A type of computing, comparable to
grid computing that relies on sharing computing resources rather than
having local servers or personal
devices to handle
applications. The goal of
cloud computing is to apply traditional
supercomputing,
or
high-performance computing power, normally used
by military and research facilities, to perform tens of trillions of
computations per second, in consumer-oriented applications such as financial
portfolios or even to deliver personalized information, or power
immersive computer games.
To do this, cloud computing networks large groups of
servers, usually those
with low-cost consumer PC technology, with specialized connections to spread
data-processing chores across them. This shared IT infrastructure contains large
pools of systems that are linked together. Often,
virtualization
techniques are used to maximize the power of cloud computing.
The standards for connecting the computer systems and the software needed to
make cloud computing work are not fully defined at present time, leaving many companies
to define
their own cloud computing technologies. Systems offered by companies, like
IBM's "Blue Cloud" technologies for example, are based on open standards and
open source software which link together computers that are used to to deliver
Web 2.0 capabilities like
mash-ups or mobile commerce.
Cloud computing has started to obtain mass appeal in corporate data centers
as it enables the data center to operate like the Internet work through the
process of enabling computing
resources to be accessed and shared as virtual resources in a secure and
scalable manner.
See network cloud.
See also grid computing.
Also see "Technology
Terms to Know for 2009" in the
Did You Know...?
section of Webopedia.
