1.

ABSTRACT
Today, with such cloud-based interconnection seldom in evidence, cloud computing might be more accurately described as "sky computing," with many isolated clouds of services which IT customers must plug into individually. On the other hand, as virtualization and SOA permeate the enterprise, the idea of loosely coupled services running on an agile, scalable infrastructure should eventually make every enterprise a node in the cloud. It's a long-running trend with a far-out horizon. But among big meta trends, cloud computing is the hardest one to argue with in the long term. Hype is indeed rampant in "cloud computing". The term entered into IT-speak only few years ago and has spread voraciously. Cloud conferences and cloud blogs are multiplying almost as quickly as cloud start-ups. Established IT firms are slapping the new label on old gear.

In fact, the cloud craze may have peaked already, if the number of Google searches is any guide .Cloud computing is bound to go through a "trough of disillusionment", as Gartner, a research firm, calls the phase in the hype cycle when technologies fail to meet expectations and quickly cease to be fashionable. Much still needs to be invented for the computing sky to become truly cloudy. Yet even if the term is already pass, the cloud itself is here to stay and to grow. It follows naturally from the combination of ever cheaper and more powerful processors with ever faster and more ubiquitous networks. As a result, data centers are becoming factories for computing services on an industrial scale; software is increasingly being delivered as an online service; and wireless networks connect more and more devices to

such offerings.

2. INTRODUCTION
As a metaphor for the Internet, "the cloud" is a familiar clich, but when combined with "computing," the meaning gets bigger and fuzzier. Some analysts and vendors define cloud computing narrowly as an updated version of utility computing: basically virtual servers available over the Internet. Others go very broad, arguing anything you consume outside the firewall is "in the cloud," including conventional outsourcing. Cloud computing comes into focus only when you think about what IT always needs: a way to increase capacity or add capabilities on the fly without investing in new infrastructure, training new personnel, or licensing new software. Cloud computing encompasses any subscription-based or pay-per-use service that, in real time over the Internet, extends its existing capabilities. Cloud computing is at an early stage, with a motley crew of providers large and small delivering a slew of cloud-based services, from full-blown applications to storage services to spam filtering. Yes, utility-style infrastructure providers are part of the mix, but so are SaaS (software as a service) providers such as Salesforce.com. Today, for the most part, IT must plug into cloud-based services individually, but cloud computing aggregators and integrators are already emerging. InfoWorld talked to dozens of vendors, analysts, and IT customers to tease out the various components of cloud computing. Based on those discussions, here's a rough breakdown of what cloud computing is all about:

Definition of Cloud Computing:

Cloud computing is a model for enabling convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications, and services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction. This cloud model is composed of: 1. Five essential characteristics 2. Three service models 3. Four deployment models.

3. Essential Characteristics of Cloud Computing:

1. On-demand self-service. A consumer can unilaterally provision computing capabilities, such as server time and network storage, as needed automatically without requiring human interaction with each services provider. 2. Broad network access. Capabilities are available over the network and accessed through standard mechanisms that promote use by heterogeneous thin or thick client platforms (e.g., mobile phones, laptops, and PDAs). 3. Resource pooling. The providers computing resources are pooled to serve multiple consumers using a multi-tenant model, with different physical and virtual resources dynamically assigned and reassigned according to consumer demand. There is a sense of location independence in that the customer generally has no control or knowledge over the exact location of the provided resources but may be able to specify location at a higher level of abstraction (e.g., country, state, or datacenter). Examples of resources include storage, processing, memory, network bandwidth, and virtual machines. 4. Rapid elasticity. Capabilities can be rapidly and elastically provisioned, in some cases automatically, to quickly scale out and rapidly released to quickly scale in. To the consumer, the capabilities available for provisioning often appear to be unlimited and can be purchased in any quantity at any time. 5. Measured Service. Cloud systems automatically control and optimize resource use by leveraging a metering capability at some level of abstraction appropriate to the type of service (e.g., storage, processing, bandwidth, and active user accounts). Resource usage can be monitored, controlled, and reported providing transparency for both the provider and consumer of the utilized service.

4. Service Models for Cloud Computing:

1. Cloud Software as a Service (SaaS). The capability provided to the consumer is to use the providers applications running on a cloud infrastructure. The applications are accessible from various client devices through a thin client interface such as a web browser (e.g., web-based email). The consumer does not manage or control the underlying cloud infrastructure including network, servers, operating systems, storage, or even individual application capabilities, with the possible exception of limited user-specific application configuration settings. 2. Cloud Platform as a Service (PaaS). The capability provided to the consumer is to deploy onto the cloud infrastructure consumer-created or acquired applications created using programming languages and tools supported by the provider. The consumer does not manage or control the underlying cloud infrastructure including network, servers, operating systems, or storage, but has control over the deployed applications and possibly application hosting environment configurations. 3. Cloud Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS). The capability provided to the consumer is to provision processing, storage, networks, and other fundamental computing resources where the consumer is able to deploy and run arbitrary software, which can include operating systems and applications. The consumer does not manage or control the underlying cloud infrastructure but has control over operating systems; storage, deployed applications, and possibly limited control of select networking components (e.g., host firewalls).

5. Deployment Models for Cloud Computing:

1. Private cloud. The cloud infrastructure is operated solely for an organization. It may be managed by the organization or a third party and may exist on premise or off premise. 2. Community cloud. The cloud infrastructure is shared by several organizations and supports a specific community that has shared concerns (e.g., mission, security requirements, policy, and compliance considerations). It may be managed by the organizations or a third party and may exist on premise or off premise. 3. Public cloud. The cloud infrastructure is made available to the general public or a large industry group and is owned by an organization selling cloud services. 4. Hybrid cloud. The cloud infrastructure is a composition of two or more clouds (private, community, or public) that remain unique entities but are bound together by standardized or proprietary technology that enables data and application portability (e.g., cloud bursting for loadbalancing between clouds).

6. What's Driving Cloud Computing?

1. Thought leaders: Amazon, Google, Microsoft and many other Internet thought leaders have all aligned behind the cloud 2. The economy: Because cloud computing should theoretically help sites avoid major new capital expenditures (capex) while also controlling some ongoing operational expenses (opex), cloud computing is potentially a "lifesaver" for financially strapped businesses, including many major universities. 3. The Feds: Cloud computing has substantial momentum in Washington DC: it was featured in the just-released federal IT budget; Vivek Kundra, the federal CIO, has championed creation of http://apps.gov/, a one-stop shop for cloud computing services for federal agencies; DISA has created a very successful cloud computing project called "RACE;" and Howard Schmidt, the new federal cyber security coordinator, has said that securing cloud computing will be a top priority.

7. Visualized Cyber Infrastructure of Cloud Computing:

8. What Is the Azure Services Platform?

The Azure Services Platform (Azure) is an Internet-scale cloud computing and services platform hosted in datacenters, and created by Microsoft Corp., which provides an operating system and a set of developer services that can be used individually or together. The flexible and interoperable Azure platform can be used to build new applications to run from the cloud or enhance existing applications with cloud-based capabilities. Its open architecture gives developers the choice to build Web applications, applications running on connected devices, PCs, servers, or hybrid solutions offering the best of both worlds. Azure reduces the need for upfront technology purchases and enables developers to quickly and easily create applications that run in the cloud by using their existing skills with the Microsoft Visual Studio Integrated Development Environment and the Microsoft .NET Framework. In addition to managed code languages supported by .NET, Windows Azure can run third-party programming languages such as PHP and Ruby via Fast CGI. Azure simplifies maintaining and operating applications by providing on-demand computing and storage to host, scale and manages Web and connected applications. Infrastructure management is automated with a platform that is designed for high availability and dynamic scaling to match usage needs with a pay-as-you-go pricing model. Azure provides an open, standards-based and interoperable environment with support for multiple Internet protocols, including HTTP, representational state transfer (REST), Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) and plain Extensible Markup Language (XML). Microsoft also offers cloud applications ready for consumption by customers, including Windows Live, Microsoft Dynamics and other Microsoft Online Services for business such as Microsoft Exchange Online and Microsoft Office Share Point Online. The Azure Services Platform lets developers create their own unique customer offerings by providing the foundational components of computing, storage and building block services to author and compose applications in the cloud.

9. The Components of Azure Services Platform:

1. Windows Azure. Windows Azure provides a service hosting and management environment for the Azure Services Platform, providing customers with the ability to build and deploy cloud-based applications. Running within Microsoft datacenters, it provides a scalable, available computing environment and flexible storage options in the form of binary large objects (blobs), tables and queues. Windows Azure offers a rich local and offline developer experience so developers can author Web applications and services written in .NET or other programming languages such as PHP or Ruby. 2. Windows Live Services. Windows Live services provides an easy onramp for developers to connect with more than 460 million Windows Live users and build Web applications with rich, socialsharing embedded experiences. The Live Framework provides the one uniform way to consume and program Windows Live services, and over time will provide the ability to connect the power and scale of Web applications to rich client experiences across a world of digital devices. 3. Microsoft SQL Services Microsoft SQL Services extends the capabilities of Microsoft SQL Server into the cloud as a Web-based, distributed relational database. It provides Web services that enable relational queries, search, and data synchronization with mobile users, remote offices and business partners. It can store and retrieve structured, semi structured and unstructured data. 4. Microsoft .NET Services. .NET Services make it easier to develop loosely coupled on-premises and cloud-based applications. .NET Services include a hosted service bus for connecting applications and services across network boundaries, access control for securing applications, and message orchestration. These hosted services allow customers to easily create federated applications that span from on-premises to the cloud. 5. Microsoft Share Point Online and Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online Services. Coming soon are services from Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online to build stronger customer relationships while utilizing the flexibility of the rest of the Azure Services Platform. Microsoft Share Point Online also will offer Web services for developers to compose new applications with the Azure Services Platform to offer new choices in collaboration and document sharing.

10. Benefits of the Azure Services Platform:

The Azure Services Platform is designed to help developers easily create applications for the Web and connected devices. The Azure Services Platform offers the greatest flexibility, choice and control in reaching users and customers while using existing skills. 1. Easy developer on ramp to the cloud. Developers familiar with the .NET Framework can use those same skills to create cloudenabled applications that can be written, tested and deployed all from Visual Studio. With support for Fast CGI, Windows Azure also gives developers the power of choice to author applications in other programming languages they are most familiar with. 2. Agile and rapid results. Applications can be deployed to the Azure Services Platform with the click of a button. Changes can be made quickly and without downtime, making it an ideal platform for affordably experimenting and trying new ideas. 3. Ability to imagine and create new user experiences. The Azure Services Platform enables developers to create Web, mobile or hybrid applications that use the cloud with on-premises applications. With the ability of Windows Live services to reach its more than 460 million users, the Azure Services Platform creates opportunities to interact with and reach users in new ways. 4. Standards-based compatibility. The Azure Services Platform supports industry-standard protocols, including HTTP, REST, SOAP, RSS and Atom Publishing Protocol (Atom Pub), for consuming, exposing and integrating with third-party services. Developers can easily integrate applications built on a variety of technologies and operating systems.

11. The Value of the Azure Services Platform:

The Azure Services Platform offers industries, businesses and users: Flexibility control and an affordable solution for running Internet-scale applications. The highly secure, reliable services are offered on a pay-as-you-go basis and help eliminate tedious and expensive infrastructure management and planning. The Azure Services Platform enables software vendors, corporate IT groups and startups to focus on their business and user needs first. 1. Pay as you grow. Customers pay only for what they use, whether they need all the platform capabilities or just certain components of the offering. 2. Simplified capacity planning. The Azure Services Platform accommodates elastic demand by provisioning computing and services capacity as business needs change, thus simplifying planning for, purchasing and provisioning expensive infrastructure to meet unpredictable spikes in usage. 3. Reliability. Running in Microsofts datacenters, Azure Services Platform is designed for millions of users and maximizes the uptime of business applications. 4. Simple infrastructure management. Infrastructure management is now an easy configuration task in a Web browser. The Azure Services Platform manages critical operating system updates and management tasks, giving developers control of the environment while letting them focus on the needs of their users. 5. New life for existing investments. The Azure Services Platform can be used to provide new capabilities to existing onpremises and Web applications. It can be integrated into existing applications or used to expose on-premises application services to consumers, business partners or other organizations.