Cloud computing

Definition of Cloud Computing 

Cloud computing is a phrase used to describe a variety of computing concepts that involve a large number of computers connected through a real-time communication network such as the Internet. In science, cloud computing is a synonym for distributed computing over a network, and means the ability to run a program or application on many connected computers at the same time.
The phrase also more commonly refers to network-based services, which appear to be provided by real server hardware, and are in fact served up by virtual hardware, simulated by software running on one or more real machines. Such virtual servers do not physically exist and can therefore be moved around and scaled up or down on the fly without affecting the end user, somewhat like a cloud.
In common usage, the term "the cloud" is essentially a metaphor for the Internet Marketers have further popularized the phrase "in the cloud" to refer to software, platforms and infrastructure that are sold "as a service", i.e. remotely through the Internet. Typically, the seller has actual energy-consuming servers which host products and services from a remote location, so end-users don't have to; they can simply log on to the network without installing anything. The major models of cloud computing service are known as Software as a Service, Platform as a Service, and Infrastructure as a Service. These cloud services may be offered in a Public, Private or Hybrid network. Google, Inc. is one of the most well-known cloud vendors.

Cloud Services

Create highly-available, infinitely scalable applications and API’s

Quickly deploy and manage powerful applications and services with Windows Azure Cloud Services. Simply upload your application and Windows Azure handles the deployment details - from provisioning and load balancing to health monitoring for continuous availability. Your application is backed by an industry leading 99.95% monthly SLA. You just focus on the application and not the infrastructure. It’s that good.

Use Cloud Services to:

Focus on your application, not the infrastructure

Never worry about patching, hardware failures, or network issues again. Windows Azure Cloud Services is designed to let you build applications that are continuously available even during system upgrades and hardware failures. Now you can just work on the code – the part that matters.

Develop internet-scale API’s for a world of devices

Every new mobile application needs a powerful set of server side services to power it. With Windows Azure Cloud Services you have everything you need to build the most robust, scalable APIs you can dream up. Take advantage of instant access to infinite scale so you can handle huge success without having to write any new code.

Build modern, cloud architectures

Windows Azure Cloud Services provides the most effective application environment for building the most modern, distributed, computing applications on the planet. Your customers will benefit from apps that respond faster and never go down.

Monitor, alert and auto scale (preview)

Windows Azure provides a number of capabilities that help you better understand the health of your applications. You can monitor the health and availability of your applications using the health metrics dashboard and set up alert rules to be notified when your service availability is degraded. You can also define an event of interest, be notified in real-time when the event occurs, and perform actions based on the events. Windows Azure allows you to configure your application to automatically scale up or down to match the current demands while minimizing costs with auto scale rules. Health and availability monitoring, auto scaling, and alerting are available at no additional cost while in preview.

How Cloud Computing Works

 

Let's say you're an executive at a large corporation. Your particular responsibilities include making sure that all of your employees have the right hardware and software they need to do their jobs. Buying computers for everyone isn't enough -- you also have to purchase software or software licenses to give employees the tools they require. Whenever you have a new hire, you have to buy more software or make sure your current software license allows another user. It's so stressful that you find it difficult to go to sleep on your huge pile of money every night.

Soon, there may be an alternative for executives like you. Instead of installing a suite of software for each computer, you'd only have to load one application. That application would allow workers to log into a Web-based service which hosts all the programs the user would need for his or her job. Remote machines owned by another company would run everything from e-mail to word processing to complex data analysis programs. It's called cloud computing, and it could change the entire computer industry.
In a cloud computing system, there's a significant workload shift. Local computers no longer have to do all the heavy lifting when it comes to running applications. The network of computers that make up the cloud handles them instead. Hardware and software demands on the user's side decrease. The only thing the user's computer needs to be able to run is the cloud computing systems interface software, which can be as simple as a Web browser, and the cloud's network takes care of the rest.
There's a good chance you've already used some form of cloud computing. If you have an e-mail account with a Web-based e-mail service like Hotmail, Yahoo! Mail or Gmail, then you've had some experience with cloud computing. Instead of running an e-mail program on your computer, you log in to a Web e-mail account remotely. The software and storage for your account doesn't exist on your computer -- it's on the service's computer cloud.