Julianne's MIS Blog: Chapter 6: The Cloud

Introduction

Data communications, Internet tech, and cloud-based services > the cloud
Cloud trend (everything moving there) / data mining (big data - lots of jobs) / socializing (everywhere with everything) / everything connects to web (IoT) / business intelligence
HITS - human intelligence tasks > computers can't do it / CAPTCHA

Q6-1: Why is the cloud the future for most organizations?

What is the cloud?

Cloud - over the Internet, elastic leasing of pooled computer resources

on demand & scalable

Elastic - leased computing resources could be increased/decreased dynamically, programmatically, in short span of time; organizations only pay for the resources they use //

Automatically adjusts for unpredictable demand & limits financial risks / based on need > grow

share resources with others / store files elsewhere / all kinds of info and files

e.g. Netflix views all day long, spike in the evening > contracted with cloud vendors to add servers to keep response time below 0.5 seconds > cloud vendor will keep increasing its servers to maintain 0.5 response time > as demand falls, it will release excess servers and reallocate them at the end

dynamically allocate capacities to resize itself

Pooled - different organizations use the same physical hardware, but share that hardware through virtualization

Cloud vendors allocate virtual machines to physical hardware as customers needs increase / decrease
Economies of scale > avg. cost decreases as size operation increases

Over the Internet - cloud vendor may provision servers all over the world, nearly instantaneously > requesting and receiving services over the Internet

Why is the cloud preferred to in-house hosting?

POSITIVE:

Cloud - small capital requirements / speedy development / superior flexibility and adaptability to growing or fluctuating demand / known cost structure / possibly best-of-breed security or disaster preparedness / no obsolescence / industry-wide economies of scale, hence cheaper
In-house - control of data location / in-depth visibility of security and disaster preparedness

NEGATIVE:

Cloud - dependency on vendor / loss of control over data location / little visibility into true security and disaster preparedness capabilities
In-house - significant capital required / significant development required / annual maintenance cost / ongoing support costs / staff and train personnel / increased management requirements / difficult (impossible?) to accommodate fluctuating demand / cost uncertainties / obsolescence

Why now?

Cloud-based hosting is advantageous for three reasons:

processors, data communication, and data storage so cheap, nearly free; to and from data processor
Virtualization > enables near instantaneous creation of a new virtual machine
Internet-based standards enable cloud-hosting vendors to provide processing capabilities in flexible yet standardized ways

When does the cloud not make sense?

When law or industry requires the organization to have physical possession or control over their data

Q6-2: What network technology supports the cloud?

Network - computers that communicate with each other wirelessly or through transmission lines; four basic types:

Personal area network (PAN) - single person, devices are connected around; most within 10 meters
Local area network (LAN) - single physical site/geographic location, computers are connected at; range from 2 to several hundred computers & located within a half-mile or so of each other
Wide area network (WAN) - two or more separated sites computers are connected to; different geographic locations
The internet - networks or networks; send email address/access website; private = internets
Intranet - organization's exclusive, privately used Internet
Protocol - communication organization rules and data structures

What are the components of a LAN?

Small office or home office (SOHO) - less than a dozen computers/printers; wired & wireless connections (printer vs. laptop/phone)
IEEE 802.3 protocol (Ethernet) - wired LAN connection use; specifies characteristics of hardware > which signals are carried by which wires & how are messages packaged and processed

10/100/1000 Ethernet - 802.3 specification + allow transmission rate of 10/100/1000 mbps (megabits per second)
Communication measured in bits; while memory size is bytes
K = 1,000 / M = 1,000,000 / G = 1,000,000,000
100 Mbps = 100 x 1,000,000 = 100,000,000 bits per second

IEEE 802.11 protocol - used by wireless LAN connections

Several versions, most current = IEEE 802.11ac
Allows speeds up to 1.3 Gbps; few could take advantage of full speed

Bluetooth - PAN connection made through this wireless protocol

Replaces cables & transmits data over short distances
e.g. bluetooth mouse connecting to computer through bluetooth

Connecting your LAN to the Internet

Connecting SOHO LAN & devices to Internet = WAN, you are connecting to service provider
Internet service provider (ISP) - provides legit internet address; gateway to the Internet (communications from computer passed on to Internet & process reverse back to you); also pays for the Internet
Digital subscriber line (DSL) - operated on same voice telephone lines, but doesn't interfere with VT service (WAN connection)
Cable Line - transmitting high-speed data through cable tv lines; installed in each neighborhood served & no interference with TV signals
WAN Wireless - e.g. Kindle uses Sprint wireless network for data connections; LAN wireless (50 Mbps) >>> WAN wireless (1-3 Mbps)

Q6-3: How does the cloud work?

An Internet Example - Minneapolis > LAN > ISP > Cloud (The Internet, 4+ Networks) < ISP < Hotel LAN < New Zealand Hotel

Hop - one network to another movement

Carriers and Net Neutrality

Packet (message) > moves across Internet through carriers (networks owned by large telecommunication providers)
Peering agreements - not paying access fees when carriers are freely exchanging access amongst themselves
Net neutrality - all data is treated equally

Internet Addressing

IP address - Internet address, identifying a particular device with a number
Public IP addresses - public Internet, identifying particular device

ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) - public agency that controls the assignment of unique, worldwide, public IP addresses / names to IP addresses
Two formats of IP Addresses:

IPv4 - four-decimal notation (165.193.123.253)
IPv6 - longer format (http://165.193.140.14)
Domain name - unique, worldwide name assigned to a public IP address
URL (Uniform Resource Locator) - internet address (http:// or ftp://)

Private IP addresses - private network, usually LAN, identifying particular device; e.g. coffee shop > private IP > gets to LAN > private IP to public IP address > sends traffic out to public Internet

Processing on a web server

Three-tier architecture:

User tier - devices that have browsers requesting and processing webpages; e.g. computers, phones, etc. > web browsers
Server tier - computers processing applications and running Web servers
Database tier - computers running DBMS > processes request to retrieve and store data

Web page - html coded document
Web servers - manages traffic (sending & receiving web pages to and from clients) + program run on server-tier computers
Commerce server - database > manage shopping cart > coordinate checkout process

Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) - all interactions are formal, standardized services among computing devices
Protocols supporting web services

TCP/IP Protocol Architecture - has five layers, and each layer defines one or more protocols
Internet Protocols: http, https, smtp, and ftp

Hypertext transfer protocol (http) - used by web servers and browsers
Https - secure version of http; transmit/send sensitive data safely; e.g. credit card numbers
Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (smtp) - email transmissions
File Transfer Protocol (ftp) - moving/transmit files; over Internet > from cloud servers to computer

Web service and cloud protocols

WSDL, SOAP, XML, and JSON

Q6-4: How do organizations use the cloud?

Cloud services from cloud vendors

Software as a service (SaaS) - operating system + application programs + hardware infrastructure provided by an organization
Platform as a service (PaaS) - vendors use cloud hosting to provide computers with operating system + DBMS (maybe)
Infrastructure as a service (IaaS) - data storage or bare server computer cloud hosting; most basic

Content Delivery Network (CDN) - storing and making user data in geographical locations available on demand, through hardware and software

Store and deliver content / minimizes latency
Benefits: decreased loadtime / origin server reduced load / reliability increase / DOS attack protection / mobile users get reduced delivery costs / "pay-as-you-go"

Q6-6: How can organizations use cloud services securely?

Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) - the appearance creation of private, secure connections through the Internet

A Typical VPN

Tunnel - secure connection; public or shared network between VPN client and VPN server = private, virtual pathway
VPN server > tunnel > VPN client
Protect messages by encrypting/coding

Private cloud - organization owns and operates this cloud for own benefit
Virtual private cloud - secure access to highly-restricted subset of a public cloud

Q6-7: 2026?

Cloud services cheaper, faster, easier to use, more secure
Fewer organizations own their own computing infrastructure
Individuals, small businesses, large organizations obtain elastic resources at very low cost
Net neutrality enabled

All users and content providers treated equally > no "fast" or "slow" lanes
ISPs not allowed to block/slow competitor's content / can't charge additional fees or taxes to heavy internet users