Technologies that played a vital role in the evolution of cloud

computing
Cloud computing evolved primarily from various computing technologies such as distributed systems
and peripherals, virtualization, web 2.0, service orientation, and utility computing. Let’s go through
some of the technologies that played a vital role in the evolution of cloud computing are:

Distributed systems

A distributed system is a computing environment. Different components are distributed across

multiple computers connected by a network. These devices divided the work, collaborating their
efforts to accomplish the assignment more efficiently than when a single device was in charge.

Scalability, concurrency, continuous availability, heterogeneity, and failure independence are all
characteristics of distributed systems. The main issue with this system was that all plans had to be
present in the exact geographical location.

To address this issue, distributed computing gave rise to three new types of computing:

 Mainframe computing
 Cluster computing
 Grid computing

Mainframe computing

Large organizations use mainframe computing for critical applications, bulk data processing, massive
throughput, hot-swapping of hardware, etc. Yet today, these are used as these systems have virtually
no downtime and high fault tolerance.

These increased the system’s processing capabilities after distributed computing. However, these
were prohibitively expensive. Cluster computing emerged as a cost-cutting alternative to mainframe
technology.

Cluster computing
It is a collection of computers that are either tightly or loosely connected and work together to
function as a single entity. The connected computers execute operations in unison, giving rise to the
concept of a unified system. A high-bandwidth network generally links together the clusters.

In addition, you can easily add new nodes to the cluster if necessary. Therefore, this addressed the
cost issue to some extent, but the point of geographical constraints remained. Grid computing came
into the picture as a solution to this problem.

Grid computing

In grid computing, a network of computers collaborates to complete a task that would have been
unlikely for a single machine to complete. To function as a virtual supercomputer, all machines on
that network must follow the same protocol.

Different systems were placed at entirely different geographical locations, and these all were
connected via the internet. Although it solved some problems, new problems emerged as the distance
between the nodes increased.

Web 2.0

In comparison to the early days of the internet, Web 2.0 describes the current state of online
technology. It includes increased user interactivity and collaboration and improved communication
channels. As a result, we now have interactive and dynamic web pages. It also improves the
flexibility of web pages.

Virtualization

The fundamental technology that underpins cloud computing is virtualization. This software
separates compute environments from physical infrastructures, allowing multiple operating systems
and applications to simultaneously run on the same machine.

It is a critical technology in cloud computing. It serves as the foundation for major cloud computing
services such as Amazon EC2, VMware vCloud, etc.

Must Explore – Virtualization in cloud computing

Utility computing
Utility computing allows users to scale up and down based on their needs. Clients, users, or
businesses can rent data storage space, computing power, or even hardware such as CPUs, monitors,
etc.

Phases of the evolution of cloud computing

There are 3 phases in the evolution of cloud computing. These phases are:

Idea phase

This period began in the early 1960s with the introduction of utility and grid computing and lasted
until the pre-internet era.

Check Out the Best Online Courses

Pre-phase

The pre-cloud phase began in 1999 and lasted until 2006. During this stage, the internet was used as
a mechanism to deliver Applications as a Service.

Cloud phase

The much-discussed real cloud phase began in 2007 when the classification of IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS
was formalized. Throughout the history of cloud computing, some of the world’s leading
computer/web organizations have made some very interesting breakthroughs.