What is cloud computing?

The IT industry is always not introducing new concepts, so we will not be confused. NC, grid computing, IPv6, Web2.0, SOA, SAAS ...... Some of them have changed our lives.

Nearly 10 years after the concept of "Grid" was proposed, another new concept "cloud computing" similar to its release version was re-proposed.

An excerpt from the explanatory description of cloud computing on the Internet:

(1) the so-called "cloud computing" refers to implementing various applications and services on the PC through the central data center on the Internet. Currently, dozens of companies, such as Amazon, Google, and Salesforce, have established computing centers to efficiently process data outsourcing businesses and make them e-commerce-like products that enterprises can easily purchase.

(2) "cloud computing" is a brand new business model. Its core component is still the data center. It uses thousands of industrial standard servers as its hardware devices, they consist of Intel or AMD processors and products from other hardware vendors. Enterprises and individual users get computing power through the high-speed Internet, thus avoiding a large amount of hardware investment.

In short, cloud computing will turn the Internet into a paradise for super computing. "The basic principle of cloud computing is that by distributing computing on a large number of Distributed Computers, rather than local computers or remote servers, enterprise data centers will run more like the Internet. This allows enterprises to switch resources to the desired applications and access computers and storage systems as needed ." At the middle November Shanghai IBM Innovation Forum, Willy Chiu, vice president of the IBM high-performance on-demand solutions team, explained to reporters.

This is a revolutionary action. For example, it is like switching from an old single generator model to a centralized power supply model for power plants. It means that the computing power can also be circulated as a commodity, just like gas, water, electricity, convenient access, and low cost. The biggest difference is that it is transmitted over the Internet.

Professor Li Kaifu, president of Google Greater China, noted "cloud computing ":

The rapid development of the Internet is profoundly affecting people's lives and work methods. Following the traditional computing models of personal computers and customers/servers, the new "cloud computing" model shows the important characteristics of modern interconnected networks.

In fact, when a person submits a query request on the internet, thousands of computers on the Internet may search for a large number of databases at the same time, and use different methods to provide him with possible search results. That is to say, people are not from their own computers, nor from a designated server, but from the vast cloud such as the sea of interconnected networks, through a variety of devices (such as mobile terminals) obtain required information, knowledge, and services. The world has switched from hardware-centric to software-centric, and is switching to a service-centric era.

However, how to implement effective query and control for this new computing model has become a concern of many participants. Dr. Lee elaborated on four important features of cloud computing:

1. Massive Data Storage on the cloud;
2. Numerous software and services are placed on the cloud;
3. They are built on various standards and protocols; and,
4. It can be obtained through various devices.

Dr. Lee elaborated on six factors that promote the development of cloud computing:

1. user-centered: data exists in the cloud, and with you and your device, you can securely obtain it or share it with others at any time and anywhere in a convenient way.
2. Task-centered: people can easily plan and execute tasks with their partners, and communicate effectively anytime and anywhere.
3. Powerful functions: the powerful computing and storage capabilities provided by thousands of computer groups in the cloud sea will be able to do what a traditional single computer cannot do.
4. Intelligence: Data Mining Technology Based on massive data to obtain a large amount of new knowledge. As a typical example, language translation based on this new technology will be more powerful. On the Internet, we can see this mode: Massive Data + massive analysis => knowledge.
5. Infrastructure Feasibility: Today, thousands of PC-level servers can achieve extremely high performance. Google is building a more powerful "Computer farm" (just like a high-yielding dairy farm ).
6. programming of parallel software: how to compile programs that can be executed in parallel on thousands of computers? Google has developed a series of new development methods and technologies.

Cloud computing is still a new word for most people. In fact, cloud computing may be a brand new word for many computer professionals. However, it already exists and is bringing profound changes to our lives and work. A group of well-known leading enterprises in the information industry, such as Google, IBM, and Microsoft, are jointly conducting research and demonstrating broad application prospects. At the same time, we also noted that at this conference, many Chinese scholars, especially young scholars, have also brought their own research results, working with colleagues from all over the world to "one world, one Web contributes.

"Cloud computing" understood by mesh ":

The originator of "cloud computing" can be traced back to people's "distributed computing" ideals in the mainframe and PC age. In the past, terminals, local networks, and PCs tried to implement a wide range of distributed applications, but they were never actually implemented. Later, the Internet provided the possibility for large-scale distributed computing. "Grid Computing" once claimed to turn the Internet into a super, large, and parallel computer, we can use the idle computing resources of numerous computers on the Internet to run our applications. However, after years of hyping, the grand ideal of "Grid Computing" has not been widely realized. It is said that the application of grid computing has never been realized by ordinary people, and they do not know whether it is true or not.

With the development of the Internet, the network speed is constantly improving, and more machines are connected to the Internet. The demand for large-capacity and high-density computing is constantly increasing. People's dream of distributed computing is once again awakened. The concept of "Grid" is somewhat outdated, and "cloud computing" is re-packaged, upgraded, and innovated. The physical foundation of cloud computing is the Internet. There is no "cloud network" formed by a large number of hosts on the Internet.

Unlike web, cloud computing focuses more on commercial hype, while cloud computing focuses more on technology. However, the commercial promotion and operation of many large companies, such as Microsoft, sun, Google, and IBM, will still play a vital role in promoting the concept of cloud computing and its future application. Commercial companies need new concepts to stimulate the development of the industry, while new technologies also need the packaging and capital investment of large commercial companies.

No technical concept is a plug-in. Many concepts are associated with each other, and technologies are closely related to each other. Cloud computing is a macro concept. Its implementation may be related to Web servise, SOA, xmlprc, and SAAS. Cloud computing is about to integrate various computing resources on the Internet, such as PCs, mobile phones, handheld computers, and other mobile terminals to achieve ubiquitous and ubiquitous computing. In the cloud computing era, the "Network is a computer" is expected to become visible.

We don't just want to see those companies shouting empty slogans, but we want to see specific actions. We need to see their specific solutions, real cases, and development tools. Any technical concept, if the majority of programmers stand by, cannot have a revolutionary impact. We hope that the concept of "Grid" can be truly achieved through "cloud computing.

Mesh (Zhang Qing)
Mesh horizon: http://blog.why100000.com
2008-4-30