What exactly is the "cloud".

[Androcles]

I'm hearing a lot about this and that being hosted on the cloud and how it's more secure and easier to use, but what exactly is it?

I've tried to find a definitive answer and most replies are along the lines of "they are massive servers that run hundreds of virtual servers where you can store your files", ok fair enough but that sounds exactly like my shared hosting package that I have had for god knows how many years, not something new like they make it out to be!

So really what my question is, What's the difference between the "cloud" and a shared hosting package? or have they just taken old tech, given it a new name and announced it's awesome?

 

[steaky360]

As far as I know it is pretty much what you've said - its rebranded existing tech to make it more digestible for the average home users.

If they were actually servers in the clouds that would be awesome!

 

[DeadEyeDuk]

Someone definitely needs to set up some sort of flying server. Maybe not quite Avengers style flying fortress, but some sort of airship would be great!

Right, I'm off to put together some plans for it...might even rival uPoo in popularity!

 

[Androcles]

 

[grimsbymatt]

I take the Cloud to just mean via the internet. So, you're not storing stuff locally, it is sent and retrieved over the internet. It's more than about storage, there's also stuff like: SaaS (software as a service), where you don't store software locally, it's delivered via the internet on demand; what you might consider your traditional internet services (Google searching, buying stuff); and as well as all that, your internal business services might be served from the Cloud, so you don't have to have local (or even your own data centre) servers doing all the work - instead you leverage (ugh) Amazon's much more powerful computing facilities.

 

[grimsbymatt]

(PS. That's just what I think it means. I'm probably wrong.)

 

[Androcles]

I take the Cloud to just mean via the internet. So, you're not storing stuff locally, it is sent and retrieved over the internet. It's more than about storage, there's also stuff like: SaaS (software as a service), where you don't store software locally, it's delivered via the internet on demand; what you might consider your traditional internet services (Google searching, buying stuff); and as well as all that, your internal business services might be served from the Cloud, so you don't have to have local (or even your own data centre) servers doing all the work - instead you leverage (ugh) Amazon's much more powerful computing facilities.

So basically a shared hosting package with a fancy new name, you can do all that with a shared hosting package, something that has been around since almost the dawn of the internet lol

 

[grimsbymatt]

So basically a shared hosting package with a fancy new name, you can do all that with a shared hosting package, something that has been around since almost the dawn of the internet lol

It's pretty much a management buzzword, I think. I don't think it carries any further or new meaning. It just means the Internet. I think cloud computing covers what you're talking about:

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud_computing

 

[ubuysa]

I used to teach networking (including TCP/IP) and whenever you want to draw an arbitrary network you always draw a cloud. The cloud represents a interconnected network through which we can reach any connected computer.

The latest use of the term "the cloud" simply means that data that is stored "in the cloud" is located somewhere within that large interconnected network. You don't know where because you don't care where, it's just in there somewhere. What you do care about is that, wherever you data is, it's being regularly backed up and secured against unauthorised access, that's why it's important to choose your "cloud" provider wisely.

Think of the cloud like a computer; we know the details of what goes on inside them of course, but most people have no idea. All they see are the keyboard and screen and their data being stoed in there. To them a computer is a type of cloud.

Hope that helps?

 

[Din]

http://aws.amazon.com/what-is-cloud-computing/

Best way to explain it.

 

[GeorgeHillier]

So basically a shared hosting package with a fancy new name, you can do all that with a shared hosting package, something that has been around since almost the dawn of the internet lol

Yeah, just a lot more easy to access. Plus a lot of companies allow you to edit files from "the cloud", like google drive and office 365. Also, most companies now give you a small amound of storage for free, around 10-20gb usually

But it's pretty much a new buzzword they use for less experienced users, I use office 365 and google drive and they're both really good, especially google drive which is free and simple to use.

 

[Jorly]

Cloud hosting is the growing trend today and the most important things it offers are failover and full redundancy. For those online projects that need to ensure 24/7 accessiblity, it's definitely the only choice.

 

[mrducking]

"in the cloud" is the branding name of something everyone with tech nowledge knows as a server
i personally really dont like the term because it allows to a lot of misconceptions, ie
Q:where is your data stored? A:in the cloud?
Q: in the cloud where? A: you know, in the cloud
Q: yeah, yeah, where are the servers physically located? A: servers? what are you talking about? my data is in the cloud
Q: ok, to what legal system is your "cloud" geographically bound to? A: geographically? what are you talking about? it's the CLOUD!!

i can go all day, everybody is using it, almost noone bothers to know what it implies and what risks there are, because, what is more inocuous than a fluffy cloud?

 

[Androcles]

"in the cloud" is the branding name of something everyone with tech nowledge knows as a server
i personally really dont like the term because it allows to a lot of misconceptions, ie
Q:where is your data stored? A:in the cloud?
Q: in the cloud where? A: you know, in the cloud
Q: yeah, yeah, where are the servers physically located? A: servers? what are you talking about? my data is in the cloud
Q: ok, to what legal system is your "cloud" geographically bound to? A: geographically? what are you talking about? it's the CLOUD!!

i can go all day, everybody is using it, almost noone bothers to know what it implies and what risks there are, because, what is more inocuous than a fluffy cloud?

Which is exactly why I pay for hosted server space, at least I know where it is and what I'm getting.

 

[ubuysa]

"in the cloud" is the branding name of something everyone with tech nowledge knows as a server loo
i personally really dont like the term because it allows to a lot of misconceptions, ie
Q:where is your data stored? A:in the cloud?
Q: in the cloud where? A: you know, in the cloud
Q: yeah, yeah, where are the servers physically located? A: servers? what are you talking about? my data is in the cloud
Q: ok, to what legal system is your "cloud" geographically bound to? A: geographically? what are you talking about? it's the CLOUD!!

i can go all day, everybody is using it, almost noone bothers to know what it implies and what risks there are, because, what is more inocuous than a fluffy cloud?

I'm afraid I don't agree. A server is a single device and also typically a single IP address. If you're storing data on a server then typically all your data is on the same server.

Data stored in the cloud may well be stored on multiple devices (servers if you like) and may even be distributed beteen devices. The whole point about the cloud is that you don't know where your data is physically stored (as you do with a server) and you don't need to know either.

With simple client/server there is a fixed relationship between the client and the server. With cloud storage this fixed relationship (and the need to know the IP location of the server) is decoupled. This leads to much greater flexibility in where and how data is stored and backed up, but it also enables better network performance through load balancing between storage devices and even locations.

The cloud is accessed through client/server protocols but cloud storage is not just "a server".

 

[grimsbymatt]

Do Google/Amazon/etc. not give you some control over geographical location of your stored data? Maybe not for your free Google Drive account, but for businesses this stuff is important, so I would have thought they offer restrictions on where the data goes (for a price, of course).

 

[GeorgeHillier]

Do Google/Amazon/etc. not give you some control over geographical location of your stored data? Maybe not for your free Google Drive account, but for businesses this stuff is important, so I would have thought they offer restrictions on where the data goes (for a price, of course).

I don't think so, it might be different for businesses though, but pretty sure for personal accounts you can't choose the location

 

[grimsbymatt]

I don't think so, it might be different for businesses though, but pretty sure for personal accounts you can't choose the location

That's what I'm saying - for your free 10GB Google Drive account, no chance. But, for businesses negotiating contracts and paying for 'cloud' storage, it must be an option so they can keep to data protection laws (or can minimise the number of different jurisdictions' laws they need to comply with).

 

[Androcles]

I'm afraid I don't agree. A server is a single device and also typically a single IP address. If you're storing data on a server then typically all your data is on the same server.

Data stored in the cloud may well be stored on multiple devices (servers if you like) and may even be distributed beteen devices. The whole point about the cloud is that you don't know where your data is physically stored (as you do with a server) and you don't need to know either.

With simple client/server there is a fixed relationship between the client and the server. With cloud storage this fixed relationship (and the need to know the IP location of the server) is decoupled. This leads to much greater flexibility in where and how data is stored and backed up, but it also enables better network performance through load balancing between storage devices and even locations.

The cloud is accessed through client/server protocols but cloud storage is not just "a server".

So basically instead of everything being stored on a single server, hosted in a known location by a company you trust, it's stored across multiple servers, none of which you know the location of or whether it's a trusted company hosting it, I think i'll stick to a hosting package thanks all the same.

 

[mrducking]

I'm afraid I don't agree. A server is a single device and also typically a single IP address. If you're storing data on a server then typically all your data is on the same server.

Data stored in the cloud may well be stored on multiple devices (servers if you like) and may even be distributed beteen devices. The whole point about the cloud is that you don't know where your data is physically stored (as you do with a server) and you don't need to know either.

With simple client/server there is a fixed relationship between the client and the server. With cloud storage this fixed relationship (and the need to know the IP location of the server) is decoupled. This leads to much greater flexibility in where and how data is stored and backed up, but it also enables better network performance through load balancing between storage devices and even locations.

The cloud is accessed through client/server protocols but cloud storage is not just "a server".

oh, i know it's not a server and more like a p2p system, it wasnt my point
my point was that even though everybody uses it, nobody truly bothers to understand the risks implied in using it (and nobody really bothers to transmit that knowledge)
yes, your data may not be in a single location but the fact remains that somebody owns the hardware where your data is
when you are talking day to day maybe you dont care who has that info, but imagine it's photos, personal photos or photos of your kids: people are uploading this things to "the cloud" without really understanding that they are basically asking someone else to store their photos--> how many people would you trust with your personal photos? and i mean people
all this data is out there and i know firsthand some people that i had to stop and tell them "no, you wont upload that to "the cloud" because that is information of your business, you dont save that kind of info wherever" and im not kidding
people have no idea what the cloud really is, and it can be my personal paranoia but it scares me a bit the fact that people are using it without even bothering to understand what it implies