UNIT – II – Cloud Computing –

B21EPS522
Cloud computing is a utility-oriented and Internet-centric way of delivering IT services on
demand. As seen in the image below.
Cloud computing architecture includes:
1. IaaS, Infrastructure as a service
2. PaaS, Platform as a service
3. SaaS, Software as a service

Cloud Computing Architecture

Cloud infrastructure can be heterogeneous in nature because a variety of resources, such as
• Clusters
• Networked PCs,
• Databases
• Cloud application
• Cloud programming tools
• Hosting platforms
• Virtual machines, etc are used.
From the diagram above, we will discuss about:
1. IaaS
2. PaaS
3. SaaS
4. User applications
5. User-level middleware
6. Core middleware
7. System infrastructure
1. IaaS:
1. IaaS stands for infrastructure as a service.
2. Infrastructure as service or IaaS is the basic layer in cloud computing model.
3. IaaS offers servers, network devices, load balancers, database, Web servers etc.
4. IaaS examples can be categorized in two categories
a. IaaS Management layer
b. IaaS Physical infrastructure
5. Some service providers provide both above categories and some provides only
management layer.
6. IaaS management layer also required integration with ohter IaaS solutions that
provide physical infrastructure.
7. Main technologies behind IaaS is hardware virtualization.
8. Some examples:
• Amazon Web Services (AWS),
• Microsoft Azure,
• Google Compute Engine (GCE)
2. PaaS:
1. PaaS stands for platform as a service.
2. PaaS provides a computing platform with a programming language execution
environment.
3. PaaS offered to the user is a development platform
4. PaaS solutions generally include the infrastructure as well.
5. PurePaaS offered only the user-level middleware.
6. Some examples:
• Google App Engine
• Force.com
3. SaaS:
1. SaaS stands for software as a service.
2. Software as a service (SaaS) allows users to connect to and use cloud-based apps
over the Internet.
3. SaaS is the service with which end users interact directly.
4. Some examples:
• Gmail
• Google drive
• Dropbox
• WhatsApp
4. User applications:
1. It includes cloud applications thruough which end user get intercact.
2. There may be different types of user applications, like scientific, gaming, social etc.
3. Some of the examples are Gmail, Facebook.com, etc.
5. User-level middleware:
1. It includes cloud programming environment and tools.
2. There may be different types of programming environments and tools depends on
the user applications.
3. Some of the examples of user level middleware are web 2.0, libraries, scripting.
6. Core middleware:
1. It includes cloud hosting platforms.
2. It manage quality of service.
3. Execution management.
4. Accounting, metering etc.
5. Virtual machines are the part of core middleware.
7. System infrastructure:
1. It includes cloud resources.
2. Storage hardware
3. Servers, databases are part of it.

a) Layer1 (User/Client Layer)

• This layer is the lowest layer in the cloud architecture. All the

users or client belong to this layer. This is the place where the
client/user initiates the connection to the cloud. The client can be
any device such as a thin client, thick client, or mobile or any
handheld device that would support basic functionalities to
access a web application.
• Thin client here refers to a device that is completely dependent on some other
 system for its
complete functionality. In simple terms, they have very low processing capability.
• Similarly, thick clients are general computers that have adequate

processing capability. They have sufficient capability for

independent work.
• Usually, a cloud application can be accessed in the same way as
a web application. But internally, the properties of cloud
applications are significantly different. Thus, this layer consists
of client devices.
b) Layer 2 (Network Layer)
• This layer allows the users to connect to the cloud. The whole

cloud infrastructure is dependent on this connection where the

services are offered to the customers. This is primarily the Internet
in the case of a public cloud.The public cloud usually exists in a
specific location and the user would not know the location as it is
abstract. Public cloud can be accessed all over the world.
• In the case of a private cloud, the connectivity may be provided by a local area
network
(LAN).
 • Even in this case, the cloud completely depends on the network that
is used.
• Usually, when accessing the public or private cloud, the users

require minimum bandwidth, which is sometimes defined by the

cloud providers.
• This layer does not come under the purview of Service Level
Agreements (SLAs), that is, SLAs do not take into account the
Internet connection between the user and cloud for quality of
service (QoS).
Layer 3 (Cloud Management Layer)
• Layer 3 consists of software that are used in managing the cloud.
The software can be a cloud OS, a software that acts as an
interface between the data center (actual resources) and the user,
or a management software that allows managing resources. This
software usually allow resource management (scheduling,
provisioning, etc.), optimization (server consolidation, storage
workload consolidation), and internal cloud governance.
• This layer comes under the purview of SLAs, that is, the operations
taking place in this layer
would affect the SLAs that are being decided upon between the users
and the service providers.
• Any delay in processing or any discrepancy in service

provisioning may lead to an SLA violation.

• As per rules, any SLA violation would result in a penalty to be given
by the service provider.
Layer 4 (Hardware Resource Layer)
• Layer 4 consists of provisions for actual hardware resources.
Usually, in the case of a public cloud, a data center is used in the
back end.
• Similarly, in a private cloud, it can be a data center, which is a huge
collection of hardware resources interconnected to each other that is
present in a specific location or a high configuration system.
• This layer comes under the purview of SLAs. This is the most
 important layer that governs the SLAs.This layer affects the SLAs
most in the case of data centers.
• Whenever a user accesses the cloud, it should be available to the
users as quickly as possible and should be within the time that is
defined by the SLAs.
• If there is any discrepancy in provisioning the resources or
application, the service provider has to pay the penalty. Hence, the
datacenter consists of a high-speed network connection and a
highly efficient algorithm to transfer the data from the datacenter
to the manager.
• There can be a number of datacenters for a cloud, and similarly, a
number of clouds can share a datacenter.

A. Cloud Deployment Models

A cloud infrastructure may be operated in one of the following
deployment models:
• public cloud,
• private cloud,

• community cloud, or

• hybrid cloud.
 Figure 4: Public Cloud Scenarios

The differences are based on how exclusive the computing

resources are made to a Cloud Consumer.
• Public Cloud:Public cloud is one in which the cloud infrastructure
and computing resources are made available to the general public
over a public network (Figure 4). A public cloud is owned by an
organization selling cloud services, and serves a diverse pool of
clients.

• Private Cloud: Private cloud gives a single Cloud Consumer’s

organization the exclusive access to and usage of the infrastructure
and computational resources. It may be managed either by:cloud

consumer organization and may be hosted on the organization’s

premises (that is, on- site private clouds depicted in Figure 5), ora
third party, outsourced to a hosting company (that is, outsourced
private clouds depicted in Figure 6).
Figure 5: On-site Private Cloud
Figure 6: Outsourced Private Cloud

• Hybrid Cloud: Hybrid cloud(Figure 7) is a composition of two or

more clouds (on-site private, on-site community, off-site private,
off-site community or public) that remain as distinct entities
 but are bound together by standardized or proprietary technology

that enables data and application portability.

Figure 7: Hybrid Cloud Model Scenario 1

Figure 8: Hybrid Cloud Model Scenario 2

• Community Cloud: Community cloudserves a group of cloud

consumers which have shared concerns such as mission objectives,
security, privacy and compliance policy, rather than serving a
single organization as does a private cloud (Figure 9). Similar to

private clouds, a community cloud may be managed by:

 organizations and may be implemented on customer premise (that
is,on-site community cloud), or, a third party, outsourced to a
hosting company (that is,outsourced community cloud).
Figure 9: Community Cloud Model
 An on-site community cloudcomprised of a number of participant
organizations (Figure 10 and Figure 11). A cloud consumer can access

the local cloud resources, and also the resources of other participating
organizations through the connections between the associated
organizations.
Figure 10: On-site Community Cloud Scenario

Figure 11: Outsourced Community Cloud

2.1 Cloud
Storage

Most innovative technology to store, access, and collaborate through

scalable cloud technology. Cloud computing model that stores
valuable data through the web and operates it through a storage as a
device service. Cloud storage can be delivered on-demand through
a cloud computing provider that has the capacity to create a data-
storage ecosystem that can eliminate costs through global durability
with anytime and anywhere access. It is based on pay-as-you-go
model. It involves third-party vendors take care of all the resources
viz. capacity, bandwidth, and flexibility to make data accessible on
a global platform.
Traditional Storage
The traditional storage option in which we use local physical drives
to store the data at the primary location of the client. User generally
uses the disk-based hardware to store data and these are used for
 copying, managing, and integrating the data to software. It has the
following features:
• Fast,as they do not rely on internet speeds.
• Security can be manually set up by the user.

• Users can recover the data anytime without having accessibility issues.

• On-site backup and modification are easy.

Cloud Storage
Cloud Storage can be broadly classified into two categories:

• Unmanaged Cloud Storage: Unmanaged cloud storage means

that the storage is preconfigured for the consumer. The consumer
cannot format nor the consumer can install own file system or
change drive properties.
 • Managed Cloud Storage: Managed cloud storage offers online
storage space on demand. Managed cloud storage system presents
what appears to the user to be a raw disk that the user can partition
and format.
Cloud storage is a service that allows saving data on offsite storage
system managed by third-party and is made accessible by a web
services API. The storage devices can be broadly classified into two
categories:
• Block Storage Devices: Block storage devices offer raw storage to
the clients. This raw storage can be partitioned to create volumes.
• File Storage Devices: File storage devices offers storage to
clients in form of files, maintaining its own file system. This
storage is in the form of Network Attached Storage (NAS).
Cloud Storage vs Traditional Storage
In the cloud storage, data (or files) are saved on a remote server,
which is easily accessible from anywhere with internet access.
Cloud storage allows access to the data from any device connected
to the internet, including computers, tablets and smartphones. In
contrast to local data storage, where data is stored on the hard drive
of a local desktop or a laptop. With traditional alternatives, what you
pay for is what you get. If one has invested in a lot of storage to
support a new project, then one is still left paying the same amount
once it’s over– even if one doesn’t need the storage anymore.
Businesses are bound to the traditional office-based 9-5 unlike cloud
in which, “teams can access everything from wherever they
are”.Traditional storage solutions involve physical devices where
the monitoring, maintaining and patching these devices is up to users
which is quite overwhelming. The better the backup plan, the faster
the business can recover from disaster and be up and running as
normal. Also, depending on the cause of the problem, it takes longer
for traditional storage solutions to recover.Cloud storage is more
flexible than traditional on-premise alternatives. It is easy to create a
tailored solution that suits a user’s specific requirements. The users
have freedom to choose a course of action based on a user’s current
setup and what servers are chosen.
Creating Cloud Storage System
Cloud storage system stores multiple copies of data on multiple
servers and in multiple locations. If one system fails, then it only
requires changing the pointer to stored object's location. To
aggregate storage assets into cloud storage systems, the cloud
provider can use storage virtualization software, StorageGRID. It
creates a virtualization layer that fetches storage from different
storage devices into a single management system. The following are
the features of cloud storage:
• Allplatforms can easily be accessed via a web browser.
• Offer apps for ease of access from a smartphone or tablet.

• Feature a directory structure similar to that of a computer drive; this

facilitates navigation and organisation.

• Ease of Access: The access to the personal folders is perceived to
be more cumbersome (involves ‘more clicks’).Many people are
always logged into Google (and hence Google Drive) in the back
ground, both at home and at school.
• Online Editing:OneDrive and Google Drive offer the possibility
of editing documents inside a web browser. There is no additional
software needed.The folders or specific files can be shared with
others; this facilitates collaboration.
• Online Collaboration: Documents and folders can be shared with
colleagues.Editing is possible without downloading the
document, eliminating the need to email and save multiple
versions of the same documents.
Considerations for Storing Data to Cloud
Various parameters that need to be taken into account whilst saving data
on the cloud include:
 • Security- As data is managed by third-party vendors; it is heavily
encrypted when data is stored and moving through various points.
These security systems work well with permissions and access
controls that are pre-defined on the web.
• Availability- Data can be accessed whenever required.Mandatorily
requires internet connectivity.

Examples of Cloud Storage

The examples of cloud storage and their characteristics are listed below (Figure 12):
Cloud Storage- Google Drive
• ‘Pure’ cloud computing service, with all the apps & storage found online.

• Can be used via desktop top computers, tablets like iPad or on smartphones.

• All of Google's services can be considered cloud -based:

Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Voice etc.

• Microsoft’s OneDrive: Similar to Google Drive.

Figure 12: Different Cloud Storage Examples

Cloud Storage- Dropbox

• Commonly used to store documents and images.

• One can set his/her phone to automatically send all pictures

taken with it into their Dropbox account, so that even if one loses
their phone, the pictures will still be available to him/her up in
space.
• One can use it to access documents at home, and then save changes to it.
• Sugarsyncis another example.

Cloud Storage- Apple iCloud

• Apple's cloud service is primarily used by Apple users for online

storage and synchronization of user’s mail, contacts, calendar,

 and more.
• All the data needed is available to a user on whichever device

he/she seeks to access it from, iOS, Mac OS, or Windows

device.
• If a user makes a change to a document, say, on one of their

devices, it will automatically update it so that when next

access is made to the account, the amended version will be
available on whatever device you use.
• If a user has loads of data up there (perhaps pictures or films

have made) then one will need to pay for extra storage.

2.2 Cloud Business Models

Cloud business models are all built on top of cloud computing, a
concept that took over around 2006 when former Google’s CEO Eric
Schmit mentioned it. It’s often not clear just what “the cloud” actually
is, how it helps existing businesses or how entrepreneurs can use it
to start or augment a
new business.Most cloud-based business models can be classified as
cloud services delivery. While the models are primarily monetized
via subscriptions, they are monetized via pay-as-you-go revenue
models and hybrid models (subscriptions + pay-as-you-go).
I. NIST Cloud Computing Reference Model
NIST's long-term goal is to provide leadership and guidance around
the cloud computing paradigm to catalyze its use within industry
and government. NIST aims to shorten the adoption cycle, which
will enable near-term cost savings and increased ability to quickly
create and deploy safe and secure enterprise solutions. NIST aims to
foster cloud computing practices that support interoperability,
portability, and security requirements that are appropriate and
achievable for important usage scenarios.
Cloud computing is a model for enabling ubiquitous, convenient, on-
demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing
resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications, and services)
that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management
effort or service provider interaction. This cloud model promotes
availability and is composed of five essential characteristics, three
service models, and four deployment models.
Five Essential Characteristics
• On-demand Self-service: A consumer can unilaterally provision
computing capabilities, such as server time and network storage,
as needed automatically without requiring human interaction with
each service’s provider.
• Broad Network Access: Capabilities are available over the network
and accessed through standard mechanisms that promote use by
heterogeneous thin or thick client platforms (e.g., mobile phones,
laptops, and personal digital assistants [PDAs]).
• Resource Pooling: The provider’s computing resources are pooled
to serve multiple consumers using a multi-tenant model, with
different physical and virtual resources dynamically assigned and
reassigned according to consumer demand. There is a sense of
location independence in that the customer generally has no
control or knowledge over the exact location of the provided
resources but may be able to specify location at a higher level of
abstraction (e.g., country, state, or datacenter). Examples of
 resources include storage, processing, memory, network
bandwidth, and virtual machines.
• Rapid Elasticity: Capabilities can be rapidly and elastically
provisioned, in some cases automatically, to quickly scale out and
rapidly released to quickly scale in. To the consumer, the
capabilities available for provisioning often appear to be unlimited
and can be purchased in any quantity at any time.
• Measured Service: Cloud systems automatically control and
optimize resource use by leveraging a metering capability3 at
some level of abstraction appropriate to the type of service (e.g.,
storage, processing, bandwidth, and active user accounts).
Resource usage can be monitored, controlled, and reported,
providing transparency for both the provider and consumer of the
utilized service.

A. Cloud Service Models

• Software as a Service (SaaS):The capability provided to the
consumer is to use the provider’s applications running on a cloud
infrastructure. The applications are accessible from various client
devices through a thin client interface such as a Web browser (e.g.,
Web-based email).The consumer does not manage or control the
underlying cloud infrastructure including network, servers, operating
systems, storage, or even individual application capabilities, with
the possible exception of limited user-specific application
configuration settings.
• Platform as a Service (PaaS): The capability provided to the
consumer is to deploy onto the
cloud infrastructure consumer-created or acquired applications
created using programming languages and tools supported by the
provider. The consumer does not manage or control the
underlying cloud infrastructure including network, servers,
operating systems, or storage, but
 has control over the deployed applications and possibly
application hosting environment configurations.
• Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): The capability provided to the
consumer is to provision processing, storage, networks, and other
fundamental computing resources where the consumer is able to
deploy and run arbitrary software, which can include operating
systems and applications. The consumer does not manage or control
the underlying cloud infrastructure but has control over operating
systems, storage, deployed applications, and possibly limited control
of select networking components (e.g., host firewalls).

B. Cloud Deployment Models

• Private Cloud:The cloud infrastructure is operated solely for an
organization. It may be managed by the organization or a third party
and may exist on premise or off premise.
• Community Cloud: The cloud infrastructure is shared by several
organizations and supports a specific community that has shared
concerns (example: mission, security requirements, policy, and
compliance considerations). It may be managed by the
organizations or a third-party and may exist on premise or off
premise.
• Public Cloud: The cloud infrastructure is made available to the
general public or a large industry group and is owned by an
organization selling cloud services.
• Hybrid Cloud: The cloud infrastructure is a composition of two or
more clouds (private, community, or public) that remain unique
entities but are bound together by standardized or proprietary
technology that enables data and application portability (e.g., cloud
bursting for load balancing between clouds).
C. Actors in Cloud Computing Reference Model
There are certain actors that form important part of the cloud

computing reference model (Figure 13 and Figure 14). Figure 15

depicts the interactions among the actors of cloud computing.
Figure 13: Actors in Cloud Computing Reference Model
Figure 14: NIST Cloud Computing Reference Model

Figure 15: Interactions Among Actors in Cloud Computing

Cloud consumer may request service from a cloud broker instead of

contacting a cloud provider directly. Cloud broker may create a new
service by combining multiple services or by enhancing an existing
service. The actual cloud providers are invisible to the cloud

consumer and the cloud consumer interacts directly with the cloud
 broker. Cloud carriers provide the connectivity and transport of
cloud services from cloud providers to cloud consumers. As
illustrated in Figure, a cloud provider participates in and arranges
for two unique service level agreements (SLAs), one with a cloud
carrier (e.g. SLA2) and one with a cloud consumer (e.g. SLA1)
(Figure 16).
Figure 16: SLA Management Between Cloud Consumer and Cloud
Carrier
A cloud provider arranges service level agreements (SLAs) with a
cloud carrier and may request dedicated and encrypted connections
to ensure the cloud services are consumed at a consistent level
according to the contractual obligations with the cloud consumers.
In this case, the provider may specify its requirements on capability,
flexibility and functionality in SLA2 in order to provide essential
requirements in SLA1. For a cloud service, a cloud auditor conducts
independent assessments of the operation and security of the cloud
service implementation. The audit may involve interactions with
both the cloud consumer and the cloud provider.
Cloud consumer is a principal stakeholder for cloud computing
service. It can be a person or organization that maintains a business
relationship with, and uses the service from a cloud provider. Cloud
consumer browses the service catalogue from a cloud provider,
requests the appropriate service, sets up service contracts with the
cloud provider, and uses the service. Cloud consumer may be billed
for the service provisioned, and needs to arrange payments
accordingly.
Cloud provider can be a person, or an organization.It is an entity
responsible for making a service available to interested
parties.Acloud provider can acquire and managethe computing
infrastructure required for providing the services, run the cloud
software that provides the services; and make arrangement to deliver
the cloud services to the Cloud Consumers through network access.
A cloud provider’s activities can be described in five major areas:
• service deployment,
• service orchestration,
• cloud service management,
• security and privacy
Service orchestration refers to the composition of system components
to support the cloud providers activities in arrangement, coordination
and management of computing resources in order to provide cloud
services to cloud consumers. Cloud service management includes all of
the service-related functions that are necessary for the management and
operation of those services required by or proposed to cloud consumers.
Cloud auditor is a party that can perform an independent
examination of cloud service controls with the intent to express an
opinion thereon. Audits are performed to verify conformance to
standards through review of objective evidence. Cloud auditor can
 evaluate the services provided by a cloud provider in terms of
security controls, privacy impact, performance, etc. An auditor may
ensure that fixed content has not been modified and that the legal
and business data archival requirements have been satisfied. As
cloud computing evolves, the integration of cloud services can be too
complex for cloud consumers to manage. Cloud consumer may
request cloud services from a cloud broker, instead of contacting a
cloud provider directly.
Cloud broker is an entity that manages the use, performance and
delivery of cloud services and negotiates relationships between cloud
providers and cloud consumers.A cloud broker can provide services in
three categories:
• Service Intermediation: A cloud broker enhances a given service
by improving some specific capability and providing value-added
services to cloud consumers. The improvement can be managing
access to cloud services, identity management, performance
reporting, enhanced security, etc.
• Service Aggregation: A cloud broker combines and integrates
multiple services into one or more new services. The broker
provides data integration and ensures the secure data movement
between the cloud consumer and multiple cloud providers.
• Service Arbitrage: Service arbitrage is similar to service
aggregation except that the services being aggregated are not fixed.
Service arbitrage means a broker has the flexibility to choose
services from multiple agencies. The cloud broker, for example,
can use a credit-scoring service to measure and select an agency
with the best score.
Cloud carrier acts as an intermediary that provides connectivity
and transport of cloud services between cloud consumers and cloud
providers. Cloud carriers provide access to consumers through
network, telecommunication and other access devices. For example,
cloud consumers can obtain cloud services through n/w access
devices, such as computers, laptops, mobile phones,
mobile Internet devices (MIDs), etc. The distribution of cloud services is normally
provided by network and telecommunication carriers or a transport agent, where a
transport agent refers to a business organization that provides physical transport of
storage media such as high-capacity hard drives.