COMP 2903A34 –Cloud Computing

Danny SilverJSOCS, Acadia University

Brian HayesCommunications of the ACM, July, 2008

• Lives in Durham, NC• Senior Writer for American Scientist• "Computing Science" column since 1993• 1972- 1984 he was an editor of Scientific American• 1990- 1992 to he was the editor of American Scientist.

What is Cloud Computing?

• Also referred to as:– On-demand computing– Software as a service or utility– Internet as platform

• Data existing and programs running on unseen computers, scatter across continents

• Eg. – Google Docs • Cloud Computing Explained

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJncFirhjPg

From Shrink-wrap to Cloud S/W

• The Shift is well underway• Shrink-wrap and downloaded software have

lost dominance … but …• Migration from laptop and local datacenter is

underway• A second coming – 50 years ago there were

similar service bureaus, time-sharing systems

History Lesson

• PC arrival in 1980s – meant liberation from the central computer service

• Individuals were free to control their own s/w and data

• But no person is an island – sneaker net, then LANs

• Conflicts with the mainframe datacentre people

Back to the Future – With a Twist

• Users and IT managers used to argue about control over data and software

• Now willing to surrender control to a 3rd party• Why??• End User Perspective– User control takes time and energy– Means extra knowledge and work– Often not core competency

Back to the Future – With a Twist

• Corporate Perspective– Maintaining systems on every desk is pricy– Maintaining data centers costs even more– Often not core competency– Outsourcing is just good busines

• S/W Vendor Perspective– Software maintenance on various platforms major

challenge – bugs, fixes, distribution– Single platform s/w solutions better, cheaper

Possible Future Directions

• Wordstar for the Web – Google Docs, Buzzword, Photoshop Express

• Enterprise computing in the cloud– On demand CRM - Salesforce.com

• Cloudy infrastructure– Amazon Web Services– IBM Blue Cloud– Google– Rackspace

The Cloud Op. Sys.

• The operating system is inside your browser– EyeOS

• AIR – Adobe Systems replaces or bypasses the browser

Major Challenges for the Cloud

• Scalability, ebb and flow• HCI – mimicking or better the current desktop• Migration from multiple langauges and Oses• Politics of a declining IT department• Impact on shrink-wrap market• Privacy, security, reliability

Cloud Computing and Society

• What new challenges does cloud computing bring

• The Communicators: The Future of Cloud Computinghttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gh2YV-uwVys