Architecture of Cloud Computing

Architecture

Cloud architecture, the systems architecture of the software systems involved in the delivery of cloud computing, comprises hardware and software designed by a cloud architect who typically works for a cloud integrator. It typically involves multiple cloud components communicating with each other over application programming interfaces, usually web services.

This closely resembles the Unix philosophy of having multiple programs each doing one thing well and working together over universal interfaces. Complexity is controlled and the resulting systems are more manageable than their monolithic counterparts.

Cloud architecture extends to the client, where web browsers and/or software applications access cloud applications.

Cloud storage architecture is loosely coupled, often assiduously avoiding the use of centralized metadata servers which can become bottlenecks. This enables the data nodes to scale into the hundreds, each independently delivering data to applications or users.



Types by visibility

Public cloud

Public cloud or external cloud describes cloud computing in the traditional mainstream sense, whereby resources are dynamically provisioned on a fine-grained, self-service basis over the Internet, via web applications/web services, from an off-site third-party provider who shares resources and bills on a fine-grained utility computing basis.

Hybrid cloud

A hybrid cloud environment consisting of multiple internal and/or external providers "will be typical for most enterprises". A hybrid cloud can describe configuration combining a local device, such as a Plug computer with cloud services. It can also describe configurations combining virtual and physical, colocated assets—for example, a mostly virtualized environment that requires physical servers, routers, or other hardware such as a network appliance acting as a firewall or spam filter.

Private cloud

Private cloud and internal cloud are neologisms that some vendors have recently used to describe offerings that emulate cloud computing on private networks. These (typically virtualisation automation) products claim to "deliver some benefits of cloud computing without the pitfalls", capitalising on data security, corporate governance, and reliability concerns. They have been criticized on the basis that users "still have to buy, build, and manage them" and as such do not benefit from lower up-front capital costs and less hands-on management, essentially " the economic model that makes cloud computing such an intriguing concept".

While an analyst predicted in 2008 that private cloud networks would be the future of corporate IT, there is some uncertainty whether they are a reality even within the same firm. Analysts also claim that within five years a "huge percentage" of small and medium enterprises will get most of their computing resources from external cloud computing providers as they "will not have economies of scale to make it worth staying in the IT business" or be able to afford private clouds. Analysts have reported on Platform's view that private clouds are a stepping stone to external clouds, particularly for the financial services, and that future datacenters will look like internal clouds.

The term has also been used in the logical rather than physical sense, for example in reference to platform as a service offerings, though such offerings including Microsoft's Azure Services Platform are not available for on-premises deployment.

Cloud Computing

Cloud computing is Internet- ("cloud-") based development and use of computer technology ("computing"). In concept, it is a paradigm shift whereby details are abstracted from the users who no longer need knowledge of, expertise in, or control over the technology infrastructure "in the cloud" that supports them. Cloud computing describes a new supplement, consumption and delivery model for IT services based on Internet, and it typically involves the provision of dynamically scalable and often virtualized resources as a service over the Internet.



The term cloud is used as a metaphor for the Internet, based on the cloud drawing used to depict the Internet in computer network diagrams as an abstraction of the underlying infrastructure it represents. Typical cloud computing providers deliver common business applications online which are accessed from a web browser, while the software and data are stored on servers.

These applications are broadly divided into the following categories: Software as a Service (SaaS), Utility Computing, Web Services, Platform as a Service (PaaS), Managed Service Providers (MSP), Service Commerce, and Internet Integration.

Human Thoughts Control New Robot

Scientists have created a way to control a robot with signals from a human brain.

By generating the proper brainwaves—picked up by a cap with electrodes that sense the signals and reflect a person's instructions—scientists can instruct a humanoid robot to move to specific locations and pick up certain objects.

The commands are limited to moving forward, picking up one of two objects and bringing it to one of two locations. The researchers have achieved 94 percent accuracy between the thought commands and the robot's movements.

"This is really a proof-of-concept demonstration," said Rajesh Rao, a researcher from the University of Washington who leads the project. "It suggests that one day we might be able to use semi-autonomous robots for such jobs as helping disabled people or performing routine tasks in a person's home."

The person wearing the electrode cap watches the robot's movement on a computer screen through two cameras installed on and above the robot.

When the robot's camera sees the objects that are to be picked up it passes on the information to the user's computer screen. Each object lights up randomly on the computer screen. When a person wants something picked up and it happens to light up, the brain registers surprise and sends this brain activity to the computer and then to the robot as the choice object. The robot then proceeds to pick up the object.


A similar algorithm is used to decide where the robot will go.

"One of the important things about this demonstration is that we're using a 'noisy' brain signal to control the robot," Rao said. "The technique for picking up brain signals is non-invasive, but that means we can only obtain brain signals indirectly from sensors on the surface of the head, and not where they are generated deep in the brain. As a result, the user can only generate high-level commands such as indicating which object to pick up or which location to go to, and the robot needs to be autonomous enough to be able to execute such commands."

Robotics Timeline

* Robots capable of manual labour tasks
o 2009 - robots that perform searching and fetching tasks in unmodified library environment, Professor Angel del Pobil (University Jaume I, Spain), 2004
o 2015-2020 - every South Korean household will have a robot and many European, The Ministry of Information and Communication (South Korea), 2007
o 2018 - robots will routinely carry out surgery, South Korea government 2007
o 2022 - intelligent robots that sense their environment, make decisions, and learn are used in 30% of households and organizations - TechCast
o 2030 - robots capable of performing at human level at most manual jobs Marshall Brain
o 2034 - robots (home automation systems) performing most household tasks, Helen Greiner, Chairman of iRobot

* Military robots
o 2015 - one third of US fighting strength will be composed of robots - US Department of Defense, 2006
o 2035 - first completely autonomous robot soldiers in operation - US Department of Defense, 2006
o 2038 - first completely autonomous robot flying car in operation - US Department of Technology, 2007



* Developments related to robotics from the Japan NISTEP 2030 report :
o 2013-2014 — agricultural robots (AgRobots).
o 2013-2017 — robots that care for the elderly
o 2017 — medical robots performing low-invasive surgery
o 2017-2019 — household robots with full use.
o 2019-2021 — Nanorobots
o 2021-2022 — Transhumanism

Robotics in 2020

Robots will be commonplace: in home, factories, agriculture, building & construction, undersea, space, mining, hospitals and streets for repair, construction, maintenance, security, entertainment, companionship, care.

Purposes of these Robots:

* Robotized space vehicles and facilities
* Anthropomorphic general-purpose robots with hands like humans used for factory jobs - Intelligent robots for unmanned plants - Totally automated factories will be commonplace.
* Robots for guiding blind people
* Robots for almost any job in home or hospital, including Robo-surgery.
* Housework robots for cleaning, washing etc - Domestic robots will be small, specialized and attractive, e.g. cuddly


Properties of these robots:

* Autonomous, with environmental awareness sensors
* Self diagnostic self repairing
* Artificial brains with ten thousand or

International Robot Exhibition (IREX), organized by Japan Robot Association (JARA), is a biennal robot exhibition since 1973, which features state-of-the art robot technologies and products.

Bits vs. atoms

Engelberger and others at the show drew a sharp contrast between the explosive growth of the computer industry over the past few decades and the relative stagnation of the robotics field. While venture capitalists were lining up to fund computer start-ups, Engelberger, despite his impressive résumé, was unable to get financing for his robot that would help people live at home rather than go into a nursing home.

The robotics industry today is about as far along the road to widespread commercial acceptance as the PC industry was in the 1970s. The differences are that robotics don't have an equivalent of Moore's Law, the industry hasn't settled on standards, there's not much in the way of venture capital money and there's really no viable commercial application - killer or otherwise, said Paolo Pirjanian, chief scientist at Evolution Robotics .

On the show floor, several vendors displayed small demo robots that used sensors to navigate the show floor - literally technologies in search of an application. Unfortunately, the economics are such that it's extremely difficult to build a true robot that can interact with its environment at a cost that would attract consumers, Pirjanian said.

The vacuum cleaner is a good example. Electrolux tried to market a robotic vacuum cleaner called Trilobite that uses ultrasound to get around, but at $1,800 consumers weren't biting. The Roombas and e-Vacs are affordable - between $150 and $250 - but they lack the sophisticated capabilities that one would want in a robotic vacuum cleaner, such as obstacle avoidance, the ability to go up and down steps, and the ability to know where it had already vacuumed.