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Getting Your Head Around The Cloud

8/20/2013 11:20:40 AM

The internet is a breeding ground for buzzwords, and while many of them come and go, it is not always easy to distinguish fads from the future. Social media has been a big focus for most internets related software and thinking for a while now, with tweeting, sharing and inviting being a big part of any design that crosses our screens. One buzzword that’s been hanging around for a while is “Cloud”. While many would be forgiven for thinking that the term emerged in the mid-2000, along with the concept of Web 2.0, the term actually dates back to the early 50’s and the very beginnings of computing. The terms that we often hear in passing (or see in ads) actually refer to several different ideas, which converge in some interesting (and ultimately awesome) ways.

Getting your head around the cloud

Getting your head around the cloud

Getting back to 2004, which is where it got interesting. There was a movement amongst Internet tinkerers to move away from static content towards more dynamic and interactive web experiences, by changing the way we think about the web. In short, they wanted to change the internet from being a data retrieval portal into a platform for social networking, data management and integration between various systems. Having evolved from loading software from growing piles of stuffy discs to compact discs about 10 years earlier (and later DVDs), software developers were already reaching the limits of the available storage media, and also finding using local resources (such as the user’s PC specs and local networks) placed greater limits on their development, while the capabilities of web servers and sophisticated data centers, were becoming vastly improved

At the time these visionaries came up with these fanciful notions however, there were several barriers to actually implementing these ideas, the most significant of course being the bandwidth capability (and cost) involved, and it took longer than predicted for their plans to come to fruition, only to be met my new challenges on the opposite end. As more online platforms started to emerge, with more sophisticated software, the traditional server infrastructure which had up to then catered for hosting, which was essentially a specialized and very robust computer, was starting to battle to deal with the increasing demand for storage and resources needed to service the growing popularity of online systems.

Essentially, a cloud server doesn’t actually exist. It’s a virtual machine, created as an instance from the collective resources available on the infrastructure

Essentially, a cloud server doesn’t actually exist. It’s a virtual machine, created as an instance from the collective resources available on the infrastructure

If online, interactive systems (as opposed to PC based ones) were the first cloud, virtual servers were the second. In the late 90s, companies like VMware were starting to look into creating new kinds of infrastructure that could surpass fixed physical server architecture for running web platforms. While their first attempts started to get noticed in early 2001, virtual servers really started to gain market share around 2008, with major players like Stock Exchanges moving their services onto Cloud infrastructure.

Essentially, a cloud server doesn’t actually exist. It’s a virtual machine, created as an instance from the collective resources available on the infrastructure. Many confuse this with Shared Hosting platforms, which use a similar methodology. However, the difference is in the infrastructure itself. Shared Hosting still uses physical servers, and section off available resources as static packages, including CPU processing, RAM and hard disk space. Cloud servers use more scalable infrastructure, with a powerful controller which can be upgraded instantly by adding more server infrastructure, often called blades, which can add more RAM, CPU, as well serial or network attached storage space which can be beefed up at any point.

Cloud Virtual Controllers can also dynamically manage resources between the various instances, ensuring that resources can be diverted to where they are most needed, and maximize the potential of the server. This addresses the issue of servers falling over while other physical servers run idle. The benefits of using attached data storage also provides the option of cycling between multiple solid state and serial drives to give the fastest storage access for popular content, while offering large volumes of online archive storage on traditional drives.

The Web has pretty much moved over to this new concept of hosting, with all but the last die-hards who don’t quite trust the trends. With big business bucks (or dreams) on the line, one can imagine how this might seem like a risky endeavor. But that certainly seems to be the new norm for conducting business via the web in the near future. The third cloud is personal, and is the culmination of the integration of both the concept of the first cloud and the practical application of the second.

Cloud Virtual Controllers can also dynamically manage resources between the various instances, ensuring that resources can be diverted to where they are most needed, and maximize the potential of the server

Cloud Virtual Controllers can also dynamically manage resources between the various instances, ensuring that resources can be diverted to where they are most needed, and maximize the potential of the server

With most people abandoning their PC and even their laptops for the convenience of tablets and smartphones, data storage on these devices is generally limited. That’s convenient for online based applications, using very little of the devices local resources to operate. But today’s sophisticated, and demanding, users generally have extensive libraries of music, video and communication networks that connect them to their cyber world for both personal and business purposes. Service providers needed to provide a “cloud” which could be accessed anywhere, from any device, which could instantly connect users to their data. As always, companies like Google lead the way, with Gmail and GoogleDocs being at the forefront of this new type of thinking. While GoogleDocs tempted mostly tech fun dies back in 2005, by 2012 Google had rebranded the project as GoogleDrive and offered a host of “cloud” based services that were entirely net-driven for personal data storage and services. Other services like Facebook are also moving towards being more online data hubs based on personal user needs. Gaming is fast moving in this direction, with both Sony and Microsoft hinting at new gaming consoles doing away with physical product and using streaming and cloud-based services that not only reduce the need for mass storage, but also can be access from any console (or a variety of devices).

So before you dismiss “cloud” as another way to market products like the terms “vitamin enriched” or “toasted tobacco”, it may not be just hot air.

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