worldwide. Today the number of servers is estimated at 2-2.5 million and their increase up to 10 million is predicted. By the way, at popular social network Facebook this indicator reaches 180 thousand. The great number of specialists who not only watch over "health" of devices is involved to ensuring operability of such number of the equipment, but also improve/support software and interaction between components.
DPCs are connected to the Internet by a set of channels and when the user comes to read mail or to edit photos, it gets on the closest and least loaded node performing information processing. As servers in infrastructure – the secret of the developer interact among themselves, but upon interest does not represent (we were defined that subtleties and nuances are not interesting to us). But I will not be surprised, having learned that physically both data, and the user, and programs can be on different continents. However, for a system it is transparent as well as for the user: in search of the fastest, available or unoccupied server it can be guided by capacity of the channel to it, and not territorial arrangement.
The user's task – to go on-line, to undergo authorization on the selected service, in the same way as at restaurant – a face control. And from where the plate with a dish – care of the chef and kitchen personnel will undertake. In certain cases will demand a payment for operation of a resource or services from the user. However, at restaurant you pay service, isn't it too?
On what devices the cloud is available
Easier to say, on what it is unavailable – cloud services were created with the purpose to provide access to service from any device having connection to the Internet. I do not know how the situation with "smart" refrigerators and microwaves is, but smartphones, tablets, netbooks/notebooks, IP cameras, network storages, the media centers, game consoles – all of them allow to use cloud services. Some in general are focused only on them, for example, so-called chromebooks – the netbooks working under control of Chrome OS, programs in them are not installed on the hard drive, and open in a Chrome browser window. For certain I missed something, but it is not so terrible as the list of cloud services, as well as devices, is very extensive.
What are cloud services
There is a lot of them, but the most widespread are based on concepts "software-as-service" and Utility Computing. The first exempts from need to purchase software in a box – it can use via the browser or on the mobile platform is absolutely free. Gmail/Hotmail is replaced by traditional TheBAT!, Thunderbird and Outlook, offering convenient storage of contacts and other important data in a cloud; Google Docs/Office 365 create a cloud alternative to traditional office suites. The set of the applications written for Android and iOS provide to the user only the interface for the program, and it is executed in a cloud.
The second concept, Utility Computing, allows to make file synchronization or their backup and also to organize access to media content (a photo, video and music). On its basis Dropbox, iCloud, SkyDrive, SugarSync and similar services are created. Through Dropbox it is possible not only to store data, but also to develop own services, from portals to online stores.
Perhaps, the most popular services exist at Google and Microsoft. E-mail, data storage, editing documents, the communication medium – all this is integrated and is available to the user in a program window.
Outputs
The concept "lease of machine time" arose last century, in those days, when "personal computers" did not appear yet, but there were big computers. Actually, with clouds the same: through lease of capacities provide to the user access to computing resources or disk memory. And if it is required to pay, then it is exclusive for that volume of resources/data / software tools which are really necessary. At the same time you should not care for where and how to locate information, there is no need to monitor updates, to execute prevention of the hardware, the nobility, data are physically placed where exactly. They somewhere there, in a cloud.