Application of cloud technologies in business. What is cloud technology? Applications of cloud technologies Cloud technologies use cases

Introduction

Cloud technologies in business processes

SaaS technologies

Practice of using cloud technologies.

Conclusion

Introduction

The essence of the cloud technology concept is to provide end users with remote, dynamic access to services, computing resources and applications (including operating systems and infrastructure) via the Internet. The growth of the hosting industry was driven by the need for software and digital services that could be managed internally, but were also more cost-effective and efficient due to economies of scale.

Most service providers offer cloud computing in the form of VPS hosting, shared hosting, and software-as-a-service (SaaS). Cloud services for a long time were provided in SaaS form, such as Microsoft Hosted Exchange and SharePoint.

It must be admitted that cloud computing technologies have enormous potential, because all modern computer products are constantly increasing their requirements for the technical equipment of the user’s computer, which inevitably leads to significant upgrade costs. The gaming industry is becoming especially demanding of system resources. So this technology allows you to solve the problem of excessive application demands on end user resources.

1.Cloud technologies in business processes

Computing clouds consist of thousands of servers located in data centers, running tens of thousands of applications that are used simultaneously by millions of users. An indispensable condition effective management such large-scale infrastructure is the most complete automation possible. In addition, to provide various types of users - cloud operators, service providers, intermediaries, IT administrators, application users - with secure access to computing resources, the cloud infrastructure must provide the ability to self-manage and delegate authority.

The concept of cloud computing has significantly changed the traditional approach to application delivery, management and integration. Compared to the traditional approach, cloud computing allows you to manage larger infrastructures, serve different groups of users within a single cloud, and also mean complete dependence on the cloud service provider. However, this dependence is such only in theory, because if the provider company allows even one precedent of information theft, this will be a colossal blow to the entire industry of providing remote capacity.

Cloud computing is effective tool increase profits and expand sales channels for independent software vendors (ISVs), telecom operators and VARs (in the form of SaaS). This approach allows for dynamic service delivery, where users can pay as they go and adjust their resources based on actual needs without long-term commitments.

For hosts, cloud computing offers enormous growth potential. The cloud computing industry is growing rapidly and, according to analysts, by 2012 it will account for 9% of all IT spending. In addition, the industry's focus is increasingly shifting from hosting to cloud computing and SaaS, and your customers will likely expect you to move in that direction.

The main advantage of using clouds is that the end user does not need to have a powerful system, which clearly leads to a significant reduction in costs for the user. The second advantage is the impossibility of using pirated content, because all incoming traffic will come from certified providers. In this way, one of the most global problems of computer modernity can be solved - piracy.

According to Parallels, in the next 5-10 years the majority of IT will move to the clouds of the five various types. There will be proprietary platform clouds providing various platform services - Google (type 1), Microsoft (type 2) and other large IT players (type 3) such as IBM, Apple, HP and Amazon.

There will be service clouds (type 4), where thousands of cloud providers are expected to emerge offering a wide range of services. Examples include web and application hosting, vertically integrated entities (government, healthcare, etc.), ISVs (strategic business development, customer support systems, etc.), telecommunications services ( voicemail, VOIP). Finally, there will be clouds managed by enterprise IT (Type 5), which will provide services for internal use and for use by employees and partners.

Platform clouds

Type2: Microsoft Cloud

Type3: Other clouds (for example, IBM and Apple - Amazon, Facebook, Adobe and others)

Service clouds

Type4: Cloud service providers - telecom operators, web hosts, ISV, SaaS

Type5: Inland clouds large companies(Fortune 1000)

With today's level of competition in the IT market, the key to success is the transition to the fifth type of cloud or the involvement of third-party resources for the transition to the fourth type. To solve this problem, Parallels creates solutions, ecosystems and establishes partnerships with service providers and companies to build an effective infrastructure for providing cloud services. In addition, Parallels continues to develop its SaaS business to enable ISVs and service providers to deliver SaaS applications that meet today's industry standards.

2.SaaS technologies

(Software as a Service) is a model for using business applications as Internet services. Applications run on the server of a SaaS provider, and users access them through an Internet browser. The user does not buy a SaaS application, but rents it - pays a certain amount per month for its use. In this way, an economic effect is achieved, which is considered one of the main advantages of SaaS. The provider takes care of the performance of the application, carries out technical support users, installs updates independently. This way the user thinks less about technical side question and focuses on his business goals.

The main advantages of SaaS over traditional software:

· lower cost of ownership.

· shorter implementation times.

· low entry threshold (you can test it quickly and for free).

· the tasks of maintaining and updating the system fall entirely on the shoulders of the SaaS provider.

· full user mobility, limited only by “Internet coverage”.

· support for geographically distributed companies and remote employees.

· low power requirements for the user's computer.

· Cross-platform.

The disadvantages of SaaS are the insecurity of transferring commercial data to a third-party provider, low performance and unreliable access due to interruptions in the Internet.

Alternative technologies to SaaS have emerged. They represent intermediate options for the transition from traditional software to SaaS, and are likely to disappear soon.

· S+S is an alternative brand promoted by Microsoft, which differs from SaaS in that the user's computer does not use a browser, but a software client.

3.Practice of using cloud technologies

In 2011, WINDOWS AZURE was announced as a commercial system. Like a traditional OS, WINDOWS AZURE allows you to run applications and store data, but this does not happen on the user’s computer, but in computing clouds.

The WINDOWS AZURE operating system is part of the Windows Azure Platform, a group of cloud technologies for software development that includes the following elements:

· WINDOWS AZURE provides a Windows environment for running the application and storing data in Microsoft data centers

· SQL Azure provides relational databases based on SQL Server. Data can be stored both in the cloud and within the walls of the enterprise, however, interacting with WINDOWS AZURE applications

· Windows Azure Platform AppFabric connects applications running in both the cloud and traditional environments, enabling secure data transfer.

Despite the similarity of names, the concepts fabric and AppFabric are not the same thing at all. The first refers to the connection of physical machines within a cloud OS, the second refers to the connection of applications running in different environments.

The WINDOWS AZURE operating system itself also consists of several interconnected parts: Compute Service, Storage Service and Fabric.Service is responsible for computing. The main purpose of a cloud platform is to provide support for an application running by a huge number of users at the same time. WINDOWS AZURE supports multiple copies of the same code on different physical servers. In turn, the application can work in several versions at once on several virtual machines, each of which is provided by a hypervisor based on Hyper-V, modified for use in the clouds.

There are two types of worker versions of a cloud application: Web role and Worker role. The first one can process HTTP or HTTPS requests, and its virtual machine (VM) runs the Internet Information Services (IIS) server. The programmer has the opportunity to create a version of the web role using ASP.NET or Windows Communication Foundation (WCF), as well as use any other .NET technology that works with IIS. The application can be created in any programming language.

In contrast, the worker role does not involve running IIS. It performs tasks in the background. For example, a web role could be used to receive a request from a user. But its processing will be started later using the worker role version.Service provides data storage. WINDOWS AZURE OS supports three ways to work with data. The simplest of them is a BLOB containing binary data with a simple hierarchy. This type of information organization is designed to store images, audio and video, i.e. for large volume use. When it is necessary to structure data of the same type, they resort to tables, where for each unit of information there is a row number and a column number. A table in Storage Service is not relational. Its simple organization allows you to access data using ADO.NET methods. In this form, a cloud OS distributes data storage across multiple physical computers, which is more efficient than using a relational database.

The considered methods provide data storage and access to it, and to communicate them, a third method is needed, called a “queue”. The principle of organizing data into a queue is based on the following: “First in, first out.” This method helps different versions of the application exchange messages with each other. This links the web role and the worker role, since synchronization in the cloud is not possible. Let's say a user calls a task through a web interface that requires significant computing power. The web role writes the received request to a queue. The worker role, accessing this queue, accepts the request and executes it. The execution results (response) are transmitted according to the same principle, through a queue. Regardless of the method of data organization, information in WINDOWS AZURE Storage is replicated 3 times, which ensures system stability: data loss in one of the copies is not fatal. In addition, there are archival copies, stored in another Microsoft data center. This means that even if the entire data center is destroyed, information will be retrieved and restored from the archives of another center.

The last component of the OS - Fabric - allows you to organize a set of computers on which applications and WINDOWS data AZURE. This “computer fabric” is controlled by software, called fabric controller. Fabric monitors all running applications, manages interactions with the OS on different VMs, and selects a physical server to run the application, thereby optimizing hardware utilization. Applications are managed using configuration files that contain an XML description of everything the application needs, such as the required number of virtual machines with web roles and worker roles. Fabric controller creates these virtual machines and monitors the state of each of them so that, if necessary, replace the failed one or run it on another physical server.

WINDOWS AZURE components allow you to build applications different types. Thus, to create a scalable Internet application, a programmer only needs to use the required number of web roles, storing data in tables. And for a parallel computing application, you will need a web role, a queue to store requests, the required number of worker roles, and tables (or BLOBs) to store data. In turn, SQL Azure and AppFabric make it possible to connect WINDOWS solutions AZURE with programs and databases operating within local network or with cloud systems from other providers.

Applications built on WINDOWS based AZURE are provided as a service to individuals, corporate users, or both at the same time. Here are pricing examples for some Microsoft cloud services:

· computing power - $0.12/hour

· data storage per month - $0.15/GB

· data transactions - $0.01/10 KB

· data download - $0.10/GB

· data download - $0.15/GB

With WINDOWS AZURE, an independent software developer can create applications for business users using software-as-a-service principles.

Therefore, it was decided to transfer the previously developed software under the roof of WINDOWS AZURE. As a result, 28 virtual servers with Azure and 20 SQL Azure (10 GB each) were required. By paying as you go, Alinean has achieved a 60% reduction in maintenance costs compared to the previous traditional model. In addition, management estimates the ratio of average increase in profit to investment (ROI - Return On Investment) in WINDOWS AZURE at 160?% compared to investments in the previous configuration (100?%).

Thanks to scalability, WINDOWS AZURE allows you to keep records huge amount users. By creating a cloud solution, the development company can count not only on corporations, but also on individuals. Such an application was made by the New Zealand company TicketDirect International, which, operating online, carries out 45?% of all ticket sales for cultural and sporting events in New Zealand. Previous, traditional ticketing system, operating on Microsoft SQL Server 7 and SQL Server 2000, was written in Visual Basic 6. The application handled several hundred sales within an hour without any problems. But on sales days, when a discount was announced for attending a popular event, thousands of people tried to “reach out” to the system at the same time. Not surprisingly, the ticket seller's computer park couldn't handle the influx of users. AZURE provided TicketDirect with scalable infrastructure as a pay-as-you-go service. As a result, during sales, the application begins to use additional capacity. Now TicketDirect will no longer need to purchase equipment just to cover temporary surges in activity. There are practically no restrictions. In the clouds, the company is able to cater to several popular events that start their sales at the same minute. WINDOWS AZURE will provide as much power as your business needs.

In the WINDOWS AZURE environment can be created internal applications, the users of which are employees of this enterprise. In this case, scalability is perhaps not so important. But bursts of activity also occur within the company - then it is difficult to overestimate the advantages of cloud computing even within the walls of the enterprise. As an example, let's take the Microsoft company itself, or rather, its department information technology, where WINDOWS AZURE found its application. As part of its annual giving campaign, IT is holding an online auction to benefit the United Way. Previously, the hardware and software for it were supported all year round, while the event was held for one month only once a year. In addition, at the very end of the auction, there was usually another problem that the technicians faced. Each time at this time there was a surge in activity, and the system became overloaded.

The IT department decided to migrate to cloud computing. WINDOWS AZURE and Microsoft SQL Azure were used for data storage. Now, in the final days of the auction, the IT team programs the system to use more resources to service the increasing volume of requests. When the auction ends, capacity is reduced according to load. The cloud model is ready to serve as many users as needed. Within the huge company that is Microsoft, the system now allows people to raise more money for charity.

The examples given speak about creating systems on demand. But in order to work in the WINDOWS AZURE environment, it is not necessary to program your own application. Now each of us will be able to test the Microsoft cloud OS in action. Based on WINDOWS AZURE within the framework of “live”, working Windows systems Live available office applications on request. Windows Live allows you to create documents in Word, Excel and PowerPoint formats and store them on virtual disk, in the clouds. Interestingly, the system makes it possible to open an online document on a PC using traditional Microsoft software. In the future, WINDOWS AZURE will go beyond the data centers of its developer and will be installed within the walls of other corporations. Microsoft has announced upcoming collaborations with companies such as Dell, HP and eBay. The latter plans to use cloud solution based on WINDOWS AZURE, thanks to which subscribers will be able to participate in the usual eBay auction using an iPad.

Conclusion

cloud technology application request

On at the moment Cloud computing technology is being actively developed and improved. But we're talking about it is about development, not about use. At the moment, many are afraid of the very fact that information will be stored by third parties. And although the almost impossibility of data loss or theft has already been proven, few are willing to trust such services. The quality, stability and speed of Internet connections are also insufficient for this period of time, which creates significant difficulties for developers.

When using cloud computing, information technology consumers can significantly reduce capital costs - for the construction of data processing centers, the purchase of server and network equipment, hardware and software solutions to ensure continuity and availability - as these costs are absorbed by the cloud service provider. Besides, long time construction and commissioning of large information technology infrastructure facilities and their high initial cost limit the ability of consumers to flexibly respond to market demands, while cloud technologies provide the ability to respond almost instantly to increased demand for computing power.

When using cloud computing, consumer costs shift towards operational ones - this is how the costs of paying for the services of cloud providers are classified.

However, despite these significant disadvantages, the advantages of introducing this technology are clear to everyone. After all, this means savings for consumers, the fight against piracy for developers, minimizing IT costs for businesses, and unifying network standards for all users.

List of used literature

1.Bulusov A. IT managers are still avoiding “cloud” technologies. //CNews April 21, 2010

.Makarov S.V. For “Cloud Computing” // Creative Economy. - M:, No. 8, 2010

.Makarov S.V. Socio-economic aspects of cloud computing //Monograph - M.: CEMI RAS, 2010

.Makarov S.V. Loading effect // Creative Economy. - M:, No. 9, 2010

.Chernyak L. Integration is the basis of the cloud. //Open systems. DBMS September 16, 2011

The Internet has become an integral part of people's lives, and new opportunities are regularly emerging that can make it easier to carry out different tasks. What’s new is cloud technologies that can be used in various fields: education, medicine, logistics, and so on.

What is cloud technology?

Let's start with a definition: cloud technologies imply the user's ability to access data without installing applications on his device, since all the software is provided by servers. It is important to know that such services can be either free or paid, and it all depends on the requests. To understand what the use of cloud technologies is, you need to understand their difference from conventional conditions.

1. Let's take email as an example, when mail client installed on the computer and all data is saved on the hard drive. In this case, the user decides what to do with the files.
2. If we talk about mail, which a person uses through a browser, then this is already a cloud technology. It is clear here that if problems arise with the server, then access to mail will be lost.

Benefits of cloud services

First, let's look at the existing advantages, which include:

1. To store information, you do not need to buy expensive computers and components, because everything will be stored on the cloud.
2. PC performance increases, because cloud technologies in office work and other areas launch programs remotely, so there is a lot of free space on the computer.
3. Maintenance problems are decreasing every year, because the number of physical servers is constantly decreasing, and the software is constantly being updated.
4. The cost of purchasing software is reduced, since you only need to buy a program for the “cloud” once and that’s it, and sometimes you can even order its rental.
5. Cloud technologies have no restrictions on the amount of data stored. In most cases, the volume of such services amounts to millions of gigabytes.
6. Programs are updated automatically, so there is no need to monitor this, as is the case with downloaded applications.
7. The cloud can be used on any operating system because programs are accessed through web browsers.
8. New cloud technologies make it possible to always and anywhere have access to documents, because the main thing is the availability of the Internet.
9. Good security and protection against information loss, since sent data is automatically saved and copies are sent to backup servers.

Disadvantages of cloud technologies

The “cloud” also has a number of disadvantages that are worth knowing and taking into account:

1. Access is not possible in the absence of the Internet, and if there is no Internet, then it will be possible to work only with documents downloaded to the computer. It is worth noting that the Internet must be fast and of high quality.
2. The cloud service may be slower when transferring a large amount of information than with an installed program.
3. Rarely is security at a bad level, but in most cases the Cloud makes backups, so no need to worry.
4. Many people are confused by the fact that they need to pay for the provision of a number of services, but this is a business project from which people need to earn money.

Application of cloud technologies

There is a certain classification of cloud services, so the following categories of “clouds” are distinguished:

1. Public. This is an IT infrastructure that can be used by a large number of companies and services at once. The subscriber can be any company or individual. Users of public cloud technologies do not have the ability to manage and maintain the cloud, since this is only done by the owner of the service.
2. Private. When describing the types of cloud technologies, we should focus on this secure IT infrastructure, controlled and operated in the interests of only one organization. It can be located on the customer's premises or at an external operator.
3. Hybrid. This type has the main advantages of both previous options. This “cloud” is in most cases used by organizations that have seasonal periods of activity, that is, when there is not enough internal IT infrastructure, then part of the capacity is transferred to cloud technologies.

Cloud technologies in education

Computers and the Internet have also made their way into the education system, making it possible to improve and facilitate the process of performing a number of tasks. Cloud technologies in the educational process can be used for the following purposes:

1. Organizing the collaboration of employees on important documents, for example, an annual plan or program. Everyone is responsible for their own part of the document, and if necessary, all users will have the opportunity to leave comments and add information.
2. General project work, so the teacher can assign assignments to students, divide responsibilities and check reports, giving comments.
3. Cloud technologies can be used to create an electronic diary and transfer any written assignments. This is a great option for children who are homeschooled or miss school for some reason.

Cloud technologies in medicine

Recently, the “cloud” has been actively introduced into medicine, which raises it to a new level. New technologies provide enormous potential for revolutionary changes, because it becomes much easier to maintain and systematize medical documentation. The use of cloud technologies in medicine is important because they help to quickly determine the diagnosis and make a conclusion. At the moment, such a service is just beginning to be implemented, since there are no regulatory mechanisms for maintaining medical confidentiality.

Cloud technologies in logistics

The cloud has excellent potential in transport and warehouse logistics. With the help of cloud technologies, it is possible to ensure full interaction of all participants in the chain, that is, the sender, operators, transport company and recipient. All of them can communicate in real time, regardless of location. Using cloud technologies provides the following advantages:

• conduct open tenders for contractors;
• determine the most successful routes;
• control delivery;
• process and store all transportation data;
• improve the quality of order fulfillment.

Cloud technologies in banking

Competition among banks is enormous and not all are able to withstand times of crisis. Such financial institutions are beginning to use innovative technologies to reduce costs. Cloud services Data storage is aimed at automating financial processes. As a result, there is an increase in the efficiency of credit institutions by reducing the cost of reporting. It is important to note that since there is a threat of attackers entering cloud storage, customer information is not stored there.

Cloud technologies for business

Business people use the cloud for the following purposes:

1. A virtual server is rented, thanks to which the manager can fully control all hosted services, regardless of the provider.
2. It’s easy to create a virtual contact center online, so you can save on renting premises and organizing workspaces. Work can begin within two days from the date of submission of the application to the provider.
3. Cloud services for business are used to create a virtual office, that is workplace will not be tied to a specific computer. The “cloud” reproduces the company’s internal network, that is, it includes disks, folders and planning programs.

Games via cloud service

In the 2000s, cloud streaming services began to appear, allowing users to play heavy games over the Internet without downloading or loading their computer. In America and China this direction is already well developed. Recently, Microsoft made an official statement that they will be developing a DeLorean system, thanks to which a person will play through a cloud service, and the system will predict his actions before he presses the keys.

And again, hello, dear readers! :) Let's talk about cloud technologies.

You mean, today another article will be entirely devoted to a very entertaining and promising technology (so to speak, the “gold mine” of the IT industry), hiding under the pseudonym - cloud technologies or in common parlance - “cloud”.

We will talk about the very concept of cloud computing, we will give a variety of examples of its implementation (at the level of solutions for ordinary users), namely, we will talk about the theory, then we will smoothly move on to practice and a little... wander in the clouds :-)

Thus, the purpose of our note, as always good (it cannot be otherwise) is to systematize the basic information related to this topic and sort everything out.

So, Earthlings, get ready, now we will talk about cloud technologies, which, every day, are becoming closer and closer to us.

Let's fly..

Cloud technologies. About everything, a little bit

In recent years, this topic has become one of the most popular in the IT sphere, many articles have been written about it, and more more conferences, and how many solutions already exist on the market (and are used to their full extent in everyday life, sometimes even unconsciously) cannot be counted at all.

However, as always, there is one “but”, namely, the majority of users still don’t even know what kind of “know-how” cloud technologies are and why they gave up. Well, we will correct the current situation and we will start, as it should be, with theory.

Cloud computing is a distributed data processing technology in which computer resources and capacities are provided to the user as an Internet service. If you explain it in accessible language, then this is your, in a sense, work platform on the Internet, or rather on a remote server.

Let's look at an example to make sure that almost each of us, one way or another, has already encountered this decision.

Do you have an email (e-mail)? Of course there is. So, if you work with mail on some service site (for example), which allows you to use this mail, then this is nothing more than a cloud service, which is part of such a thing as cloud technologies. Or, for example, image processing.

If you reduce the size or flip your photo in Photoshop or another special program, then you have nothing to do with cloud technology - everything happens and is processed locally on your computer. But if, having downloaded an image, for example, through , you process it on the other side, in the browser, then this is the very “cloud”.

More details about cloud technologies

Actually, the whole difference lies solely in the method of storing and processing data. If all operations take place on your computer (using its power), then this is not a “cloud”, but if the process takes place on a server on the network, then this is precisely the trendy thing that is commonly called “cloud technology”.

In other words, cloud technologies are various hardware, software, methodologies and tools that are provided to the user as Internet services to realize their goals, objectives, and projects.

As practice shows, the terms “cloud technologies”/“cloud service”, with their generally accepted graphical representation, in the form of “clouds”, only confuses users; in fact, their structure can be easily understood if you imagine it in the form of the following pyramid.

The base of the pyramid is “infrastructure” - a set of physical devices (servers, etc.), above it is built a “platform” - a set of services and the top - software available upon user request.

Also, you should know that cloud computing is a kind of basis vector obtained as a result of the synthesis of a number of technologies and approaches (so clever! :-)). To make it clear what I mean, here is the following diagram:

I think that now it has become a little clearer, since the scheme is quite simple. However, generally speaking, cloud technologies are a kind of mess that performs calculations with servers and other things without directly involving the resources of your computer.

It may happen that we will all return to computers that are close in power to, so to speak, the first ones and, in fact, will be just one screen with a microprocessor, and all calculations and power will be located and performed remotely, i.e. in servers living there somewhere, namely, in the cloud mentioned repeatedly.

Services provided by cloud systems

Everything related to cloud computing (hereinafter CC) is usually called the word aaS. This is simply deciphered - “as a Service”, that is, “as a service”, or “in the form of a service”.

Currently, cloud technologies and, in fact, their concept, involve providing the following types of services to their users:

• Storage-as-a-Service
  This is perhaps the simplest of the CC services, representing disk space on demand. Each of us has at some point encountered a situation where an ominous warning appears on the monitor: " The logical drive is full, to free up space, remove unnecessary programs or data". The Storage-as-a-Service service makes it possible to save data in external storage, in the “cloud”. For you, it will look like an additional logical drive or folder. The service is basic for the rest, since it is included in almost every Examples include other similar services.
• Database-as-a-Service
  This is probably more for administrators, because this thing provides the opportunity to work with databases, as if the DBMS were installed on a local resource. Moreover, in this case it is much easier to “share” projects between different performers, not to mention how much money can be saved on and required for the competent use of a DBMS in a large or even medium-sized organization.
• Information-as-a-Service ("information as a service")
  Makes it possible to remotely use any type of information that can change every minute or even every second.
• Process-as-a-Service
  Represents a remote resource that can link together multiple resources (such as services or data contained within a single cloud or other available clouds) to create a single business process.
• Application-as-a-Service
  It may also be called Software-as-a-Service (“Software as a service”). Positioned as “software on demand”, which is deployed on remote servers and each user can access it via the Internet, and all issues of updating and licensing for this software are regulated by the provider of this service. Payment, in this case, is made for the actual use of the latter. Examples include Google Docs, Google Calendar, etc. online programs.
• Platform-as-a-Service
  The user is provided with a computer platform with an installed operating system and some software.
• Integration-as-a-Service ("integration as a service")
  This is an opportunity to receive a complete integration package from the cloud, including software interfaces between applications and managing their algorithms. This includes the familiar services and features of Enterprise Application Centralization, Optimization, and Integration (EAI) packages, but delivered as a cloud service.
• Security-as-a-Service
  This type of service allows users to quickly deploy products that enable safe use web technologies, electronic correspondence, local network, which allows users of this service save on deploying and maintaining your own.
• Management/Governance-as-a-Service("administration and management as a service")
  Makes it possible to manage and set operating parameters for one or many cloud services. These are mainly parameters such as topology, resource usage, virtualization.
• Infrastructure-as-a-Service ("infrastructure as a service")
  The user is provided with a computer infrastructure, usually virtual platforms (computers) connected to a network, which he independently configures for his own purposes.
• Testing-as-a-Service
  Makes it possible to test local or cloud systems using test software from the cloud (no on-premises equipment or software is required).

For clarity, let’s summarize all these services of the “cloud” architecture, into one diagram behind which cloud technologies lie (sorry, it’s in English):

Which shows the classification of services by type of service.

Now let’s look at what cloud technologies there are, so to speak, according to the form of ownership. Here, there are three categories:

• Public
• Private
• Hybrid.

Briefly about each:

• Public cloud is an IT infrastructure used simultaneously by many companies and services. Users do not have the ability to manage and maintain this “cloud”, and all responsibility for these issues rests with the owner of the resource. Any company and individual user can become a subscriber to the services offered.
  Examples include online services: Amazon EC2, Google Apps/Docs, Microsoft Office Web.
• A private cloud is a secure IT infrastructure controlled and operated in the interests of a single organization. An organization can manage the private cloud in-house or outsource the task. The infrastructure can be located either on the premises of the customer or at an external operator (or partly at the customer and partly at the operator).
• Hybrid Cloud is an IT infrastructure that uses the best qualities of the public and private cloud to solve the problem. This type is often used when an organization has seasonal periods of activity, in other words, as soon as the internal IT infrastructure cannot cope with current tasks, part of the capacity is transferred to the public cloud (for example, large volumes of statistical information), as well as to provide access to users to enterprise resources through the public cloud.

Confused? It’s okay, we’ll look at the examples soon and everything will fall into place;)

Cloud computing capabilities

Now let's look at the possibilities of cloud computing:

• Access to personal information from any computer connected to the Internet
• You can work with information from different devices(PCs, tablets, phones, etc.)
• It doesn’t matter which operating system you prefer to work in - web services work in the browser of any OS
• Both you and those around you can view and edit the same information simultaneously from different devices
• Many paid programs became free (or cheaper) web applications
• If something happens to your device (PC, tablet, phone), you will not lose important information, since it is no longer stored in device memory
• Fresh and updated information is always at hand
• You always use the most latest version programs and at the same time you do not need to monitor the release of updates
• You can combine your information with other users
• You can easily share information with loved ones or with people from anywhere in the world.

There are quite a lot of opportunities, however, there are also disadvantages (where would we be without them), which should also be mentioned.

“Fly in the ointment” - disadvantages:

• The need for constant connection.
  To gain access to cloud services, you need a constant connection to the Internet.
• Software and its “customization”.
  There are restrictions on software that can be deployed on the clouds and provided to the user. The user has limitations in the software used and sometimes does not have the opportunity to customize it for his own purposes
• Confidentiality.
  The confidentiality of data stored in public clouds currently causes a lot of controversy, but in most cases, experts agree that it is not recommended to store the most valuable documents for a company on a public cloud, since there is currently no technology which would guarantee 100% data confidentiality
• Safety.
  The “cloud” itself is a fairly reliable system, but upon penetration into it, an attacker gains access to a huge data storage. Another disadvantage is the use of systems that use standard OS kernels (for example Windows) as a hypervisor, which allows exploit viruses and system vulnerabilities
• High cost of equipment.
  To build your own cloud, you need to allocate significant material resources, which is not beneficial for newly created and small companies
• Further monetization of the resource.
  It is possible that companies will in the future decide to charge users for the services they provide.

As you can see, there are two sides to the coin. However, this does not harm the development of technology, and may even spur it.

Cloud technologies - a view from the user's side. Solutions overview

We have come to perhaps the most interesting (and so beloved by many readers) part of the article - examples and, so to speak, practice. Here we will look at what solutions, services, programs already exist on the market and what is worth paying attention to. Let's start with the services:

• iCloud
  Cloudy iCloud service from Apple (which replaced MobileMe), fully automatic and free (albeit with minor functional limitations). It stores all your content (mail, calendar, contacts, documents, music, videos and images, etc.) on servers, and then delivers it to all devices (iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac and PC) using wireless technology Push.
• Google Play
  A fresh cloud service called Google Play from the “good corporation”, which is designed for users to place movies, music, applications and books on servers specially designed for storing digital information. Access to the service is provided directly from the browser, regardless of the OS, and therefore can be carried out both from a PC and from mobile devices based on Android. Each user has the opportunity to place and store up to 20 thousand music records for free, as well as directly download to the server purchased in stores (Android Market, Google Music and Google eBookstore) digital goods – movies, e-books, programs, music tracks, both purchased and rented.
• OnLive
  I think that everyone is familiar with the service, fortunately I have already written about it. Provides the opportunity to play modern games even on the simplest and weakest computer. Technically, it looks like this: the game itself is located on a remote server, and the graphics are processed there and are sent to the user’s computer in a “ready” form. Simply put, those calculations that are performed during a normal game on a computer, etc., are already performed on the server, and your computer is used only as a monitor that receives the final picture. If you don’t understand, all this means is that all problems with computer performance and the amount of free space on your hard drive are automatically removed, because no installation is even required. In addition, there is no need to pay quite a lot of money right away for a product (game, etc.) that you don’t necessarily like. Moreover, it’s no secret that you don’t want to play through most games again, so it turns out that the cost of several hours (or even several days) of pleasure is unreasonably high. A much more convenient option would be one in which you pay only for the time you play. Or - you would pay some small fixed amount monthly, which would allow you to play any of the available games without restrictions. That's exactly what OnLive offers.
• Xbox Live
  Another well-known gaming service, which also provides rich Internet functionality and is related to cloud technologies. The essence of the service is that owners of Xbox 360 consoles and PDAs based on Windows Phone 7, can play with each other computer games and communicate, as well as buy add-ons and various multimedia content, in the online store. It turns out that the service creates a kind of virtual universe for gamers, the components of which are located not on end-user consoles, but in the cloud.

Thus, the last two services offer games as a service. Now let’s imagine that we are not talking about games, but about software. That is, you pay not for the product as such (for the box with the disc), but for the specific functions/opportunities that it provides you. Interesting? Here it is for me :)

Small note

And since we, as users, are most interested in software (and not all sorts of platforms as a service), now we will look at the “software landscape” (SaaS) of clouds. In other words, let's give the most popular software solutions that, within the framework of the concept of cloud technologies, actually now exist on the market.

Actually, according to the SaaS concept, as mentioned above, you do not pay a lump sum when buying a product, but, as it were, rent it. Moreover, you use exactly those functions that you need (and, accordingly, pay for them). For example, once a year you need a certain program and you are not going to use it more often. So why buy a product that will sit idle?

And why waste space on it (in an apartment, if it’s a box with a disk, or on a hard drive, if it’s a file)? That's right, no need, because there is an alternative option - free online service(providing complete functionality this program).

Working with documents in cloud technologies

It was along this path that two headliners of the IT industry (and part-time competitors) - Google and Microsoft - took the route. Both companies have released sets of services that allow you to work with documents.

On Google's side, this is their Google Docs (now Google Drive):

Free online office, including a word processor, spreadsheet processor and “stuff” for creating presentations, as well as an Internet service cloud file storage with file sharing functions.

This is web-based software, that is, a program that works within a web browser without installation on the user’s computer, that is, an alternative version of all sorts of Word, Excel, etc., without the need to purchase or anything like that. Documents and tables created by the user are saved on a special Google server or can be exported to a file.

This is one of the key advantages of the program, since access to the entered data can be carried out from any computer connected to the Internet (access is protected by a password).

From Microsoft's side, this is their Microsoft Office Web Apps:

Microsoft Office Web Apps allow you to use the capabilities of Microsoft Office through a web browser and work with documents (and not only view them, but also edit them) directly on the website on which they are stored.

Thus, documents look exactly the same in the browser as they do in Office programs, i.e. complete, so to speak, unification.

It is also worth noting that both services are closely interconnected with mail (Gmail in the first case and Hotmail in the second) and file storage, so to use Google Docs, you just need to create a free Google account and you will receive a set of programs for working with texts, spreadsheets and etc., right in the browser. For many, Google Docs has completely replaced, as mentioned above, the paid MS Office.

To summarize briefly (for these two services), we can say that the user is transferred from his usual offline environment to online.
Let's move on.

Cloud technologies and data storage

Cloud file storage is no less popular. The most famous repository is considered...

• Dropbox.
  You may have several computers, but with this cloud storage can be done shared folder with files for all your PCs and even smartphones. The most interesting thing is that you don’t have to do any special actions here, because the operating system itself will perceive the shared folder, like all other folders on the hard drive, and Dropbox will simply take care of synchronization. The service allows you to store up to 2 GB of data for free. Its main emphasis is on synchronization and information exchange. Dropbox keeps a history of downloads so that after deleting files from the server, it is possible to restore data, plus it keeps a history of file modifications, which is available for the last 30 days.
• Windows Live SkyDrive.
  The SkyDrive service allows you to save up to 7 GB (and you can exchange files up to 100 MB) of information organized using standard folders form. Images have a preview mode, as well as the ability to show them in the form of slides. In addition to being integrated with Microsoft Office, the service also supports new operating system(or rather, the SkyDrive client is built into Metro applications and allows you to upload documents and photos to the cloud in one click, and open files from remote storage).
• And of course Google Drive. There will be a separate article about it.

By the way, not only all kinds of offices and file storage use cloud technologies. For example, in the fight against digital “evil spirits” they also relied on cloud computing. And here is the result - free antivirus Panda Cloud Antivirus.

It is based on innovative "collective intelligence" technology (which automatically identifies new threats in a minimum period of time) and allows you to minimize the impact of protection on your computer's system resources, using the computing power of cloud technologies for most operations: analysis, blocking and attempts to remove malware.

Antivirus servers use information collected from millions of users of Panda antivirus products around the world to automatic detection and classification of new species malware appearing every day.

In a nutshell, it’s something like this, although there are still a lot of services that could be talked about, but then you’ll have to write a volume of War and Peace :)
So let's get to the results slowly.

Cloud technologies. Cloudy or clear?

Simply put, the cloud is an opportunity to always have guaranteed and secure access to all your personal information, as well as avoiding the need to keep a lot of unnecessary things in your pocket (all sorts of flash drives, disks, wires and all that other stuff) or buy a new computer/components /programs/games, etc. There is no doubt that at the moment, cloud technologies are one of the most popular and interesting topics in the IT sphere and more and more interesting solutions appearing in the world are connected with them.

Of course, it is still difficult for the average user to fully appreciate (and reveal) their full potential, but the fact that it exists is visible to the naked eye.

Thus, without any doubt, the future of cloud technologies seems very bright, because such giants (Microsoft, Apple and Google) are simply not doing anything and it is absolutely clear that if they have entered this uncharted territory, they are clearly not going to it should go away, because two years ago the concept of “cloud” seemed only a beautiful idea and a bold experiment, but today the benefits of cloud technologies can be felt even by those people who are not involved in program development, web technologies and other highly specialized things (the above-mentioned Xbox Live, Windows Live, OnLive, Google Docs- vivid examples of this).

Afterword

Something like this. I hope that the information was interesting, useful and exciting for you. Stay with the project - you are always welcome here;)

As usual, if you have questions, additions, and other differences, then comments are at your service.

PS: Thanks to team member 25 KADR for the existence of this article

Cloud technologies are a method of information processing in which resources computer device are provided to the user in online service mode. The concept of “cloud” in this case personifies an extensive infrastructure that concentrates all technical details.

The main distinguishing property of cloud technologies is the unevenness of the entire variety of user requests, which is further smoothed out through the use of server virtualization. The latter concept implies the distribution of the total load between virtual servers and computers.

The concept of cloud technology includes various concepts that are focused on the provision of services. These concepts can be software, data, infrastructure, workspace or platform. The main function of cloud technologies in all cases is to maximally satisfy the user’s needs for remote data processing and secure storage.

Today there are several types of clouds, including:

• a private cloud used by one organization and its customers;
• public cloud aimed at widespread use;
• hybrid cloud, which includes both private and public components;
• a public cloud designed for specific consumers and organizations united by common goals.

Areas of application of cloud technologies

Today, the use of cloud technologies is widespread in educational systems in various countries. Many people are making the transition to such technologies. educational institutions Europe, actively using cloud services from Microsoft and Google. Recently, there has been a trend of education management systems moving to the cloud. The support of external providers is provided to those educational institutions that cannot independently finance high-quality equipment and the use of software.

Cloud technologies have also gained recognition in the field of research activities focused on working with huge information arrays, modeling scientific experiments and introducing innovative technologies.

An example of the use of cloud technologies in Russia is the maintenance of electronic student diaries, personal accounts teachers, virtual receptions and student forums. In recent years, distance education has also been gaining momentum.

The cloud is popular in accounting, which requires constant access to special programs and services. Virtual services of various government departments are becoming widespread, and every network user can access them.

They use cloud technologies in organizations that work with huge arrays of documents, the maintenance of which becomes available to each executor without regular downloading and copying of data.

Benefits of using cloud technologies

Cloud technologies, the advantages of which are based on a high degree of protection and confidentiality of information, are at the peak of their popularity today.

The cloud is the most convenient option for data processing, as it does not require the purchase of expensive licensed programs and additional resource support. To access cloud services, the user only needs high-speed Internet and a functional browser.

For novice cloud users, there are service departments that provide assistance when even the most minor failures occur in the system.

The emergence of cloud technologies has solved the problem of purchasing powerful, expensive computers. Users no longer have to monitor network drive capacity or device performance. Organizations and individuals using the cloud can refuse to finance powerful servers. Among other things, the advantage of such information storages is the unlimited resources provided. In addition, cloud services provide users with a wide arsenal network tools, providing secure remote collaboration.

A valuable quality of the cloud today is considered to be user independence and free regulation of the volume of resources used, payment for which is made only taking into account their relevance.

What is hidden behind similar abbreviations like XaaS?

When browsing cloud technology news, readers are faced with different definitions and designations, the meaning of which may not be immediately clear. Not to mention the same type of abbreviations of cloud services, which sometimes even specialists working in the IT field get confused about. Therefore, we decided to collect in one place basic definitions, knowledge of which will help you read materials on the topic of cloud technologies and understand them without being distracted by search engines or Wikipedia.

For convenience, we have divided the terms into several categories, briefly describing the most important in each of them. Of course, our article does not contain all the definitions, but even this list is enough to navigate the world of cloud technologies relatively freely.

Clouds. General terms

Cloud Computing — if we talk in simple language, is a scenario in which a user is given access to computing resources such as servers, networks, storage systems, applications and services over a network, most commonly the Internet.

Public cloud — an infrastructure that provides the ability to use cloud computing to a wide range of users. Typically owned by a commercial organization.

Private cloud — as the name suggests, it is an infrastructure owned by one organization and allowing the use of cloud computing exclusively for its purposes.

Hybrid Cloud — combines the features of a private and public cloud. With this approach, part of the infrastructure is owned by the client, and part is rented. Communication between the two structures is ensured using data transfer technologies.

Hardware

Data processing center (DPC) — a specialized free-standing building for housing various server and network equipment, accessed via the Internet. In addition to providing redundant power and communication channels, such a building must have qualified personnel to ensure constant monitoring and maintenance of all systems.

Server — a specialized computer used to run applications and services that support the IT infrastructure.

Cluster — several servers connected by communication channels and presented to the user as one hardware resource.

Data storage systems (DSS) — a software and hardware solution that allows you to consolidate all disk space within one system. In addition to general fault tolerance and constant monitoring of its own state, storage systems support many useful functions, such as array-level data replication.

Replication — the process of copying data for the purpose of synchronizing it to one or more objects. Allows you to protect information from loss in the event of equipment failure.

Network switch ( Switch) — a device that allows you to connect several nodes computer network. Operates at the L2 level of the OSI model.

Network router ( router) — device that has several network interfaces and allowing data to be transferred between different network segments. The rules on the basis of which packets will be transmitted are configured by the administrator. Operates at L3 level, OSI model.

Virtualization

Virtualization — a technology that allows you to provide computing resources abstracted from the hardware and at the same time logically isolated from each other. That is, on one physical server you can create many virtual ones that will work independently.

Hypervisor — a program that allows you to implement virtualization technology. Using the hypervisor, virtual machines, as well as networks, soft switches and routers are managed and configured.

Virtual machine — an analogue of a physical computer implemented in a virtual environment. Concepts " virtual machine" and "virtual server" differ only in their final purpose, but are essentially the same thing.

Cloud Services

It is worthwhile to separately describe the main services provided on the basis of virtual technologies. A large group of such services are united under the acronym XaaS, which stands for “anything as a service.” All these services are based on three main ones: PaaS, SaaS, IaaS.

PaaS ( Platform as a Service - platform as a service) — this type of cloud computing that is provided to the customer in the form of a ready-made software platform, which includes various tools and allows you to customize them. Essentially, this platform can be anything: a testing environment, a database management system, or automation of management processes. Moreover, such a platform is managed and maintained by a service provider.

SaaS ( Software as a Service - software as a service) — This is probably the most common type of service based on cloud technologies. It consists of providing the customer with the use of any programs that are located in the service provider’s cloud. A striking example is the box email Google or, for example, the Microsoft Office 365 package.

IaaS (InfrastructureasaService - infrastructure as a service) — a type of cloud service that involves the customer renting a pool of computing resources from a service provider as a virtual infrastructure. These can be virtual servers, data storage systems, various network elements, as well as any combination of these components.

But besides the basic ones, there are many other cloud services. Let's take a closer look at them:

DRaaS (DisasterRecoveryasaService - disaster recovery as a service) — a service to provide the customer with the ability to restore the functionality of their own virtual structure in the service provider’s cloud in the event of an accident or disaster. Services of this type help eliminate the impact of serious disruptions on the business, which means they are most in demand by companies for which the operation of applications and services is a critical parameter.

BaaS (BackupasaService - backup as a service) — service to provide the customer with a platform and tools for organizing the procedure backup data to the cloud. The implementation of this service depends on many factors, such as the amount of data being backed up, the bandwidth of communication channels, as well as the backup scheme and depth of the archive. This is convenient for companies that have a large amount of critical data, but organizing their own reliable system reservation is unprofitable.

BaaS (BackendasaService - backend as a service)— a set of ready-made server functionality that allows you to simplify and speed up application development. In other words, this is a full-fledged development environment hosted in the cloud, which means it allows you to take advantage of all the advantages of the technology, such as, for example, unlimited scalability.

MaaS ( Monitoring as a Service - monitoring as a service) — a relatively new type of cloud service, which consists of organizing monitoring of your own infrastructure using software, hosted in the service provider's cloud. As in many other cases, this solution allows you to use the most advanced software tools without purchasing them or organizing administration.

DBaaS ( Data Base as a Service - database as a service) — a service that allows clients to connect to a database located in the cloud. In this case, the cost of the solution is calculated based on the volume of the database and the number of client connections. The main advantages of such a solution, of course, will be scaling and the absence of the need to ensure data security.

HaaS ( Hardware as a Service - equipment as a service) — a service for providing computing power from the cloud. In fact, instead of buying an iron server, the client can rent it, and it will be located on the service provider’s site, which will ensure power backup and timely service.

NaaS ( Network as a Service - network as a service) — a service for providing network infrastructure as an alternative to your own network. NaaS capabilities allow you to use routing tools, as well as increase or decrease throughput channel.

STaaS ( Storage as a Service - storage as a service) — this is a service to provide disk space in the cloud. For the user, this solution looks like an additional logical drive or just a network folder. The advantage of STaaS is the presence of reservation as a prerequisite for any service provider.

DaaS (DesktopasaService - desktop as a service)- a service that consists of providing the user with a remote desktop. Unlike local, remote desktop can have really powerful technical characteristics, this allows you to use applications of various levels without being tied to the capabilities of your desktop PC.

CaaS ( Communications as a Service - communication as a service) — a service for providing communication tools in the cloud. In other words, this service allows you to organize telephony, instant messaging, or, for example, the ability to conduct video conferences by the service provider.

CaaS ( Container as a Service - container as a service) - a type of service that has become increasingly popular recently. It consists of providing the client with the ability to organize, start or stop a container using a web interface or API tools.

Conclusion

In this article, we looked at the basic concepts that allow you to better navigate the world of cloud technologies, and also examined most of the services provided on their basis. We hope that this information will be useful to you.