Cloud Computing

Cloud computing has changed the computer industry and the way businesses and people use hardware and software. Cloud computing uses a giant collection of computers to serve has a host to run applications. Therefore, local computers do not have to do all of the work when it comes to running applications and the network of computers that make up “the cloud” handles them instead (1). Almost everybody has had experience with cloud computing considering e-mail communication, which is cloud computing, has become a big part of peoples’ lives. Big companies that offer online e-mail include Microsoft, Google, and Yahoo. Almost everywhere you go, your e-mail can be available to you since you just have to log-on to a web e-mail account, which is possible to do on any computer (2). “The software and storage for your account does not exist on your computer – it’s on the service’s computer cloud (1). When you first log in to your user account on your chosen e-mail service provider, the system verifies your identity through a series of verification and authentication procedures (3). Once you log on, you are given different options of services and applications. After you decide what you want to do, the middleware on the main server processes your request and forwards it to another set of verification and authentication procedures (3). As soon as identity is established, the main server requests the services you wanted from a series of application servers running different application software, followed by returning it to the main server for delivery to your computer as web applications (3). Your data is saved in the cloud’s database storage system. This is how e-mail works as cloud computing, showing that cloud computing has become a useful and effective part of our lives.

(1) http://communication.howstuffworks.com/cloud-computing.htm
(2) http://www.technobuffalo.com/blog/guides/five-examples-of-cloud-computing/
(3) http://ezinearticles.com/?Cloud-Computing---How-Does-it-Work?&id=3400843