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Introduction to Cloud Computing

mondalankur

Updated: Jul 18, 2021




Cloud computing is a model which facilitates on-demand network access to shared configurable resources like – networks, storage, servers, and applications which can be quickly implemented and released with minimum effort.


The cloud service offerings and deployment models:

Cloud computing has become an attractive proposition for an enterprise due to its ease of usage. This has been made possible by large data center service vendors who are now better known as cloud service vendors again primarily due to their scale of operations.


Figure: The cloud computing service offering and deployment models


Five essential characteristics of cloud computing are–

  1. On-demand self-service: A consumer can unilaterally decide computing capabilities, such as server time and network storage, as needed automatically without requiring human interaction with each service provider.

  2. Resource Pulling: The provider's computing resources are pooled to serve multiple consumers using a multi-tenant model, with different physical and virtual resources which are deployed according to consumer demand. The consumer usually has no idea or control over the exact location of the provided resources (e.g. country, state, or datacenter). Some of the examples are storage, processing, memory, and network bandwidth.

  3. Rapid Elasticity: Resources can be elastically increased or decreased, in some cases automatically, to scale rapidly fulfill the demand. Due to this, the capabilities available for provisioning often appear to be unlimited and can be appropriated in quantity at any time.

  4. Broad network access: Resources are available over the network and accessed through standard mechanisms that promote use by heterogeneous thin or thick client platforms (e.g. mobile phones, tablets, laptops, and workstations)

  5. Measured service: Cloud systems can automatically control and optimize resource use by leveraging a metering capability at some level of abstraction appropriate to the type of service (e.g. storage, processing, bandwidth, and active user accounts)

These need to be clearly stated as many vendors have tried to pass off their offerings as “cloud computing” even though they do not fit the criteria.


Cloud Computing Stack

The widely accepted cloud computing stack depicts three categories within the Cloud –

  1. Infrastructure as a service (IaaS),

  2. Platform as a service (PaaS),

  3. Software as a service (SaaS).

IaaS is an on-demand delivery of Cloud Computing infrastructure – storage, servers, networks, etc. It is the backbone of the cloud. Amazon Web Services is the largest and most well-known in this category.


PaaS is a pack of services and tools made to make coding and deploying applications easy and efficient in the cloud. This is not infrastructure. It is an add-on service that allows you easier access, management, and scaling of infrastructure.


With SaaS, an application license is provided to the customers either as a “pay-as-you-go” model through a subscription or as an on-demand service. SaaS is like other cloud services, quickly growing and soon you will be able to find it almost everywhere. Microsoft Office 365 is a common example of a SaaS application and there are other countless applications.


Figure: Cloud Computing Stack


The seven-step model of migration into a cloud:

A structured and process-oriented approach during data migration into a cloud has several advantages. The process includes seven steps or phrases. These steps are-

  1. Conduct Cloud Migration Assessment

  2. Isolate the dependencies

  3. Map the Messaging and Environment

  4. Re-architect and implement the lost functionalities

  5. Leverage Cloud functionalities and features

  6. Test the migration

  7. Iterate and optimize

Figure: The iterative seven-step model of mitigation into the cloud

History of cloud computing:

The coinage of the term “cloud computing” is credited to Dr. Ramnath Chellappa for using it in its modern context during a lecture he delivered in 1997. Before the advent of cloud computing, the symbol of cloud was generally referred to as the network of computing equipment in the original ARPNET by 1977 and in CSNET by 1981. The internet was denoted by a cloud.


Google CEO Eric Schmidt used the term “cloud computing” at an industry conference on August 9, 2006. He is credited for popularizing the term.



Cloud computing has evolved and has become part of everyday life. Like every technology cloud computing has its advantages as well as limitations.


Advantages -

  1. Cost Savings: One of the biggest benefits of cloud computing is cost savings. You can just pay for just the storage, which you can access from anywhere. There is no additional cost of hardware, servers, air-conditioning, etc.

  2. Reliability: Cloud computing is much more reliable and consistent than traditional IT infrastructure. You can pay to increase the capacity temporarily and decrease the capacity when it is not in use.

  3. Easy management: With cloud services, you would not be limited by slow speeds or bandwidth caps if applicable to home connection and additional data protection. Even a natural disaster that wipes out the entire data center would not theoretically cause you to lose any data as your data will be on the internet

Disadvantages

  1. Downtime: As your data is managed by cloud service providers, you might not be able to access the data if the servers of the cloud services are overwhelmed by internet traffic or being updated. You cannot access your data if the internet connection is disrupted or compromised.

  2. Security: When you are using cloud services, you are providing all the confidential data. If the data fall into the wrong hands, they might scam or exploit loopholes and vulnerabilities within the system

  3. Limited Control: Usage of cloud services means limited control over data, data analysis. Customers cannot get any backend information.


Future of Cloud Computing:

The aggressive move to the cloud is hastened by the pandemic. According to Forrester Research, the global cloud infrastructure will increase by 36%. The valuation of which might cross $125B.


The global IT expenditure is might grow by 20 % this year and the valuation might be more than $305 billion from the previous $257 billion. It is expected that Google cloud might achieve more than 40% growth this year. We might see multi-cloud and joint cloud offerings as the cloud providers might partner up to increase the market growth.


All cloud server provides like- AWS, Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, etc. will try their best to leverage the market of the pandemic era.


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Internship

An internship is a temporary job role offered to students for professional learning experience which offers meaningful, practical work related experience to students’ fields or career interests.

An internship offers a student opportunity for career exploration, increase in experience, development in career front and learning new skills.

 

Benefits of Doing Internship

Doing an internship is very much beneficial for a student’s career front.

  1. Job Experience

In recent times, job listing often requires minimum job experience. If a student entering a workforce for the first time, he/she may not have such experience. An internship is a perfect way to fill up that gap. A valuable exposure to a company will give a first hand experience where a student can take part in meetings and perform assigned works.

  1. Research Experience

In the scientific fields, an internship may offer a student to assist with research in a laboratory. A student can find out his/her skills that had been learnt in the academic years in practical settings and can contribute to the research. Many permanent research jobs require such kind of post education training. Moreover, this kind of internship also helps in deciding what kind of laboratory is preferable and favourable for a student.

  1. Access to a variety of tasks and departments

An internship always enables exposure to people of various departments and jobs. From helping a senior management to sit for meetings, internship offers a student to observe daily functions in an office. Thus, it helps a student to decide what kind of job would be preferable.

  1. Mentorship

The most valuable mentor relationship begins with a personal connection which enhances the experience of both mentor and mentee. Being an intern may allow to meet a potential mentor naturally and develop a good relationship that actually offers proper guidance in career path.

  1. Create professional network

Internship is a practical way for the expansion of job network. The professionals met during internship might turn into most valuable connection that will show interest, enthusiasm and willingness for recruitments.

  1. Better Resume

The valuable job experiences enable to fill the resume with honesty and specificity. Not only the experiences of the duties and projects of the internship are added, but also the objective of seeking a permanent position can be more clearly described.

  1. Securing good recommendations and references

The supervisors or mentors of an internship can be valuable references for an intern while pursuing a full time job. Pro-activeness, Positive mind and hard work will pay for open positions.

  1. Transition to a permanent job

Positive experiences acquired from an internship might help in getting hired for a permanent position in a company.

  1. Preliminary employment training

Internship acts as preliminary employment training and HR personnel or the manager can observe an intern in various situations to determine if the intern may be a valuable addition to the team.

  1. Build Confidence

Taking on an internship helps an intern to learn about the work environment. Moreover, one can have a much clearer idea of his/her strengths, weaknesses, likes and dislikes. Most importantly, an intern can have hands-on experience which gives far more confidence when it comes to job seeking and interviews.

Conclusion

 

To sum up, internships always play a very important role in shaping one’s career. They give a real exposure to working environments and help to develop the necessary skills required to stand out in a saturated job market.

Thus whether the internship is paid or non-paid don’t worry about that. Your professional experience (essential for fresher job seeker) and growth will be count from the first day of internship.

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