In Computer science, cloud computing describes a type of outsourcing of computer services, similar to the way in which electricity supply is outsourced. Users can simply use it. They do not need to worry where the electricity is from, how it is made, or transported. Every month, they pay for what they consumed.

The idea behind cloud computing is similar: The user can simply use storage, computing power, or specially crafted development environments, without having to worry how these work internally. Cloud computing is usually Internet-based computing. The cloud is a metaphor for the Internet based on how the internet is described in computer network diagrams; which means it is an abstraction hiding the complex infrastructure of the internet.[1] It is a style of computing in which IT-related capabilities are provided as a service,[2] allowing users to access technology-enabled services from the Internet ("in the cloud")[3] without knowledge of, or control over the technologies behind these servers.[4]

According to a paper published by IEEE Internet Computing in 2008 "Cloud Computing is a paradigm in which information is permanently stored in servers on the Internet and cached temporarily on clients that include computers, laptops, handhelds, sensors, etc."[5]

Cloud computing is a general concept that utilizes software as a service (SaaS), such as Web 2.0 and other technology trends, all of which depend on the Internet for satisfying users' needs. For example, Google Apps provides common business applications online that are accessed from a web browser, while the software and data are stored on the Internet servers.

Cloud computing is often confused with grid computing (a form of distributed computing whereby a "super and virtual computer" is composed of a cluster of networked, loosely-coupled computers, working together to perform very large tasks), utility computing (the packaging of computing resources, such as computation and storage are provided as a measured service that have to be paid similar to a traditional public utility such as electricity)[6] and autonomic computing (computer systems capable of self-management).[7]

Many cloud computing deployments are powered by grids, have autonomic characteristics and are billed like utilities, but cloud computing can be seen as a natural next step from the grid-utility model.[8] Some successful cloud architectures have little or no centralised infrastructure or billing systems at all including peer-to-peer networks like BitTorrent and Skype.[9]

The majority of cloud computing infrastructure currently consists of reliable services delivered through data centers that are built on computer and storage virtualization technologies. The services are accessible anywhere in the world, with The Cloud appearing as a single point of access for all the computing needs of consumers. Commercial offerings need to meet the quality of service requirements of customers and typically offer service level agreements.[10]Open standards and open source software are also critical to the growth of cloud computing.[11]

As customers generally do not own the infrastructure or know all details about it, mainly they are accessing or renting, so they can consume resources as a service, and may be paying for what they do not need, instead of what they actually do need to use. Many cloud computing providers use the utility computing model which is analogous to how traditional public utilities like electricity are consumed, while others are billed on a subscription basis. By sharing consumable and "intangible" computing power between multiple "tenants", utilization rates can be improved (as servers are not left idle) which can reduce costs significantly while increasing the speed of application development.

A side effect of this approach is that "computer capacity rises dramatically" as customers do not have to engineer for peak loads.[12] Adoption has been enabled by "increased high-speed bandwidth" which makes it possible to receive the same response times from centralized infrastructure at other sites.

Cloud computing is being driven by providers including Google, Amazon.com, and Yahoo! as well as traditional vendors including IBM, Intel,[13]Microsoft[14] and SAP.[15] It can adopted by all kinds of users, be they individuals or large enterprises. Most internet users are currently using cloud services, even if they do not realize it. Webmail for example is a cloud service, as are Facebook and Wikipedia and contact list synchronization and online data backups.

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Cloud computing - Simple English Wikipedia, the free ...

Most computing happens in the cloud. But most cloud providers leave you with infrastructure alone and little-to-no supportor, worse, charge an exorbitant premium for what little support they do offer.

We're different. We know it takes more than infrastructure to get the most out of a cloudit takes expertise. It takes the willingness to understand what our customers consider success in the cloud, and help them achieve it. That's why we only offer managed cloud, backing your infrastructure with our in-house, high-touch Cloud Engineers and Fanatical Support 24x7x365.

We offer an exceptional level of service with the quality and value of our service levels. We're even recognized as a leader in Gartner's Magic Quadrant for Cloud-Enabled Managed Hosting, North America and Europe 2014. Learn more about what our managed cloud offers.

Cloud Servers reside in our world-class data centers, with ECC memory, and fully redundant networking and power all the way to the host. All virtual servers are backed by hardware RAID 10 storage.

Access to multiple regions lets you deploy applications close to your users and introduce geographic redundancy. Regions include Northern Virginia, Dallas, Chicago (available upon request), London, Sydney, and Hong Kong. (Compute v1 and Memory v1 flavor classes are not available in London, Sydney, or Hong Kong. OnMetal Cloud Servers are currently available only in Northern Virginia.)

Hosts for virtual machine flavor classes, as well as all our bare-metal servers, receive redundant, dual, bonded 10Gbps network connections to fuel high-bandwidth applications. All virtual servers also have a blazing 10Gbps connectivity to Cloud Block Storage.

VMs running on multi-tenant hosts. Smaller sizes, balanced resources, and CPU and network burst capablity provide lowest price points and best value.

General purpose

Class name: General Purpose v1

Use cases:

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Cloud compute powered by Openstack - Rackspace Cloud Servers

Ten Reasons Why Cloud Computing is a Bad Idea

Author: Hamad Subani | Date: 2009.06.02 | Category: Cloud Computing, Trends | Tags: Amazon Web Services,Cloud Computing,Fads,Software as a Disservice,Trends

If you havent jumped into the Cloud Computing bandwagon yet, here are ten reasons why you should reconsider.

Note:The above image is licensed under a Creative Commons License. Feel free to use it. You canget a high quality image for printing here.

Cloud Computing exists on the premise that the Internet will always be as robust and reliable for all time to come. While one can be fairly optimistic, there is always the danger of the unforeseen. For example, Congressmen in the United States are pushing for bills that can shutdown/limit Internet traffic in the event of war, so that the sheeple stick to their prescribed content on television. Another country, Syria, managed to completely erase itself from the Internet when civil war broke out in late 2012. If a Company loses Internet connectivity to its Cloud even for a few days, as a result of an Internet outage affecting either it or the Cloud Computing Service, there could be very damaging consequences. I am not talking about your E-store going offline. Suppose the daily activities of your Company were on a database on a Cloud? In such a scenario, you may wish your servers were in that makeshift bunker in your backyard, rather than on the Cloud.

And because of its dependence on the Internet, Cloud Computing can never perform as a substitute for in-house servers. For example, there are speed limits, related to hardware and bandwidth, when transferring data to and from the Cloud via the Internet. Using VPNs and SSL tunnels can further slow the speed.

Cloud Computing implicitly assumes that the Internet is as robust throughout the world as it is in North America, Europe and some parts of Asia. But clients from countries where Internet connectivity is sporadic will be discouraged from boarding the Cloud. And no, I am not talking about Namibia. IT powerhouse India still has sporadic Internet connectivity. The general speed of the Internet is still very poor. The infrastructure is so haphazard that most Indian Internet subscribers prefer the limited speeds of wireless mobile Internet from the cell phone companies, rather than trust the cable/landline infrastructure. In addition, uninterrupted supply of electricity is still unrealised in India. A power outage affecting any intermediary can cripple access to the Cloud. Indian IT giants have learnt the hard way not to trust state infrastructure, even for electricity. They keep their own backup power generation on site. Adopting any trend that makes them more dependent on state infrastructure will require more than a leap of faith.

Cloud Computing may require gratuitous bandwidth for the client, depending on what the client is hosting on the Cloud. And the same ISPs who are clamouring for bandwidth caps may charge and arm and a leg if the client exceeds his or her bandwidth quota.

Major ISPs have come under fire for spying on their customers P2P networks on behalf of the Recording Industry. Can these ISPs be trusted with sensitive traffic to and from the Cloud? We are told that everything will be encrypted through VPNs. But still, given the tainted role of ISPs, can ISPs be trusted for non-encrypted traffic?

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Ten Reasons Why Cloud Computing is a Bad Idea

Cloud (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Is your server or servers getting old? Have you pushed it to the end of its lifespan? Have you reached that stage where its time to do something about it? Join the crowd. Youre now at that decision point that so many other business people are finding themselves this year. And the decision is this: do you replace that old server with a new serveror do you go to: the cloud.

Everyones talking about the cloud nowadays so youve got to consider it, right? This could be a great new thing for your company! Youve been told that the cloud enables companies like yours to be more flexible and save on their IT costs. It allows free and easy access to data for employees from wherever they are, using whatever devices they want to use. Maybe youve seen the recent survey by accounting software maker MYOB that found that small businesses that adopt cloud technologies enjoy higher revenues. Or perhaps youve stumbled on this analysis that said that small businesses are losing money as a result of ineffective IT management that could be much improved by the use of cloud based services. Or the poll of more than 1,200 small businesses by technology reseller CDW CDW which discovered that cloud users cite cost savings, increased efficiency and greater innovation as key benefits and that across all industries, storage and conferencing and collaboration are the top cloud services and applications.

So its time to chuck that old piece of junk and take your company to the cloud, right? Welljust hold on.

Theres no question that if youre a startup or a very small company or a company that is virtual or whose employees are distributed around the world, a cloud based environment is the way to go. Or maybe youve got high internal IT costs or require more computing power. But maybe thats not you. Maybe your company sells pharmaceutical supplies, provides landscaping services, fixes roofs, ships industrial cleaning agents, manufactures packaging materials or distributes gaskets. You are not featured in Fast Company and you have not been invited to presenting at the next Disrupt conference. But you know you represent the very core of small business in America. I know this too. You are just like one of my companys 600 clients. And what are these companies doing this year when it comes time to replace their servers?

These very smart owners and managers of small and medium sized businesses who have existing applications running on old servers are not going to the cloud. Instead,theyvebeen buying new servers.

Wait, buying new servers? What about the cloud?

At no less than six of my clients in the past 90 days it was time to replace servers. They had all waited as long as possible, conserving cash in a slow economy, hoping to get the most out of their existing machines. Sound familiar? But the servers were showing their age, applications were running slower and now as the companies found themselves growing their infrastructure their old machines were reaching their limit. Things were getting to a breaking point, and all six of my clients decided it was time for a change. So they all moved to cloud, right?

Nope. None of them did. None of them chose the cloud. Why? Because all six of these small business owners and managers came to the same conclusion: it was just too expensive. Sorry media. Sorry tech world. But this is the truth. This is whats happening in the world of established companies.

Consider the options. All of my clients evaluated cloud based hosting services from Amazon, Microsoft and Rackspace. They also interviewed a handful of cloud based IT management firms who promised to move their existing applications (Office, accounting, CRM, databases) to their servers and manage them offsite. All of these popular options are viable and make sense, as evidenced by their growth in recent years. But when all the smoke cleared, all of these services came in at about the same price: approximately $100 per month per user. This is what it costs for an existing company to move their existing infrastructure to a cloud based infrastructure in 2013. Weve got the proposals and weve done the analysis.

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Do You Replace Your Server Or Go To The Cloud? The Answer ...

Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GJuXqor7C8

NIPS 2014 Workshop - (Gomez) Novel Trends and Applications in Reinforcement Learning
The last decade has witnessed a series of technological advances: social networks, cloud servers, personalized advertising, autonomous cars, personalized healthcare, robotics, security systems,...

By: NeuralInformationPro

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NIPS 2014 Workshop - (Gomez) Novel Trends and Applications in Reinforcement Learning - Video