University of Buea,

College of Technology (COT),

Department of Computer Engineering -
2021/2022 Academic Year

CEC315: INTRODUCTION TO
CLOUD COMPUTING
Enjoy Your Ride to the Cloud!

Course Outline
and Module 1
Copyright ©Kometa Denis; komtanis@gmail.com; Dpt. of Com. Engineering, COT, University of Buea, 2021
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CEC315: Introduction to Cloud Computing – Module 1

COURSE INFORMATION

Course Code: CEC315

Course Title: Introduction to Cloud Computing

Semester: …

Course Credit: 4 Credits Value

Course Duration: At least three hours of theory/practice per week for 13 weeks.

Hours: {Lectures + Tutorial+ Practice; Total= 60}

Status: Compulsory

Prerequisite: Knowledge of Concepts of Databases, Computer Architecture, Networking, Network

Security, Software,

Course Facilitator: Kometa Denis

Cell Phone: 651633012

E-mail: komtanis@gmail.com

OBJECTIVES

It is expected that by the end of this course, students should be able to:

 have a general overview of cloud computing;

 understand the basic principles and architecture of cloud computing;
 understand the benefits and areas of application of cloud computing;
 understand the type of services provided by cloud computing;
 explore the concept of Virtualization;
 explain the privacy and security risks linked with the cloud- cloud computing issues.

CONTENTS

➢ Introduction Cloud Computing;

➢ The Benefits of Cloud Computing;
➢ Types of Clouds;
➢ Cloud Architectures;
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CEC315: Introduction to Cloud Computing – Module 1

➢ Virtual Machines;
➢ General Security Concepts;
➢ Migrating to the Cloud.

COURSE OUTCOME

On completion of this module, the students should be able to:

➢ understand basic fundamentals of Cloud Computing;

➢ convincing explain the different types of Cloud and Services offered by Cloud Providers;
➢ set up a virtual machine;
➢ understand and explain privacy and security issues linked with the Cloud;
➢ understand the process of migrating to the Cloud;
➢ assess the future of Cloud Computing.

INSTRUCTIONAL FORMAT

Classes will be interactive, using lectures, group activities, exercises, and related activities that require the
active participation of students. Students are expected to read the lecture notes before the lecture. This will
facilitate more productive discussion during class. They are also encouraged to proof read their assignments
& tests.

CLASS ATTENDANCE

It is expected that every student will be in class for lectures and also participate actively in all practical
exercises. Attendance records will be kept and used to determine each person’s qualification to sit for the
final examination. In case of illness or other unavoidable cause of absence, the student must communicate
as soon as possible with the course instructor or HoD, indicating the reason(s) for the absence. If you miss
more than five (5) lectures, you automatically are disqualified from writing the final examination.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

Violations of academic integrity, including dishonesty in assignments, examinations, or other academic

performances are prohibited. You are not allowed to make copies of another person’s work and submit it

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CEC315: Introduction to Cloud Computing – Module 1

as your own; that is plagiarism. All cases of academic dishonesty will be reported to the University
Management for appropriate sanctions in accordance with the guidelines for handling students’ misconduct
as spelt out in the Students’ Handbook.

ASSIGNMENTS AND GROUP WORK

Students are expected to submit assignments as scheduled. Failure to submit an assignment as at when due
will earn you zero for that assignment. Only under extenuating circumstances, for which a student has
notified any of the course instructor or HoD in advance, will late submission of assignments be permitted.
Students are also encouraged to proof read their assignments and tests.

CODE OF CONDUCT IN LECTURE ROOMS/LAB

Students should turn off their cell phones during lectures. Students are prohibited from engaging in other
activities (such as texting, watching videos, etc.) during lectures. Food and drinks are not permitted in
lecture rooms and laboratories (with the exception of water and other health reasons).

EVALUATION (Course Assessment Methods)

Both continuous and end of semester assessment:

1. Continuous Assessment: Written Tests/Assignments/Quizzes: 25%

2. Class Attendance:10%
3. Active participation in class:5%
4. Semester Examination: 60%

LECTURE SCHEDULE

WEEK TOPIC REMARKS

General Introduction to Cloud Computing At the end of this class, the students would
have been introduced to Cloud Computing
A. What is Cloud Computing?
basics.
B. The Idea Behind Cloud Computing
Module 1 C. Brief History of Cloud Computing
D. The Motivation Behind Cloud Computing
E. Technology Innovations

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CEC315: Introduction to Cloud Computing – Module 1

The Benefits and Limitations of Cloud The understanding of the benefits of cloud
Computing computing would have been fully achieved
Module 2
at the end of this module.
A. Reduced Investments
B. Increased Scalability
C. Increased Flexibility and Portability
D. Limitations and Security Concerns
E. Regulatory Issues

Types of Clouds and Cloud Architectures Types of Clouds and Cloud Architectures
would have been explored and discussed
A. Public Clouds
with the students at the end of this module.
B. Private Clouds
Module 3 C. Hybrid Clouds
D. Cloud Architectures
E. Cloud Federations (Interclouds)

Companies involved in Cloud Computing Various companies involved in cloud

computing would have been discussed with
A. Insightful Solutions
the students at the end of this module.
B. Google, Salesforce.com
C. Facebook, EMC, Yahoo
D. Microsoft, Amazon, IBM
Module 4
E. Oracle, Partnerships
Virtual Machines The understanding and installation of
virtual machines would been done by the
A. Introduction
students.
B. Virtualization
Module 5 C. Types of Virtualizations
D. Why and How to Virtualize
E. Covert channels
Module 6 General Security Concepts The general concepts of security would
have been covered.
A. Security – Basic Concepts
B. Policies and Mechanisms
C. Authentication
D. Passwords and Digital Certificates
E. Authorization
Module 7 CA

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CEC315: Introduction to Cloud Computing – Module 1

Introduction to Basic Elements of Understanding the basic elements of

Cryptography cryptography, as well as the causes
Module 8 associated with the use of cloud computing
A. Basic Concepts would have been satisfactorily achieved at
B. Symmetric Encryption the end of this module.
C. Asymmetric Encryption
D. Cloud Security
E. Causes of problems associated with Cloud
Computing
Cloud Computing Technology

Module 9 A. Clients The students have been introduced to

B. Security Cloud Computing Technology.
C. Network
D. Services
Module 10 Migrating from Standard Environment to
Cloud
The students would have understood the
A. Migration Guide process of migrating from a standard
B. Cloud Services for Individuals environment to the cloud.
C. Cloud Services Aimed at the Mid-Market
D. Enterprise-Class Cloud Offerings
E. Migration
Module 11 Together with the students, salient areas
Tutorials and Discussions and their challenges will be examined and
clarified to enable them to adequately
prepare for final exams.

Module 12 Final Examination The final evaluation would be done.

REFERENCES

 Thomas Erl, Cloud Computing: Concepts, Technology & Architecture (Prentice Hall, 2013).
 A Complete Guide to Cloud Computing (The Art of Service).
 Anthony T. Velte, Toby J. Velte & Robert Elsenpeter, Cloud Computing: A Practical Approach (The
McGraw-Hill, 2010).

Tools: VMware
Copyright ©Kometa Denis; komtanis@gmail.com; Dpt. of Com. Engineering, COT, University of Buea, 2021
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CEC315: Introduction to Cloud Computing – Module 1

Module 1: General Introduction to Cloud Computing

1.1 What is Cloud Computing?

 Cloud computing can be defined as the use of computer technology that harnesses the processing
power of many inter-networked computers while concealing the structure that is behind it.
 Cloud computing gets its name as a metaphor for the Internet.
 This is what creates the backbone of the networks that we access today. While this technology has
been around for some time, they way that people within IT organisations view cloud computing has
changed because of the flexibility it can now give them through providing services and applications
for users to apply it in what is known as the back office.
 The origins of the term “cloud” can be traced to the concealing nature of this technology’s framework;
the system works for users yet they really have no idea the inherent complexities that the system
utilises.
 Typically, the Internet is represented in network diagrams as a cloud, as shown in Figure 1-1.

Figure 1-1: A cloud is used in network diagrams to depict the Internet.

 What they do not realise is that there is a massive amount of data being pushed globally in real time
to make these applications work for them, the scale of which is simply amazing.
 The idea of connecting to the cloud in fact is something of a familiar notion among technologists today
because it has become a popular buzzword among the technology media.

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CEC315: Introduction to Cloud Computing – Module 1

 The only thing users need to be concerned about is the terminal that they are using and whether or not
it is connected to the internet so that they can have access to the tools that the cloud can provide.
 Unknown to many people is that much of the structure in the information technology industry today
is now done within a cloud computing environment or is moving towards that end.
 A slow migration towards this has been going on for several years, mainly due to the infrastructure
and support costs that go into standalone hardware.
 It is also due to the economies of scale in larger data centers providing enhanced performance and
processing power.
 This can be attributed as well to the shift of emerging technologies on the internet towards vast
amounts of data that need to be mined, parsed and organised for users to easily understand.

1.2 The Idea Behind Cloud Computing

 This idea was championed by the top computer scientists
➢ If computers of the kind I have advocated become the computers of the future, then computing
may someday be organised as a public utility just as the telephone system is a public utility. …
The computer utility could become the basis of a new and important industry (Computer
scientist, John McCarthy’s proposal in 1961).
➢ As of now, computer networks are still in their infancy, but as they grow up and become
sophisticated, we will probably see the spread of ‘computer utilities’ (Leonard Kleinrock in
1969; Chief scientist of ARPANET*).

1.3 Brief History of Cloud Computing

 The concept of cloud computing is not new. In fact, much of what we do on our computers today
requires it.
 What is changing is the way that we look at what cloud computing can actually do for us today.
 The power and scale of the cloud has changed immensely from what it was in the beginning.
 Over time as the technology and business environments had progressed, the status quo of cloud
computing has changed.

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CEC315: Introduction to Cloud Computing – Module 1

 What was known as cloud computing long ago was the same in principle, but the uses in information
today have changed by an immense degree.
 But there is no doubt that this type of processing power is indeed becoming more prevalent by larger
companies that have an almost unquenchable thirst for the ability to process tasks such as crunching
numbers and providing users with Web 2.0 functionality.
 More and more information is out there in the digital realm and there is so much of it that needs to be
organised in ways that we can fully understand it and use to our advantage.
 The beginning of what is known as the concept of cloud computing can be traced back to the
mainframe days of the 1960s when the idea of “utility computing” was coined by MIT computer
scientist and Turing award winner John McCarthy.
 Utility computing ended up becoming something of a big business for companies such as IBM.
 The concept was simple: that computing power could be broken down as a metered service for
businesses much like how the power and telephone companies operated for their customers.
 Indeed, it was an article “The Computers of Tomorrow” for the Atlantic Monthly in May of 1964
where author Martin Greenberger pointed out the concept that “advanced arithmetical machines of the
future” were now being used not only institutionally for scientific calculation and research but for
business functions such as accounting and inventory.
 He envisioned in his piece a future in which computers would be universal almost like the major power
companies running wires everywhere in due time.
 The “information utility” would soon rise, but the question was, would it become regulated like the
power industry or be a private entity in and of itself?
 IBM of course, saw the potential for enormous profit to be made in this type of business and took the
reins in providing computing services to companies for top dollar.
 What IBM was providing with utility computing could be referred to almost as server rental in
allowing, for a fee, large organisations (such as banks for example) access to computing power from
their gigantic mainframes; often too expensive, large and complicated for most businesses to acquire
and operate on their own.
 Of course, once the personal computer became ubiquitous the concept of utility computing came to be
known as more of an operational extravagance that most companies did not need.

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CEC315: Introduction to Cloud Computing – Module 1

 This was also coupled with the fact that computers were becoming affordable and small along with
being relatively easy to operate.
 There was another component to the idea of utility computing that allowed interest to wane during the
rise of the personal computer.
 The technical limitations on bandwidth as well as disk space were a huge constraint on
what could have been.
 The infrastructure for this type of technology was simply not in place as of yet for cloud computation
to take the limelight, although the use of rented mainframe processing still proved to be profitable for
quite some time.
 It was in the late 1990s that companies such as Sun Microsystems began touting what seemed at the
time the marketing concept that “the network is the computer”.
 Or the idea that Oracle founder Larry Ellison (who later invested in Salesforce.com) had for terminal
machines that would cost less than $300.
 These ideas were indeed profound, but they never really took off as consumers were looking for more
complete personal computer solutions that had, for example, some storage capacity available.
 The personal computer as we understand it today is no dummy terminal. In fact, the rise of the Internet
beginning in the mid-90s changed how computers could be used and how information could be
disseminated.
 With the idea of utility computing long gone, companies such as Amazon began to harness the power
of server farms to offer a gaggle of products to would-be buyers.
 Interestingly, the motives behind most dot-com companies at that time were not based on profit but on
traffic.
 Traffic was mistakenly seen at the time as some kind of cash flow to investors of dot-com companies.
 This in turn led to a lot of investment into infrastructure.
 That included fiber optic backbones and building up what was known as the “last mile”, the final
distances that were in people’s homes and hopefully to these dot-com companies, ultimately their
wallets.

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CEC315: Introduction to Cloud Computing – Module 1

 The idea of indexing the internet and the rise of first Yahoo, and then Google, has shown us how
plugging in to a vast network of knowledge was somewhat of a precursor to the interactivity that we
can enjoy today with cloud computing.
 But search was really where the first version of cloud computing as we know it began.
 Whether it is for business or just for fun, these search engines were the dawn of the organisation of
vast amounts of information that existed on servers around the world.
 Although today the concept of search engines seems very basic it took many years before the founders
of Yahoo came up with a way to easily navigate the Internet.
 But Yahoo was the tip of the iceberg, as soon the Google founders, Sergey Brin and Larry Page, found
a faster and better way to index the Internet.
 Before long even Yahoo was licensing the technology for a time before Google went public.
 The rise of Google brought a massive investment in huge server farms which would then lead to the
vast array of applications and Web 2.0 features that Google now offers as a titan of the industry,
probably the cornerstone of what cloud computing is today and leaving software and network
companies such as Novell and Microsoft in the dust trying to find their way.
1.3.1 Cloud
 A cloud refers to a distinct IT environment that is designed for the purpose of remotely provisioning
scalable and measured IT resources as presented in Figure 1-2.
 The term originated as a metaphor for the Internet which is, in essence, a network of networks
providing remote access to a set of decentralised IT resources.
 Prior to cloud computing becoming its own formalized IT industry segment, the symbol of a cloud
was commonly used to represent the Internet in a variety of specifications and mainstream
documentation of Web-based architectures.

Figure 1-2: The boundary of a cloud environment.

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CEC315: Introduction to Cloud Computing – Module 1

1.3.2 IT Resource
 An IT resource is a physical or virtual IT-related artifact that can be either software based, such as
a virtual server or a custom software program, or hardware-based, such as a physical server or a
network device.
1.3.3 On-Premise
 As a distinct and remotely accessible environment, a cloud represents an option for the deployment
of IT resources.
 An IT resource that is hosted in a conventional IT enterprise within an organisational boundary (that
does not specifically represent a cloud) is considered to be located on the premises of the IT
enterprise, or on-premise for short.
 In other words, the term "on-premise" is another way of stating "on the premises of a controlled IT
environment that is not cloud-based."
 This term is used to qualify an IT resource as an alternative to "cloud-based."
 An IT resource that is on-premise cannot be cloud-based, and vice-versa.
1.3.4 Scaling
 Scaling, from an IT resource perspective, represents the ability of the IT resource to handle increased
or decreased usage demands.
 The following are types of scaling:
➢ Horizontal Scaling - scaling out and scaling in
➢ Vertical Scaling - scaling up and scaling down
 Horizontal Scaling
➢ The allocating or releasing of IT resources that are of the same type is referred to as
horizontal scaling as shown in Figure 1-3. The horizontal allocation of resources is referred
to as scaling out and the horizontal releasing of resources is referred to as scaling in.
Horizontal scaling is a common form of scaling within cloud environments.

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CEC315: Introduction to Cloud Computing – Module 1

Figure 1-3: Horizontal Scaling.

 Vertical Scaling
➢ When an existing IT resource is replaced by another with higher or lower capacity, vertical
scaling is considered to have occurred as shown in Figure 1-4. Specifically, the replacing of
an IT resource with another that has a higher capacity is referred to as scaling up and the
replacing an IT resource with another that has a lower capacity is considered scaling down.
Vertical scaling is less common in cloud environments due to the downtime required while
the replacement is taking place.

Figure 1-4: Vertical Scaling.

 Comparison
Table 1-1: Comparison between Horizontal and Vertical Scaling

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CEC315: Introduction to Cloud Computing – Module 1

1.3.5 Cloud Service

 A cloud service is any IT resource that is made remotely accessible via a cloud as shown in Figure
1-5.
 Unlike other IT fields that fall under the service technology umbrella - such as service-oriented
architecture - the term "service" within the context of cloud computing is especially broad.
 A cloud service can exist as a simple Web-based software program with a technical interface
invoked via the use of a messaging protocol, or as a remote access point for administrative tools or
larger environments and other IT resources.

Figure 1-5: Cloud Service

1.3.6 Cloud Provider and Cloud Customer
 The party that uses cloud-based IT resources is the cloud customer.
 The party that provides cloud-based IT resources is the cloud provider.
 Cloud Provider
➢ When assuming the role of cloud provider, an organisation is responsible for making cloud
services available to cloud consumers, as per agreed upon SLA guarantees. The cloud

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provider is further tasked with any required management and administrative duties to ensure
the on-going operation of the overall cloud infrastructure.
➢ Cloud providers normally own the IT resources that are made available for lease by cloud
consumers; however, some cloud providers also "resell" IT resources leased from other
cloud providers.
 Cloud Customer
➢ A cloud consumer is an organisation (or a human) that has a formal contract or
arrangement with a cloud provider to use IT resources made available by the cloud
provider. Specifically, the cloud consumer uses a cloud service consumer to access a cloud
service

Figure 1-6: A Cloud Provider and Customer.

1.3.7 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.
 Abstraction: Offers a simplified interface
 Computing systems organised as layers of abstraction
➢ each layer helps to simplify the system
 Example of abstractions:
➢ A file is an abstraction of disk storage
➢ A TCP stream is an abstraction of network packets … which are abstraction of electrical
signals

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1.3.8 Virtualization
 Virtualization represents a technology platform used for the creation of virtual instances of IT
resources. A layer of Virtualization software allows physical IT resources to provide multiple virtual
images of themselves so that their underlying processing capabilities can be shared by multiple
users. This is done using a virtual machine.
 A VM is a software implementation of a computer that executes programs like a physical machine
abstracts the details of physical hardware provides virtualised resources for high-level applications.
 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.
1.3.9 Grid Computing
 Grid computing is often confused with cloud computing, but they are quite different.
 Early definitions:
➢ Kleinrock 1969: “We will probably see the spread of ‘computer utilities’, which, like present
electric and telephone utilities, will service individual homes and offices across the country.”
➢ Foster and Kesselman, 1998: “A computational grid is a hardware and software
infrastructure that provides dependable, consistent, pervasive, and inexpensive access to
high-end computational facilities”.
 A computing grid (or "computational grid") provides a platform in which computing resources are
organised into one or more logical pools. These pools are collectively coordinated to provide a high-
performance distributed grid, sometimes referred to as a "super virtual computer."
 Grid computing differs from clustering in that grid systems are much more loosely coupled and
distributed. As a result, grid computing systems can involve computing resources that are
heterogeneous and geographically dispersed, which is generally not possible with cluster
computing-based systems.
 Grid computing has been an on-going research area in computing science since the early 1990s. The
technological advancements achieved by grid computing projects have influenced various aspects
of cloud computing platforms and mechanisms, specifically in relation to common feature-sets such

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CEC315: Introduction to Cloud Computing – Module 1

as networked access, resource pooling, and scalability and resiliency. These types of features can be
established by both grid computing and cloud computing, in their own distinctive approaches.
 For example, grid computing is based on a middleware layer that is deployed on computing
resources. These IT resources participate in a grid pool that implements a series of workload
distribution and coordination functions. This middle tier can contain load balancing logic, failover
controls, and autonomic configuration management, each having previously inspired similar-and
several more sophisticated-cloud computing technologies. It is for this reason that some classify
cloud computing as a descendant of earlier grid computing initiatives.
 Grid computing applies the resources of numerous computers in a network to work on a single
problem at the same time. This is usually done to address a scientific or technical problem.
 Flexible, secure, coordinated resource sharing among dynamic collections of individuals and
institutions.
 Enable communities (“Virtual Organisations”) to share geographically distributed resources as they
pursue common goals -- assuming the absence of…
➢ central location,
➢ central control,
➢ omniscience,
➢ existing trust relationships.

Figure 1-7: Grid Components

 A well-known example of this is the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) @Home project.
In this project, people all over the world allow the SETI project to share the unused cycles of their

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computers to search for signs of intelligence in thousands of hours of recorded radio data. This is
shown in Figure 1-8.

Figure 1-8: SETI@Home is a well-known use of grid computing.

 Other examples of Grid Computing Tools: Globus Toolkit, GridWay, Sun Grid Engine, etc.

Figure 1-9: Globus Toolkit

 Existing Grids: Grid5000(France), GridPP (UK), Teragrid (USA), etc.
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CEC315: Introduction to Cloud Computing – Module 1

1.4 What Really is Cloud Computing all about?

 Several scholars and organisations have defined what they each think about cloud computing.
 In simplistic terms, cloud computing can be broken down to a browser-based application that is hosted
on a remote server.
 To the average user, that is all he or she really needs to know about cloud computing. But there is a
lot more to it than just that.
 What cloud computing really represents is huge: it’s a way for small organisations to compete with
much larger ones, it’s a way to save a lot of money and it’s a way to utilise energy efficiency in
operations.
 The definition that has gained universal acceptance is that of National Institute of Standard and
Technology (NIST) illustrated by Figure 1-10:
➢ “Cloud computing is a model for enabling ubiquitous, convenient, on-demand network access
to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (i.e., networks, servers, storage,
applications, and services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal
management effort or service provider interaction. This cloud model is composed of five
essential characteristics, three service models, and four deployment models.”

Figure 1-10: NIST Definition of Cloud Computing.

 Cloud computing is a new operations model that:

➢ brings together a set of existing technologies
➢ Virtualization
➢ utility-based pricing
 The beauty of cloud computing, as shown in Figure 1-11, is that another company hosts your
application (or suite of applications, for that matter).
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CEC315: Introduction to Cloud Computing – Module 1

 This means that they handle the costs of servers, they manage the software updates, and—depending
on how you craft your contract—you pay less for the service.

Figure 1-11: With cloud computing, other companies host your applications.

1.5 Motivation for Cloud Computing

As seen already from the previous sections, many motivations led to cloud computing.

1.5.1 Capacity Planning:

 Capacity planning is the process of determining and fulfilling future demands of an organisation's IT
resources, products, and services. Within this context, capacity represents the maximum amount of
work that an IT resource is capable of delivering in a given period of time. A discrepancy between
the capacity of an IT resource and its demand can result in a system becoming either inefficient (over-
provisioning) or unable to fulfill user needs (under-provisioning).
 Capacity planning is focused on minimizing this discrepancy to achieve predictable efficiency and
performance. Different capacity planning strategies exist:
➢ Lead Strategy - adding capacity to an IT resource in anticipation of demand
➢ Lag Strategy - adding capacity when the IT resource reaches its full capacity
➢ Match Strategy - adding IT resource capacity in small increments, as demand increases.
 Planning for capacity can be challenging because it requires estimating usage load fluctuations. There
is a constant need to balance peak usage requirements without unnecessary over-expenditure on
infrastructure.
1.5.2 Cost Reduction:
 A direct alignment between IT costs and business performance can be difficult to maintain.
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 The growth of IT environments often corresponds to the assessment of their maximum usage
requirements.
 This can make the support of new and expanded business automations an ever-increasing
investment.
 Much of this required investment is funneled into infrastructure expansion because the usage
potential of a given automation solution will always be limited by the processing power of its
underlying infrastructure.
 Two costs need to be accounted for:
➢ The cost of acquiring new infrastructure, and
➢ The cost of its ongoing ownership
 Operational overhead represents a considerable share of IT budgets, often exceeding up-front
investment costs.
 Common forms of infrastructure-related operating overhead include the following:
➢ Technical personnel required to keep the environment operational.
➢ Upgrades and patches that introduce additional testing and deployment cycles.
➢ Utility bills and capital expense investments for power and cooling.
➢ Security and access control measures that need to be maintained and enforced to protect
infrastructure resources.
➢ Administrative and accounts staff that may be required to keep track of licenses and support
arrangements.
 The on-going ownership of internal technology infrastructure can encompass burdensome
responsibilities that impose compound impacts on corporate budgets.
 An IT department can consequently become a significant-and at times overwhelming-drain on the
business, potentially inhibiting its responsiveness, profitability, and overall evolution.
1.5.3 Organisational Agility:
 Businesses need the ability to adapt and evolve to successfully face change caused by both internal
and external factors. Organisational agility is the measure of an organisation's responsiveness to
change.

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 An IT enterprise often needs to respond to business change by scaling its IT resources beyond the
scope of what was previously predicted or planned for. For example, infrastructure may be subject
to limitations that prevent the organisation from responding to usage fluctuations-even when
anticipated-if previous capacity planning efforts were restricted by inadequate budgets.
 In other cases, changing business needs and priorities may require IT resources to be more available
and reliable than before. Even if sufficient infrastructure is in place for an organisation to support
anticipated usage volumes, the nature of the usage may generate runtime exceptions that bring down
hosting servers. Due to a lack of reliability controls within the infrastructure, responsiveness to
consumer or customer requirements may be reduced to a point whereby a business' overall
continuity is threatened.
 On a broader scale, the up-front investments and infrastructure ownership costs that are required to
enable new or expanded business automation solutions may themselves be prohibitive enough for a
business to settle for IT infrastructure of less-than ideal quality, thereby decreasing its ability to
meet real-world requirements.
 Worse yet, the business may decide against proceeding with an automation solution altogether upon
review of its infrastructure budget, because it simply cannot afford to. This form of inability to
respond can inhibit an organisation from keeping up with market demands, competitive pressures,
and its own strategic business goals.
1.5.4 Clustering:
 A cluster is a group of independent IT resources that are interconnected and work as a single system.
System failure rates are reduced while availability and reliability are increased, since redundancy
and failover features are inherent to the cluster.
 A general prerequisite of hardware clustering is that its component systems have reasonably
identical hardware and operating systems to provide similar performance levels when one failed
component is to be replaced by another. Component devices that form a cluster are kept in
synchronisation through dedicated, high-speed communication links.
 The basic concept of built-in redundancy and failover is core to cloud platforms.

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1.6 Technology Innovations and Basic Common Terminology

There are several technologies that are frequently associated with cloud computing technology.

1.6.1 Back Office

 Making technology easier for customers saves companies money, by taking the technical issues out
of the equation so that businesses can focus their energy on creating a superior product or service.
 This is commonly known as back office tasks, generally rudimentary data parsing procedures that
are time consuming as well as tedious.
 An example of a back office service that is out today is Amazon’s Web Services platform.
 The customers that Amazon is targeting would be the small programming shop that needs to have a
powerful server platform from which to try out its services.
 Of course, Amazon will be a big winner if the application actually takes off because it means more
processing power will be required.
1.6.2 Web 2.0
 Web 2.0 cloud computing is a blanket term, but it is usually associated with some type of
social networking technology – that is, a large number of social users that are interconnected via
their relations with the people and things they find interesting.
 The impact of social networking on cloud computing technology is now beginning to show its true
colors as this is an innovation that piques the interests of the general computer user.
 Once of the biggest Web 2.0 companies today is Facebook.
 Started as an electronic yearbook for college students, Facebook is now open to anyone and offers
a way to connect with people across long distances.
 It offers some interesting user generated applications as well as some recently implemented instant
messaging functions that look very promising.
1.6.3 Thin Client
 A thin client would be a term used for a terminal that connects to the cloud. This could be a
computer, a cell phone or even an mp3 player.
 It can be referred to as software as well. As long as the device can connect to the cloud, it is known
as a thin client for all intents and purposes.

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 The meaning behind it being “thin” is that it does not require much processing power to be a client
to the cloud itself.
 Recently Google has come out with their own web browser to compete with the others that are out
there, and it is known as Chrome.
 This is significant because Chrome is probably the first generation of internet browsers whose
purpose is to be able to run online applications.
 Its ability to read more complex code is streamlined. Also, its tabbed functions are each its own
running process to keep applications running smoothly and securely.
1.6.4 Server Farm
 Another popular term in cloud computing is the server farm. A server farm is a cluster of computers
whose sole purpose is to provide processing power greater than what a single machine would be
able to do on its own.
 A perfect example of this would be what companies use for web hosting of individual websites.
 Even though there is one website, the server farm provides failover capability in case something was
to happen to any single machine hosting the website.
 It is ideal for server farms to be located near a reliable source of power. Microsoft’s newest $500
million data center near Chicago is taking up three substations, using almost 200 megawatts of total
power.
 A popular location for data centers has become Quincy, Washington where there are ample amounts
of cheap hydroelectric power due to be close to the dams on the Columbia River.
 Cooling is an important element of server farms; with so many servers whirring and clicking all at
once it becomes expensive to be able to keep the machines cooled down.
 This is another reason why Quincy is so popular because water can help to keep the servers cooled
down. Also, companies are looking at colder climates.
 Microsoft is looking into building a server farm in Siberia. Iceland has also become a popular
location for companies to build data centers as well.
1.6.5 Workload Migration
 Workload migration is the concept of optimising server farm technology to be data and energy
efficient.

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 With so much processing ability coupled with an enormous amount of power consumption,
companies managing server farm technology are finding that they need IT people who are well
versed in workload migration technology to be able to manage all that this entails.
 Some cloud computing companies tout services to help companies with workload migration,
offering services that assist their clients with the “internal cloud” process.
 It is true that many companies require this kind of service to have someone who is specialised in
offering services to clients to keep their workloads optimised and ready at any moment’s notice.
1.6.6 On-Demand Computing
 On demand computing is a business terminology and would refer to back-office processing power,
for example a remote data processing center that processes payroll functions for a company located
thousands of miles away.
 Many back-office functions are performed in this manner, using the prevalence of cheap and reliable
bandwidth to push data around.
 This type of model was created to overcome the challenge to enterprises in being able to meet
fluctuating demands.
 Because a business’s demand on computing resources can vary dramatically from one period of
time to another, maintaining sufficient resources to meet peak-time usage requirements can be
expensive.
 If the business cuts costs by only maintaining minimal computing resources, there will not be
enough resources to meet the requirements.
1.6.7 Utility Computing
 This term is referred to as cloud providing companies being service providers just like your local
power utility.
 In this way, a customer utilising cloud technology would pay for the services for how much he or
she used just like how a customer of a power utility would pay only for the power consumed.
 Many cloud vendors are taking an interest in the utility business model.
 But the question remains as to what the difference is between the term utility computing and cloud
computing.

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 Cloud computing encompasses more than what utility computing can provide, as cloud technology
included scalable applications and application servers from which they are hosted on.
 It is easy to see why the utility model may become outdated because with cloud computing vendors
are able to provide so much more to their customers.
 They have more flexibility and can offer more services in one than utilities would be able to.
1.6.8 Autonomic Computing
 Computing systems capable of self-management i.e., reacting to internal and external observations
without human intervention e.g., automatic resource provisioning.
1.6.9 The Hardware Layer
 Has a special role: management of physical resources
➢ servers, routers, switches, power and cooling systems.
 Implemented in data centres
➢ contain thousands of servers interconnected through switches, routers or other fabrics
 Typical issues at hardware layer: hardware configuration; fault tolerance; traffic management;
power and cooling resource management
1.7 The Characteristics of Cloud Computing

Cloud computing is characterised by five things or components

1.7.1 Broad Network Access:

 Access to resources in the cloud is available over the network using standard methods in a manner
that provides platformindependent access to clients of all types. This includes a mixture of
heterogeneous operating systems, and thick and thin platforms such as laptops, mobile phones, and
PDA. Keywords: platform-independent access.
 The IT resources of a cloud service provider are provided to consumers as they sign a purchase
agreement. The sign up process can be completed relatively quickly as seen in Amazon’s Elastic
Cloud Computing (EC2) services. Consumers are not limited to serious corporate users, but also
indicate users who not necessarily sign a contract as well. Then the IT resources are accessible via
various device types like desktops, laptops, smartphones, tablet PCs, and others. Their user
interfaces are not limited to one standard protocol either. They can be Microsoft’s Internet Explorer,

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Google’s Chrome, Apple’s Safari, or Amazon’s Kindle. In other words, their IT resources are
widely accessible, giving an impression of ubiquitous access.
1.7.2 Resource Pooling
 A cloud service provider creates resources that are pooled together in a system that supports multi-
tenant usage. Physical and virtual systems are dynamically allocated or reallocated as needed.
Intrinsic in this concept of pooling is the idea of abstraction that hides the location of resources such
as virtual machines, processing, memory, storage, and network bandwidth and connectivity.
Keywords: abstraction, multi-tenancy (virtualization).
 The key idea of resource pooling is a dynamic allocation of IT resources with a minimal cost. The
abstraction and virtualization of IT resources enable the idea to be materialized and implemented in
a cloud environment. Virtualization makes it possible to pool its IT resources and serve multiple
consumers who are isolated from each other. Using the analogy of apartment complex, these
multiple consumers are referred to as multiple tenants. Abstraction makes it possible to create a
logical computing unit by hiding the details of resources, including their locations, which typically
consist of processing power, storage, memory, and network. In such a way, consumers can allocate,
de-allocate, and re-allocate the logical computing unit as needed.
1.7.3 Rapid Elasticity:
 Resources can be rapidly and elastically provisioned. The system can add resources by either scaling
up systems (more powerful computers) or scaling out systems (more computers of the same kind),
and scaling may be automatic or manual. From the standpoint of the client, cloud computing
resources should look limitless and can be purchased at any time and in any quantity. Keywords:
elasticity, scale in, scale out.
 The traditional IT resources are often challenged by the consumers’ demand for more computing
power and storages barring the drainage of network bandwidth. If the demand is just a temporary
one, then the capital investment of more computing power and storages used for a short period of
time still remains within the organisation. If the excessive IT resources are not used, or rarely used
at best, then the return on investment is low. Thus the feature of rapid elasticity of cloud computing
is a very attractive solution from a perspective of such a provisioning issue. The provisioning issue
can be dealt with scalability of the IT resources. If demanded, the IT resources can be scaled out or

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even up, but when the demand is no longer there, the IT resources can be returned to the cloud
service provider.
1.7.4 Measured Service:
 The use of cloud system resources is measured, audited, and reported to the customer based on a
metered system. A client can be charged based on a known metric such as amount of storage used,
number of transactions, network I/O (Input/Output) or bandwidth, amount of processing power
used, and so forth. A client is charged based on the level of services provided. Keywords: metered
system, utility computing.
 This is a characteristic that the analogy of utility usage can be applied to. Utility bills such as
electricity, water and sewage, charge consumers based on their monthly consumption. Each house
has a meter and employees from the utility companies read the meter or the meter transmits the
signals to the utility companies to gauge the level of each house’s usage. The usage of IT resources
by consumers is no different. They are constantly monitored and charged based on their
consumption. The data the cloud service providers obtain from monitoring are not just for billing
purposes, but can be used for other general purposes for those who are not charged.
1.7.5 On-demand Self-Servive
 Cloud computing resources can be provisioned without human interaction from the service provider.
In other words, a manufacturing organisation can provision additional computing resources as
needed without going through the cloud service provider. This can be storage space, virtual machine
instances, database instances and so on.
 Manufacturing organisations can use a web-self service portal as an interface to access their cloud
accounts to see their services, their usage, and also to provision and deprovision services as they
need to.

Copyright ©Kometa Denis; komtanis@gmail.com; Dpt. of Com. Engineering, COT, University of Buea, 2021