Cloud technologies for dummies. How do cloud technologies work? Cloud technologies for business

Cloud technologies(Cloud technologies) is one of the blessings of civilization. Every second Internet user uses them to store and exchange data, but in practice, only a few understand how and how securely it works.

Today, active users are not limited to one gadget - everyone has a smartphone plus a laptop, desktop computer or tablet. You may need access to a file at any time, but you don’t want to carry flash memory and other storage devices. The same situation arises when it is necessary to synchronize information on your work and home PCs, make changes to documents, and edit files.

Cloud technologies are distributed data processing in which the user receives access to computer programs, computing and other capacities as an online service - in real time.

This also means access to virtual storage from anywhere in the world. To do this, you need any device with an Internet connection and a web browser.

A good example with email. If mail client installed on a computer, the data is stored in the PC memory. If the user uses mail through a browser, then this is a cloud service.

If there are technical or other problems with the service, access to data will be lost forever. This is one of the main disadvantages of online solutions. The second disadvantage is the ability to use it if you have access to the Internet. The services have many times more advantages.

Benefits of cloud technologies

1. Virtual services free you from the need to work with flash drives and solve the problem of hard disk space limitations - the user is given several gigabytes for free, and if necessary, they can be purchased in addition.
2. No need to buy a license software.
3. The service allows several employees or a creative team to simultaneously work with one file.
4. The user can store information in any format and freely access it from any device - there is no connection to the memory of a specific computer.
5. The use of such virtual storage frees up space on your hard drive, increasing the speed of your computer.
6. Solutions allow you to eliminate the need for administrators to maintain computers and peripherals. Virtual offices significantly simplify work, reduce costs, and allow you to solve complex technical problems automatically.
7. They can be used on different platforms, and if necessary, scale. The elastic and flexible structure makes this easy to do.

Originally from the last century

The history of cloud technologies (computing) begins in 1970 - from the moment the American scientist Joseph Licklider voiced his idea. It consisted in the possibility of providing Internet users with access not only to data, but also to programs.

A similar idea was proposed by John McCarthy, proposing to use computing power as an Internet service. Soon work in this area stopped for almost 20 years.

In the 90s throughput Internet growth increased, but a breakthrough did not occur due to the unpreparedness of specialized companies. At the turn of the century, a company appeared that provided visitors with access to the application through the website. She was the first to offer access to software as a service.

In 2002, Amazon took advantage of new opportunities. Its web service provided information storage and allowed calculations. Four years later, Amazon offered users the opportunity to run their own apps.

The next stage of development was the launch of the Google Apps platform and the launch of a full-fledged operating system in the cloud, announced by Microsoft.

Technical progress and the emergence of open source software have largely contributed to the modernization and expansion of the functionality of technological solutions.

Cloud technologies appeared in Russia in 2010. At the start, the annual volume of their market was:

• $15 million from the public cloud;
• 5 million dollars - from a private one.

After only 4 years, these figures increased to 125 and 33 million dollars, respectively. The upward trend continued in subsequent years, which naturally indicates interest in cloud solutions.

Species

• Public. This category of services is available to a large number of users and companies. Users cannot manage and maintain the cloud - these are the privileges of the owner.
• Private. The Service is used and controlled for the benefit of one organization. The IT infrastructure is located on the premises of the customer or provider.
• Hybrid. This group has the advantages of the two previous categories. Such services, as a rule, are used by organizations with seasonal activity that lack their own capacity, so they use external resources for a certain period.

Application of cloud technologies

Today the concept of cloud systems covers different types services and is successfully used in education, medicine, logistics, banking sector, business.

The simplest example of application for personal purposes is Google cloud technologies. After Google installations Drive gives the user storage for their data, which allows them to abandon the old ways of storing information on disks and flash memory.

Google Doc and Word Online from Yandex Disk are full-fledged editors that allow you to work with documents of different formats.

Education

Computers and high-speed Internet have contributed to the improvement of the education system, simplified the presentation of material, and made it possible to solve other important problems. Here are just a few of them:

• Organization distance learning using cloud technologies in education.
• Students work on a common project, where each group member and teacher can leave comments, edits, remarks, and add information.
• Electronic diaries.
• Submitting homework and checking it for homeschooled children.

Medicine

Accurate and quick diagnosis, selection of the correct treatment tactics, exchange of opinions with colleagues in real time, systematization of medical documentation - this is not a complete list of the use of new solutions.

In the future, cloud technologies can become breakthroughs in healthcare, providing access to information about the patient and the results of laboratory and instrumental diagnostics. Simply put, patients will not have to create cards in all hospitals - the necessary data on diseases and test results will be stored in one place.

Logistics

The cloud in logistics unites the sender, recipient, carrier company, and operator into a single chain. The service allows you to track the route of shipments, communicate with each other, regardless of location, and quickly solve problems associated with cargo delays.

Online services are also used as platforms for organizing tenders and selecting contractors, analyzing inventory balances and timely replenishment, storing transportation data and determining the profitability of routes.

Banks

Competition in the banking sector is high, which forces financial organizations implement innovations to improve the quality and quantity of services offered and reduce its own operating costs.

The use of cloud technologies allows you to automate financial processes and solve all the above problems with minimal costs.

Business

Businesses are open to innovation and actively implement them to create contact centers and virtual offices. Employees of virtual offices are not tied to a specific computer and location, which provides savings on renting office space and paying for utilities.

All drives, folders, economic planning programs and other intranet data are reproduced in the cloud.

Safety

Cloud technology security is an area that every provider pays special attention to. Otherwise, he will lose customers, because the IT infrastructure is used to store confidential and strategic data, and therefore must be reliably protected.

Security depends on the type of server: virtual or dedicated. Virtual servers involve placing client information in a single environment. There is a possibility that if there is an error in the code, owners of other accounts will see someone else’s data.

Dedicated servers allow you to create a more secure and functional environment and provide freedom of action when choosing and installing an operating system and software for normal operation.

Service providers always encrypt information hosted on their servers using special cryptographic software. Data can only be accessed using a password specified by an authorized user.

The manager can always track who viewed the information and at what time, what his employees were doing and what was happening on their desktop in a specific time period.

A guarantee of data safety is their daily copying. Transmission channels from servers to PCs and back are protected by several reliable programs so that the code cannot be hacked.

Every year there is more and more trust in online solutions. Today there are already offers with an integrated data self-protection algorithm. The system will grant access if the environment is identified by it as safe. Otherwise, the data will not be usable.

The Internet has become entrenched in our lives. Many users can no longer imagine their life without a computer. Naturally, technology improves every year. And for active users of the global network, such a useful technology as a cloud server has appeared. What is it? What is it for?

Cloud technologies are...

Today you can often hear about such a function as cloud computing. The name of such servers comes from a graphic picture that is used to indicate technologies.

Cloud technologies are the ability to access data without installing special applications on the device. All necessary software is provided to users by servers. But whether you have to pay for this remote access to data or not depends directly on the requests.

How are cloud technologies different from conventional ones?

To more clearly explain the difference between conventional technologies and cloud storage, we can take email as an example. The case when an email client, such as Outlook, is already installed on the user’s computer, and all data received by email is saved on hard drive, is considered a common IT technology. That is, the user himself can manage the received files and decide what to do with them. And the mail client will work exactly as long as the computer is running.

But email, which is opened using a browser, is already a cloud technology. That is, the user, without installing anything on the device, can access his email address. Moreover, if something happens to the server on which all the data is stored, access to email will be lost.

What do you have to pay for when using the cloud?

Cloud server is not a completely free technology. There are times when the user will have to pay for the provision of the service cloud storage. All servers are divided into three types, which charge for different functions.

• IaaS is a cloud model that requires a fee to provide remote access to the storage. That is, the user only pays for access to the server.
• When using the PaaS cloud, you will have to pay not only for the available resources, but also for access to special software for processing data.
• SaaS is a storage facility that provides access to a whole range of software, for which, of course, you will have to pay a considerable subscription fee.

Positive aspects

Using cloud technologies has a number of advantages that are quite significant.

Young businesses benefit greatly from using cloud servers. They will not have to worry about buying their own server equipment or spend money on building local network, hire system administrators. You just need to choose one of the cloud servers that is ideal in terms of memory size, number of clients and other characteristics, and pay a subscription fee once a month.

Cloud technologies are an opportunity to access necessary information using a regular browser from anywhere in the world. Performance will no longer be of concern to the client, since it is monitored by those whom the user pays for cloud storage. Similar systems are in demand among corporate users who need to establish document flow in the enterprise network.

For ordinary users who simply do not want to clog up their computer with unnecessary information, there are free cloud servers that will be quite sufficient.

Negative points

Of course, new cloud technologies also have a number of disadvantages.

Firstly, confidential data transmitted using cloud storage can be intercepted by hackers. The quality of the Internet connection must be very high. If the Internet is interrupted, access to data on the “clouds” will be impossible. At the same time, large enterprises still need system administrator to establish data transfer.

If the client wants to save money and prefers a cheaper server, then he will have to face performance problems. Cheap cloud storage systems do not have a very good hardware infrastructure, where problems regularly appear, and fixing them takes a lot of time.

If the use of cloud technologies is planned for the long term, then it can be much more expensive than installing your own local server. Especially if cloud technology with wide range capabilities such as SaaS.

Cloud storage overview

Cloud technologies are storage facilities that can be divided into three types of services:

• Creation of infrastructure.
• Platform services.
• Software services.

This unit will help you choose cloud server for data storage.

Windows Live SkyDrive is suitable for those who need a large amount of data. It allows you to store information up to 25 GB. There are no restrictions on file format. However, there are a number of advantages for some types. For example, when storing Office documents you can edit them directly in the browser.

Dropbox is more widely used than Windows Live SkyDrive, although it has a much smaller amount of data - only 2 GB. It is enough to install one application on the device to have remote access.

A special server even exists for storing music. This is Grooveshark, which is considered one of the most popular cloud storage services for music files.

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

For 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, most 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 power 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 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're downsizing, flipping 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 that 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 implement their goals, objectives, 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, which is 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 all of them. An example would be 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 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 licenses for this software are regulated by the provider of this service. Payment, in in this case, 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 installed operating system and some software.
• Integration-as-a-Service ("integration as a service")
  This is the ability to receive a complete integration package from the cloud, including software interfaces between applications and management of their algorithms. This includes well-known services and features of centralization, optimization and integration packages enterprise applications(EAI), but provided 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 best qualities public and private clouds when solving 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 - the view from the user's side. Solutions overview

We have come to perhaps the most interesting (and so loved 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 you should pay attention to. Let's start with the services:

• iCloud
  The iCloud cloud service from Apple (which replaced MobileMe) is 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 on Android based. 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, then all this means is that all problems with computer performance and quantity are automatically removed. free space on your hard drive, because you don’t even need installation. 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 - a free online service (providing full 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.

From 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 storage files 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 key advantages 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 Microsoft capabilities 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 related to mail (Gmail in the first case and Hotmail in the second) and file storages 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, etc., right in your 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 the help of this cloud storage you can do 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 the fact that the service is integrated with Microsoft Office, it also supports the new operating system (more precisely, 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 received from millions of users antivirus products Panda around the world, for 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?

To put it simply, the cloud is an opportunity to always have a 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 precisely with them.

Certainly, to the average user It is still difficult to fully evaluate (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 technologies for using server resources with the simultaneous launch of a large number of virtual servers, independently of each other. An outage in one server will not affect other servers, ensuring overall uninterrupted operation. In addition, cloud technologies allow you to evenly regulate and pay only for the resources used, without overpayments.

As a rule, a modern cloud consists of a large number of high-performance servers running virtual machines(servers), their own for each user.

One of the main advantages of the cloud, in addition to the independence of each user from the others, is the ability to smoothly regulate the amount of resources used and, accordingly, pay only for those resources that are actually required to solve the problem. No additional fees.

How you can use the cloud

There are two most optimal and suitable ways for most modern enterprises to use the cloud:

• Hosting web projects;
• Outsourcing of IT infrastructure.

First way is aimed at companies whose activities are directly related to the Internet. As a rule, these are operators of popular online stores, information sites, real estate and service databases, developers and owners of web services. Such companies require a powerful and flexible platform to host their web projects. The cloud becomes this platform.

Second way much more versatile and suitable for almost any company, from trading to manufacturing, from service to warehouse and logistics. This is IT infrastructure outsourcing.

Instead of purchasing and installing equipment in an office where it does not work optimal conditions and subject to risks, not to mention the cost and need to maintain IT staff, office IT infrastructure is easy to build in the cloud.

All familiar services, corporate portal, email, messaging and file exchange, project and customer relationship management (CRM) systems now work in the cloud. At the same time, there is no need to hire employees or spend significant funds on purchasing equipment and software licenses.

Cloud Technologies - Deployment Models

Private cloud(eng. private cloud) - an infrastructure intended for use by one organization, including several consumers (for example, divisions of one organization), possibly also clients and contractors of this organization.

A private cloud may be owned, operated and operated by the organization itself or by a third party (or some combination thereof), and may physically exist within or outside the owner's jurisdiction.

Public cloud(English public cloud). Infrastructure designed for free use by the general public. May be owned, operated, and operated by commercial, scientific, and government entities (or any combination thereof). Physically exists in the jurisdiction of the owner - service provider.

Hybrid cloud(eng. hybrid cloud) is a combination of two or more different cloud infrastructures (private, public or public) that remain unique objects, but interconnected by standardized or proprietary data and application technologies.

Public cloud(eng. community cloud) - a type of infrastructure intended for use by a specific community of consumers from organizations that have common goals (for example, mission, security requirements, policies, and compliance with various requirements).

A community cloud may be cooperatively owned, managed and operated by one or more community organizations or a third party (or some combination thereof), and may physically exist within or outside the jurisdiction of the owner.

Service models

Software as a service(SaaS, English Software-as-a-Service) is a model in which the consumer is given the opportunity to use the provider’s application software running in the cloud infrastructure and accessible from various client devices or through a thin client, for example, from a browser (for example, a web -mail) or program interface.

Control and management of the underlying physical and virtual infrastructure of the cloud, including network, servers, operating systems, storage, or even individual application capabilities (except for a limited set of user-defined application configuration settings) is carried out by the cloud provider.

Platform as a service(PaaS, English Platform-as-a-Service) - a model when the consumer is given the opportunity to use a cloud infrastructure to host basic software for subsequent placement of new or existing applications(own, custom-developed or purchased replicated applications).

Such platforms include tools for creating, testing and executing application software - database management systems, middleware, programming language execution environments - provided by the cloud provider.

Control and management of the underlying physical and virtual infrastructure of the cloud, including network, servers, operating systems, storage, is carried out by the cloud provider, with the exception of developed or installed applications, as well as, if possible, environment (platform) configuration parameters.

Infrastructure as a service(IaaS, English IaaS or Infrastructure-as-a-Service). Provided as the ability to leverage cloud infrastructure to self-manage processing, storage, networking, and other fundamental computing resources. For example, a consumer may install and run arbitrary software, which may include operating systems, platform software, and application software.

The consumer can control the operating systems, virtual systems data storage and installed applications, as well as limited control over the set of available services (for example, firewall, DNS). Control and management of the main physical and virtual infrastructure of the cloud, including the network, servers, types of operating systems used, and storage systems, is carried out by the cloud provider.

Economic aspects

When using cloud computing, consumers information technology can significantly reduce capital costs - for the construction of data centers, the purchase of server and network equipment, hardware and software solutions to ensure continuity and performance - since these costs are absorbed by the cloud service provider.

In addition, the long construction and commissioning time of large information technology infrastructure facilities and their high initial cost limit the ability of consumers to flexibly respond to market demands. Whereas cloud technologies provide the ability to respond almost instantly to increased demand for computing power.

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

To explain the economics of cloud computing approaches, an analogy is often used with water or electricity services provided in developed infrastructures through the corresponding utility networks. They are easily accessible and pay for consumption, rather than being developed by each consumer using their own water intake or installing their own electrical installation.

Cloud technologies: the benefits of clouds

The transition to cloud computing provides significant economic benefits:

• Placing your IT infrastructure in the cloud allows you to achieve savings in total cost of ownership from 30% to 70%.
• Reduce capital costs by up to 70% when purchasing equipment.
• Increasing resources for equipment use and maintenance by up to 70% monthly.
• Saving data center resources (electricity, cooling, space) up to 50% monthly.
• Reduce the cost of equipment redundancy by 50-70% with the same level of monthly availability.
• Reduce licensing costs by 30% monthly.
• Reduce the time to deploy new services by up to 90%.

The main advantages of cloud technologies compared to physical servers:

• Availability. Cloud technologies are available to everyone from anywhere where there is Internet.
• Mobility. Company employees are becoming more mobile. They can access their workplace from anywhere in the world. All you need is a laptop, tablet or smartphone.
• Year-round trouble-free stable operation of the Company.
• Increased security by consolidating computing resources. Minimizing " human factor" User accountability for unauthorized access to the system and downloading of data.
• Data encryption, cryptography and data protection in accordance with Art. 152-FZ.
• Improving the quality of IT services provided with fewer highly qualified specialists.
• No initial capital costs or their significant reduction.
• Tenfold reduction in time spent on implementation and operational redistribution of resources.
• Rapid selective increase in capacity.

Cloud technologies for business

• Accelerating the implementation of new technologies.
• Reducing costs for purchasing IT infrastructure.
• Increasing the efficiency of the company through the use of best practices.
• Reduce software costs by renting only what is needed.
• Reduce costs by standardizing the software used.
• Reducing the risk of data loss and IT personnel costs.

Introduction to Cloud Basics

This management problem may soon be solved. Instead of installing a number of programs on each computer, all you need to do is download one application. Using this application, employees will have access to an Internet server on which all the programs necessary for a particular job are stored. All programs, from email clients and text editors to data analysis programs, will be launched from remote computers owned by another company. This technology, called "cloud", has the potential to revolutionize the entire computer industry.

When using cloud technologies, the load in computer systems is redistributed. Computers on site will not be overloaded with numerous applications. Will take on this burden computer network, forming a cloud. Hardware and software requirements for employees will be reduced: their computers will only have to load the cloud interface. This interface is comparable in simplicity to a web browser.

It's likely that you've already used some form of cloud technology, such as servers email(Hotmail, Yahoo! Mail or Gmail). Instead of launching an email client on your computer, you log into your account online. Yours account is not stored on your computer - it is located on a cloud server.

Cloud Computing Structure

The front end includes the client's computer (or network of computers) and the application needed to access the cloud system.
Different cloud systems have different user interfaces. Mail servers use existing web browsers, e.g. Internet Explorer or Firefox. Other systems have their own applications for accessing the network.

The rear area includes various computers, servers and data storage systems that create the “cloud”. In principle, using a cloud system, you can use any computer program from data processing to video games. Usually each application has its own server.

The central server ensures the operation of the cloud: it manages the system, records traffic and client requests. The server has a set of operating rules called protocols and specific middleware. Thanks to middleware, computers can transfer information to each other. Most of the time, servers are not fully loaded - there is unused capacity. You can “trick” a physical server and turn it into several virtual ones, each with its own operating system. This technology is called virtualization. With virtualization, server efficiency increases, which in turn reduces hardware requirements.

If you computer company If a cloud company has a lot of clients, it will need large amounts of memory. Some companies have hundreds of digital storage devices. To operate a cloud system, you need twice as many storage devices as the amount of client information. This is due to the fact that devices can break down. All customer information must be copied and stored on multiple devices. This way, the central server will always be able to download data from backup devices.

Cloud Computing Applications

Equipment costs will be reduced. Users will not need more powerful hardware with greater performance or more memory - the entire load will fall on the cloud system. An inexpensive computer with a monitor, keyboard, mouse, and processor that meets the middleware requirements will suffice. There is no need for a large hard drive - all information is stored on a remote computer.

Corporations in which computer hardware plays a role important role, must have the right software to operate successfully. With the help of a cloud system, these companies will have access to computer applications. There will be no need to purchase software or licenses for each employee. Instead, the company will pay a certain amount to the cloud organization.

Servers and digital storage devices take up space. Companies sometimes have to rent space to store servers and databases. Thanks to cloud technologies, data will be stored on another company’s equipment and there will be no need to find storage space.

Companies will be able to save on IT support. Well-functioning hardware can be more efficient than a network various devices and operating systems.

If the back end of the cloud system is network computer system, the client will be able to use the power of the entire network. Often scientists and researchers perform calculations that are so complex that personal computer it would take years to complete them. In a networked computer system, the client can submit calculations for processing in the cloud. The cloud system can utilize the power of all available back-end computers and thereby significantly speed up calculations.

Problems of cloud technologies

Among the problems associated with cloud technologies, there are also more philosophical ones. Who owns the data: the company using the cloud services or the organization where the data is stored? Can a cloud company deny a customer access to its data? These and other questions about the essence of cloud computing are the subject of discussions between companies, law firms and universities.
What impact will cloud technology have on other industries? In the IT environment, people are already asking the question: how will the emergence of cloud technologies affect the field of computer maintenance and repair? If companies move to modernized computer systems, their IT support needs will decrease. According to some industry experts, demand for IT services will shift to the back end of cloud systems.

Another subject of computer science research is autonomous operation computers. An autonomous computer system monitors itself and takes steps to prevent or correct problems. At the moment, the autonomous operation of computers remains a theory. But, if one day this becomes a reality, the demand for IT support services will significantly decrease.