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Cloud Computing’s Architecture, Benefits and Concerns

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Cloud Computing’s Architecture, Benefits and Concerns

Introduction

Many of us juggle with the question of the true meaning and implications of cloud

computing. In a technologically advanced world, the term cloud computing should be familiar to

most of us yet the opposite is true. Cloud computing is a utility that shares resources, software

and information that are eventually accessed by end users. Normally, hosting of these resources

occurs on virtual servers available to the user through the internet. In essence, this is the practice

of utilizing these servers for storage, management and processing of data, rather than using the

local computer to store data. Other people refer to the cloud as any data that is stored beyond the

personal or corporate computer’s firewall (Knorr, 2017). In looking at cloud computing, one

needs to understand the evolution of personal computing. The first phase in personal computing

is whereby the storage of data and applications occurs on the desktop. In the second phase things

become more interesting since data now resides in local servers and utility software are used to

fetch the data from local servers. The third and current phase now happens in the sense that data

currently resides in virtual servers hosted on the internet. This phase is what is known as cloud

computing. This paper analyzes the architecture of cloud computing, its benefits and finally

discussing the challenges and research issues pertaining to its development and implementation.

Nomenclature

Since internet use became popular, a network architecture diagram always reflects the

internet as a cloud partly to hide the complexities of this infrastructure and to explain truly, the

nature of it. Simply put, cloud is actually a metaphor describing the internet as a space that

allows computing in a preinstalled environment that exists as an accessible service to end users.

A more technical understanding of this architecture is that cloud computing is a pioneer

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technology used in incorporating other computing solutions such as parallel computing, grid

computing, distributed computing and a whole host of other virtualization technologies that work

with utility computing to bring about end user services (Kumar, & Goudar, 2012). When it

comes to cloud computing, the understanding of platforms is required. Here a platform

represents software provisions that configures and reconfigures servers according to the need of

end-users. More advanced clouds use effective computing resources such as the Storage Area

Networks, firewalls, network equipment and other devices used for the security of their services.

Some basic cloud computing examples include, Google Docs, One Drive, which are Google’s

and Microsoft online storage serviced.

Architecture

In order to understand the architecture of the cloud one needs to understand its concepts

clearly. As stated above, the cloud represents the internet but this representation is not enough to

capture fully the understanding of the term cloud. Essentially, the cloud is what you access in

order to use technology for the duration that you need it or at your own convenience without

having to interfere with your schedule or plans. In addition, one does not pay anything to use the

basic services of the cloud and it does not require any installations on your local machine. The

diversity of the cloud is that it can fundamentally be either software or hardware and can exist as

an application accessible through the web via end user applications such as browsers or an

Information Technology infrastructure used as per the request of the user (Bansal, & Kumar,

2012). The forefront technology in cloud computing remains to be virtualization. What

virtualization does is to separate physical computing into various devices that are virtual, each

used easily for the management and performing of computing tasks. In simple term, the layout

comprises of applications at the user’s end, and then the intermediary called the platforms and
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finally the infrastructure supporting all the platforms and applications. Through virtualization,

the cloud computing operations gain agility and speed, consequently reducing the costs on both

the provider, since they are able to gain profits from the venture, and the user because it reduces

time and provides easy access to information.

The architecture of cloud computing pertains to the components and other mini-

components needed for this type of computing. Basically, it is the overall requirements needed to

successfully implement and manage a cloud-computing network. The cloud-computing

environment is divided up into four layers. These layers include the hardware, commonly known

as the datacenter layer, the infrastructural layer, the platforms layer and finally the applications

layer. All these components have the front and back end platforms. Front-end platforms are

normally what one can see with their naked eyes like a mobile device, browsers and applications

while back-end platforms are usually not visible, which include databases and other utility

software commonly known as daemons in Linux and UNIX systems. Other components include

the delivery that is cloud based and a network connection such as the internet, intranet and a

scarce term known as the Intercloud (Adrees, Omer, & Sheta, 2015). Several models offer the

cloud service pertaining to Cloud Computing. These services include the Infrastructure as a

Service (IaaS), the Platform as a Service (PaaS), the Network as a Service, the Communication

as a Service (CaaS), the Softform as a Service (SaaS) and the Data as a Service (DaaS). All these

services link up to form a wholesome structure that accords infrastructural support to cloud

computing networks

Benefits of Cloud Computing

The cloud offers innumerable benefits especially in the business field. On an enterprise

perspective, the cloud exponentially lowers the overall cost of the entry of smaller firms working
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towards benefiting from the business analytics of compute-intensive organizations. Formerly,

such kind of business analytics were only available to big corporations and businesses that saw

large capital returns; nowadays, through cloud computing smaller companies are able to get

access to such analytics and therefore use them to their advantage in terms of business strategies,

planning among others. In addition, there smaller companies are able to access strong computing

power so that they can effectively handle computational exercises that involve large sums of

computational agility. In third world countries, the revolution of Information Technology is at an

alarmingly slow pace. Such countries benefit from cloud computing through access to powerful

and more advanced computing power. A simple example in in the animation industry, which

requires very high teraflops of processing power. An animation company in Africa may

outsource rendering capabilities from larger companies that are stationed in tech advanced

countries like the United States of America. This phenomenon is theorized as the widespread

deployment of Information Technology services.

Another clear advantage on the business side is the fact that it provides instant access to

resources that are hardware related. Such resources may be expensive for particular businesses to

purchase therefore the infrastructure provides instantaneous access to these hardware with

virtually no immediate investment capital wise. This leads to efficient time and cost management

in numerous businesses. Treating heavy investment in it as an operational expense aids in the

dramatic reduction of immediate costs especially in corporations. A good example is in the most

recent internet startups. In studying these startups, one thing emerges, which is the low initial

capital needed to run such companies. Such ventures experiences this rise in profitability – in

that the initial capital was lesser than the overall profits made – due to cloud computing. Startups

such as the Jungle Disk, 37 Signals, SmugMug among others utilized the power of outsourcing
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presented in cloud computing to harness available hardware resources since in most cases you

find that the total capital needed to invest in hardware overrides the money required to use cloud

services; this way, most business enterprises go for the latter (Avram, 2014). Ultimately, with

respect to hardware, the cloud is a form of adaptive infrastructure that enables its sharing with

other users in various forms related to business.

Through cloud computing, barriers to innovation are broken down. This is vital not only

in individual accomplishments but also in enterprise development and business expansion and

diversification. Through cloud computing Facebook, which was ten years ago a promising

startup has now grown to become one of the innovation pioneers in all things related to

technology. Other companies such as YouTube, TripIt for managing a person’s travel, Mint for

personal finances management among others have followed suit in using this revolutionizing

technology for the betterment of innovation solutions. Through increasing innovations, more and

more people are able to access the services offered in such companies this in turn has created and

made it easier for such enterprises to scale their service in accordance to the demands of the

client. This is normally done through software by managing computing resources and deploying

them once they are needed according to the user requirements. Actually, the goal of cloud

computing in scalability rests solely on the ability to scale various resources in a dynamic way

through Application Programing Interfaces or APIs according to the load of the client and the

minimal service provider communication.

In recent years, an awakening to the power of technology has arisen with the

unprecedented and exponential growth of cloud computing services. Nowadays, new classes of

applications have emerged that were not available. Such applications transcend the imaginations

of old timers and continue to baffle those who are not technologically up to date. Good examples
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of these applications include mobile applications that are interactive such as the location based

Google Maps that constantly updates the location in an interactive and real-time way. Other

applications that have evolved through cloud computing are those related to parallel bath

processing. Such software allow one to capitalize on huge amounts of processing power in order

to facilitate the analysis of terabytes of data in a limited amount of time. In addition, applications

that rely on abstract programming work efficiently through complicated parallel computations

over numerous servers that can only be supported through cloud computing. Through all these

advantages, the cloud eventually reduces the network latency on the client side. Here, network

latency represents the overall data chunk transmitted over a network bandwidth.

Concerns in Cloud Computing

Insofar as there are numerous benefits to cloud computing, the overall barriers are evident

and in many instances prevent its proper adoption. One such demerit constitutes the largest fear

in using this kind of network infrastructure and it is the security and privacy of the network. In

recent years, more and more people are becoming more aware of their privacy and security. Such

a trend has brought to the limelight the questions of unwarranted surveillance, network hacks,

among other breaches that result to data theft and other nasty computer related crimes. Currently,

since cloud computing is a new field, there is growing uncertainty of its security architecture at

all the levels, that is, the application, data, host, and network levels. Such uncertainty has led to

the cropping up of Information Technology executives who openly state security as their number

one concern when it comes to cloud computing. In addition to this is the ability of cloud

computing to preserve privacy, which is brought up on several occasions (Aljabre, 2012). In

various organizations today, the question of the numerous requirements needed for the protection

of privacy is pertinent. The result being an unclear perspective on how cloud computing gives
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adequate information protection to the high number of its users especially corporations who have

a lot to lose.

The issue of connectivity is always a thorny one since cloud computing depends upon

high-speed internet access to all parties involved. With open connectivity that is reliable, new

possibilities emerge that range in differing consumer products. Once this products reach the

market they create an insatiable need that requires round the clock connectivity and easy access

to the power of computing, which sometimes fails the consumer. Another negative effect is in

terms of its reliability. Most enterprise software and mobile applications are critical in that they

rely on them on 24/7 operations that cannot be stopped. Such reliance proves events such as

network failure and power failure as catastrophic to the normal working of these enterprises.

This proves cloud-computing weak in the sense that it cannot provide alternatives to such

network failures, thereby stalling company operations and in turn causes loss of large amounts of

money. Also through connectivity and reliability, inconsistencies come the inevitable result of

inoperability. In all business spheres, this is the most feared occurrence is that of an inoperable

business module. In cloud computing, interoperability and the portability of information between

public and private clouds is key in the synchronization of business affairs and ultimately, the

smooth running of businesses. This is why when there is an event of inoperability attributed to

the service of cloud computing, the detrimental effects that face businesses are numerous.

In due course the expansion of cloud computing is normally predicted on the return value

after investment. In a simpler sense, the need to balance each and every cost related to cloud

computing is necessary and of utmost importance. This is where the economic value of such a

technology comes to question. In looking at the cloud, computing one has to consider all the

parameters involved which also includes hidden costs due to disaster, modification of the
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application and data loss in the event of a major system hitch. When all things are considered,

the use of cloud computing becomes detrimental in the sense that it leads to economic strain on

the part of the business entity. Furthermore maintaining a perfect system requires the autonomy

of the various SaaS applications, which in turn leads to more expenses incurred. In maintaining

an economic value numerous Information Technology organizations becomes affected. The

organization of IT is of utmost importance since it determines the entrance of other dynamic

variables. For example during the era of first and second generation programming languages,

there were fewer programmers and the entrant of object oriented programming brought about

system developers, software project managers among others. In the same way, cloud computing

brings about new drastic changes that most people are not comfortable in embracing.

Another issue is about the politics involved due to the variation in global boundaries.

Through cloud computing, you find that the variability that exists in terms of the location of data

storage, processing and access differs on a large geographical scale. Given this enormous

difference, dissimilar regulations and rules apply. By nature, cloud computing now becomes an

effective multijurisdictional entity. This current classification of cloud computing is irrelevant

and hurts the everyday users more than it does the enforcers of such policies. Therefore, there is

a great need for consideration in regards to the involvement of politics in matters that relate to

the internet.

Conclusion

Insofar as it is difficult to discern the multifaceted and broad understanding and definition

of what cloud computing is, the truth remains that its advantages far outweigh the demerits. One

of the foremost significant advantages is the fact that cloud computing generally reduces the cost

of the user and allows flexibility on numerous accounts. Overall, one technology is changing the
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way we view the world and business as a whole, and should subsequently be embraced by all

parties involved.
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References

Adrees, M., Omer, M., & Sheta, O. (2015). CLOUD COMPUTING ARCHITECTURE FOR

HIGHER EDUCATION IN THE THIRD WORLD COUNTRIES (REPUBLIC OF THE

SUDAN AS MODEL). International Journal of Database Management Systems

(IJDMS), 7(3), 13-24.

Aljabre, A. (2012). Cloud Computing for Increased Business Value. International Journal of

Business And Social Science, 3(1), 234-239.

Avram, M. (2014). Advantages and challenges of adopting cloud computing from an enterprise

perspective. The 7Th International Conference Interdisciplinarity In Engineering, 12,

529-534.

Bansal, S., & Kumar, A. (2012). Use of Cloud Computing in Academic Institutions.

International Journal of Computer Science And Technology, 3(1), 427-429.

Knorr, E. (2017). What cloud computing really means. InfoWorld. Retrieved 18 April 2017, from

http://www.infoworld.com/article/2683784/cloud-computing/what-cloud-computing-

really-means.html

Kumar, S., & Goudar, R. (2012). Cloud Computing – Research Issues, Challenges, Architecture,

Platforms and Applications: A Survey. International Journal of Future Computer And

Communication, 1(4), 356-360.