Cloud computing is the on-demand availability of computer system resources, especially data

storage (cloud storage) and computing power, without direct active management by the user. The
term is generally used to describe data centers available to many users over the Internet.[1] Large
clouds, predominant today, often have functions distributed over multiple locations from
central servers. If the connection to the user is relatively close, it may be designated an edge server.
Clouds may be limited to a single organization (enterprise clouds[2][3]), or be available to many
organizations (public cloud).
Cloud computing relies on sharing of resources to achieve coherence and economies of scale.
Advocates of public and hybrid clouds note that cloud computing allows companies to avoid or
minimize up-front IT infrastructure costs. Proponents also claim that cloud computing
allows enterprises to get their applications up and running faster, with improved manageability and
less maintenance, and that it enables IT teams to more rapidly adjust resources to meet fluctuating
and unpredictable demand,[3][4][5] providing the burst computing capability: high computing power at
certain periods of peak demand.[
Cloud providers typically use a "pay-as-you-go" model, which can lead to unexpected operating
expenses if administrators are not familiarized with cloud-pricing models.[7]
The availability of high-capacity networks, low-cost computers and storage devices as well as the
widespread adoption of hardware virtualization, service-oriented
architecture and autonomic and utility computing has led to growth in cloud computing.[8][9][10] By
2019, Linux was the most widely used operating system, including in Microsoft's offerings and is thus
described as dominant.[11] The Cloud Service Provider (CSP) will screen, keep up and gather data
about the firewalls, intrusion identification or/and counteractive action frameworks and information
stream inside the network.[12]
The goal of cloud computing is to allow users to take benefit from all of these technologies, without
the need for deep knowledge about or expertise with each one of them. The cloud aims to cut costs
and helps the users focus on their core business instead of being impeded by IT obstacles.[47] The
main enabling technology for cloud computing is virtualization. Virtualization software separates a
physical computing device into one or more "virtual" devices, each of which can be easily used and
managed to perform computing tasks. With operating system–level virtualization essentially creating
a scalable system of multiple independent computing devices, idle computing resources can be
allocated and used more efficiently. Virtualization provides the agility required to speed up IT
operations and reduces cost by increasing infrastructure utilization. Autonomic computing automates
the process through which the user can provision resources on-demand. By minimizing user
involvement, automation speeds up the process, reduces labor costs and reduces the possibility of
human errors.[47]
Cloud computing uses concepts from utility computing to provide metrics for the services used.
Cloud computing attempts to address QoS (quality of service) and reliability problems of other grid
computing models.[47]
Cloud computing shares characteristics with:

 Client–server model—Client–server computing refers broadly to any distributed

application that distinguishes between service providers (servers) and service requestors
(clients).[48]
 Computer bureau—A service bureau providing computer services, particularly from the
1960s to 1980s.
 Grid computing—A form of distributed and parallel computing, whereby a 'super and virtual
computer' is composed of a cluster of networked, loosely coupled computers acting in concert to
perform very large tasks.
 Fog computing—Distributed computing paradigm that provides data, compute, storage and
application services closer to the client or near-user edge devices, such as network routers.
Furthermore, fog computing handles data at the network level, on smart devices and on the end-
user client-side (e.g. mobile devices), instead of sending data to a remote location for
processing.
 Mainframe computer—Powerful computers used mainly by large organizations for critical
applications, typically bulk data processing such as census; industry and consumer statistics;
police and secret intelligence services; enterprise resource planning; and financial transaction
processing.
 Utility computing—The "packaging of computing resources, such as computation and
storage, as a metered service similar to a traditional public utility, such as electricity."[49][50]
 Peer-to-peer—A distributed architecture without the need for central coordination.
Participants are both suppliers and consumers of resources (in contrast to the traditional client-
server model).
 Green computing
 Cloud sandbox—A live, isolated computer environment in which a program, code or file can
run without affecting the application in which it runs.

Characteristics[edit]
Cloud computing exhibits the following key characteristics:

 Agility for organizations may be improved, as cloud computing may increase users' flexibility
with re-provisioning, adding, or expanding technological infrastructure resources.
 Cost reductions are claimed by cloud providers. A public-cloud delivery model
converts capital expenditures (e.g., buying servers) to operational expenditure.[51] This
purportedly lowers barriers to entry, as infrastructure is typically provided by a third party and
need not be purchased for one-time or infrequent intensive computing tasks. Pricing on a utility
computing basis is "fine-grained", with usage-based billing options. As well, less in-house IT
skills are required for implementation of projects that use cloud computing.[52] The e-FISCAL
project's state-of-the-art repository[53] contains several articles looking into cost aspects in more
detail, most of them concluding that costs savings depend on the type of activities supported
and the type of infrastructure available in-house.
 Device and location independence[54] enable users to access systems using a web browser
regardless of their location or what device they use (e.g., PC, mobile phone). As infrastructure is
off-site (typically provided by a third-party) and accessed via the Internet, users can connect to it
from anywhere.[52]
 Maintenance of cloud computing applications is easier, because they do not need to be
installed on each user's computer and can be accessed from different places (e.g., different
work locations, while travelling, etc.).
 Multitenancy enables sharing of resources and costs across a large pool of users thus
allowing for:
o centralization of infrastructure in locations with lower costs (such as real estate,
electricity, etc.)
o peak-load capacity increases (users need not engineer and pay for the resources
and equipment to meet their highest possible load-levels)
o utilisation and efficiency improvements for systems that are often only 10–20%
utilised.[55][56]
 Performance is monitored by IT experts from the service provider, and consistent and loosely
coupled architectures are constructed using web services as the system interface.[52][57]
 Productivity may be increased when multiple users can work on the same data
simultaneously, rather than waiting for it to be saved and emailed. Time may be saved as
information does not need to be re-entered when fields are matched, nor do users need to install
application software upgrades to their computer.[58]
 Availability improves with the use of multiple redundant sites, which makes well-designed
cloud computing suitable for business continuity and disaster recovery.[59]
 Scalability and elasticity via dynamic ("on-demand") provisioning of resources on a fine-
grained, self-service basis in near real-time[60][61] (Note, the VM startup time varies by VM type,
location, OS and cloud providers[60]), without users having to engineer for peak loads.[62][63][64] This
gives the ability to scale up when the usage need increases or down if resources are not being
used.[65] Emerging approaches for managing elasticity include the use of machine learning
techniques to propose efficient elasticity models.[66]
 Security can improve due to centralization of data, increased security-focused resources,
etc., but concerns can persist about loss of control over certain sensitive data, and the lack of
security for stored kernels. Security is often as good as or better than other traditional systems,
in part because service providers are able to devote resources to solving security issues that
many customers cannot afford to tackle or which they lack the technical skills to address.
[67]
 However, the complexity of security is greatly increased when data is distributed over a wider
area or over a greater number of devices, as well as in multi-tenant systems shared by unrelated
users. In addition, user access to security audit logs may be difficult or impossible. Private cloud
installations are in part motivated by users' desire to retain control over the infrastructure and
avoid losing control of information security.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology's definition of cloud computing identifies "five
essential characteristics":
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 service provider.
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,
tablets, laptops, and workstations).
Resource pooling. The provider's 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. 
Rapid elasticity. Capabilities can be elastically provisioned and released, in some cases
automatically, to scale rapidly outward and inward commensurate with demand. To the consumer,
the capabilities available for provisioning often appear unlimited and can be appropriated in any
quantity at any time.
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.

— National Institute of Standards and Technology [68]

Deployment models[edit]
Cloud computing types

Private cloud[edit]
Private cloud is cloud infrastructure operated solely for a single organization, whether managed
internally or by a third party, and hosted either internally or externally.[68] Undertaking a private cloud
project requires significant engagement to virtualize the business environment, and requires the
organization to reevaluate decisions about existing resources. It can improve business, but every
step in the project raises security issues that must be addressed to prevent serious vulnerabilities.
Self-run data centers[91] are generally capital intensive. They have a significant physical footprint,
requiring allocations of space, hardware, and environmental controls. These assets have to be
refreshed periodically, resulting in additional capital expenditures. They have attracted criticism
because users "still have to buy, build, and manage them" and thus do not benefit from less hands-
on management,[92] essentially "[lacking] the economic model that makes cloud computing such an
intriguing concept".[93][94]

Public cloud[edit]
For a comparison of cloud-computing software and providers, see Cloud-computing comparison

A cloud is called a "public cloud" when the services are rendered over a network that is open for
public use. Public cloud services may be free.[95] Technically there may be little or no difference
between public and private cloud architecture, however, security consideration may be substantially
different for services (applications, storage, and other resources) that are made available by a
service provider for a public audience and when communication is effected over a non-trusted
network. Generally, public cloud service providers like Amazon Web Services (AWS), IBM
Cloud, Oracle, Microsoft, Google, and Alibaba own and operate the infrastructure at their data
center and access is generally via the Internet. AWS, Oracle, Microsoft, and Google also offer direct
connect services called "AWS Direct Connect", "Oracle FastConnect", "Azure ExpressRoute", and
"Cloud Interconnect" respectively, such connections require customers to purchase or lease a
private connection to a peering point offered by the cloud provider.[52][96]

Hybrid cloud[edit]
Hybrid cloud is a composition of a public cloud and a private environment, such as a private cloud
or on-premises resources,[97][98] that remain distinct entities but are bound together, offering the
benefits of multiple deployment models. Hybrid cloud can also mean the ability to connect
collocation, managed and/or dedicated services with cloud resources.[68] Gartner defines a hybrid
cloud service as a cloud computing service that is composed of some combination of private, public
and community cloud services, from different service providers.[99] A hybrid cloud service crosses
isolation and provider boundaries so that it can't be simply put in one category of private, public, or
community cloud service. It allows one to extend either the capacity or the capability of a cloud
service, by aggregation, integration or customization with another cloud service.
Varied use cases for hybrid cloud composition exist. For example, an organization may store
sensitive client data in house on a private cloud application, but interconnect that application to a
business intelligence application provided on a public cloud as a software service.[100] This example of
hybrid cloud extends the capabilities of the enterprise to deliver a specific business service through
the addition of externally available public cloud services. Hybrid cloud adoption depends on a
number of factors such as data security and compliance requirements, level of control needed over
data, and the applications an organization uses.[101]
Another example of hybrid cloud is one where IT organizations use public cloud computing
resources to meet temporary capacity needs that can not be met by the private cloud.[102] This
capability enables hybrid clouds to employ cloud bursting for scaling across clouds.[68] Cloud bursting
is an application deployment model in which an application runs in a private cloud or data center and
"bursts" to a public cloud when the demand for computing capacity increases. A primary advantage
of cloud bursting and a hybrid cloud model is that an organization pays for extra compute resources
only when they are needed.[103] Cloud bursting enables data centers to create an in-house IT
infrastructure that supports average workloads, and use cloud resources from public or private
clouds, during spikes in processing demands.[104] The specialized model of hybrid cloud, which is built
atop heterogeneous hardware, is called "Cross-platform Hybrid Cloud". A cross-platform hybrid
cloud is usually powered by different CPU architectures, for example, x86-64 and ARM, underneath.
Users can transparently deploy and scale applications without knowledge of the cloud's hardware
diversity.[105] This kind of cloud emerges from the rise of ARM-based system-on-chip for server-class
computing.
Hybrid cloud infrastructure essentially serves to eliminate limitations inherent to the multi-access
relay characteristics of private cloud networking. The advantages include enhanced runtime flexibility
and adaptive memory processing unique to virtualized interface models.[106]

Others[edit]
Community cloud[edit]
Community cloud shares infrastructure between several organizations from a specific community
with common concerns (security, compliance, jurisdiction, etc.), whether managed internally or by a
third-party, and either hosted internally or externally. The costs are spread over fewer users than a
public cloud (but more than a private cloud), so only some of the cost savings potential of cloud
computing are realized.[68]
Distributed cloud[edit]
A cloud computing platform can be assembled from a distributed set of machines in different
locations, connected to a single network or hub service. It is possible to distinguish between two
types of distributed clouds: public-resource computing and volunteer cloud.

 Public-resource computing—This type of distributed cloud results from an expansive

definition of cloud computing, because they are more akin to distributed computing than cloud
computing. Nonetheless, it is considered a sub-class of cloud computing.
 Volunteer cloud—Volunteer cloud computing is characterized as the intersection of public-
resource computing and cloud computing, where a cloud computing infrastructure is built using
volunteered resources. Many challenges arise from this type of infrastructure, because of the
volatility of the resources used to build it and the dynamic environment it operates in. It can also
be called peer-to-peer clouds, or ad-hoc clouds. An interesting effort in such direction is
 Cloud@Home, it aims to implement a cloud computing infrastructure using volunteered
resources providing a business-model to incentivize contributions through financial restitution.[107]
Multicloud[edit]
Main article: Multicloud

Multicloud is the use of multiple cloud computing services in a single heterogeneous architecture to
reduce reliance on single vendors, increase flexibility through choice, mitigate against disasters, etc.
It differs from hybrid cloud in that it refers to multiple cloud services, rather than multiple deployment
modes (public, private, legacy).[108][109][110]
Poly cloud[edit]
Poly cloud refers to the use of multiple public clouds for the purpose of leveraging specific services
that each provider offers. It differs from multicloud in that it is not designed to increase flexibility or
mitigate against failures but is rather used to allow an organization to achieve more that could be
done with a single provider.[111]
Big Data cloud[edit]
The issues of transferring large amounts of data to the cloud as well as data security once the data
is in the cloud initially hampered adoption of cloud for big data, but now that much data originates in
the cloud and with the advent of bare-metal servers, the cloud has become[112] a solution for use
cases including business analytics and geospatial analysis.[113]
HPC cloud[edit]
HPC cloud refers to the use of cloud computing services and infrastructure to execute high-
performance computing (HPC) applications.[114] These applications consume considerable amount of
computing power and memory and are traditionally executed on clusters of computers. In 2016 a
handful of companies, including R-HPC, Amazon Web Services, Univa, Silicon Graphics
International, Sabalcore, Gomput, and Penguin Computing offered a high performance computing
cloud. The Penguin On Demand (POD) cloud was one of the first non-virtualized remote HPC
services offered on a pay-as-you-go basis.[115][116] Penguin Computing launched its HPC cloud in 2016
as alternative to Amazon's EC2 Elastic Compute Cloud, which uses virtualized computing nodes.[117]
[118]

Architecture[edit]

Cloud computing sample architecture

Cloud architecture,[119] the systems architecture of the software systems involved in the delivery of
cloud computing, typically involves multiple cloud components communicating with each other over a
loose coupling mechanism such as a messaging queue. Elastic provision implies intelligence in the
use of tight or loose coupling as applied to mechanisms such as these and others.

Cloud engineering[edit]
Cloud engineering is the application of engineering disciplines to cloud computing. It brings a
systematic approach to the high-level concerns of commercialization, standardization and
governance in conceiving, developing, operating and maintaining cloud computing systems. It is a
multidisciplinary method encompassing contributions from diverse areas such
as systems, software, web, performance, information technology engineering, security, platform, risk,
and quality engineering.

Security and privacy[edit]

Main article: Cloud computing issues

Cloud computing poses privacy concerns because the service provider can access the data that is in
the cloud at any time. It could accidentally or deliberately alter or delete information.[120] Many cloud
providers can share information with third parties if necessary for purposes of law and order without
a warrant. That is permitted in their privacy policies, which users must agree to before they start
using cloud services. Solutions to privacy include policy and legislation as well as end-users' choices
for how data is stored.[120] Users can encrypt data that is processed or stored within the cloud to
prevent unauthorized access.[121][120] Identity management systems can also provide practical solutions
to privacy concerns in cloud computing. These systems distinguish between authorized and
unauthorized users and determine the amount of data that is accessible to each entity.[122] The
systems work by creating and describing identities, recording activities, and getting rid of unused
identities.
According to the Cloud Security Alliance, the top three threats in the cloud are Insecure Interfaces
and APIs, Data Loss & Leakage, and Hardware Failure—which accounted for 29%, 25% and 10% of
all cloud security outages respectively. Together, these form shared technology vulnerabilities. In a
cloud provider platform being shared by different users, there may be a possibility that information
belonging to different customers resides on the same data server. Additionally, Eugene Schultz,
chief technology officer at Emagined Security, said that hackers are spending substantial time and
effort looking for ways to penetrate the cloud. "There are some real Achilles' heels in the cloud
infrastructure that are making big holes for the bad guys to get into". Because data from hundreds or
thousands of companies can be stored on large cloud servers, hackers can theoretically gain control
of huge stores of information through a single attack—a process he called "hyperjacking". Some
examples of this include the Dropbox security breach, and iCloud 2014 leak.[123] Dropbox had been
breached in October 2014, having over 7 million of its users passwords stolen by hackers in an effort
to get monetary value from it by Bitcoins (BTC). By having these passwords, they are able to read
private data as well as have this data be indexed by search engines (making the information public).
[123]

There is the problem of legal ownership of the data (If a user stores some data in the cloud, can the
cloud provider profit from it?). Many Terms of Service agreements are silent on the question of
ownership.[124] Physical control of the computer equipment (private cloud) is more secure than having
the equipment off-site and under someone else's control (public cloud). This delivers great incentive
to public cloud computing service providers to prioritize building and maintaining strong management
of secure services.[125] Some small businesses that don't have expertise in IT security could find that
it's more secure for them to use a public cloud. There is the risk that end users do not understand
the issues involved when signing on to a cloud service (persons sometimes don't read the many
pages of the terms of service agreement, and just click "Accept" without reading). This is important
now that cloud computing is becoming popular and required for some services to work, for example
for an intelligent personal assistant (Apple's Siri or Google Now). Fundamentally, private cloud is
seen as more secure with higher levels of control for the owner, however public cloud is seen to be
more flexible and requires less time and money investment from the user.[126]

Limitations and disadvantages[edit]

According to Bruce Schneier, "The downside is that you will have limited customization options.
Cloud computing is cheaper because of economics of scale, and—like any outsourced task—you
tend to get what you want. A restaurant with a limited menu is cheaper than a personal chef who can
cook anything you want. Fewer options at a much cheaper price: it's a feature, not a bug." He also
suggests that "the cloud provider might not meet your legal needs" and that businesses need to
weigh the benefits of cloud computing against the risks.[127] In cloud computing, the control of the
back end infrastructure is limited to the cloud vendor only. Cloud providers often decide on the
management policies, which moderates what the cloud users are able to do with their deployment.
[128]
 Cloud users are also limited to the control and management of their applications, data and
services.[129] This includes data caps, which are placed on cloud users by the cloud vendor allocating
a certain amount of bandwidth for each customer and are often shared among other cloud users.[129]
Privacy and confidentiality are big concerns in some activities. For instance, sworn translators
working under the stipulations of an NDA, might face problems regarding sensitive data that are
not encrypted.[130]
Cloud computing is beneficial to many enterprises; it lowers costs and allows them to focus on
competence instead of on matters of IT and infrastructure. Nevertheless, cloud computing has
proven to have some limitations and disadvantages, especially for smaller business operations,
particularly regarding security and downtime. Technical outages are inevitable and occur sometimes
when cloud service providers (CSPs) become overwhelmed in the process of serving their clients.
This may result in temporary business suspension. Since this technology's systems rely on the
Internet, an individual cannot access their applications, server or data from the cloud during an
outage.[131] However, many large enterprises maintain at least two internet providers, using different
entry points into their workplaces, some even use 4G as a third fallback.