Cloud Computing is a technology used by various companies that want to reduce costs and have access to programs and applications that are not physically installed on their computers or servers. The concept of electricity can be compared to how this technology works, although the consumer does not know where and how the energy is produced, consumers still have access to energy when they need it by simply plugging in an appliance and turning it on. This concept is almost the same as cloud computing, but the main type of communication used with this technology is the Internet. Cloud computing, as defined by NIST or the National Institute of Standards and Technology, is a technology that provides scalable IT capabilities that are offered as services over the Internet to multiple users, many users will then share IT resources pooled, reducing costs and resulting in greater computing efficiency.
Think of it this way; A business that uses computers will need multiple systems to deliver services, communicate, and store information. This also means that the more computers you have, the more software licenses, servers, and storage devices will be required as your business grows. Behind all of this are multiple people working around the clock to make sure servers, applications, and storage devices are up and running. The company will also need space to store these servers and storage devices, and to prevent overheating it will also need cooling devices that cost money. With cloud computing several of these acquisitions are removed. If these companies use or migrate to cloud computing, they will only need the computers and sometimes a single server to run the business smoothly. Then all other computing needs are outsourced to the clouds, which are servers and storage devices in different locations that can be turned on or off based on business computing demand. No more expensive software licenses, no more needing multiple servers and support people to maintain all of this. Then, this company will pay the cloud computing provider as they use the services, it’s like taking a taxi and paying with the meter.
Virtualization is a technology that helps businesses and individuals use their computers, applications, storage devices, and servers more efficiently. This can be defined as running multiple instances of something (operating system) on something (computers) when it is only designed to run one instance. There are different types of Virtualization. Server virtualization: It is a type of virtualization that consolidates multiple physical servers into virtual servers and then runs on a single physical server. Application Virtualization – An application runs on another host where it is installed and accessed remotely from a different computer. An example of this is desktop virtualization, presentation virtualization: it runs on a framework like Citrix, the app then runs on a different host, however it can also be seen on the client screen. Network virtualization: This type of virtualization uses the network in a partitioned way, which can then be run for multiple purposes, through the switch, NICs, VLANs, storage devices, and other devices that can control a network. Storage virtualization: means your storage devices. it is then consolidated and managed on a virtual storage device. The physical location of the virtualized storage device is not known to the servers to which it is connected.
Cloud computing and virtualization are two different technologies that are interchanged most of the time. These technologies will work without the other. However, cloud computing is best used if desktop virtualization is done first, as most cloud computing requires multiple virtual servers and storage devices to function or what you can call multi-tenant. Virtualization, on the other hand, allows a business or individual to save on their computing needs and resources by creating a virtualized version of a physical resource on the same resource. For example, server A is only 30 percent used most of the time, and server B is only 50 percent used. These two can be combined by creating a virtual server A on server B and thus Server A is no longer physically used. This means you save money and resources by removing server A from the equation.
Deeper explanation of server virtualization
Virtualized servers on a physical server run side by side in the same environment with no compatibility issues, because these virtual servers are isolated and then encapsulated with different layers. From the Hardware layer, the Virtualization layer and different environments such as operating systems and applications. At the hardware layer, each virtual server has a dedicated memory, hard drive, and processor assigned to the physical server. Just like it is an operational physical server. Most of the time, virtualization turns 20 physical servers into one by turning nineteen of these physical servers into one virtualized server.
Cloud computing, on the other hand, uses resources that you do not have physical access to, these resources can be servers, applications, operating systems, storage devices, etc. When you say cloud computing, that means your computing resources are outsourced to providers while you pay these providers for what you use. In contrast, if you’re using conventional computing, you’ll need all the equipment, people, and software to keep things running smoothly. Cloud computing means that these resources are provided by a company without you having to worry about maintenance, space for your equipment and software licenses because your cloud provider will take care of it. All you need to do is log in to your computer, monitor your usage version, or employ more servers depending on your computing needs.