VOL. 3, NO.

10 Oct, 2012 ISSN 2079-8407

Journal of Emerging Trends in Computing and Information Sciences
©2009-2012 CIS Journal. All rights reserved.

http://www.cisjournal.org

Comparative Analysis of Cloud Computing Utilities

1
Balu Srinivasulu, 2 Kaliyaperumal Karthikeyan, 3 Mungamuru Nirmala, 4 Merugu Chandramouli
1,2,3,4
Department of Computer Science & Engineering
Eritrea Institute of Technology, Eritrea, N.E.Africa.
1
balusrini@gmail.com, 2 kirithicraj@gmail.com, 3 nirmala.mungamuru@gmail.com, 4 mouli608@gmail.com

ABSTRACT
The significant advances in Information and Communications Technology over the last half century led to an increasingly
perceived vision that computing will one day be the 5th utility (after water, electricity, gas, and telephony). This computing
utility, like all other four existing utilities, will provide the basic level of computing service which essential to meet the day-to-
day needs of the general community. Cloud computing promises to increase the velocity with which applications are deployed,
increases innovation and lowers the cost, while increasing business agility. Cloud computing on the other hand is an ability to
rent a server or thousands of servers to run geophysical modelling application on the most powerful systems available anywhere.
Cloud computing allows individuals, teams and organizations to streamline procurement processes and eliminate the need to
duplicate certain computer administrative skills related to setup, configuration and support. An effort has been made to analyse
the existing cloud computing utilities which paves a path to newer expansions.

Key words: Private Cloud, Hybrid Cloud, Cloud computing, IAAS, SAAS, PAAS, SLA.

1. INTRODUCTION
Cloud computing refers to the on-demand provision
of computational resources via a computer network rather than
from a local computer. Users or clients can submit a task, such
as word processing, to the service provider without actually
possessing the software or hardware. The client’s computer
may contain very little software or data perhaps a minimal
operating system and web browser only, serving as a basic
display terminal connected to the Internet. Since the cloud is
the underlying delivery mechanism, cloud-based applications F
and services may support any type of software application or
service in use today.

In the past, both data and software used to be stored Fig 1: Cloud Computing Server
and processed on or near the computer. The development of
Local Area Networks paved a path to organize multiple CPU’s Cloud is simply a metaphor for the Internet. It is a
and storage devices of a system which increases the style of computing where massively scalable IT-related
performance of the entire system. In an extension to this, capabilities are provided “as a service” using Internet
cloud computing fundamentally allows a functional separation technologies to multiple external customers. On-Demand
between the resources used and the user's computer, usually Cloud computing should not be confused with Grid
residing outside the local network. computing, utility computing or Autonomic computing. Any
situation in which computing is done in a remote location (out
1.1 Cloud Computing in the clouds), rather than your desktop or portable device
Cloud computing is a technological combination of creates a remote cloud to accomplish the task.
computation, software, data access, and storage services that
do not require end-user knowledge of the physical location
and configuration of the system that delivers the services. The
cloud is a smart, complex, powerful computing system in the
sky that people can just plug into.

According to web browser pioneer Marc Andreessen,

cloud refers to “Moving computing and data away from the
desktop and the portable PC and simply displaying the results
of computing that takes place in a centralized location which
is then transmitted via internet to user’s screen.”

Fig 2: Remote Cloud

1352
 VOL. 3, NO.10 Oct, 2012 ISSN 2079-8407
Journal of Emerging Trends in Computing and Information Sciences
©2009-2012 CIS Journal. All rights reserved.

http://www.cisjournal.org
1.2 History of Cloud Computing h. Efficient Use of Computer Resources: The advent
Dating back to the 1960’s, John McCarthy, a of virtualization has provided companies with ways
computer scientist, brought up the idea that revolutionized to efficiently use their computer resources. Users
Cloud Computing i.e. "Computation may someday be no longer require separate servers for different
organized as a public utility” applications. With virtualization, multiple server
technologies can run from a single server. This
The term "cloud" is used as a metaphor for the shift supports the growth of cloud computing due
Internet, based on the cloud drawing used in the past to to the increased capabilities of servers.
represent the telephone network, [13] and later to depict the i. Version-less Software: It says that the changes and
Internet in Computer Network diagrams as an abstraction of updates to software would be constant and version
the underlying infrastructure it represents. [14] numbers would be transparent to the user and all
the users would see it as an added functionality.
Cloud computing is a natural evolution of the
widespread adoption of virtualization, service oriented 1.4 Characteristics of Cloud Computing
architecture, autonomic and utility computing. Details are Shared Infrastructure: Uses a virtualized software
abstracted from end-users, who no longer have a need for model, enabling the sharing of physical services, storage, and
expertise in, or control over, the technology infrastructure in networking capabilities. The cloud infrastructure, regardless of
the cloud that supports them. Almost all the modern-day deployment model, seeks to make the most of the available
characteristics of cloud computing such as elastic provision, infrastructure across a number of users.
provided as a utility online, illusion of infinite supply etc.,
Dynamic Provisioning: Extends support for the
The actual term "cloud" borrowed from the context provision of services based on current demand requirements.
of telephony of that of telecommunications companies, who This is done automatically using software automation,
until the 1990s offered primarily dedicated point-to-point data enabling the expansion and contraction of service capability,
circuits, began offering Virtual Private Network (VPN) as needed. This dynamic scaling needs to be done while
services with comparable quality of service but at a much maintaining high levels of reliability and security.
lower cost. By switching traffic to balance utilization as they
saw fit, they were able to utilize their overall network Network Access: Allows access across the internet
bandwidth more effectively. The cloud symbol was used to from a broad range of devices such as PCs, laptops, and
denote the demarcation point between the responsibility of the mobile devices, using standard’s-based APIs Deployment of
provider and the responsibility of the user. Cloud computing services in the cloud include everything from business
extends this boundary to cover servers as well as the network applications to the latest smart phones.
infrastructure.
Managed Metering: Usage of metering for
1.3 Why Cloud Computing? managing and optimizing the service and provide reporting
and billing information.
a. Software as a Subscription: In a cloud, software
resides on a service provider’s servers external to a 2. CLOUD COMPUTING PARADIGM
user’s computer. Cloud Computing is a paradigm that is composed
b. Reduced Software Maintenance: By keeping the several strata of services such as Infrastructure, Storage,
software in the 'clouds' users can reduce the Platform and Software. Different Cloud providers have
amount of maintenance on their computers. developed various access models to these services based on
c. Increased Reliability: The cloud runs on systems standard Internet Protocols like HTTP, SOAP, REST, XML
that are extremely reliable and provide some form and the infrastructure is based on widely used technologies
of redundancy. including virtualization and hosting.
d. Cost Reduction: Capital expenditures are reduced
because a lot of the load and storage will be shifted
over to the service provider who can provide that
service at a lower cost.
e. Environment Friendly: One of the greatest
advantages of cloud computing is the increased
longevity and use of older hardware used by
datacenters.
f. Matches Current Computing Trends: The
introduction of the e-books has moved a lot of
sales from computers and laptops with more Fig 3: Cloud Service Layer
powerful processors and extended capabilities to
less powerful and more efficient platforms. 2.1 Analogy
g. Portability/Accessibility: The availability of files The analogy is, ' If you only need milk, would you
and software anywhere buy a cow?' i.e. if the users want to ripe the benefits of

1353
 VOL. 3, NO.10 Oct, 2012 ISSN 2079-8407
Journal of Emerging Trends in Computing and Information Sciences
©2009-2012 CIS Journal. All rights reserved.

http://www.cisjournal.org
computer hardware / software. Do they need to buy the devices. The copies enable the central server to access backup
hardware or software? machines to retrieve data that otherwise would be unreachable.
Making copies of data as a backup is called redundancy.
The cloud makes it possible to scale rapidly up and
down, deploy services only when and where they’re needed, 3. CLOUD COMPUTING SERVICE LAYERS
deliver rich experiences across the PC, phone, and browser, Client Layer: A cloud client consists of computer
generate efficiencies and cost savings by paying as you go for hardware and / or computer software that relies on cloud
only the services used. computing for application delivery, or that is specifically
designed for delivery of cloud services and that, in either case,
2.2 Architecture is essentially useless without it. Examples include
The architecture of the software systems involved in some computers, phones and other devices, systems
the delivery of cloud computing, typically involves multiple and browsers.
cloud components communicating with each other
over application programming interfaces, usually web. This Cloud SAAS Application: Cloud application
resembles the UNIX philosophy of having multiple programs services or "Software as a Service (SAAS)"
each doing one thing well and working together over universal deliver software as a service over the Internet, eliminating the
interfaces. Complexity is controlled and the resulting systems need to install and run the application on the customer's own
are more manageable than their monolithic counterparts. computers and simplifying maintenance and support.

When talking about a cloud computing system, it's Platform as a Service (PAAS): Cloud platform
helpful to divide it into two sections: the front end and the services delivers a computing platform and / or solution
back end. They connect to each other through a network, stack as a service, often consuming cloud infrastructure and
usually the Internet. The front end is the side the computer sustaining cloud applications. It facilitates deployment of
user. The back end is the ‘cloud’ section of the system. The applications without the cost and complexity of buying and
front end includes the client's computer or computer network managing the underlying hardware and software layers.
and the application required to access the cloud computing
system. Not all cloud computing systems have the same user Infrastructure as a Service (IAAS): Cloud
interface. Services like Web-based e-mail programs leverage infrastructure services deliver computer infrastructure,
existing Web browsers like Internet Explorer or Fire fox. typically a virtualization environment as a service. Rather than
Other systems have unique applications that provide network purchasing servers, software, data centre space or network
access to clients. equipment, instead clients can buy those resources as a fully
outsourced service. The service is typically billed on a utility
The back end of the system comprises of various computing basis and amount of resources consumed will
computers, servers and data storage systems that create the typically reflect the level of activity. It is an evolution
‘cloud’ of computing services. A cloud computing system of virtual private server offerings.
could include practically any computer program ranging from
data processing to video games. Usually, each application will Server Layer: It consists of computer hardware
have its own dedicated server. and/or computer software products that are specifically
designed for the delivery of cloud services, including multi-
A central server administers the system, monitoring core processors, cloud-specific operating systems and
traffic and client demands to ensure everything runs smoothly. combined offerings.
It follows a set of rules called protocols and uses a special
kind of software called middleware. Middleware allows 4. CLOUD DEPLOYMENT MODEL
networked computers to communicate with each other.
4.1 Public Cloud
Cloud computing is closely related to grid computing Public cloud or external cloud describes cloud
and utility computing. In a grid computing system, networked computing in the traditional mainstream sense, whereby
computers are able to access and use the resources of every resources are dynamically provisioned on a fine-grained, self-
other computer on the network. In cloud computing systems, service basis over the Internet, via web/web services, from an
that usually only applies to the back end. Utility computing is off-site third-party provider who shares and bills on a fine-
a business model where one company pays another company grained computing basis.
for access to computer applications or data storage
4.2 Private Cloud
If a cloud computing company has a lot of clients, Private cloud and internal cloud are neologisms that
there's likely to be a high demand for a lot of storage space. some vendors have recently used to describe offerings that
Some companies require hundreds of digital storage devices. emulate cloud computing on private networks. These products
Cloud computing systems need at least twice the number of claim to "deliver some benefits of cloud computing without
storage devices it requires to keep all its clients' information any pitfalls", capitalizing on data security, corporate
stored. That's because these devices, like all computers, governance, and reliability concerns.
occasionally break down. A cloud computing system must
make a copy of all its clients' information and store it on other

1354
 VOL. 3, NO.10 Oct, 2012 ISSN 2079-8407
Journal of Emerging Trends in Computing and Information Sciences
©2009-2012 CIS Journal. All rights reserved.

http://www.cisjournal.org
4.3 Hybrid Cloud • Using cloud storage for backups or storage of
A hybrid cloud environment consists of multiple seldom-used data
internal and/or external providers which will be typical for • Using applications in the cloud (SAAS) for
most enterprises. By integrating multiple cloud services users certain enterprise functions (email, calendaring,
may be able to ease the transition to public cloud services CRM, etc.).
while avoiding issues such as compliance. Another
perspective on deploying a web application in the cloud is Using cloud databases as part of an application's
using Hybrid Web Hosting, where the hosting infrastructure is processing could be extremely useful for sharing that database
a mix between clouds for the web server, and managed with partners, government agencies, etc.
dedicated server for the database server.

4.4 End User to Cloud

In this scenario, an end user is accessing data or
applications in the cloud. Common applications of this type
include email hosting and social networking sites. A user of
Gmail, Face book or LinkedIn accesses the application and
their data through any browser on any device. The user
doesn’t want to keep up with anything more than a password;
their data is stored and managed in the cloud. Most
importantly, the user has no idea about how the underlying
architecture works

Pre-requisites Fig 4: Enterprise cloud firewall

• Identity: The cloud service must authenticate the 5. CLOUD COMPUTING PROS AND CONS
end user. The benefits delivered by cloud computing
• An open client: Access to the cloud service technology include.
should not require a particular platform or
technology. • Extremely cost efficient device and location
• Security: Security (including privacy) is a independence
common requirement to all use cases, although • Scalability Unlimited storage capacity
the details of those requirements will vary • flexibility
widely from one use case to the next. A full • reduced software maintenance
discussion of security in cloud computing is
• increased data reliability
beyond the scope of this paper.
• Agility improved document format compatibility
• SLAs: Although service level agreements for end
users will usually be much simpler than those for
Some of the limitations of cloud computing are:
enterprises, cloud vendors must be clear about
what guarantees of service they provide.
• Regulatory compliance when outsourcing to a
They have been criticized on the basis that users "still provider
have to buy, build, and manage them" and as such do not • Customers are responsible for the security &
benefit from lower up-front capital costs and less hands-on integrity of their own data, even when it is held
management, essentially “lacking the economic model that by third party.
makes cloud computing such an intriguing concept".
6. PROVIDERS OF CLOUD COMPUTING
4.5 Enterprise to Cloud Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud ‘Amazon EC2’ web
In this scenario, an enterprise is using the cloud to service interface provides resizable computing capacity in a
deliver data and services to the end user. When the end user cloud designed to make web-scale computing easier for
interacts with the enterprise, the enterprise accesses the cloud developers. It reduces the time required to obtain and boot
to retrieve data and/or manipulate it, sending the results to the new server space from weeks to minutes and allows
end user. The end user can be someone within the enterprise developers to pay only for capacity that they actually use.
or an external customer.
‘Google 101’ network is made up of millions of
This use case involves an enterprise using cloud cheap servers, stores staggering amounts of data, including
services for its internal processes. This might be the most numerous copies of the World Wide Web. It performs faster
common use case in the early stages of cloud computing searching, answers billions of queries in a fraction of a second.
because it gives the enterprise at-most control. In this Google invests more than $2 billion a year in data centers for
scenario, the enterprise uses cloud services to supplement the cloud computing.
resources it needs.

1355
 VOL. 3, NO.10 Oct, 2012 ISSN 2079-8407
Journal of Emerging Trends in Computing and Information Sciences
©2009-2012 CIS Journal. All rights reserved.

http://www.cisjournal.org
7. FUTURE OF THE CLOUD COMPUTING [3] R. Buyya, D. Abramson, and S. Venugopal. The Grid
Agility improves with users' ability to rapidly and Economy. Proceedings of the IEEE, 93(3): 698-714,
inexpensively re-provision the technological infrastructure IEEE Press, USA, March 2005.
resources. Cost is claimed to be greatly reduced and capital
expenditure is converted to operational expenditure. This [4] "Cloud Computing: Clash of the clouds". The
ostensibly lowers barriers to entry, as infrastructure is Economist.2009-10-15. http://www.economist. Com
typically provided by a third-party and does not need to be /display story. Cfm? Story _id=14637206. Retrieved
purchased for one-time or infrequent intensive computing 2009-11-03.
tasks. Pricing on a utility computing basis is fine-grained with
usage-based options and fewer IT skills are required for [5] IBM Global Technology Services January 2007.
implementation. Security could improve due to centralization
of data, increased security-focused resources, etc., but [6] Online guidelines regulated by the members of
concerns can persist about loss of control over certain Schneider Electric. (132 Fairgrounds Road, West
sensitive data, and the lack of security for stored kernels. Kingston, RI 02892 USA).

Security is often as good as or better than under [7] Twenty Experts Define Cloud Computing,
traditional systems, in part because providers are able to com/read/612375_p.html [18 July 2008].
devote resources to solving security issues that many
customers cannot afford. Providers typically log accesses, but [8] Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2):
accessing the audit logs themselves can be difficult or http://www.amazon.com/gp/browse.html? Node =
impossible. Furthermore, the complexity of security is greatly 201590011, accessed Dec2008.
increased when data is distributed over a wider area and / or
number of devices. Cloud computing applications are easier to [9] R.L.DENNIS, D.W.BYUN, J.H.NOVAK, J.ALLUPPI,
maintain, since they don't have to be installed on each user's C.C.COATS, M.A.VOUK, “The Next Generation of
computer. They are easier to support and to improve since the Integrated Air Quality Modeling: EPA’sModels-3”,
changes reach the clients instantly. Atmospheric Environment, Vol. 30(12), pp.1925–1938,
1996.
8. CONCLUSION
Cloud computing is an emerging computing [10] GLOBUS:http://www.globus.org/, accessed May 2008.
paradigm. Leaders in the industry, such as Microsoft, Google,
and IBM, have provided their initiatives in promoting cloud [11] HADOOP:http://hadoop.apache.org/core accessed
computing. However, the public literature that discusses the May 2008.
research issues in cloud computing are still inadequate. In a
study of the research literature surrounding cloud computing, [12] J.REIMER, “Dreaming in the “Cloud” with the XIOS
it has been found that there is a distinct focus on the needs of web operating system”, April, 8, 2007, http://
the scientific computing community. Big IT companies are arstechnica.com / news.ars / post / 20070408 -
also building their own version of cloud. But still there are dreaming-in-the-cloud-with-the-xios-web-operating-
many questions left over without an answer and indeed the system.html.
most important one is security. One of the other aspects of the
cloud to be focused is the social aspect of it. What happens if [13] http://ecomcanada.wordpress.com/2011/ 06 / 29 /
smaller IT companies start to offer their services on the cloud Multi-tenancy in-cloud computing.
and no one uses them? It is believed that everything eventually
can move to the Cloud. The question is if users are ready for [14] www.sun.com/featured-articles/ Cloud Computing.
that and if it’s the right move and this need must be addressed.
AUTHOR PROFILE
REFERENCES
Mr.Balu Srinivasulu is working as a
[1] A. Weiss. Computing in the Clouds. Net Worker, Lecturer in the Department of Computer
11(4):16-25, Dec. 2007. Science, EIT, Asmara, and State of Eritrea,
affiliated to the Ministry of Education. He
[2] Buyya, Rajkumar; Chee Shin Yeo, Srikumar has blended his wide experience of teaching
Venugopal (PDF). Market-Oriented Cloud Computing: and research field of Computer Science. He
Vision, Hype, and Reality for Delivering IT Services as has published a number of international
Computing Utilities. Department of Computer Science journal papers related to the Computer Science. His areas of
and Software Engineering, The University of research are Wireless Network, Communication Networks and
Melbourne, Australia. pp. 9. Hardware.

Mr.Kaliyaperumal Karthikeyan is working

as a Lecturer in the Department of Computer
Science, EIT, Asmara, and State of Eritrea,
affiliated to the Ministry of Education. He has

1356
 VOL. 3, NO.10 Oct, 2012 ISSN 2079-8407
Journal of Emerging Trends in Computing and Information Sciences
©2009-2012 CIS Journal. All rights reserved.

http://www.cisjournal.org
blended his wide experience of 15 years in teaching and Computer Science and Information Technology. Her areas of
research in the field of CS and Electronics. He has published research interest include Distributed Databases, Software
a number of international journal papers & books related to Engineering and Software Testing Methodologies. She is a
the Computer Science. His areas of research are Hardware, member of IAENG, CSI, IETE, ISTE and many journal
Software Simulation and Automata Methodologies. He is a membership bodies.
member of IAENG, CSI and many journal membership
bodies. Mr. Merugu Chandramouli is working as a Lecturer in the
Dept. of Computer Engineering, EIT, Asmara,
Mrs. Mungamuru Nirmala received her and State of Eritrea, affiliated to the Ministry of
M.Tech- Information Technology in 2004. Education. He has blended his wide experience
Currently she is working as a Lecturer, of teaching and research in the field of
Department of Computer Science, Eritrea Computer Engineering. His areas of research
Institute of Technology, Asmara, Eritrea, and are Database Management System and System
North East Africa. She has blended her wide Software.
experience of 13 years in teaching and research in the field of

1357