Cloud computing promises to increase the velocity with which applications are deployed, increase innovation,
and lower costs, all while increasing business agility. Sun takes an inclusive view o\ue001 cloud computing that
allows it to support every \ue001acet, including the server, storage, network, and virtualization technology that drives
cloud computing environments to the so\ue001tware that runs in virtual appliances that can be used to assemble
applications in minimal time. This white paper discusses how cloud computing trans\ue001orms the way we design,
build, and deliver applications, and the architectural considerations that enterprises must make when adopting
and using cloud computing technology.

Building on established trends............................................................................. 3
Virtual machines as the standard deployment object........................................ 3
The on-demand, sel\ue001-service, pay-by-use model................................................. 4
Services are delivered over the network............................................................ 7
The role o\ue001 open source so\ue001tware..................................................................... 8
Cloud computing in\ue001rastructure models............................................................... 9
Public, private, and hybrid clouds.................................................................... 9
Architectural layers o\ue001 cloud computing......................................................... 12
Cloud application programming inter\ue001aces..................................................... 14
Cloud computing bene\ue000ts................................................................................. 15
Reduce run time and response time............................................................... 15
Minimize in\ue001rastructure risk........................................................................... 15
Lower cost o\ue001 entry....................................................................................... 16
Increased pace o\ue001 innovation......................................................................... 16

Evolving application architectures...................................................................... 17
Changing approaches to architecture............................................................. 17
Changing application designs........................................................................ 17
The goals remain the same................................................................................ 19
Consistent and stable abstraction layer.............................................................. 20
Standards help to address complexity............................................................ 21
Loose-coupled, stateless, \ue001ail-in-place computing................................................ 23
Horizontal scaling............................................................................................. 24
Parallelization.................................................................................................. 24
Divide and conquer....................................................................................... 26
Data physics..................................................................................................... 27
The relationship between data and processing............................................... 27
Programming strategies................................................................................ 28
Compliance and data physics........................................................................ 28
Security and data physics.............................................................................. 29
Network security practices................................................................................ 29