International Journal of Computer Science Engineering and Information Technology Research (IJCSEITR) ISSN 2249-6831 Vol.

3, Issue 1, Mar 2013, 133-142 TJPRC Pvt. Ltd.

CLOUD BASED COLLABORATION SYSTEM

S. REKHA1 & B. SUBRAMANI2
1 2

M.Phil Scholar, Department of IT, Dr. N.G.P. Arts and Science College, Coimbatore, India

Assistant Professor, Department of IT, Dr. N.G.P. Arts and Science College, Coimbatore, India

ABSTRACT
Online collaboration system is a file sharing network and cloud content management services for individual and enterprise companies. The purpose of this paper is to capture the implementation model and technological stack which going to be used for developing online collaboration system. The scope is to cover the high level implementation model for the given requirement and derive the technological stack for the same. Cloud computing allows documents to be stored and maintained easily from a central point and makes organizing files simple. Working together online builds cooperation and raises trust levels. The online environment closes culture gaps and creates a diverse collaboration. Our aim is to provide a better understanding of the cloud service selection challenges in an Enterprise cloud computing systems.

KEYWORDS: Cloud Computing, Cloud Storage, Window Azure, Online Collaboration System INTRODUCTION
Cloud computing is added in every organization and enterprise companies by providing computing as a service for end users applications exploited in a pay-as-you-go mode. Large scalability, Multitenancy[9] and Device independency are the essential services in cloud computing. Cloud computing which made up of three components, Clients: The end users interact with to manage their information on the cloud. Clients are the computer that they use the server to do all the work instead of internal hard drive and exhibit the information. Datacenter: It is a sets of interconnected servers which generate huge computing power and virtualized environment that allows multiple instances of virtual server to be used at run-time. Distributed Server: This server which gives the service provider with more security and flexibility.

Types of Services Cloud computing is divided into four types of services: Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), Software as a Service (SaaS), and Data as a Service (DaaS). IaaS is the most responsible cloud service, which delivers infrastructure of the system, including physical machines, networks, storage and system software, and creating the pool of virtualized computing resources over computer networks. It enables users to configure, deploy, and run Operating Systems (OS) and applications based on the OS[7]. IaaS users should have a managing control over virtualized machine and system administrative knowledge about OS. PaaS is another application delivery model and higher level service than IaaS and provides a platform service for software developers to develop applications. In addition to computing platforms, PaaS provides a layer of cloudbased software and Application Programming Interface (API) that can be used to build higher-level services. Users can develop or run existing applications on such a platform and do not need to consider maintaining the OS,

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server hardware, load balancing or computing capacity. PaaS provides all the facilities required to support the complete lifecycle of building and deploying web applications and services entirely from the Internet. SaaS is the highest level of the hierarchy and most used type of cloud computing service. It provides various capabilities of sophisticated applications that are traditionally provided through the Web browser to end users. Notable examples are Salesforce.com and Googles gmail and apps. This type of cloud service offers a complete application functionality that ranges from productivity applications to programs such as those for Customer Relationship Management (CRM) or enterprise-resource management [8]. DaaS which offers the data processing, discovery of data, access, integration, management, utilization and delivers the data to the end users. It is supported by an integrating layer of middleware that allocates with data and processing and optimizes cloud operations. DaaS is able to facilitate data discoverability.

Figure 1: Cloud Computing Service Delivery Models [8] Cloud Deployment Models In the cloud deployment model, networking, platform, storage, and software infrastructure are provided as services. Cloud Computing model has three main deployment models which are, Private Cloud Private cloud is a new term that some vendors have recently used to describe offerings that emulate cloud computing on private networks. It is set up within an organizations internal enterprise datacenter. In the private cloud, scalable resources and virtual applications provided by the cloud vendor are pooled together and available for cloud users to share and use. It differs from the public cloud in that all the cloud resources and applications are managed by the organization itself, similar to Intranet functionality. Utilization on the private cloud can be much more secure than that of the public cloud because of its specified internal exposure. Only the organization and designated stakeholders may have access to operate on a specific Private cloud. [7]

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Public Cloud Public 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 applications/web services, from an off-site thirdparty provider who shares resources and bills on a fine-grained utility computing basis. It is typically based on a pay-peruse model, similar to a prepaid electricity metering system which is flexible enough to cater for spikes in demand for cloud optimization.[13] Public clouds are less secure than the other cloud models because it places an additional burden of ensuring all applications and data accessed on the public cloud are not subjected to malicious attacks.[7] Hybrid Cloud Hybrid cloud is a private cloud linked to one or more external cloud services, centrally managed, provisioned as a single unit, and circumscribed by a secure network [14]. It provides virtual IT solutions through a mix of both public and private clouds. It also has an open architecture that allows interfaces with other management systems. Hybrid cloud can describe configuration combining a local device, such as a Plug computer with cloud services. It can also describe configurations combining virtual and physical, collocated assets -for example, a mostly virtualized environment that requires physical servers, routers, or other hardware such as a network appliance acting as a firewall or spam filter.[7]

CLOUD STORAGE
Cloud storage (or data storage as a service) is the abstraction of storage behind an interface where the storage can be administered on demand. Further, the interface abstracts the location of the storage such that it is irrelevant whether the storage is local or remote (or hybrid) [4]. Cloud storage infrastructures introduce new architectures that support varying levels of service over a potentially large set of users and geographically distributed storage capacity. Cloud storage infrastructure is deployed in PC cluster. Since we apply PC nodes as cloud storage server instead of high performance storage server, there are many challenges such as Faster access to the distributed files Fault-tolerance Load balancing Availability Automated data partitioning and replication

MICROSOFT WINDOWS AZURE

Overview Microsoft Windows Azure is based on cloud computing. Running applications and storing data on machines in data center accessed via the internet can provide a lot of advantages. Yet wherever customers run, applications are incorporate as part of platform. For on-premises applications, such as customers running in the inner side of an organizations data center, this platform normally contains an operating system used to store data and possibly more. Applications running in the cloud require a very much alike foundation. Part of the larger Windows Azure platform, Windows Azure is the basis on which a running storing data and applications in the cloud stands[1]. Figure 2 illustrates this idea

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Figure 2: Windows Azure Applications Run in Microsoft Data Centers and are Accessed via the Internet [1] Components of Window Azure Windows Azure has five components, Compute: runs applications in the cloud. Those applications largely see a Windows Server environment,

although the Windows Azure programming model isnt exactly the same as the on-premises Windows Server model[1]. Storage: stores binary and structured data in the cloud. Fabric Controller: deploys, manages, and monitors applications. The fabric controller also handles updates to system software throughout the platform.

Figure 3: Windows Azure Has Five Main Parts: Compute, Storage, the Fabric Controller, the CDN, and Connect [1] Content Delivery Network (CDN): speeds up global access to binary data in Windows Azure storage by maintaining cached copies of that data around the world. Connect: allows creating IP-level connections between on-premises computers and Windows Azure applications.[1]

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RELATED WORKS
This section presents the overview of prior work in the area of cloud-based collaboration computing. Collaboration and Cloud Computing Rapid adoption of social computing not only brings a new collaborative and innovation business opportunity for enterprises but also leads to the issue of corporate privacy when the collaboration is formed within the trusted network. Mostly, studies shed light on the collaboration within the enterprise boundary by isolating their employees from the rest of the world. Some works have identified the significance of collaboration not only in the enterprise environment but also across the enterprise[6]. Cloud providers have already appraised value of collaboration by incorporating social computing into their services and application, which opens a new horizon of innovation. Such collaborative environment facilitate enterprises in two ways: It allows people to share their knowledge and information between partners and co-workers[6]. It captures feedback from customers about products and services. In this way, enterprises can make their business processes efficient by involving skillful and competence people in the right place at right time and improving the quality of products and services rapidly by getting the response from customers. Hence, the overall impact will be increased efficiency and agility in the enterprises working environment that could lead to the introduction of new services and products to the market. With the globalization of businesses, enterprises are producing large volume of disparate data with a different format, which are located on different geographical locations[6]. Online collaboration system will use windows azure as a cloud base. Almost all applications on your server, desktop, laptop or mobile device store data in the form of mass data, e.g. photos, binary files or documents and as meta data objects (key, value-pairs), e.g. blog entries, address records or geographical location information. Share, comment, assign task against the storage to the users across the team online with the ease. Azure Storage is designed to provide affordable and reliable storage at massive scale. Using a combination of Blob storage for files and documents, Table storage for semi-structured information, and Queues for connecting your application components together, Azure Storage can manage huge amounts of data while meeting the scalability demands of internet scale applications. Blob storage can also be used to support delivery of content on a region by region basis using the Azure Content Delivery Network. This ensures that large files such as images, documents and videos can be located geographically closer to the users delivering improved performance and lower latency.

PROPOSED MODEL
Business today is different. The working team is spread across the globe. Unfortunately the file content sharing and versioning are hard to maintain for modern requirements. Email???? Hard to keep track of all the file sizes and versions. SharePoint???? Too complicated for even a simplest task. FTP ???? To limited and reduce productivity

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It would be great if we get the easy way to collaborate, introducing our collaboration system. This makes the collaboration simple and It consolidates your content online. Single easy to organize location. Securely share files and folder and continue to build the content management across the globe as a team. You can create a own file system on box, and access from anything , any device across the globe. Share file is a simple way, invite people to your shared document. You can add comment and share the same with your group. Upload a document and you can easily manage document workflow with task. You can also easily view the previous version of the document and customizes your document management also provides the version recovery. Easily manage user with the administrative console. The online collaboration proposed system which uses windows azure public cloud as a base. It provides dynamic scalable platform and pay as you go model requires no infrastructure, platform management and everything will be taken care windows azure as well as it guarantees profit and fast ROI. Online collaboration system offers secure, scalable content sharing that both users and IT love to adopt. Are group projects a challenge and not the good kind? Are you bombarded with emails, making it tough to determine the latest version of anything? Online collaboration system centralizes files in a single online workspace, so everybody has the most recent content. What Can Collaboration System Do for Individual? Send Big Files Fast Ever tried to send a large file over email, only to receive an error message? Good-bye email, hello our online collaboration system, where you send small and large files to friends, family and teammates quickly and easily. The usage is fairly simple as below. Just upload a file, grab a link and paste into the body of an email or instant message. You can also send directly from our online collaboration system. Share photos, presentations any type of file with a link, then upload new versions in a snap without having to send another link. Anyone with the link can view the full file right in their browser, saving the time and hassle of downloads; recipients don't need the software Mobile Access These days, your work desk or home office is wherever you are not where your computer is. So leave your laptop at home! Our online collaboration system provides simple, secure content sharing from anywhere, on any device. Need to upload and share plans, presentations or other critical content while you're out and about on a job site or at the airport? Put everything on our online collaboration system in a few clicks even from your mobile device. Organize files into folders, for a whole new level of organization and collaboration Invite friends or co-workers to your folders, allowing all of you to work on a project or share your latest images.

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Store Files Online What if the files you need are on your laptop, but you're on the road with your iPhone? No worries: With our online collaboration system, you store files online, and then access them anywhere, anytime, on any device. What Can Collaboration System Do for Your Business? FTP Alternative Say good bye to FTP by using our online collaboration system and it puts an end to the FTP productivity drain while enhancing your professional image. Fast, reliable and easy to use, our collaboration system makes users to easily upload content, organize it into folders, share links to files and manage file and folder permissions. Secure File Sharing Our online collaboration system makes it simple to share files internally as well as with external partners, clients and vendors. Just drag and drop them from your desktop to our system even large media files. More good news: Youre notified whenever someone reviews content youve uploaded. Mobile Content Management Online collaboration system provides simple, secure content sharing from anywhere, on any device. We providing the content via simple Rest Based powerful Web API which can be accessed across any devices and it is highly interoperable across any platform. Project Collaboration Online collaboration system makes it easy to store and collaborate on project documents in a single online location. Result: You streamline any workflow in a just a few clicks. No matter where you are or what time it is, it keeps you on the same page as the rest of your team optimizing productivity and keeping your business fast and nimble. Virtual Data Room Whether you're negotiating an agreement or managing a merger, you have lots of documents and changes flying back and forth. collaboration system puts you in control by moving document management out of insecure email and complicated FTP and into a secure deal room where you'll always have the latest document version and know who's seen which docs and when. All while reducing email overload by consolidating feedback and comments online. Document Management What if all your content could live in one place online? Our online collaboration system not only let you store files in a single location, it's a snap to organize and share all your documents and media. Making sure your documents are always relevant, up-to-date and easily accessible from anywhere. What Can Collaboration Systems Do for Your Enterprise IT Consolidate Your File Services Imagine replacing multiple file transfer systems and consumer file-sharing tools with a single, secure solution for all your content storage and sharing needs. It reduces content silos, lowers costs and gives users the simplicity and functionality they want with the security IT requires. Enterprise Mobility It's a business fact: Nearly 60% of all corporate employees access content outside the office with their phones,

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tablets, you name it. Indications are that number's only going to increase. Our online collaboration system lets workers view and access critical content anywhere, anytime, on any device. Cloud Content Management It's a business fact: Today's enterprise content management solutions are complex, cumbersome and costly. Collaboration system provides cloud content management platform is intuitive, scalable, affordable and provides sophisticated security and admin controls.

TECHNOLOGIES AND HIGH LEVEL OBJECTIVE

Windows Azure : Provides affordable and reliable storage at massive scale. ASP.Net Web AP : ASP.NET Web API is a framework that makes it easy to build HTTP services that reach a broad range of clients, including browsers and mobile devices. ASP.NET MVC 4 : Framework for building scalable, standards-based web applications using well-established

design patterns and the power of ASP.NET and the .NET Framework.

Figure 4: Architecture of Window Azure We going to expose a Rest Web API to external clients (Web client, mobile client). The Rest API will have all the business functionality for online cloud storage, admin console, user management etc. The web client, mobile client will parse the Json response sent back by the REST API to its UI using Jquery. We are going to use ASP.Net MVC 4 for web client who provides the compatible UI for mobile client too with efficient reuse of controller and business logic. The desktop sync service provides the synchronization between the configured on premises folder and cloud folder.

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Internal Architectural Flow of Rest API

Figure 5: Flow of Rest API API: Accept request from web, mobile client and provides the JSON response. Service Layer: Provides the business logic for cloud and database fetching logic. Cloud Provider: Act as an abstract provider for cloud storage which has all the business related to the cloud. Windows Azure: A cloud platform which provides affordable and reliable storage at massive scale. Repository: To separate the logic that retrieves the data and maps it to the entity model from the business logic that acts on the model. The business logic should be agnostic to the type of data that comprises the data source layer. For example, the data source layer can be a database, a SharePoint list, or a Web service. The repository mediates between the data source layer and the business layers of the application. It queries the data source for the data, maps the data from the data source to a business entity, and persists changes in the business entity to the data source. ASP.Net MVC Web client: Provides the user interface to the end client application where end users issues request. Sync Service: On premises window service which synchronizes your on premises local storage with the cloud storage. This will come with our online collaboration system which provides easy way of synchronization with the cloud storage

CONCLUSIONS
In this paper, we mainly focus on the cloud storage and the new business invention on collaboration system for content sharing across the globe using public cloud storage and its proposed implementation model. This proposed model

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is highly extendable and dynamic nature gives the high scalable system. We providing the whole collaborative business with REST API calls which means it uses the simple HTTP protocol this gives us the powerful usage across any devices / any platform. This provides the customer a high productive model; customer will get assured ROI as soon as possible which gives profitability in quick span of time. Finally, it motivates the business and enables content management very easily across the globe with affordable cost.

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