Concept of Cloud Computing
Evolution of Cloud Computing
Precursors to Cloud Computing
Cloud computing's roots can be traced back to the 1950s and the concept of time-sharing, where multiple users accessed a central computer's resources simultaneously. In the 1960s, the development of virtual machines allowed for the creation of multiple isolated environments on a single physical machine.
In the 1970s and 1980s, advancements in networking and distributed systems led to the development of grid computing, where geographically dispersed computers collaborated on a single task. These concepts laid the foundation for modern cloud computing.
Emergence of Cloud Computing
The term "cloud computing" was first coined in the early 2000s, as a metaphor for the large-scale, distributed nature of the underlying infrastructure. Major players like Amazon, Microsoft, and Google emerged as providers of cloud services, offering infrastructure as a service (IaaS), platform as a service (PaaS), and software as a service (SaaS) models.
Key Characteristics of Cloud Computing
- Resource Pooling: Cloud computing involves sharing a pool of resources, such as compute, storage, and network, among multiple users and workloads.
- On-Demand Access: Users can provision and access cloud resources on demand, without having to invest in physical infrastructure.
- Elasticity: Cloud services can scale up or down dynamically based on demand, allowing for flexible and cost-effective resource allocation.
- Broad Network Access: Cloud services are accessible from anywhere with an internet connection, supporting remote work and global collaboration.
- Pay-as-You-Go Pricing: Cloud computing follows a pay-as-you-go model, where users pay only for the resources they consume.
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