Cloud computing vs. data center
Cloud Computing – A Brief Overview
Cloud computing is a kind of internet computing wherein the shared software, information, and the resources are provided to the computers as well as the other devices as per the demands such as the electricity grid.
It is basically a natural evolution of widespread adoption of the service oriented architecture, virtualization, and utility computing. The details are extracted from the consumers, who are no longer in need of expertise in or the control over technology infrastructure that see supporting them. Cloud computing defines a whole new supplement, delivery model and consumption for the services on the basis of internet. It is known for involving the provision of scalable as well as dynamically virtualized resources. Cloud computing is basically a byproduct as well as consequence of ease of access towards remote computing websites that are often provided by internet. This further acquires the form of web based application or tools that can be accessed as well as used though web browser. Cloud computing providers typically deliver several common business applications online which are accessed from some other web software such as web browser whereas the data and software remain stored on the servers.
Most of the cloud computing infrastructures include services that are built on server while delivered through the common centers. Commercial or business oriented offerings are expected to meet the requirements of the customers in terms of the quality of the services. It also includes the service legal agreements. On the general basis, the customers of the cloud computing are not known for owning the physical infrastructure rather they are known for avoiding the capital expenditure through making use of the rented usage from the third part providers. These people consume the resources as services and thus pay just for the resources that are used by them.
Several cloud computing services make use of the utility computing model that represents the ways in which the traditional utility services are consumed basically while the other people are billed on the subscription basis. Though this kind of computing offers several different benefits, there are also a few drawbacks that cannot be neglected. These include the fact that overall usage of the computer rises to a very large extent as the customers are not required for limiting the peak loads. In addition to it, the increased bandwidth facilitates the same. Cloud computing is gaining utmost popularity among several small as well as medium enterprises.
Cloud computing is likely to develop much more in the coming years looking at the response that it is being experiencing from the customers. It is estimated that the small budgets as well as the new adoption trends are most likely to increase the demand for the outsourcing which in turn will increase the popularity of the cloud computing. Cloud computing provides access to the It solutions for which the customers pay extremely lower prices, flat subscription, and usage based fee. In addition to these benefits, the service levels are improved drastically which attracts more and more people going for such services. These are the basis that makes the researchers as well as the business analysts to think towards this direction and they all have made sure that cloud computing has a great way to go.
Cloud Computing vs. Traditional Data center
Though cloud computing is gaining huge popularity among various enterprises, but there are certain things that should be evaluated before actually moving the data centers to a cloud. One needs to understand the actual ways in which the cloud centers are compared to the traditional data centers. Due to the fact that the administration and the infrastructure costs very high amounts, data centers are considered as the best option for the business areas that are considered by the companies while switching to cloud services.
There are several steps that one needs to follow while planning their cloud strategy out of which the very first step includes finding the best cloud service providers and analyze the charges that they charge for their services that are required by the customers. After following these steps, one must compare these things to the costs of their own data centers though it is quite difficult and doubtful finding even one cloud service that would do everything that one does with their own data centers.
Cloud services seem to be very attractive due to the fact that the costs are much lower than the ones that provide the similar services through the traditional data centers. When cloud computing data centers and the traditional data centers are compared, there are several points of comparison that come up representing the unique characteristics that each one of them owns. Given below are few of them:
- Whereas the traditional corporate data centers offer various different applications, the cloud data centers are known for offering only a fewer applications and in some cases, it might offer just one.
- Traditional data centers involve a mixed hardware environment but the cloud data centers own a homogeneous hardware environment.
- While the traditional data centers provide multiple management tools, the cloud data centers offer only the standardized management tools.
- Traditional data centers perform functions such as frequent application as well as updating whereas the cloud data centers are concerned just with some minimal patching and updating.
- Traditional data centers are capable of handling complex workloads and thus involve them while on the other hand; the cloud data centers involve just the simpler workloads.
- As far as the other points of comparison are concerned, where the traditional data centers involve the multiple software architectures, the cloud adapt centers revolve around only a single standard software architecture.
Thus looking at the above points, it becomes quite clear that the cloud data centers appear much simpler to organize as well as operate just because of the fact that it is very simple and scales well. It can be said that the larger one makes it, the lower it costs on per user basis. All these advantages distinguish this service from other available options.
