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Cloud Computing Essay

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An In-Depth Overview of Cloud Computing
An Introduction
For many of us it’s hard to imagine a world without the computer, but this technology is still relatively new. The Atanasoff-Berry Computer, developed by John Atanasoff and Cliff Berry, which is considered to be the first electronic digital computer, wasn’t developed until 1937. (Mackintosh, 1987) This development led to the creation of the modern computer, however, it wasn’t until 1973 that Vint Cerf and Bob Kahn laid the groundwork for what we now call the internet. (IHF, 2016) They created network protocols, enabling computers everywhere to connect and share information with each other. These protocols consist of a set of rules and standards to eliminate communication failures. …show more content…

Several computing paradigms or models have been developed which maintain the distributed architecture manifest in this network system. These include Peer-to-Peer, Cluster, and Jungle Computing, as well as Cloud Computing which is built on top of grid and utility computing, as seen in Figure 2. (Kahanwal & Singh, 2012)
Anatomy of a Cloud
Cloud Computing is a recently emergent paradigm whereby services, such as data, programs and hardware, are managed and delivered over the internet. These services are provided to computers and other devices on-demand, like the electricity over the grid. This model offers users not only services, but unlimited computing power, accessed from anywhere in the world via a web browser. Instead of relying on the power of a local, individual device, computing power is distributed, virtual and scalable, enabling users to access the computation, storage and other application resources on-demand. (Sun, White & Gray, 2011) According to Carl Hewitt, “Cloud Computing is a paradigm in which information is permanently stored in servers on the internet and cached temporarily on clients that include desktops, entertainment centers, table computers, notebooks, wall computers, handhelds, sensors, monitors, etc.” (Hewitt, 2008)
Characteristics. A publication by the US National Institute of Standards and Technology defines

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