Cloud Computing Diagnosis

Abstract

Cloud Computing is emerging as a promising cost efficient computing paradigm which professionals believe is an absolutely new trend and will represent next level of internet evolution. Though the presence of Cloud computing is ubiquitous, it still lacks consensus on a proper definition and classification of the major Clouds in effect today. It also suffers from major criticism of being a hype/fad and some researchers claim that it is just an extension of already established computing paradigms. This chapter attempts to deal with such criticisms by comprehensively analyzing the Cloud definitions and diagnose the components of the same. It performs a comprehensive study of more than 30 definitions given by Cloud computing professionals and published in research papers. These definitions are then analyzed under more than fifteen components, each of which is discussed in the chapter. This study is backed by empirical work, to understand Cloud computing from different angles and come up with a comprehensive definition. It also analyses the present Cloud service providers and the level of services they provide to bring about a clear picture of Cloud computing. Based on the comparison, the pending issues in Cloud computing are discussed.