Cloud Computing

[davy_yg]

Hello,

I don't really means what cloud computing really means. I have this article: Cloud Computing

"he phrase is often used in reference to network-based services, which appear to be provided by real server hardware, and are in fact served up by virtual hardware, simulated by software running on one or more real machines. Such virtual servers do not physically exist and can therefore be moved around and scaled up or down on the fly without affecting the end user, somewhat like a cloud."

Such Virtual Server do not physically exist - Is that means that the Virtual Server does not physically exist for Buyers only but still exist for the Sellers ?

What I mean by that is the Sellers still have to set up a data center which consist of multiple server computers (which physically exist) whereas the Buyers only renting those server spaces through a distance (Internet/ Network).

Is that what it means ?

[deceptikon]

I don't really means what cloud computing really means.

It's nothing more than a marketing term for distributed computing. The internet is the quintessential cloud.

[JorgeM]

"he phrase is often used in reference to network-based services, which appear to be provided by real server hardware, and are in fact served up by virtual hardware, simulated by software running on one or more real machines. Such virtual servers do not physically exist and can therefore be moved around and scaled up or down on the fly without affecting the end user, somewhat like a cloud."

I wouldnt get to wrapped up regarding that description. In essence, the cloud is really a service whether it be hardware or software. Here is a simple example to understand. Say you have a business and you need email services. Rather than spending a lot of capital funds to get an email system on premise, you simply go to a "cloud" provider, such as google or microsoft and you pay a monthly fee per user. They are providing you with the email service, and you dont really care about specifics of the infrastructure.

Say you needed a server to run an application, you can do the same. You can rent a server from a cloud provider. It can be a physical or virtual server running on their infrastructure. You dont care, you simply need a server to run your application. You'll get some type of remote session to the server so you can log in and manage it. If you need more power, the cloud provider can dynamically give you that, such as more CPUs, memory, space, network bandwidth, etc...

Some of these providers also have plans that allow you to pay for what you use which elimates teh feeling that you actually have a server. You are simply paying for consumption at that point.

[rubberman]

We run thousands of servers in the Amazon "cloud". You can rent either virtual or physical servers. Physical ones are more expensive. They have a lot of options about storage, I/O performance, memory size, number of virtual cores, clustering, etc. My department, performance engineering and testing, runs about 100 servers in 2 regions (Oregon and Virginia) at a cost of about $8000-$10000 per month. In truth, a $100 / month per server (4 cores, 16GB RAM, 1TB disc) is not too bad. If we aren't using the servers, we shut them down, and don't incurr additional costs. Some of our servers are smaller, and others larger (up to 16 cores and 48+ GB of RAM). Needless to say, the larger ones cost more! :-) A mid-size system with 2 cores and 8GB RAM is actually quite cheap. Go to the Amazon (AWS) site for pricing.

Part of this cost is for a Hadoop cluster that I run (about 12 4 core systems w/ 16GB RAM and 1TB disc each) to store system performance data. They run 24x7 with no downtime.