Que.1. Give the definition of cloud computing according to NIST?

Cloud computing is a relatively new business model in the computing world. According to the
official NIST definition, "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) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with
minimal management effort or service provider interaction."

The NIST definition lists five essential characteristics of cloud computing: on-demand self-
service, broad network access, resource pooling, rapid elasticity or expansion, and measured
service. It also lists three "service models" (software, platform and infrastructure), and four
"deployment models" (private, community, public and hybrid) that together categorize ways to
deliver cloud services.

Que.2. Explain the evolution of cloud computing.

Cloud computing is a process that entails accessing of services, including, storage, applications and
servers through the Internet, making use of another company's remote services for a fee. This
enables a company to store and access data or programs virtually, i.e. in a cloud, rather than on
local hard drives or servers.

Cloud computing has its roots as far back in 1950s when mainframe computers came into existence.
At that time, several users accessed the central computer via dummy terminals. The only task these
dummy terminals could perform was to enable users access the mainframe computer. The
prohibitive costs of this mainframe devices did not make them economically feasible for
organizations to buy them. That was the time when the idea of provision of shared access to a single
computer occurred to the companies to save costs.

In 1970s, IBM came out with an operating system (OS) named VM. This allowed for simultaneous
operation of more than one OS. Guest Operating Systems could be run on every VM, with their own
memory and other infrastructure, making it possible to share these resources. This caused the
concept of virtualization in computing to gain popularity.

The 1990s witnessed telecom operators begin offering virtualized private network connections,
whose quality of service was as good as those of point-to-point (dedicated) services at a lesser cost.
This paved way for telecom companies' to offer many users shared access to a single physical
infrastructure.

The other catalysts were grid computing, which allowed major issues to be addressed via parallel
computing; utility computing facilitated computing resources to be offered as a metered service and
SaaS allowed subscriptions, which were network-based, to applications. Cloud computing,
therefore, owes its emergence to all these factors.

The three prominent types of cloud computing for businesses are Software-as-a-Service (SaaS),
which requires a company to subscribe to it and access services over the Internet; Infrastructure-
as-a-Service (IaaS) is a solution where large cloud computing companies deliver virtual
infrastructure; and Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) gives the company the freedom to make its own
custom applications that will be used by all its entire workforce.
Clouds are of four types: public, private, community, and hybrid. Through public cloud, a provider
can offer services, including storage and application, to anybody via the Internet. They can be
provided freely or charged on a pay-per-usage method.

Public cloud services are easier to install and less expensive, as costs for application, hardware and
bandwidth are borne by the provider. They are scalable, and the users avail only those services that
they use.

A private cloud is referred to as also internal cloud or corporate cloud, and it called so as it offers a
proprietary computing architecture through which hosted services can be provided to a restricted
number of users protected by a firewall. A private cloud is used by businesses that want to wield
more control over their data.

As far as the community cloud is concerned, it is a resource shared by more than one organization
whose cloud needs are similar.

A combination of two or more clouds is a hybrid cloud. Here, the clouds used are a combination of
private, public, or community.

Cloud computing is now being adopted by mobile phone users too, although there are limitations,
such as storage capacity, life of battery and restricted processing power.

Some of the most popular cloud applications globally are Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google
Compute Engine, Rackspace, Salesforce.com, IBM Cloud Managed Services, among others. Cloud
services have made it possible for small and medium businesses (SMBs) to be on par with large
companies.

Mobile cloud computing is being harnessed by bringing into existence a new infrastructure, which
is made possible by getting together mobile devices and cloud computing. This infrastructure
allows the cloud to execute massive tasks and store huge data, as processing of data and its storage
do not take place within mobile devices, but only beyond them. Mobile computing is getting a fillip
as customers are wanting to use their companies' applications and websites wherever they are.

The emergence of 4G, Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (Wimax), among others, is
also scaling up the connectivity of mobile devices. In addition, new technologies for mobile, such as,
CSS3, Hypertext Markup Language (HTML5) hypervisor for mobile devices, Web 4.0, etc. will only
power the adoption of mobile cloud computing.

The main benefits of using cloud computing by companies are that they need not buy any
infrastructure, thus lowering their maintenance costs. They can do away with the services used
when their business demands have been met. It also gives firms comfort that they have huge
resources at beck and call if they suddenly acquire a major project.

On the other hand, transferring their data to cloud makes businesses share their data security
responsibility with the provider of cloud services. This means that the consumer of cloud services
reposes lot of trust on the provider of those services. Cloud consumers control on the services used
is lesser than on on-premise IT resources.
Que.3. What are the essential characteristics of 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) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal
management effort or service provider interaction. This cloud computing model is composed
of five essential characteristics, three service models, and four deployment models.

On-demand self-service.

A consumer can unilaterally provision computing capabilities, such as server time and network
storage, as needed automatically without requiring human interaction with each service
provider.

Broad network access.

Capabilities are available over the network and accessed through standard mechanisms that
promote use by heterogeneous thin or thick client platforms (e.g., mobile phones, tablets,
laptops, and workstations).

Resource pooling.

The provider’s computing resources are pooled to serve multiple consumers using a multi-
tenant model, with different physical and virtual resources dynamically assigned and
reassigned according to consumer demand. There is a sense of location independence in that
the customer generally has no control or knowledge over the exact location of the provided
resources but may be able to specify location at a higher level of abstraction (e.g., country,
state, or datacenter). Examples of resources include storage, processing, memory, and
network bandwidth.

Rapid elasticity.

Capabilities can be elastically provisioned and released, in some cases automatically, to scale
rapidly outward and inward commensurate with demand. To the consumer, the capabilities
available for provisioning often appear to be unlimited and can be appropriated in any quantity
at any time.

Measured service.
Cloud systems automatically control and optimize resource use by leveraging a metering
capability at some level of abstraction appropriate to the type of service (e.g., storage,
processing, bandwidth, and active user accounts). Resource usage can be monitored,
controlled, and reported, providing transparency for both the provider and consumer of the
utilized service.

Hypervisor
A hypervisor is a hardware virtualization technique that allows multiple guest operating
systems (OS) to run on a single host system at the same time. The guest OS shares the
hardware of the host computer, such that each OS appears to have its own processor,
memory and other hardware resources.
A hypervisor is also known as a virtual machine manager (VMM).
The term hypervisor was first coined in 1956 by IBM to refer to software programs
distributed with IBM RPQ for the IBM 360/65. The hypervisor program installed on the
computer allowed the sharing of its memory.
The hypervisor installed on the server hardware controls the guest operating system
running on the host machine. Its main job is to cater to the needs of the guest operating
system and effectively manage it such that the instances of multiple operating systems
do not interrupt one another.

Techopedia explains Hypervisor

The term hypervisor was first coined in 1956 by IBM to refer to software programs
distributed with IBM RPQ for the IBM 360/65. The hypervisor program installed on the
computer allowed the sharing of its memory.
The hypervisor installed on the server hardware controls the guest operating system
running on the host machine. Its main job is to cater to the needs of the guest operating
system and effectively manage it such that the instances of multiple operating systems
do not interrupt one another.
Hypervisors can be divided into two types:

 Type 1: Also known as native or bare-metal hypervisors, these run directly on the host
computer’s hardware to control the hardware resources and to manage guest operating
systems. Examples of Type 1 hypervisors include VMware ESXi, Citrix XenServer and
Microsoft Hyper-V hypervisor.
 Type 2: Also known as hosted hypervisors, these run within a formal operating system
environment. In this type, the hypervisor runs as a distinct second layer while the
operating system runs as a third layer above the hardware.
 Parallel and Distributed computing

Parallel computing is a term usually used in the area of High Performance Computing
(HPC). It specifically refers to performing calculations or simulations using multiple
processors. Supercomputers are designed to perform parallel computation. These system
do not necessarily have shared memory (as incorrectly claimed by other answers). OpenMP
a tool used in the space will work on a single machine or clusters of machines found in
supercomputers.

Distributed computing is a term that actually is more general than parallel

computation. One could use distributed computing in the same sense a parallel computing
to mean that computation is distributed among many different computers. However,
distributed computing deals with additional aspects other than concurrency. Distributed
computing deals with additional capabilities that may include consistency, availability and
partition tolerance. These deal with the properties of a distributed system in the event of
different kinds of failures.

A system like Hadoop or Spark are distributed computing systems that have capabilities for
handling node and network failures. However, both systems are also designed to perform
parallel computing. Unlike HPC systems like MPI, these new kinds of systems are able to
continue with a massive calculation even if one of the computational nodes fail.

Virtualization in Cloud Computing

Virtualization is the "creation of a virtual (rather than actual) version of something, such as a server, a
desktop, a storage device, an operating system or network resources".

In other words, Virtualization is a technique, which allows to share a single physical instance of a
resource or an application among multiple customers and organizations. It does by assigning a logical
name to a physical storage and providing a pointer to that physical resource when demanded.

What is the concept behind the Virtualization?

Creation of a virtual machine over existing operating system and hardware is known as Hardware
Virtualization. A Virtual machine provides an environment that is logically separated from the underlying
hardware.

Types of Virtualization:
1. Hardware Virtualization.
2. Operating system Virtualization.
3. Server Virtualization.
4. Storage Virtualization.
1) Hardware Virtualization:

When the virtual machine software or virtual machine manager (VMM) is directly installed on the
hardware system is known as hardware virtualization.

The main job of hypervisor is to control and monitoring the processor, memory and other hardware
resources.

After virtualization of hardware system we can install different operating system on it and run different
applications on those OS.

Usage:

Hardware virtualization is mainly done for the server platforms, because controlling virtual machines is
much easier than controlling a physical server.

2) Operating System Virtualization:

When the virtual machine software or virtual machine manager (VMM) is installed on the Host operating
system instead of directly on the hardware system is known as operating system virtualization.

Usage:

Operating System Virtualization is mainly used for testing the applications on different platforms of OS.

3) Server Virtualization:

When the virtual machine software or virtual machine manager (VMM) is directly installed on the Server
system is known as server virtualization.

Usage:

Server virtualization is done because a single physical server can be divided into multiple servers on the
demand basis and for balancing the load.

4) Storage Virtualization:

Storage virtualization is the process of grouping the physical storage from multiple network storage
devices so that it looks like a single storage device.

Storage virtualization is also implemented by using software applications.

Usage:

Storage virtualization is mainly done for back-up and recovery purposes.

Cloud Service Models Saas, IaaS, PaaS

Cloud models come in three types: SaaS (Software as a Service), IaaS (Infrastructure as a
Service) and PaaS (Platform as a Service). Each of the cloud models has their own set of
benefits that could serve the needs of various businesses.

Choosing between them requires an understanding of these cloud models, evaluating your
requirements and finding out how the chosen model can deliver your intended set of workflows.
The following is a brief description of the three types of cloud models and their benefits.

SaaS

SaaS or Software as a Service is a model that gives quick access to cloud-based web
applications. The vendor controls the entire computing stack, which you can access using a web
browser. These applications run on the cloud and you can use them by a paid licensed
subscription or for free with limited access.

SaaS does not require any installations or downloads in your existing computing infrastructure.
This eliminates the need for installing applications on each of your computers with the
maintenance and support taken over by the vendor. Some known example of SaaS includes
Google G Suite, Microsoft Office 365, Dropbox etc.

IaaS

IaaS or Infrastructure as a Service is basically a virtual provision of computing resources over the
cloud. An IaaS cloud provider can give you the entire range of computing infrastructures such as
storage, servers, networking hardware alongside maintenance and support.

Businesses can opt for computing resources of their requirement without the need to install
hardware on their premises. Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and Google Compute
Engine are some of the leading IaaS cloud service providers.

PaaS

Platform as a Service or PaaS is essentially a cloud base where you can develop, test and
organize the different applications for your business. Implementing PaaS simplifies the process
of enterprise software development. The virtual runtime environment provided by PaaS gives a
favorable space for developing and testing applications.

The entire resources offered in the form of servers, storage and networking are manageable
either by the company or a platform provider. Google App Engine and AWS Elastic Beanstalk are
two typical examples of PaaS. PaaS is also subscription based that gives you flexible pricing
options depending on your business requirements.
Cloud deployment model
Introduction
NIST defines four cloud deployment models: public clouds, private clouds, community clouds, and hybrid
clouds. A cloud deployment model is defined according to where the infrastructure for the deployment
resides and who has control over that infrastructure. Deciding which deployment model you will go with
is one of the most important cloud deployment decisions you will make.
Each cloud deployment model satisfies different organizational needs, so it’s important that you choose
a model that will satisfy the needs of your organization. Perhaps even more important is the fact that
each cloud deployment model has a different value proposition and different costs associated with it.
Therefore, in many cases, your choice of a cloud deployment model may simply come down to money.
In any case, to be able to make an informed decision, you need to be aware of the characteristics of
each environment.
Cloud Computing Deployment Models
Cloud deployment models indicate how the cloud services are made available to users. The four
deployment models associated with cloud computing are as follows:
Public cloud As the name suggests, this type of cloud deployment model supports all users who
want to make use of a computing resource, such as hardware (OS, CPU, memory, storage) or
software (application server, database) on a subscription basis. Most common uses of public
clouds are for application development and testing, non-mission-critical tasks such as file-
sharing, and e-mail service.
•
 Private cloud True to its name, a private cloud is typically infrastructure used by a single
organization. Such infrastructure may be managed by the organization itself to support various
user groups, or it could be managed by a service provider that takes care of it either on-site or
off-site. Private clouds are more expensive than public clouds due to the capital expenditure
involved in acquiring and maintaining them. However, private clouds are better able to address
the security and privacy concerns of organizations today.
•

Hybrid cloud In a hybrid cloud, an organization makes use of interconnected private and
public cloud infrastructure. Many organizations make use of this model when they need to scale
up their IT infrastructure rapidly, such as when leveraging public clouds to supplement the
capacity available within a private cloud. For example, if an online retailer needs more
computing resources to run its Web applications during the holiday season it may attain those
resources via public clouds.
•

Community cloud This deployment model supports multiple organizations sharing computing
resources that are part of a community; examples include universities cooperating in certain
areas of research, or police departments within a county or state sharing computing resources.
Access to a community cloud environment is typically restricted to the members of the
community.

Service Providers

Generally, cloud computing services are categorized into three types.

1) Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): This service provides the infrastructure like Servers, Operating
Systems, Virtual Machines, Networks, and Storage on rent basis.
Eg: Amazon Web Service, Microsoft Azure
2) Platform as a Service (PaaS): This service is used in developing, testing and maintaining of software.
PaaS is same as IaaS but also provides additional tools like DBMS and BI service.
Eg: Apprenda, Red Hat OpenShift
3) Software as a Service (SaaS): This service makes the users connect to the applications through the
Internet on a subscription basis.
Eg: Google Applications, Salesforce