Vol.18- No.1 (Jan-Mar2011) - INFLIBNET Centre

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The Cloud ComputingIn generic term, cloud computing can be defined as “a modelfor enabling ubiquitous, convenient, on-demand network accessto a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g.,networks, servers, storage, applications, and services) that canbe rapidly provisioned and released with minimal managementeffort or service provider interaction.” (NIST)As far as a user is concerned, a cloud is a service that satisfies allof the following conditions:GGGGGit is delivered over a telecommunications network;users place reliance on the service for data access and/ordata processing;the data is under the legal control of the user;some of the resources on which the service depends arevirtualised, i.e. the user has no technical need to know whichserver is running or which host is delivering the service, orwhere the hosting device is located; andthe service is acquired under a relatively flexible contractualarrangement.The fundamental elements of cloud computing can becategorised as follows:PrimarySecondary• Virtualisation • Autonomic Systems• Grid technology • Web 2.0• Service Oriented Architectures • Web application frameworks• Distributed Computing • Service Level Agreements• Broadband Networks• Browser as a platform• Free and Open Source SoftwareCloud Service ModelsSoftware as a Service (SaaS)The applications are accessible from various client devicesthrough a thin client interface such as a web browser (e.g.,web-based e-mail). The user does not manage or control theunderlying cloud infrastructure including network, servers,operating systems, storage, or even individual applicationcapabilities, with the possible exception of limited user-specificapplication configuration settings.Platform as a Service (PaaS)PaaS provides an application platform, or middleware, as a serviceon which developers can build and deploy custom applications.Common solutions provided in this tier range from APIs andtools to database and business process management systems tosecurity integration, allowing developers to build applicationsand run them on the infrastructure that the cloud vendor ownsand maintains.Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)It is the capability provided to the user to enable processing,storage, networks, and other fundamental computing resourceswhere the user is able to deploy and run arbitrary software,which can include operating systems and applications. The userdoes not manage or control the underlying cloud infrastructurebut has control over operating systems, storage, deployedapplications, and possibly limited control of select networkingcomponents.The conceptual model of cloud promotes availability and iscomposed of five essential characteristics, three service models,and four deployment models.Essential Characteristics of CloudGGGGGOn-demand self-service (i.e. automated response by serversto direct requests by clients)Broad network access (i.e. from anywhere, using any device)Resource pooling (i.e. the provider allocates resourcesaccording to demand, rather than assigning resources toparticular clients)Rapid elasticity (i.e. resources are scalable according todemand)Measured service (i.e. resource usage is metered)Figure: Cloud Service ModelsCloud Deployment ModelsThere are four primary cloud deployment models. Eachdeployment model necessarily exhibits the previously discussedessential characteristics. The basic differences lies in the scopeand access of cloud services, as they are made available to endusers.18Vol. 18, No. 1 (<strong>Jan</strong>uary to March 2011)
GGGGPublic Cloud - A public cloud is a publicly accessible cloudenvironment owned by a third-party cloud provider.Community Cloud - A community cloud is similar to apublic cloud except that its access is limited to a specificcommunity of cloud consumers.Private Cloud - A private cloud is owned by a singleorganization.Hybrid Cloud - A hybrid cloud is a cloud environment oftwo or more different cloud deployment models.Data : Bibliographic, Technical, Access, LicenceContent : Collection, Subscription, Digital, Print, PublishingServices : Library as a place, content-access, content-creation,research, preservationAs libraries are having service-oriented mission they are in aposition to adopt cloud computing. Libraries (or librarians) arein constant search of finding proper solution within limitedresources, moreover the outreach of service is quite dependenton support of external or internal computing (IT) support staff.It may also be noted that there are very few libraries that arehaving IT support staff with expertise on advance ITmanagement. This situation makes SaaS, PaaS or IaaS approachtempting to move towards cloud computing for providing betterlibrary services.Libraries have been adopting cloud-based solutions services likeelectronic journal access management, statistics tracking, digitallibrary hosting and now trend is coming up for hosted librarymanagement systems.The use of SaaS in libraries dates back to early 2000 withestablishment of companies like SerialsSolutions (http://serialssolutions.com). There are also examples of availability ofhosting platforms for Institutional Repositories and others(eg. http://duracloud.org; biomedicalcentral.com/).Figure: Conceptual Framework for Cloud ComputingAdvantages of Cloud ComputingThere are a number of advantages of cloud, though it dependson case to case basis, following are the general benefits:GGGGAssured maximum availability of your data, application andinfrastructure;Need to pay only for what has been used (i.e. Bandwidth,Resources);Relieves burden of IT staff within organization, as routinejobs are being handled by service providers; andEasily scalable as per requirement of organization.General disadvantages of cloud are dependent upon networkconnectivity, security, legal issues (ownership of data), latencyetc. which needs to be carefully reviewed.Cloud Computing and IT-Based Library ServicesMost common library services can be divided into followingthree categories:In the IaaS, one of the pioneer i.e. Amazon Elastic ComputingCloud (EC2) offers IT infrastructure with differently sized serversusing a choice of operating systems, including several flavoursof Linux and Windows. EC2 provides organizations withunlimited storage using S3 service, the ability to take snapshotsof both data and servers, and the ability to include EC2 serversin an organization’s private network. A full catalogue of EC2features is available on the EC2 website (http://aws.amazon.com/ec2/).ConclusionBy using cloud, library services can be made online withoutworrying about correct versions of platforms or the underlyingtechnology. It also gives facility to induce new applicationsquickly without having to focus on identifying available serverspace or configuration and IT-based library services can bedelivered much more quickly than when using local-basedhardware or software.Vol. 18, No. 1 (<strong>Jan</strong>uary to March 2011) 19
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Page 3 and 4: From the Director's DeskThe 8th Int
Page 5 and 6: Prof. Ajit Kembhavi, Director, IUCA
Page 7 and 8: Participants of the 8th Internation
Page 9 and 10: University of Calicut Signs MoU on
Page 11 and 12: INFLIBNET Regional Training Program
Page 13 and 14: Mohanlal Sukhadia University, Udaip
Page 15 and 16: User Awareness Programme on N-LISTA
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