CLOUD COMPUTING

Every few years a new technology comes along, drives new efficiencies and reduces costs. While this is welcomed by user organizations, there is a flip side to the happy story. One among them is cloud computing………

 Cloud computing is the use of  computing resources (hardware and software) that are delivered as a service over a network (typically the Internet). The name comes from the use of a cloud-shaped symbol as an abstraction for the complex infrastructure it contains in system diagrams. Cloud computing entrusts remote services with a user's data, software and computation.

There are many types of public cloud computing

• Infrastructure as a service (IaaS)
• Platform as a service (PaaS)
• Software as a service (SaaS)
• Storage as a service (STaaS)
• Security as a service (SECaaS)
• Data as a service (DaaS)
• Test environment as a service (TEaaS)
• Desktop as a service (DaaS)
• API as a service (APIaaS)

Cloud computing relies on sharing of resources to achieve coherence and economies of scale similar to a utility (like the electricity grid) over a network. At the foundation of cloud computing is the broader concept of converged infrastructure and shared services.

History

The origin of the term cloud computing is obscure, but it appears to derive from the practice of using drawings of stylized clouds to denote networks in diagrams of computing and communications systems. The word cloud is used as a metaphor for the Internet, based on the standardized use of a cloud-like shape to denote a network on telephony schematics and later to depict the Internet in computer network diagrams as an abstraction of the underlying infrastructure it represents. The cloud symbol was used to represent the Internet as early as 1994.

In the 1990s, telecommunications companies who previously offered primarily dedicated point-to-point data circuits began offering virtual private network (VPN) services with comparable quality of service but at a much lower cost. By switching traffic to balance utilization as they saw fit, they were able to utilize their overall network bandwidth more effectively. The cloud symbol was used to denote the demarcation point between that which was the responsibility of the provider and that which was the responsibility of the users. Cloud computing extends this boundary to cover servers as well as the network infrastructure.

 In early 2008, Eucalyptus became the first open-source, AWS API-compatible platform for deploying private clouds. In early 2008, OpenNebula, enhanced in the RESERVOIR European Commission-funded project, became the first open-source software for deploying private and hybrid clouds, and for the federation of clouds. In the same year, efforts were focused on providing quality of service guarantees (as required by real-time interactive applications) to cloud-based infrastructures, in the framework of the IRMOS European Commission-funded project, resulting to a real-time cloud environment.

On March 1, 2011, IBM announced the Smarter Computing framework to support Smarter Planet. Among the various components of the Smarter Computing foundation, cloud computing is a critical piece.

In 2012, Dr. Biju John and Dr. Souheil Khaddaj describe the cloud as a virtualized, semantic source of information: "Cloud computing is a universal collection of data which extends over the internet in the form of resources (such as information hardware, various platforms, services etc.) and forms individual units within the virtualization environment.

What Is Cloud Computing?

Personal cloud computing means having every piece of data you need for every aspect of your life at your fingertips and ready for use. Data must be mobile, transferable, and instantly accessible. The key to enabling the portable and interactive you is the ability to synch up your data among your devices, as well as access to shared data. Shared data is the data we access online in any number of places, such as social networks, banks, blogs, newsrooms, paid communities, etc.

Ultimately, your personal cloud—which includes everything from your address book and music collection to your reports and documents for work—will connect to the public cloud and other personal clouds. Everything connects. That means every place on the Internet you interact with, as well as every person you interact with can be connected.

USES OF CLOUD COMPUTING

Some of the user benefits of cloud computing are:

1. Users only pay for the services that they consume.

2. Since several people will be using a single computing resource, software licensing will be simplified.

3. Users need not worry about upgrading and maintaining the software. This will be handled by the cloud service provider.

4. Users need not purchase expensive PCs with huge, monolithic operating systems. They will only need to implement a simple PC – perhaps just a “net-book” PC running the new Google OS – to access the powerful applications running in the cloud. These simple inexpensive PCs are known as “thin clients.”

5. Extremely low power thin clients may be used to access cloud resources, thus saving on power consumption.

6. Thin clients need not have advanced software, so there will be fewer dead PCs in our landfills.

7. Users may enjoy ubiquitous access to their applications, whether they’re in a hotel bar or sitting at home in front of the TV.

TYPES OF CLOUD COMPUTING

 Public cloud

Public cloud applications, storage, and other resources are made available to the general public by a service provider. These services are free or offered on a pay-per-use model. Generally, public cloud service providers like Amazon AWS, Microsoft and Google own and operate the infrastructure and offer access only via Internet (direct connectivity is not offered).

 Community cloud

Community cloud shares infrastructure between several organizations from a specific community with common concerns (security, compliance, jurisdiction, etc.), whether managed internally or by a third-party and hosted internally or externally. The costs are spread over fewer users than a public cloud (but more than a private cloud), so only some of the cost savings potential of cloud computing are realized.
 hybrid cloud
Hybrid cloud is a composition of two or more clouds (private, community or public) that remain unique entities but are bound together, offering the benefits of multiple deployment models.
By utilizing "hybrid cloud" architecture, companies and individuals are able to obtain degrees of fault tolerance combined with locally immediate usability without dependency on internet connectivity. Hybrid cloud architecture requires both on-premises resources and off-site (remote) server-based cloud infrastructure.
Hybrid clouds lack the flexibility, security and certainty of in-house applications. Hybrid cloud provides the flexibility of in house applications with the fault tolerance and scalability of cloud based services.

 Private cloud

Private cloud is cloud infrastructure operated solely for a single organization, whether managed internally or by a third-party and hosted internally or externally. Undertaking a private cloud project requires a significant level and degree of engagement to virtualize the business environment, and it will require the organization to reevaluate decisions about existing resources. When it is done right, it can have a positive impact on a business, but every one of the steps in the project raises security issues that must be addressed in order to avoid serious vulnerabilities.
They have attracted criticism because users "still have to buy, build, and manage them" and thus do not benefit from less hands-on management, essentially "[lacking] the economic model that makes cloud computing such an intriguing concept".
CLOUD ENGINEERING-SAVE HUMANITY!!!
Experiments should be carried out into creating artificial clouds to fight global warming, scientists have argued. Clouds generated by special ships at sea would reflect solar heat back into space, so serving to cool the planet. In fact that's exactly what is happening, so - assuming for the moment that global warming is a real and terrible menace

In essence the idea would be to exploit the already-known phenomenon of "ship clouds", where vessels underway at sea find a long trail of cloud forming behind them. At the moment this is generally a case of water droplets coalescing around particulates emitted from the ship's exhaust funnel, but this would be impractical and polluting on a scale that could affect the global climate.

Rather, the idea being touted here is to use special vessels which would spout huge amounts of sea salt particles - generated from the ocean - into the air as they went along. Water droplets should then form around the particles, creating long-lived clouds that wouldn't have any polluting qualities

CLOUD COMPUTING SECURITY

As cloud computing is achieving increased popularity, concerns are being voiced about the security issues introduced through adoption of this new model. The effectiveness and efficiency of traditional protection mechanisms are being reconsidered as the characteristics of this innovative deployment model can differ widely from those of traditional architectures. An alternative perspective on the topic of cloud security is that this is but another, although quite broad, case of "applied security" and that similar security principles that apply in shared multi-user mainframe security models apply with cloud security.
The relative security of cloud computing services is a contentious issue that may be delaying its adoption. Physical control of the Private Cloud equipment is more secure than having the equipment off site and under someone else’s control. Physical control and the ability to visually inspect the data links and access ports is required in order to ensure data links are not compromised. Issues barring the adoption of cloud computing are due in large part to the private and public sectors' unease surrounding the external management of security-based services. It is the very nature of cloud computing-based services, private or public, that promote external management of provided services.

Cloud Computing Architecture

               

·         The Cloud Computing Architecture of a cloud solution is the structure of the system, which comprises of on-premise and cloud resources, services, middleware, and software components, their geo-location, their externally visible properties and the relationships between them.

• Cloud architecture typically involves multiple cloud components communicating with each other over a loose coupling mechanism such as a messaging queue. Elastic provisioning implies intelligence in the use of tight or loose coupling of cloud resources, services, middleware, and software components.

• In the area of cloud computing, protection depends on having the right architecture for the right application. Organizations must understand the individual requirements of their applications, and if already using a cloud platform, understand the corresponding cloud architecture.

• A cloud computing architecture consists of a front end and a back end. They connect to each other through a network, usually the Internet. The front end is the side the computer user, or client, sees. The back end is the “cloud” section of the system.
• Advantages of Cloud computing Architecture:
• reduced administration effort
• contract flexibility (pay as you go)
• availability and elasticity

Cloud computing's the future

                

In an era of rapid technological obsolescence, no computing device's future is assured. With cloud computing offering unparalleled convenience and portability to the user, the same could be said for the future of the personal computer. Cloud computing means that people can have access to their digital files and software on the go, with little more needed to access them than simple input and output devices as well as an internet connection. Amazon has launched two new products, Cloud Drive and Cloud Player, which allow users to tap cloud computing and store all their music and video files on a network of remote storage facilities. While such bold new products ensure ease and affordability for current users, they also herald a future where not only the denizens of New York and London but also the poor from India to Africa, can take advantage of the opportunities provided by computers.
The view of cloud computing remains mixed as the technology brings benefits and risks in equal measures

COMPUTER SCIENCE & HUMANITIES

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“Computer science is no more about computers than astronomy is about telescopes, biology about microscopes, or chemistry about beakers and test tubes. Science is not about tools. It is about how we use them, and what we find out when we do.”
                                                     -Michael Fellows and Ian Parberry
                                                                                                    
 There is no discipline today that has not been affected by computing. From the fine arts to the natural sciences, computers are used to enable creativity, enhance skills, and explore new horizons.  

 

WHAT IS MEANT BY Humanities?

 

The humanities are academic disciplines that study the human condition, using methods that are primarily analytical, critical, or speculative, as distinguished from the mainly empirical approaches of the natural sciences.

The humanities include ancient and modern languages, literature, history, philosophy, religion, and visual and performing arts such as music and theatre. The humanities that are also regarded as social sciences include history, anthropology, area studies, communication studies, cultural studies, folklore, law and linguistics

Origin of the term

The word "humanities" is derived from the Renaissance Latin expression studia humanitatis, or "study of humanitas" (a classical Latin word meaning -- in addition to "humanity" -- "culture, refinement, education" and, specifically, an "education befitting a cultivated man"). In its usage in the early 15th century, the studia humanitatis was a course of studies that consisted of grammar, poetry, rhetoric, history, and moral philosophy, primarily derived from the study of Latin and Greek classics. The word humanitas also gave rise to the Renaissance Italian neologism umanisti, whence "humanist"

Truth, meaning, and the humanities

The divide between humanistic study and natural sciences informs arguments of meaning in humanities as well. What distinguishes the humanities from the natural sciences is not a certain subject matter, but rather the mode of approach to any question. Humanities focuses on understanding meaning, purpose, and goals and furthers the appreciation of singular historical and social phenomena—an interpretive method of finding “truth”—rather than explaining the causality of events or uncovering the truth of the natural world. Apart from its societal application, narrative imagination is an important tool in the (re)production of understood meaning in history, culture and literature.

HUMANTIES IN DIGITAL AGE

Researchers in the humanities have developed numerous large- and small-scale digital corpora, such as digitized collections of historical texts, along with the digital tools and methods to analyze them. Their aim is both to uncover new knowledge about corpora and to visualize research data in new and revealing ways. The field in which much of this activity occurs is called the Digital Humanities

Digital humanities

Digital Humanities in the Computer Science

Computer Science has played a critical role in many areas of inquiry, but nowhere are the potential implications greater than in the Humanities. We are transforming the ways in which we can relate to the past and understand the relationship of that past to the world in which we live. We need a new generation of researchers who can develop new methods from the computational sciences to advance the intellectual life of humanity. Computer Science now provides unique opportunities for emerging researchers with an interest in the Digital Humanities to develop those interests. Computer Science provides a framework in which students with a strong background in some area of the Humanities can develop research and teaching agendas that bridge the gap between Computer Science and areas within the Humanities.

Why are the humanities important?

Insights into Everything

Through exploration of the humanities we learn how to think creatively and critically, to reason, and to ask questions. Because these skills allow us to gain new insights into everything from poetry and paintings to business models and politics, humanistic subjects have been at the heart of a liberal arts education since the ancient Greeks first used to them to educate their citizens.

Understanding Our World

Research into the human experience adds to our knowledge about our world. Through the work of humanities scholars, we learn about the values of different cultures, about what goes into making a work of art, about how history is made. Their efforts preserve the great accomplishments of the past, help us understand the world we live in, and give us tools to imagine the future.

Bringing Clarity to the Future

Today, humanistic knowledge continues to provide the ideal foundation for exploring and understanding the human experience. Investigating a branch of philosophy might get you thinking about ethical questions. Learning another language might help you gain an appreciation for the similarities in different cultures. Contemplating a sculpture might make you think about how artist's life affected her creative decisions. Reading a book from another region of the world might help you think about the meaning of democracy. Listening to history course might help you to have a better understanding of the past, while at the same time giving you a clearer picture of what the future holds.

Why is it important for this generation to have a humanistic education?

A humanistic education trains students in critical thinking and writing, and it develops their abilities not only to reason, but to appreciate the non-rational aspects of our lives and cultures. We are bombarded every day by images and expressions of beauty, of genius, of imagination, and even—perhaps too often—of aggression and violence. A humanistic education trains students to analyze and appreciate that which extends beyond the bounds of logic. I think that is necessary to understand humanity. More and more employers today are seeking individuals with this kind of training. If students can get better jobs because of their humanistic education, that’s great, but the most valuable gift they’ll receive from that education is that they will gain a broader perspective on the world and their contributions within it.

It is true that humanities study, unlike technical training in, say, carpentry or bookkeeping, prepares students not for any specific occupation, but for an unpredictable variety of occupations. But as many before us have rightly pointed out, in an unpredictable marketplace this kind of versatility is actually an advantage. "The usefulness of the humanities" paradoxically "derives precisely from their detachment from any immediate or particular utility.

How is humanities research reshaping our future?

Humanities research often involves an individual professor researching in a library in order to write a book. The books that result from this study are part of an ongoing dialogue about the meaning and possibilities of human existence that reaches back to ancient times and looks forward to our common future. A hallmark of humanistic study is that research is approached differently than in the natural and social sciences, where data and hard evidence are required to draw conclusions. Because the human experience cannot be adequately captured by facts and figures alone, humanities research employs methods that are historical, interpretive and analytical in nature.

Conclusion

Humanities computing can contribute substantially to the growing interest in putting the cultural heritage on the Internet, not only for academic users, but also for lifelong learners and the general public. Tools and techniques developed in humanities computing will facilitate the study of this material and, as the Perseus Project is showing, the incorporation of computational linguistics techniques can add a new dimension. Our tools and techniques can also assist research in facilitating the digitization and encoding processes, where we need to find ways of reducing the costs of data creation without loss of scholarly value or of functionality.

 Through the Internet, humanities computing is reaching a much wider audience, and students graduating from the new programs being offered will be in a position to work not only in academia, but also in electronic publishing, educational technologies, and multimedia development. Throughout its history, humanities computing has shown a healthy appetite for imagination and innovation while continuing to maintain high scholarly standards. Now that the Internet is such a dominant feature of everyday life, the opportunity exists for humanities computing to reach out much further than has hitherto been possible.

EMBEDDED SYSTEMS

An embedded system is a computer system designed for specific control functions within a larger system, often with real-time computing constraints. It is embedded as part of a complete device often including hardware and mechanical parts. By contrast, a general-purpose computer, such as a personal computer (PC), is designed to be flexible and to meet a wide range of end-user needs. Embedded systems control many devices in common use today
Embedded systems contain processing cores that are typically either microcontrollers or digital signal processors (DSP)The key characteristic, however, is being dedicated to handle a particular task. Since the embedded system is dedicated to specific tasks, design engineers can optimize it to reduce the size and cost of the product and increase the reliability and performance. Some embedded systems are mass-produced, benefiting from economies of scale.
Physically, embedded systems range from portable devices such as digital watches and MP3 players, to large stationary installations like traffic lights, factory controllers, or the systems controlling nuclear power plants.

Telecommunications systems employ numerous embedded systems from telephone switches for the network to mobile phones at the end-user. Computer networking uses dedicated routers and network bridges to route data.

HISTORY

Since these early applications in the 1960s, embedded systems have come down in price and there has been a dramatic rise in processing power and functionality. The first microprocessor for example, the Intel 4004, was designed for calculators and other small systems but still required many external memory and support chips. In 1978 National Engineering Manufacturers Association released a "standard" for programmable microcontrollers, including almost any computer-based controllers, such as single board computers, numerical, and event-based controllers

The integration of microcontrollers has further increased the applications for which embedded systems are used into areas where traditionally a computer would not have been considered. A general purpose and comparatively low-cost microcontroller may often be programmed to fulfill the same role as a large number of separate components. Although in this context an embedded system is usually more complex than a traditional solution, most of the complexity is contained within the microcontroller itself

APPLICATIONS

Embedded System Applications describes the latest techniques for embedded system design in a variety of applications. This includes some of the latest software tools for embedded system design. Applications of embedded system design in avionics, satellites, radio astronomy, space and control systems are illustrated in separate chapters. Finally, the book contains chapters related to industrial best-practice in embedded system design.
Embedded System Applications will be of interest to researchers and designers working in the design of embedded systems for industrial applications.

Embedded Systems has witnessed tremendous growth in the last one decade. Almost all the fast developing sectors like automobile, aeronautics, space, rail, mobile communications, and electronic payment solutions have witnessed increased use of Embedded technologies and their applications. Greater value to mobility is one of the prominent reasons for the rise and development of Embedded technologies.

Initially, Embedded Systems were used for large, safety-critical and business-critical applications that included

• Rocket & satellite control
• Energy production control
• Telephone switches
• Air Traffic Control

EMBEDDED SYSTEMS IN TELECOMMUNICATIONS

If ever there is an industry that has reaped the benefits to Embedded Technology, for sure, it is only Telecommunications.  The Telecom industry utilizes numerous embedded systems from telephone switches for the network to mobile phones at the end-user. The Telecom computer network also uses dedicated routers and network bridges to route data.

Embedded engineers help in ensuring high-speed networking. This is the most critical part of embedded applications. The Ethernet switches and network interfaces are designed to provide the necessary bandwidth. These will allow in rapidly incorporating Ethernet connections into advanced Embedded applications.Embedded application types range from high availability telecom and networking applications to rugged industrial and military environments.

Consumer Electronics

Consumer electronics has also benefited a lot from Embedded technologies. Consumer electronics includes

• Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs)
• MP3 players
• Mobile phones
• Videogame consoles
• Digital cameras
• DVD players
• GPS receivers
• Printers

Even the household appliances, that include microwave ovens, washing machines and dishwashers, are including embedded systems to provide flexibility, efficiency and features. The latest in Embedded applications are seen as advanced HVAC systems that uses networked thermostats to more accurately and efficiently control temperature.  

In the present times, home automation solutions are being increasingly built on Embedded technologies. Home automation includes wired and wireless-networking to control lights, climate, security, audio/visual, surveillance, etc., all of which use embedded devices for sensing and controlling.

User interface

Embedded systems range from no user interface at all — dedicated only to one task — to complex grafical user interface that resemble modern computer desktop operating systems. Simple embedded devices use buttons, LEDs, graphic or character LCD (for example popular HD44780 LCD) with a simple menu system.

More sophisticated devices which use a graphical screen with touch sensing or screen-edge buttons provide flexibility while minimizing space used: the meaning of the buttons can change with the screen, and selection involves the natural behavior of pointing at what's desired

Debugging

Embedded debugging may be performed at different levels, depending on the facilities available. From simplest to most sophisticated they can be roughly grouped into the following areas:

• Interactive resident debugging, using the simple shell provided by the embedded operating system (e.g. Forth and Basic)
• External debugging using logging or serial port output to trace operation using either a monitor in flash or using a debug server like the Remedy Debugger which even works for heterogeneous multicore systems.
• An in-circuit debugger (ICD), a hardware device that connects to the microprocessor via a JTAG or Nexus interface. This allows the operation of the microprocessor to be controlled externally, but is typically restricted to specific debugging capabilities in the processor.
• An in-circuit emulator (ICE) replaces the microprocessor with a simulated equivalent, providing full control over all aspects of the microprocessor.

Reliability

Embedded systems often reside in machines that are expected to run continuously for years without errors, and in some cases recover by themselves if an error occurs. Therefore the software is usually developed and tested more carefully than that for personal computers, and unreliable mechanical moving parts such as disk drives, switches or buttons are avoided.

Specific reliability issues may include:

• The system cannot safely be shut down for repair, or it is too inaccessible to repair. Examples include space systems, undersea cables, navigational beacons, bore-hole systems, and automobiles.
• The system must be kept running for safety reasons. "Limp modes" are less tolerable. Often backups are selected by an operator. Examples include aircraft navigation, reactor control systems, safety-critical chemical factory controls, train signals.
• The system will lose large amounts of money when shut down: Telephone switches, factory controls, bridge and elevator controls, funds transfer and market making, automated sales and service

EMBEDDED SOFTWARE

Embedded software is computer software that plays an integral role in the electronics it is supplied with.
Embedded software's principal role is not information technology (i.e. it is not about information and the technologies related to providing information services), but rather the interaction with the physical world. It's written for machines that are not, first and foremost, computers. Manufacturers 'build in' embedded software in the electronics in cars, telephones, audio equipment, robots, appliances, toys, security systems, pacemakers, televisions and digital watches, for example. This software can become very sophisticated in applications such as airplanes, missiles, and process control systems

COMPONENTS OF EMBEDDED SOFTWARE:

(1) Control Software: Control Software (also known as firmware) is responsible for managing (and synchronizing) different modules of the system.
(2) Computation Extensive Software : Computational Software is responsible for performing Mathematical and Logical Operations on the Input Data. The output of this processing can either be sent back (to another system), or stored (in systems memory) for later use, or can be used by the control software to take certain decisions (and do further processing based on these decisions).
(3) Device Drivers: Device Drivers are Software Modules which control System's Peripheral. (j) User Interface: This software is responsible for collecting user inputs (from input devices like keypad or touch screen) and providing “ User Menu ” or “System Status ” to the User (through Display Devices)
(4) Operating System (optional) : Operating System is a software which manages the different resources (CPU, Memory, Peripherals) of a system and provides a abstration of the underlying hardware to the Users. Application developers can develop their applications (to be run on the Operating System) without having to learn much about the underlying Hardware. Operating System is optional in Embedded Systems (unlike Desktop environment where it is the most essential software).

EMBEDDED SYSTEMS IN PRESENT WORLD

Modern embedded systems, however, are increasingly taking on characteristics of general-purpose systems. Their functionality is growing, and so is the amount and complexity of their software.Yet some of the old differences to general-purpose systems remain. Embedded devices are still real-time systems (or at least part of the software is real-time).At the same time, embedded systems, already ubiquitous, are becoming more and more part of everyday life, to the degree that it is becoming hard to imagine living without them. They are increasingly used in mission- and life-critical scenarios. Correspondingly, there are high and increasing requirements on safety, reliability and security.