Cloud Computing And Virtualization

Grazed from CloudTweaks. Author: Abdul Salam.

People often ask what is the real difference of cloud computing and “the internet” or “ isn’t the internet already cloud computing”. I often tell them that cloud computing does not equal the internet or vice-versa, the internet is simply the best delivery platform that cloud computing can make use of. You can have a cloud computing infrastructure totally isolated from the internet and it is called a private cloud network. Still, some private cloud networks are made to be accessible via the internet, but the argument still stands that cloud computing does not automatically mean or require the internet.

What makes cloud computing itself is not the hardware technology or the infrastructure, what makes it cloud computing is the way that services and functions are being handled and delivered. In essence what cloud computing means is that everything is being done by a server that is located somewhere that you and I should really not concern ourselves anymore, it’s somewhere out there, “in the clouds”. Behind all the services and applications that are labeled as “cloud” are servers, lots and lots of servers where all the processing elements are, the CPU, RAM, GPU, and even the storage devices…

However, a server is only really able to dedicate itself to one task, application, or function and serve that over a local network or typically via the internet. This is very limiting for cloud computing as you would need a lot of servers for multiple applications, taking up space, producing heat, and soaking up electricity like sponges. The answer to this is the whole point of the article, server virtualization…

Read more from the source @ http://www.cloudtweaks.com/2012/12/cloud-computing-and-virtualization/