What benefits do users of cloud services receive? Cloud technologies

Let's consider the main advantages and advantages of cloud computing technologies:

Availability and Resiliency– to all users, from anywhere where there is Internet, from any computer with a browser.

Client computers. Users do not need to buy expensive computers with large amounts of memory and disk space to use programs through a web interface. Also no need for CD and DVD drives, since all information and programs remain in the cloud. Users can switch from regular computers and laptops to more compact and convenient netbooks.

Access to documents. If documents are stored in the cloud, they can be accessed by users anytime and anywhere. There is no such thing as forgotten files anymore: if you have the Internet, they are always nearby.

Resistant to data loss or hardware theft. If data is stored in the cloud, its copies are automatically distributed across several servers, possibly located on different continents. If personal computers are stolen or broken, the user does not lose valuable information, which he can also obtain from any other computer.

Reliability. Data centers are managed by professional specialists who provide 24/7 support functioning virtual machines. And even if the physical machine crashes, thanks to the distribution of the application over many copies, it will still continue to work. This creates a certain high level of reliability and fault tolerance of the system.

Cost-effective and efficient- pay as much as you use, afford expensive, powerful computers and programs. "Cloud" allows you to account for and pay only for actually consumed resources, strictly based on their use;

Rental of resources. Regular servers of an average company are loaded at 10-15%. At some times there is a need for additional computing resources, at others these expensive resources are idle. By using the required amount of computing resources in the cloud at any given time, companies reduce the cost of equipment and its maintenance. This allows the customer to abandon the purchase of expensive IT assets in favor of not even renting them, but operational consumption as needed, while reducing the cost of maintaining their systems and receiving service level guarantees from the supplier.

Software rental. Instead of purchasing software packages for each local user, companies are buying necessary programs in the "cloud". These programs will be used only by those users who need these programs in their work. Moreover, the cost of programs aimed at access via the Internet is significantly lower than their counterparts for personal computers. If the programs are not used often, then they can simply be rented at an hourly rate. The costs of updating programs and keeping them in working order at all workstations are completely reduced to zero.

For an IT service provider, the business case of the cloud is economies of scale(it is cheaper to maintain a large homogeneous processing center than many small heterogeneous ones) and load smoothing (when there are many consumers, it is unlikely that all of them will need peak power at the same time).

Software developers also benefit from moving to the cloud: it is now easier, faster and cheaper for them to develop, load test and offer their solutions to customers - all this can be done directly in the cloud at minimal cost. In addition, Cloud Computing is an effective tool for increasing profits and expanding sales channels for independent software manufacturers in the form of SaaS. This approach allows for dynamic service delivery, where users can pay as they go and adjust their resources based on actual needs without long-term commitments.

Simplicity- no need to purchase and configure programs and equipment, or update them.

Service. Because physical servers with the introduction of Cloud Computing, they become smaller, easier and faster to maintain. As for the software, the latter is installed, configured and updated in the cloud. Any time the user launches remote program, he can be sure that this program has the latest version - without having to reinstall anything or pay for updates.

Collaboration. When working with documents in the cloud, there is no need to send versions of them to each other or edit them sequentially. Now users can be sure that in front of them latest version document and any change made by one user is instantly reflected by another.

Open Interfaces. The "cloud" usually has standard open APIs (interfaces application programming) to communicate with existing applications and develop new ones - specifically for cloud architecture.

Flexibility and scalability- unlimited computing resources (memory, processor, disks). The "cloud" is scalable and elastic - resources are allocated and released as needed;

Performance Computing. Compared to a personal computer, the computing power accessible to the user"cloud" computers is practically limited only by the size of the "cloud", that is, the total number of remote servers. Users can run more complex tasks with more memory and storage space available when needed. In other words, users can easily and cheaply work with a supercomputer if they wish, without any actual purchase. Ability to run multiple copies of the application on many virtual machines represents the benefits of scalability: the number of application instances can almost instantly increase on demand, depending on the load.

Data storage. Compared to the available storage space on personal computers, the storage capacity in the cloud can be flexibly and automatically adjusted to the user's needs. When storing information in the cloud, users can forget about the limitations imposed by conventional disks - cloud sizes amount to billions of gigabytes of available space.

Tool for startups. In the eyes of cloud computing service consumers such as companies starting their own business, the main advantage of this technology is the absence of the need to purchase all the relevant equipment and software and then maintain their operation.

Disadvantages and problems of cloud computing

Are there any disadvantages to cloud computing? Why are cloud technologies only gaining momentum in Russia, while directors of some large companies are in no hurry to transfer the IT infrastructure of their enterprises to the cloud? So, let’s note the main disadvantages and difficulties of using cloud computing:

Permanent connection to the network. Cloud Computing almost always requires a network (Internet) connection. If there is no access to the network, there is no work, programs, documents. Many cloud programs require a good Internet connection with high bandwidth. Accordingly, programs may run slower than local computer. According to leading Russian IT companies, the main obstacle to the widespread development of clouds is the lack of broadband Internet access (BBA) - primarily in the regions.

Safety.

Data security could theoretically be at risk. Not all data can be entrusted to a third-party provider on the Internet, especially not only for storage, but also for processing. It all depends on who provides the cloud services. If this someone reliably encrypts your data, constantly makes backup copies of it, has been working in the market for similar services for several years and has a good reputation, then a threat to data security may never happen. The user of cloud-based business applications may also have legal problems, for example related to compliance with personal data protection requirements.

The state in whose territory the data center is located can gain access to any information stored in it. For example, according to US laws, where is the most large number data centers, in this case the provider company does not even have the right to disclose the fact of transfer of confidential information to anyone other than its lawyers.

This problem is probably one of the most significant in the issue of transferring confidential information to the cloud. There may be several ways to solve it. First, you can encrypt all information placed on the cloud. Secondly, you can simply not put it there. However, at least for companies using cloud computing, this should be a definite item on their checklist. information security. In addition, the providers themselves must improve their technology by providing some encryption services.

Cloud application functionality. Not all programs or their features are accessible remotely. If we compare programs for local use and their “cloud” analogues, the latter are still inferior in functionality. For example, Google Docs tables or Office applications web applications have much fewer functions and capabilities than Microsoft Excel.

Dependence on the cloud provider.

There is always a risk that the online service provider will one day fail to backup copy data - just before the server crashed. This risk, however, hardly exceeds the risk that the user himself will lose his data - by losing or breaking a mobile phone or laptop without creating a backup copy on his home PC. In addition, by becoming attached to a particular service, we, to some extent, also limit our freedom - the freedom to switch to old version software, choice of information processing methods, and so on.

Some experts, such as Hugh Macleod in the article "The Cloud's Best Kept Secret", argue that cloud computing is creating a huge monopoly like never before. Is this possible? Of course, in the cloud computing market, to place any information in the cloud for which there are information security rules, companies will be more likely to use vendors whose name is well-known and whom they trust. Thus, there is a certain danger that all calculations and data will be aggregated in the hands of one super-monopoly. However, on at the moment There are already several companies on the market with approximately the same high level of customer trust (Microsoft, Google, Amazon), and there are no facts that would indicate the possibility of one company dominating all the others. Therefore, in the near future, the emergence of a global supercompany that will coordinate and control all the world's computing is very unlikely, although the mere possibility of such an event deters some customers.

Obstacles to the development of cloud technologies in Russia.

Lack of trust among cloud consumers. Businesses are often somewhat wary of cloud services. “There may be several reasons for the distrustful attitude of small and medium-sized businesses towards cloud data centers. Most likely, this is the fear of losing control over IT resources, concerns about guaranteeing the safety and protection of transferred information, and the idea of ​​a data center only as a site for placing equipment.” (Dmitry Petrov “Counter Plan”).

Communication channels in most regions of the country, there is a lack of quality of service (QoS) SLAs, which especially applies to the last miles. What's the point of having your main traffic go over a backbone with guaranteed QoS (with its own limitations) if end devices connected to it via local operator, who had never even heard of such a problem. At the same time, the cost of communication for large organizations can be up to 50% of the IT budget. Accordingly, the transition to a cloud model significantly affects the network topology of your data flows and, most likely, the QoS will be worse than on the internal network. Or, in order to get quality of service at an acceptable level, you will have to pay so much money that all the savings from centralizing the infrastructure or applications will be wiped out by the increase in communication costs.

Safety. The security issue is a serious deterrent. Security Services often create a fairly high barrier to the idea of ​​moving any data beyond the perimeter of their network. Often without any sane reasoning.

Lack of reliable data centers. Regarding data processing centers (DPCs), it is enough to remember that in the country, it seems, there is not yet a single Tier III DPC according to the Uptime Institute classification. It is absolutely clear that their appearance is a matter of time. Due to the crisis, most construction projects were frozen or postponed. However, there is simply not enough infrastructure in the country yet.

Distributed computing (grid computing)

In conclusion, let us note one more technology, which, on the one hand, also influenced the emergence of the concept of cloud computing, and on the other hand, has a number of significant differences. We are talking about collective, or distributed computing (grid computing) – when a large resource-intensive computing task is distributed for execution among many computers connected into a powerful computing cluster by a network in general case or the Internet in particular.

Establishment common protocol the Internet has directly led to the rapid growth of online users. This has led to the need to make more changes to current protocols and to the creation of new ones. Currently, the IPv4 protocol (the fourth version of the IP protocol) is widely used, but the limitation of the address space specified by ipv4 will inevitably lead to the use of the ipv6 protocol. Over time, hardware and software have been improved, resulting in a common interface to the Internet. The use of web browsers has led to the use of the "Cloud" model, replacing the traditional data center model.

In the early 1990s, Ian Foster and Carl Kesselman introduced their concept Grid calculations. They used the analogy of an electrical grid where users could connect and use a service. Grid The calculations rely heavily on techniques used in cluster computing models, where multiple independent groups act as a network simply because they are not all located within the same area.

In particular, the development of Grid technologies made it possible to create so-called GRID networks, in which a group of participants could jointly solve complex problems. Thus, IBM employees created an international grid computing team, which made significant progress in the fight against the immune deficiency virus. Entire teams from different countries contributed their computing power and helped to “calculate” and model the most promising forms for creating a cure for AIDS..."

In practice, the boundaries between these (grid and cloud) types of computing are quite blurred. Today you can successfully find “cloud” systems based on the distributed computing model, and vice versa. However, the future of cloud computing is still much larger than distributed systems, and not every “cloud service” requires large computing power with a single management infrastructure or a centralized payment processing point.

Brief summary:

We reviewed the basic concepts of cloud computing, examples, features, main types of cloud technologies, their advantages and disadvantages.

Key terms:

Cloud Computing– a data processing technology in which computer resources and power are provided to the user as an Internet service.

Infrastructure as a service is the provision of computer infrastructure as a service based on the concept of cloud computing.

Platform as a service is the provision of an integrated platform for developing, testing, deploying and supporting web applications as a service.

Software as a service- an application deployment model that involves providing the application to the end user as an on-demand service. Such an application is accessed via the network, and most often via an Internet browser.

Private Cloud- this is a variant of the local implementation of the “cloud concept”, when a company creates it for itself, within one organization.

Public cloud– used by cloud providers to provide services to external customers.

Distributed Computing– A technology when a large resource-intensive computing task is distributed for execution among many computers connected into a powerful computing cluster via a network or the Internet.

The cloud technology market is growing steadily and gaining new users every day. Leading business structures and government services are increasingly coming to understand the convenience of using cloud computing, and by the end of 2014, Russian business took 34th place in the world in the introduction and use of cloud computing, an indicator that increased by 35% compared to the previous year. The bulk of consumers come from fast-growing small and medium business

Is everything so cloudy?

Like any other technology, this one has its pros and cons.

Padvantages of cloud technologies:

All information is available from any device, be it a PC, tablet, smartphone, etc. – connected to the Internet. The advantage here is that the user is not tied to a specific workplace.

Reducing the cost of purchasing expensive powerful computers, servers, there is no need to pay for the work of an IT specialist to maintain a local data center.

The necessary tools for work are provided automatically by the web service.

The high level of technologically advanced computing power provided to the user makes it possible to store, analyze and process data.

Services are paid only as needed for their use, and payment is made only for the required package of services.

Modern cloud computing can provide the highest reliability; moreover, only a small number of organizations can afford to maintain a full-fledged data center.

Disadvantages of cloud technologies:

To work with the cloud, a constant Internet connection is required.

The user cannot always customize the software used to suit his personal needs.

Creating your own “cloud” will require very large costs, which is not practical for new businesses.

The “cloud” is a data repository that can be accessed by attackers using system vulnerabilities.

Leading IT companies and engineers have been arguing for a long time about the pros and cons use cloud technologies. There have also been cases of predicting problems and losses of confidential data in the clouds due to widespread demand and influx of users. But still, experts note that the benefits and ease of use of cloud computing outweigh the possible risks.

"Cloud" prospects

The problems with the development of cloud technologies in Russia are quite simple. First of all, this is the imperfection of the legal field. The second reason is the insufficient distribution of broadband Internet access, both in the regions and in the central part.

IDC, Russia Vertical Markets 2013-2018 IT Spending Forecast, 2014

The disadvantages of cloud technologies include and some subjective reasons why a large number of enterprises are not ready to use cloud services. There is a lack of trust in service providers, a fear of using several services at once, and a lack of standards that regulate this area.

Despite cons of cloud technologies and existing problems, they are already being used in Russia, and the prospects for their successful development are favorable.

Sky-high results

Advanced information Technology today they often play a major role in the success of an enterprise - the speed with which a business reacts to changes in the market must be the highest and surpass its competitors. Its profitability and success directly depend on this. That's why cloud technology problems are widely discussed and decided today. Experts say that there are a number of tools and capabilities that will allow you to use cloud technologies to their full potential, despite their shortcomings. This is a lot of work, and it doesn't only concern developers. The concept of cloud technology is really important, as it can become a turning point in running a business and take it to the next level. new level, which means generating income not only for management, but also for the state.

Taking into account the specifics of the implementation of the scientific and educational process using distance educational technologies, we can highlightthe following advantages of cloud services:

Disadvantagescloud servers are:

The concept of a cloud computing model is often viewed in two ways; some see it as security risks and new “threat vectors,” but at the same time this system has new features to improve safety. Improved infrastructure visibility, automation, and standardization all enhance information security. For example, if we use a predefined set of Cloud interfaces in parallel with centralized identity management, along with access control policies, then we reduce the risk of clients accessing unwanted resources by an order of magnitude. Security measures such as the execution of computing services in isolated domains and the use of data encryption significantly increase the security of information, reducing its losses. It is worth adding that the use of automatic initialization and recovery of executable images will reduce the attack surface, allowing you to solve a number of legal aspects.

How to “increase the number of advantages”?

Ensuring security in a Cloud environment is a rather difficult task, the reason for this is the additional risk that arises due to the fact that important services are often provided by third-party organizations on an outsourcing basis. This significantly complicates such aspects as data availability and confidentiality, maintaining integrity, and service availability.
The Cloud Computing concept involves transferring control over operations and data to the Cloud service provider from the client organization. Including the tasks of installing update packages and configuring firewalls can be transferred to the Cloud service provider from the end user.
The consequence of this is the need for clients to establish trusting relationships with suppliers, while assessing the risks and how competently the configuration and management of security tools will be carried out on their behalf. Relationships built this way are important because customers, even though the workload resides in the Cloud, are responsible for the protection and compliance of their critical data.
It is precisely because of the risks associated with outsourcing services that some organizations prefer hybrid or private models over Cloud environments.
Other aspects of Cloud Computing also require a review of risk and security. The reason for this is the difficulty of establishing the location of physical storage of data. Previously visible security processes in such a system are hidden by layers of abstraction, which in turn creates compliance and security challenges.

Serious differences in terms of security in traditional IT environments and Cloud environments are also due to the large-scale collective use of Cloud infrastructure. Very often, users who represent completely different organizations and at the same time have different levels trust, have the same set of system resources.

At the same time, such aspects of today's dynamic IT environments as workload balancing and SLA , involve a large number of possibilities for data corruption and misconfiguration.

Of course, a shared infrastructure requires a high level of automation and standardization of processes, which will contribute to a higher degree of security due to the elimination of opportunities for operator error.

However, the risks inherent in large-scale infrastructure sharing mean that issues such as isolation, compliance, and identity must be given great importance in cloud computing models.

And yet, what is the main advantage of “clouds”?

One of the main benefits of the cloud is cost reduction. However, some analysts provide examples in which the total total costs of owning a cloud solution may be higher than with the classical scheme, and therefore it is necessary to evaluate the cost-effectiveness. Initial costs required for cloud deployment information system, lower than with the classical approach, but their significant growth is possible in the future. For example, Richard Jimarck (Hyperformix), Amy Spellmann (Optimal Innovations) and Mark Preston (RS Performance) conducted a detailed analysis of the prospects for an online store whose management has to make a choice: to contain own server or use Amazon's cloud computing service. For both options, costs and energy consumption were calculated for two years in advance. These calculations showed that the cost of a website built using Amazon would initially be lower than the cost of an internal server. However, over time they will begin to exceed them, even taking into account the saved energy. This is explained by the fact that the customer needs the solution not from time to time, but constantly, and ever-increasing cloud computing will require more and more computing power, which increases the payment for the “cloud”. In addition, the rental price includes costs such as software development, maintenance, hardware maintenance, and the customer pays for the services directly from the supplier. As a consequence of this, and also taking into account the risk assessments described above, it is recommended to work out “cloud” projects so that the solution provider creates the entire infrastructure to order, according to the “private cloud” principle, and there is no rental fee for the use of this resource. Naturally, it will not be possible to completely refuse the services of the supplier, because it is also necessary technical support, and project improvements, and support. However, their cost and the contractor’s labor costs will be similar to the classical scheme, which will not affect the final cost of the project for the customer and, accordingly, the economic efficiency of the “cloud” in comparison with the usual classical model.

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As Internet connection speeds increase, services that provide ubiquitous and convenient network access to various computing resources and data storage devices are becoming increasingly popular. In this material you will learn what cloud computing is and what opportunities it provides to users.

Introduction

Initially, computer systems received the name “cloud” because of a completely innocent simplification invented by mathematician programmers. They proposed that all computers located on the same network be designated as a cloud with data depicted inside it. In this case, each computer is not considered as an independent unit, but is part of the whole. By whole we mean that area of ​​the system that is directly involved when working with the user. Thus, all network resources available to us through servers can, in fact, be called a “cloud”.

Cloud services for storing files

“Cloud” systems have gained the greatest popularity due to the development of services that allow files to be stored not in computer memory, but in a specially created Internet storage. Similar functionality provided users with unprecedented freedom of choice, because all files stored in the cloud are available to the owner at any time and from any device connected to the Internet. Among other things, in this case there is no need to store data on local drives, which can save time (for downloading information, etc.) and money for the user.

Cloud services can also be used as backup storage for personal data. In case of failure hard drive your computer, you can always return all the necessary information previously saved in the clouds.

Cloud storage can be used just as effectively to synchronize data between different computer devices. For example, you can make changes to a file on your work computer and be sure that all changes made will be made to all copies of it stored on other devices that are synchronized with the cloud service.

The most popular cloud file storage services include: Google Drive, Yandex.Disk, Microsoft SkyDrive, Dropbox, iCloud and others. Almost all of them, after registration, provide users with a certain amount free space for storing files (usually from 5 GB to 10 GB). If this does not seem enough, then for an additional fee you can organize storage with a capacity of 20 GB to several tens of terabytes.

Cloud software services

However, the importance of cloud computing and its capabilities is difficult to assess only as a universal file storage, because the scope of its application is much wider. For example, some cloud services, such as Zoho Docs or Google Docs, already provide the ability to store not only files, but also a wide variety of applications.

The benefits for the creators of such services are very obvious. The development company receives unlimited opportunities to implement its own software products, and there is no need to even actually transfer the program itself to the user; it is stored and hosted within the cloud. That is why the risk of hacker attacks is minimized, and the program’s technical support service is able to continuously monitor its operation, ensuring stability and ease of use.

Cloud hosting allows developers to control the legality of data entering the server, therefore the risk of distribution and use of illegally produced or simply counterfeit software is sharply reduced. We think there is no need to remind you about the dangers lurking in such “profitable for downloading” files. With them in the kit you can get anything you want: from a fresh Trojan to something worse. This is why it is so important to control the origin of files entering cloud storage.

One of the brightest representatives of cloud programs is office Microsoft package Office 365. Including all the most popular office applications such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint and so on, it provides access to your documents from anywhere there is access to the Internet and allows you to work on them from the most different devices, even on which it is not installed Office package. In addition, users get the opportunity to collaborate on documents, exchange instant messages and not worry about the security of their own data.

Cloud Computing Service Models

In fact, all cloud systems available to the modern user can be divided into four categories. The first includes offering our own software developments to all interested users. At the same time, the programs themselves are permanently posted on the developers’ websites and are accessible only through network connection. This category of systems is designated by the abbreviation SaaS(software as a service) and is presented in the form of Adobe online services, Google Docs, Microsoft Office Live Workspace and some others. This way, you don’t have to buy expensive software, but use it on a rental basis for the required time.

The second service model is called PaaS(platform as a service) and provides users with access in the cloud to use various information platforms: operating systems, development and testing tools, database management systems and others. At the same time, consumers can not only operate selected platforms, but also install their own software on them for operation. For example, this way you can try out any new software environment without installing it on your own PC.

The third category of services proposes to move all the tools necessary for work, including the desktop itself, inside the “cloud,” thus providing users with ready-made workstations that can be accessed from anywhere there is an Internet connection. Such systems are united by the name DaaS(desktop as a service). There can be two options for hosting and displaying such a service: either direct access to all used applications, or access to links to them. In any case, all work is carried out only through the browser, and it is impossible to use applications outside of it.

Today, DaaS technology is considered a promising cloud direction and allows you to deploy a full-fledged workplace, ready to work around the clock with all the necessary software. Moreover, all applications are stored in a special data center, which allows you to effectively use this tool even on low-power computers, laptops, tablets and even smartphones.

Latest service model IaaS(infrastructure as a service) allows users to independently manage cloud resources by renting both hardware (servers, client systems, network equipment, etc.) operating systems and necessary application software. Mostly this technology is used corporate clients to create your own cloud computing service.

Disadvantages and advantages of cloud services

Despite quite a few positive aspects in using cloud services, it is worth noting certain disadvantages when working with them. Not the most pleasant fact for the user is the news that all of his data located in one or another “cloud” is practically freely available to law enforcement agencies at various levels (upon request, although no one is obliged to notify you about the request for data), as well as software developers of the service. That is, if you want to find out as much information about you as possible, including from personal correspondence or photo/video files stored in the cloud, anyone who has shown an interest in this and has certain powers will be able to find out. There is only one way to avoid such unwanted intrusion - to abandon the “cloud” in favor of a local connection through the software available on the computer itself.

An even greater danger lies in a “cloud” service that does not have enough reliable protection from burglary. In this case, after completing hacker attack Not only can your data fall into the wrong hands, but it can also be completely destroyed.

For dessert, we’ll add that in addition to access to your information stored in the “cloud,” a particularly successful hacker will be able to receive as a bonus the opportunity to control the operation of your computer or computers (if there are several of them), and this can lead to much more serious consequences.

So, let's summarize. Advantages of using cloud services:

• Use of software of legal origin;
• The ability to log in and access personal data from any device connected to the Internet;
• Possibility of organizing backup data storage;
• Sync data across all your devices;
• Small requirements for the initial software and hardware of devices for working in cloud services;
• Possibility of using complex software systems on low-power equipment.

• Inability to control access to stored data of third parties;
• The need to establish an Internet connection with the service every time you need to gain access to files or applications;
• The need to use the services and offers of a specific developer who owns the service;
• The need to regularly pay for some cloud services and services.

Conclusion

Whether to use cloud services or leave the option of working using a regular desktop and computer file storage system is up to everyone to decide for themselves. However, in our age, when only a very naive person relies on the security of an Internet connection, the risks of using such innovative developments sometimes outweigh the benefits. It’s worth considering which of the following is more important to you: freedom of access to files, the ability to remotely store applications and tools used in your work, or the security of data, which can sometimes be very personal. And only if the benefits outweigh the risks, should you choose the “cloud” as an alternative solution to the problem of storing information.