Cloud Computing Frameworks: A Comprehensive Report for Dotcom

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CLOUD COMPUTING
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Table of Contents
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................3
LO1.............................................................................................................................................................4
P1. Analyse the evolution and fundamental concepts of Cloud Computing............................................4
P2. Design an appropriate architectural Cloud Computing framework for a given scenario....................6
M1. Discuss why an organisation should migrate to a Cloud Computing solution..................................7
LO2.............................................................................................................................................................9
P3. Define an appropriate deployment model for a given scenario..........................................................9
P4. Compare the service models for choosing an adequate model for a given scenario.........................12
M2. Demonstrate these deployment models with real world examples.................................................14
LO3...........................................................................................................................................................15
P5. Configure a Cloud Computing platform with a cloud service provider’s framework......................15
P6. Implement a cloud platform using open source tools.......................................................................21
M3. Discuss the issues and constraints one can face during the development process..........................22
LO4...........................................................................................................................................................23
P7. Analyse the most common problems which arise in a Cloud Computing platform and discuss
appropriate solutions to these problems.................................................................................................23
P8. Assess the most common security issues in cloud environments.....................................................24
M4. Discuss how to overcome these security issues when building a secure cloud platform................25
Conclusion.................................................................................................................................................26
References.................................................................................................................................................27
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Introduction
Cloud computing is the availability of resources of the computer's system whenever demanded.
In simple words, it can be said that the cloud is used to store the data and the information stored
can be accessed through a service called internet. It can be used either by the organization or by
an individual. Cloud computing includes various deployment and service models. The use of
cloud computing can reduce the overall cost of the development process. The organization
selected for the project is dotcom which is a multinational company with employee size around
300, headquartered in London, United Kingdom with branches at different locations. The goal of
the project is to implement a solution to cloud computing using the framework of service
provider. For developing such a cloud open source tools are used. Also one can analyze the
challenges and risks that come in the way of development.
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LO1
P1. Analyse the evolution and fundamental concepts of Cloud Computing.
Cloud computing technology first came up in late 1960 when computers (mainframe) came into
existence. But this technology became popular in the 21st century only with the introduction of
various cloud services like Microsoft Azure in 2010, Amazon web services in 2006, IBM smart
cloud in 2011, Google computer engine in 2012, and many more. And nowadays the use of it is
exponentially increasing (Ali, et. al., 2015). The more about the evolution could be understood
by the image shown below.
Figure 1: Evolution of cloud computing technology
(Source: researchgate.net)
Features of cloud computing are:
 Resource pooling:
Resources of the computer can be used on the sharing basis among the organizations. This
feature helps in reducing the cost of an organization. The resources are assigned to the
organization who demands first (Agrawal, 2019).
 Easy maintenance:
Due to less or no downtime, maintenance of the cloud is very easy. It automatically comes
with an update with less or no bugs in order to have good performance (Puthal, et. al., 2015).
 Availability:
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The resources are available at any time and the user can store the data from anywhere and at
any time and if there is a need of an extra space, the cloud provides it immediately with
minimum cost (Chang and Pathak, 2017).
 Security:
Cloud assures a high security as it only allows authorized clients to access the data.
Sometimes, because of the involvement of third-party vendors security parameter becomes
less but then also it ensures the data security (Rouse, 2019).
 Economical:
It is highly economical as the company has to make only the one-time investment to buy the
cloud; else the maintenance and others have a very little cost.
 Large network access:
Cloud has large network access by which the client is able to access or update the data from
anywhere and at any time with the help of the device and an internet connection (Jhaveri,
2017).
 Service on demand:
The services provided by the cloud are the self-service and is available whenever demanded.
With this feature computing capabilities can be monitor by the user.
 Automatic system:
It is capable of analyzing the data needed automatically as well as it provides transparency
between the clients and hosts (Harvey, 2018).
 Pay as you go:
In this technology, payment has to be made for only the service and storage utilization. There
is no charge for extra services.
Figure 2: Features of cloud computing
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(Source: data-flair.training)
P2. Design an appropriate architectural Cloud Computing framework for a given
scenario.
Cloud computing architecture consists of many loosely coupled elements that mainly include
front-end and back-end along with cloud-based delivery and network (Dhillon, 2015).
Figure 3: Cloud architecture
(Source: w3schools.in)
 Front-end:
Front-end deals with the client side infrastructure comprising of the application and the
interfaces that are needed by the clients to access the platform of cloud computing. It
includes servers, tablets, clients that are thin and fat, and mobile devices (kushida, et. al.,
2015).
 Back-end:
It is the section of the cloud itself. It involves services, cloud runtime, infrastructure, and
storage. It is responsible for providing the mechanisms of traffic control, security, and
protocols (middleware helping in communication with other devices).
 Network:
Network is the internet connection by which the server and the clients are able to
communicate with each other when needed (Singh and Chana, 2016).
 Cloud-based delivery:
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It includes services like SAAS (software as a service), PAAS (platform as a service), and
IAAS (infrastructure as a service).
M1. Discuss why an organisation should migrate to a Cloud Computing solution
Storing the data of the company that might be confidential as well as important is very crucial
and the loss of the information is not affordable in any case. Therefore, company must migrate
onto the cloud to have the guaranteed security of the data as the cloud services only allow the
authorized clients to seek in the data (Harvey, 2018). This can be done by using the ID and
password allotted to the personnel. This data can be accessed by any corner of the world in
minutes. Hence, there is no need for the employees to carry the data along them when moving
around the world for business meetings and conferences. It makes easy for the people of an
organization. As it is seen that there are many advantages of migrating business onto the cloud,
one must migrate (Agrawal, 2019). There are several reasons that are justifying that the business
should migrate on the cloud. Some of these reasons are mentioned below:
 Data protection
 Scalable
 Flexible
 Increased collaboration
 Work from anywhere
 Reduced cost
 No backup plans required
 Accessible from anywhere
 Maintains integrity
 User-friendly
 Highly available
 Reliable
 Reduces overhead infrastructure
 Storage is easier
Things or technologies which contain so many advantages also consist of some disadvantages
too (Wang, et. al., 2015). Thus, some of the biggest advantages of cloud computing are:
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 Highly dependent on network connection
 Limited features
 Security due to the involvement of third party
 Loss of control
 Technical issues
 Downtime
 Vendor lock-in
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LO2
P3. Define an appropriate deployment model for a given scenario
The models that are used at the time of deployment of cloud services are:
 Public cloud:
It is the cloud that can be accessed by any user. Therefore the accessibility and services are
easily provided to the users. Companies that offer services of public cloud are IBM with IBM
smart cloud, Amazon with Amazon web services, Google with Google computer engine,
Microsoft with Microsoft Azure, etc. (Brand, 2017). This type of cloud helps the organization
to reduce its overall cost. It is based on the policy of licensing (pay per user) but offers less
security due to open infrastructure and accessible by any user. It is efficient for the use of
business purposes as it offers high-cost reduction (Dhillon, 2015).
Advantages:
 Flexible
 Reliable and scalable
 Independent of place
 Offers low cost
Disadvantages:
 Poor customizable
 Less secure
 Private cloud:
It is a cloud infrastructure structure, mainly used by a single organization. It offers high
security as data is secured by the use of firewalls and is highly preferable to those
organizations whose requirements are high security, management, and availability (Hale and
Egerstedty, 2015). It allows only the authorized user (having proper ID and password) to
access the data stored in the cloud.
Advantages:
 Highly secured
 Private
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 Control-oriented
Disadvantages:
 Costly
 Poor scalability
 Restriction
 Pricing
 Hybrid cloud:
This is the model that includes the best features of both private cloud and public cloud,
retaining their individual identity (Rouse, 2019). Tasks that are not much sensitive can be
done using public clouds and for the critical tasks, the private cloud must be used. This cloud
is mostly used by organizations that need to rapidly scale their infrastructure of IT (Chang and
Pathak, 2017).
Advantages:
 Cost-effective
 Flexible
 Secure
 Scalable
Disadvantages:
 Networking problems are complex
 Compliance of organization’s security
 Community cloud:
It is a cloud whose setup is shared manually between organizations belonging to the same
area. Access is restricted to community members only. This type of cloud is basically the
hybrid of the private cloud which operates and is built only for the specific users (Jhaveri,
2017).
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Figure 4: Models of cloud deployment
(Source: sites.google.com)
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P4. Compare the service models for choosing an adequate model for a given
scenario.
Service models are the cloud models that are used for providing the required service to the
customers when needed (Wang, et. al., 2015). Service models of cloud include three types of
models, namely software as a service (SAAS), Platform as a service (PAAS), and Infrastructure
as a service (IAAS).
 Software as a service (SAAS):
This model is used to provide services related to the software. The software delivered is
licensed and only fully operational software is delivered to the client. This software can be
accessed by the customers via internet connection (Brand, 2017). This model is very
economical as the client only has to pay for the software they are going to use and is offered
on the basis of subscription.
Advantages:
 Low maintenance cost
 Use of less hardware
 Easy to work with
 Low overall cost
Disadvantages:
 Difficulty in switching
 Dependent on internet connection
 Platform as a service (PAAS):
This model is used to provide the platform to the customer so that they can use it accordingly
for the programming purpose. Using this it becomes easy for the programmers to develop,
test, manage, and run the applications (de bruin and Floridi, 2017). This model includes
offerings like operating systems, tools for development, and application suite. It is also
economical due to many reasons like the customer has to just buy the platform else all the
maintenance is done by the vendors (Rouse, 2019).
Advantages:
 It is easy to develop
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