VOL. 3, NO.

10 Oct, 2012 ISSN 2079-8407

Journal of Emerging Trends in Computing and Information Sciences
©2009-2012 CIS Journal. All rights reserved.

http://www.cisjournal.org

Comparative Analysis of Cloud Computing Utilities

1
Balu Srinivasulu, 2 Kaliyaperumal Karthikeyan, 3 Mungamuru Nirmala, 4 Merugu Chandramouli
1,2,3,4
Department of Computer Science & Engineering
Eritrea Institute of Technology, Eritrea, N.E.Africa.
1
balusrini@gmail.com, 2 kirithicraj@gmail.com, 3 nirmala.mungamuru@gmail.com, 4 mouli608@gmail.com

ABSTRACT
The significant advances in Information and Communications Technology over the last half century led to an increasingly
perceived vision that computing will one day be the 5th utility (after water, electricity, gas, and telephony). This computing
utility, like all other four existing utilities, will provide the basic level of computing service which essential to meet the day-to-
day needs of the general community. Cloud computing promises to increase the velocity with which applications are deployed,
increases innovation and lowers the cost, while increasing business agility. Cloud computing on the other hand is an ability to
rent a server or thousands of servers to run geophysical modelling application on the most powerful systems available anywhere.
Cloud computing allows individuals, teams and organizations to streamline procurement processes and eliminate the need to
duplicate certain computer administrative skills related to setup, configuration and support. An effort has been made to analyse
the existing cloud computing utilities which paves a path to newer expansions.

Key words: Private Cloud, Hybrid Cloud, Cloud computing, IAAS, SAAS, PAAS, SLA.

1. INTRODUCTION
Cloud computing refers to the on-demand provision
of computational resources via a computer network rather than
from a local computer. Users or clients can submit a task, such
as word processing, to the service provider without actually
possessing the software or hardware. The client’s computer
may contain very little software or data perhaps a minimal
operating system and web browser only, serving as a basic
display terminal connected to the Internet. Since the cloud is
the underlying delivery mechanism, cloud-based applications F
and services may support any type of software application or
service in use today.

In the past, both data and software used to be stored
and processed on or near the computer. The development of
Local Area Networks paved a path to organize multiple CPU’s
and storage devices of a system which increases the
performance of the entire system. In an extension to this,
cloud computing fundamentally allows a functional separation
between the resources used and the user's computer, usually
residing outside the local network.
1.1 Cloud Computing
Cloud computing is a technological combination of
computation, software, data access, and storage services that
do not require end-user knowledge of the physical location
and configuration of the system that delivers the services. The
cloud is a smart, complex, powerful computing system in the
sky that people can just plug into.
Fig 1: Cloud Computing Server
Cloud is simply a metaphor for the Internet. It is a
style of computing where massively scalable IT-related
capabilities are provided “as a service” using Internet
technologies to multiple external customers. On-Demand
Cloud computing should not be confused with Grid
computing, utility computing or Autonomic computing. Any
situation in which computing is done in a remote location (out
in the clouds), rather than your desktop or portable device
creates a remote cloud to accomplish the task.

According to web browser pioneer Marc Andreessen,

cloud refers to “Moving computing and data away from the
desktop and the portable PC and simply displaying the results
of computing that takes place in a centralized location which
is then transmitted via internet to user’s screen.”

Fig 2: Remote Cloud

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Journal of Emerging Trends in Computing and Information Sciences
©2009-2012 CIS Journal. All rights reserved.
http://www.cisjournal.org
1.2 History of Cloud Computing
Dating back to the 1960’s, John McCarthy, a
computer scientist, brought up the idea that revolutionized
Cloud Computing i.e. "Computation may someday be
organized as a public utility”
The term "cloud" is used as a metaphor for the
Internet, based on the cloud drawing used in the past to
represent the telephone network, [13] and later to depict the
Internet in Computer Network diagrams as an abstraction of
the underlying infrastructure it represents. [14]
Cloud computing is a natural evolution of the
widespread adoption of virtualization, service oriented
architecture, autonomic and utility computing. Details are
abstracted from end-users, who no longer have a need for
expertise in, or control over, the technology infrastructure in
the cloud that supports them. Almost all the modern-day
characteristics of cloud computing such as elastic provision,
provided as a utility online, illusion of infinite supply etc.,
The actual term "cloud" borrowed from the context
of telephony of that of telecommunications companies, who
until the 1990s offered primarily dedicated point-to-point data
circuits, began offering Virtual Private Network (VPN)
services with comparable quality of service but at a much
lower cost. By switching traffic to balance utilization as they
saw fit, they were able to utilize their overall network
bandwidth more effectively. The cloud symbol was used to
denote the demarcation point between the responsibility of the
provider and the responsibility of the user. Cloud computing
extends this boundary to cover servers as well as the network
infrastructure.
1.3 Why Cloud Computing?
a. Software as a Subscription: In a cloud, software
resides on a service provider’s servers external to a
user’s computer.
b. Reduced Software Maintenance: By keeping the
software in the 'clouds' users can reduce the
amount of maintenance on their computers.
c. Increased Reliability: The cloud runs on systems
that are extremely reliable and provide some form
of redundancy.
d. Cost Reduction: Capital expenditures are reduced
because a lot of the load and storage will be shifted
over to the service provider who can provide that
service at a lower cost.
e. Environment Friendly: One of the greatest
advantages of cloud computing is the increased
longevity and use of older hardware used by
datacenters.
f. Matches Current Computing Trends: The
introduction of the e-books has moved a lot of
sales from computers and laptops with more
powerful processors and extended capabilities to
less powerful and more efficient platforms.
g. Portability/Accessibility: The availability of files
and software anywhere
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h. Efficient Use of Computer Resources: The advent
of virtualization has provided companies with ways
to efficiently use their computer resources. Users
no longer require separate servers for different
applications. With virtualization, multiple server
technologies can run from a single server. This
shift supports the growth of cloud computing due
to the increased capabilities of servers.
i. Version-less Software: It says that the changes and
updates to software would be constant and version
numbers would be transparent to the user and all
the users would see it as an added functionality.
1.4 Characteristics of Cloud Computing
Shared Infrastructure: Uses a virtualized software
model, enabling the sharing of physical services, storage, and
networking capabilities. The cloud infrastructure, regardless of
deployment model, seeks to make the most of the available
infrastructure across a number of users.
Dynamic Provisioning: Extends support for the
provision of services based on current demand requirements.
This is done automatically using software automation,
enabling the expansion and contraction of service capability,
as needed. This dynamic scaling needs to be done while
maintaining high levels of reliability and security.
Network Access: Allows access across the internet
from a broad range of devices such as PCs, laptops, and
mobile devices, using standard’s-based APIs Deployment of
services in the cloud include everything from business
applications to the latest smart phones.
Managed Metering: Usage of metering for
managing and optimizing the service and provide reporting
and billing information.
2. CLOUD COMPUTING PARADIGM
Cloud Computing is a paradigm that is composed
several strata of services such as Infrastructure, Storage,
Platform and Software. Different Cloud providers have
developed various access models to these services based on
standard Internet Protocols like HTTP, SOAP, REST, XML
and the infrastructure is based on widely used technologies
including virtualization and hosting.
Fig 3: Cloud Service Layer
2.1 Analogy
The analogy is, ' If you only need milk, would you
buy a cow?' i.e. if the users want to ripe the benefits of
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Journal of Emerging Trends in Computing and Information Sciences
©2009-2012 CIS Journal. All rights reserved.
http://www.cisjournal.org
computer hardware / software. Do they need to buy the
hardware or software?
The cloud makes it possible to scale rapidly up and
down, deploy services only when and where they’re needed,
deliver rich experiences across the PC, phone, and browser,
generate efficiencies and cost savings by paying as you go for
only the services used.
2.2 Architecture
The architecture of the software systems involved in
the delivery of cloud computing, typically involves multiple
cloud components communicating with each other
over application programming interfaces, usually web. This
resembles the UNIX philosophy of having multiple programs
each doing one thing well and working together over universal
interfaces. Complexity is controlled and the resulting systems
are more manageable than their monolithic counterparts.
When talking about a cloud computing system, it's
helpful to divide it into two sections: the front end and the
back end. They connect to each other through a network,
usually the Internet. The front end is the side the computer
user. The back end is the ‘cloud’ section of the system. The
front end includes the client's computer or computer network
and the application required to access the cloud computing
system. Not all cloud computing systems have the same user
interface. Services like Web-based e-mail programs leverage
existing Web browsers like Internet Explorer or Fire fox.
Other systems have unique applications that provide network
access to clients.
The back end of the system comprises of various
computers, servers and data storage systems that create the
‘cloud’ of computing services. A cloud computing system
could include practically any computer program ranging from
data processing to video games. Usually, each application will
have its own dedicated server.
A central server administers the system, monitoring
traffic and client demands to ensure everything runs smoothly.
It follows a set of rules called protocols and uses a special
kind of software called middleware. Middleware allows
networked computers to communicate with each other.
Cloud computing is closely related to grid computing
and utility computing. In a grid computing system, networked
computers are able to access and use the resources of every
other computer on the network. In cloud computing systems,
that usually only applies to the back end. Utility computing is
a business model where one company pays another company
for access to computer applications or data storage
If a cloud computing company has a lot of clients,
there's likely to be a high demand for a lot of storage space.
Some companies require hundreds of digital storage devices.
Cloud computing systems need at least twice the number of
storage devices it requires to keep all its clients' information
stored. That's because these devices, like all computers,
occasionally break down. A cloud computing system must
make a copy of all its clients' information and store it on other
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devices. The copies enable the central server to access backup
machines to retrieve data that otherwise would be unreachable.
Making copies of data as a backup is called redundancy.
3. CLOUD COMPUTING SERVICE LAYERS
Client Layer: A cloud client consists of computer
hardware and / or computer software that relies on cloud
computing for application delivery, or that is specifically
designed for delivery of cloud services and that, in either case,
is essentially useless without it. Examples include
some computers, phones and other devices, systems
and browsers.
Cloud SAAS Application: Cloud application
services or "Software as a Service (SAAS)"
deliver software as a service over the Internet, eliminating the
need to install and run the application on the customer's own
computers and simplifying maintenance and support.
Platform as a Service (PAAS): Cloud platform
services delivers a computing platform and / or solution
stack as a service, often consuming cloud infrastructure and
sustaining cloud applications. It facilitates deployment of
applications without the cost and complexity of buying and
managing the underlying hardware and software layers.
Infrastructure as a Service (IAAS): Cloud
infrastructure services deliver computer infrastructure,
typically a virtualization environment as a service. Rather than
purchasing servers, software, data centre space or network
equipment, instead clients can buy those resources as a fully
outsourced service. The service is typically billed on a utility
computing basis and amount of resources consumed will
typically reflect the level of activity. It is an evolution
of virtual private server offerings.
Server Layer: It consists of computer hardware
and/or computer software products that are specifically
designed for the delivery of cloud services, including multi-
core processors, cloud-specific operating systems and
combined offerings.
4. CLOUD DEPLOYMENT MODEL
4.1 Public Cloud
Public cloud or external cloud describes cloud
computing in the traditional mainstream sense, whereby
resources are dynamically provisioned on a fine-grained, self-
service basis over the Internet, via web/web services, from an
off-site third-party provider who shares and bills on a fine-
grained computing basis.
4.2 Private Cloud
Private cloud and internal cloud are neologisms that
some vendors have recently used to describe offerings that
emulate cloud computing on private networks. These products
claim to "deliver some benefits of cloud computing without
any pitfalls", capitalizing on data security, corporate
governance, and reliability concerns.
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Journal of Emerging Trends in Computing and Information Sciences
©2009-2012 CIS Journal. All rights reserved.
http://www.cisjournal.org
4.3 Hybrid Cloud
A hybrid cloud environment consists of multiple
internal and/or external providers which will be typical for
most enterprises. By integrating multiple cloud services users
may be able to ease the transition to public cloud services
while avoiding issues such as compliance. Another
perspective on deploying a web application in the cloud is
using Hybrid Web Hosting, where the hosting infrastructure is
a mix between clouds for the web server, and managed
dedicated server for the database server.
4.4 End User to Cloud
In this scenario, an end user is accessing data or
applications in the cloud. Common applications of this type
include email hosting and social networking sites. A user of
Gmail, Face book or LinkedIn accesses the application and
their data through any browser on any device. The user
doesn’t want to keep up with anything more than a password;
their data is stored and managed in the cloud. Most
importantly, the user has no idea about how the underlying
architecture works
Pre-requisites
• Identity: The cloud service must authenticate the
end user.
• An open client: Access to the cloud service
should not require a particular platform or
technology.
• Security: Security (including privacy) is a
common requirement to all use cases, although
the details of those requirements will vary
widely from one use case to the next. A full
discussion of security in cloud computing is
beyond the scope of this paper.
• SLAs: Although service level agreements for end
users will usually be much simpler than those for
enterprises, cloud vendors must be clear about
what guarantees of service they provide.
They have been criticized on the basis that users "still
have to buy, build, and manage them" and as such do not
benefit from lower up-front capital costs and less hands-on
management, essentially “lacking the economic model that
makes cloud computing such an intriguing concept".
4.5 Enterprise to Cloud
In this scenario, an enterprise is using the cloud to
deliver data and services to the end user. When the end user
interacts with the enterprise, the enterprise accesses the cloud
to retrieve data and/or manipulate it, sending the results to the
end user. The end user can be someone within the enterprise
or an external customer.
This use case involves an enterprise using cloud
services for its internal processes. This might be the most
common use case in the early stages of cloud computing
because it gives the enterprise at-most control. In this
scenario, the enterprise uses cloud services to supplement the
resources it needs.
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• Using cloud storage for backups or storage of
seldom-used data
• Using applications in the cloud (SAAS) for
certain enterprise functions (email, calendaring,
CRM, etc.).
Using cloud databases as part of an application's
processing could be extremely useful for sharing that database
with partners, government agencies, etc.
Fig 4: Enterprise cloud firewall
5. CLOUD COMPUTING PROS AND CONS
The benefits delivered by cloud computing
technology include.
• Extremely cost efficient device and location
independence
• Scalability Unlimited storage capacity
• flexibility
• reduced software maintenance
• increased data reliability
• Agility improved document format compatibility
Some of the limitations of cloud computing are:
• Regulatory compliance when outsourcing to a
provider
• Customers are responsible for the security &
integrity of their own data, even when it is held
by third party.
6. PROVIDERS OF CLOUD COMPUTING
Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud ‘Amazon EC2’ web
service interface provides resizable computing capacity in a
cloud designed to make web-scale computing easier for
developers. It reduces the time required to obtain and boot
new server space from weeks to minutes and allows
developers to pay only for capacity that they actually use.
‘Google 101’ network is made up of millions of
cheap servers, stores staggering amounts of data, including
numerous copies of the World Wide Web. It performs faster
searching, answers billions of queries in a fraction of a second.
Google invests more than $2 billion a year in data centers for
cloud computing.
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Journal of Emerging Trends in Computing and Information Sciences
©2009-2012 CIS Journal. All rights reserved.

http://www.cisjournal.org
7. FUTURE OF THE CLOUD COMPUTING
Agility improves with users' ability to rapidly and
inexpensively re-provision the technological infrastructure
resources. Cost is claimed to be greatly reduced and capital
expenditure is converted to operational expenditure. This
ostensibly lowers barriers to entry, as infrastructure is
typically provided by a third-party and does not need to be
purchased for one-time or infrequent intensive computing
tasks. Pricing on a utility computing basis is fine-grained with
usage-based options and fewer IT skills are required for
implementation. Security could improve due to centralization
of data, increased security-focused resources, etc., but
concerns can persist about loss of control over certain
sensitive data, and the lack of security for stored kernels.
[3] R. Buyya, D. Abramson, and S. Venugopal. The Grid
Economy. Proceedings of the IEEE, 93(3): 698-714,
IEEE Press, USA, March 2005.
[4] "Cloud Computing: Clash of the clouds". The
Economist.2009-10-15. http://www.economist. Com
/display story. Cfm? Story _id=14637206. Retrieved
2009-11-03.
[5] IBM Global Technology Services January 2007.
[6] Online guidelines regulated by the members of
Schneider Electric. (132 Fairgrounds Road, West
Kingston, RI 02892 USA).

Security is often as good as or better than under [7] Twenty Experts Define Cloud Computing,
traditional systems, in part because providers are able to com/read/612375_p.html [18 July 2008].
devote resources to solving security issues that many
customers cannot afford. Providers typically log accesses, but [8] Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2):
accessing the audit logs themselves can be difficult or http://www.amazon.com/gp/browse.html? Node =
impossible. Furthermore, the complexity of security is greatly 201590011, accessed Dec2008.
increased when data is distributed over a wider area and / or
number of devices. Cloud computing applications are easier to [9] R.L.DENNIS, D.W.BYUN, J.H.NOVAK, J.ALLUPPI,
maintain, since they don't have to be installed on each user's C.C.COATS, M.A.VOUK, “The Next Generation of
computer. They are easier to support and to improve since the Integrated Air Quality Modeling: EPA’sModels-3”,
changes reach the clients instantly. Atmospheric Environment, Vol. 30(12), pp.1925–1938,
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8. CONCLUSION
Cloud computing is an emerging computing [10] GLOBUS:http://www.globus.org/, accessed May 2008.
paradigm. Leaders in the industry, such as Microsoft, Google,
and IBM, have provided their initiatives in promoting cloud [11] HADOOP:http://hadoop.apache.org/core accessed
computing. However, the public literature that discusses the May 2008.
research issues in cloud computing are still inadequate. In a
study of the research literature surrounding cloud computing, [12] J.REIMER, “Dreaming in the “Cloud” with the XIOS
it has been found that there is a distinct focus on the needs of web operating system”, April, 8, 2007, http://
the scientific computing community. Big IT companies are arstechnica.com / news.ars / post / 20070408 -
also building their own version of cloud. But still there are dreaming-in-the-cloud-with-the-xios-web-operating-
many questions left over without an answer and indeed the system.html.
most important one is security. One of the other aspects of the
cloud to be focused is the social aspect of it. What happens if [13] http://ecomcanada.wordpress.com/2011/ 06 / 29 /
smaller IT companies start to offer their services on the cloud Multi-tenancy in-cloud computing.
and no one uses them? It is believed that everything eventually
can move to the Cloud. The question is if users are ready for [14] www.sun.com/featured-articles/ Cloud Computing.
that and if it’s the right move and this need must be addressed.
AUTHOR PROFILE
REFERENCES
Mr.Balu Srinivasulu is working as a
[1] A. Weiss. Computing in the Clouds. Net Worker, Lecturer in the Department of Computer
11(4):16-25, Dec. 2007. Science, EIT, Asmara, and State of Eritrea,
affiliated to the Ministry of Education. He
[2] Buyya, Rajkumar; Chee Shin Yeo, Srikumar has blended his wide experience of teaching
Venugopal (PDF). Market-Oriented Cloud Computing: and research field of Computer Science. He
Vision, Hype, and Reality for Delivering IT Services as has published a number of international
Computing Utilities. Department of Computer Science journal papers related to the Computer Science. His areas of
and Software Engineering, The University of research are Wireless Network, Communication Networks and
Melbourne, Australia. pp. 9. Hardware.

Mr.Kaliyaperumal Karthikeyan is working

as a Lecturer in the Department of Computer
Science, EIT, Asmara, and State of Eritrea,
affiliated to the Ministry of Education. He has

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 VOL. 3, NO.10 Oct, 2012 ISSN 2079-8407
Journal of Emerging Trends in Computing and Information Sciences
©2009-2012 CIS Journal. All rights reserved.

http://www.cisjournal.org
blended his wide experience of 15 years in teaching and
research in the field of CS and Electronics. He has published
a number of international journal papers & books related to
the Computer Science. His areas of research are Hardware,
Software Simulation and Automata Methodologies. He is a
member of IAENG, CSI and many journal membership
bodies.
Mrs. Mungamuru Nirmala received her
M.Tech- Information Technology in 2004.
Currently she is working as a Lecturer,
Department of Computer Science, Eritrea
Institute of Technology, Asmara, Eritrea, and
North East Africa. She has blended her wide
experience of 13 years in teaching and research in the field of
Computer Science and Information Technology. Her areas of
research interest include Distributed Databases, Software
Engineering and Software Testing Methodologies. She is a
member of IAENG, CSI, IETE, ISTE and many journal
membership bodies.
Mr. Merugu Chandramouli is working as a Lecturer in the
Dept. of Computer Engineering, EIT, Asmara,
and State of Eritrea, affiliated to the Ministry of
Education. He has blended his wide experience
of teaching and research in the field of
Computer Engineering. His areas of research
are Database Management System and System
Software.

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