Cloud Computing vs Grid Computing

Grid computing and cloud computing have a lot in common philosophically, and they're easy to mix up. Both concepts are extremely similar, and they both have the same goal of offering services to customers by pooling resources from a huge number of people.

 

Both are network-based and multitasking-capable, allowing users to access a single or multiple software instances to fulfil various tasks.

 

Grid computing entails virtualizing computing resources in order to store large amounts of data, but cloud computing entails an application accessing resources through service over the internet rather than directly.

 

Grid computing distributes resources across grids, whereas cloud computing manages resources centrally. Keep reading to learn in detail.

 

 

Cloud Computing

 

Cloud computing is the distribution of computing services over the Internet ("the cloud") in order to provide speedier innovation, more flexible resources, and economies of scale. You typically only pay for the cloud services you use, which allows you to save money, run your infrastructure more efficiently, and scale as your company grows.

 

Cloud computing also refers to the technology that makes it possible to use cloud computing. Virtualized IT infrastructure includes servers, operating system software, networking, and other infrastructure that has been abstracted using special software and can be pooled and divided across physical hardware boundaries. For example, a single physical server can be divided into multiple virtual servers.

 

Virtualization allows cloud providers to get the most out of their data centres. Not surprisingly, many businesses have chosen the cloud delivery model for their on-premises infrastructure in order to maximise utilisation and cost savings over traditional IT infrastructure while also providing end-users with the same self-service and agility.

 

If you use a computer or mobile device at home or at work, you almost certainly use some sort of cloud computing every day, whether it's a cloud application like Google Gmail or Salesforce, streaming video like Netflix, or cloud file storage like Dropbox. 

 

According to a recent survey, 92 per cent of firms are already using the cloud, and the majority of them want to utilise it more in the coming year.

 

Why is Cloud Computing important?

 

Cloud computing is the showiest technological development of the twenty-first century. This is due to the fact that it has been adopted into the mainstream at a faster rate than any other technology in the sector. 

 

The ever-increasing number of smartphones and mobile devices that can access the internet has spurred this adoption. Cloud computing isn't just for corporations and organisations; it's also beneficial to the regular consumer.

 

It allows us to execute software programmes without having to install them on our computers; it allows us to store and access our multimedia content through the internet, and it allows us to develop and test programmes without the need for servers. Cloud computing is a marvel of the twenty-first century, with applications in practically every sector.

 

Why do we need cloud computing, for example, is a question that many of us are likely to ponder. Essentially, cloud computing is required due to the numerous personal and business issues that we face nowadays. 

 

These issues range from purchasing and maintaining costly hardware and software resources that we utilise in our everyday operations to optimising these resources in the most efficient manner for our own and societal benefit. In dealing with these issues, cloud computing has provided various benefits that have exceeded our expectations and offered more than we had anticipated.

 

(Must read: Spatial Cloud Computing)

 

Grid Computing

 

Grid computing is the practice of using several computers, which are often geographically dispersed yet linked by networks, to collaborate on a common job. It's usually run on a "data grid," which is a collection of computers that communicate directly with one another to coordinate tasks.

 

They may be tasked with analysing large datasets or modelling circumstances that demand a lot of computational power. Computers on the network contribute resources like processing power and storage space.

 

Grid computing is a type of distributed computing in which a virtual supercomputer is made up of machines connected by a network bus, usually Ethernet or the Internet. 

 

It's also a type of parallel computing in which, instead of having several CPU cores on a single system, it has numerous cores distributed over multiple places. Grid computing is not a new concept, but it has yet to be developed because of the lack of public standards and protocols.

 

Why is Grid Computing important?

 

Grid computing is gaining traction as a viable solution for businesses looking to squeeze more profit and productivity out of their IT resources – and it will be up to you, the developers and administrators, to grasp Grid computing and put it to use. It's really more about bringing an issue to the computer (or Grid) and having that problem solved. 

 

Grid computing is resource sharing that is flexible, secure, and coordinated among dynamic groups of people, institutions, and resources. 

 

Grid computing allows users and applications to access large IT capabilities by virtualizing scattered computing resources such as processing, network bandwidth, and storage capacity into a single system picture. A Grid is similar to how an Internet user sees a unified instance of content via the World Wide Web.

 

Grid computing will provide access to a network of distributed resources such as CPU cycles, storage capacity, input and output devices, services, entire applications, and more abstract aspects such as licences and certificates to people all over the world. 

 

To tackle a compute-intensive problem, for example, the problem is divided into several tasks and dispersed among local and remote computers, with the individual outputs combined at the end. 

 

From a different perspective, these systems are linked to a single large computational Grid. The architectures, operating systems, and software versions of the separate nodes can all be different. Some of the target systems could be node clusters or high-performance servers themselves. (source)

 

Grid computing systems

 

• Distributed computing system

 

A distributed system is a group of independent computers connected by a communication network and communicating with one another via message forwarding. Each CPU has its own set of local memory. They make use of middleware for distribution. They aid in the sharing of various resources and capabilities in order to offer users a single, cohesive network.

 

Distributed computing is a branch of computer science that investigates distributed systems, and a distributed programme is a computer programme that operates in a distributed system. cloud computing examples Intranets, the Internet, the World Wide Web, and email are all examples of technology.

 

• Distributed information system

 

For computer users, distributed information systems are becoming increasingly vital. Distributed processing is a method of distributing a single logical set of processing functions among a number of physical devices, with each unit performing a portion of the overall processing. 

 

A distributed database is frequently formed in conjunction with distributed processing. When data elements stored at many sites are interconnected, or when a process (programme execution) at one location requires access to data stored at another location, a distributed database is created.

 

• Distributed pervasive system

 

The term "ubiquitous computing" refers to a distributed pervasive system. Ubiquitous computing is a computing paradigm in which information processing is linked to each action or object encountered. It entails linking electronic equipment, as well as incorporating microprocessors for data communication. 

 

Devices that use ubiquitous computing are always connected and always available. Ubiquitous computing focuses on learning by eliminating the complexity of computing and increasing efficiency while utilising computers for many daily tasks.

 

(Must check: What is Cloud Security?)

 

 

Cloud computing services

 

• SaaS

 

Software as a service (SaaS) is an Internet-based way of delivering software as a service. Rather than installing and maintaining software, you simply access it via the Internet, obviating the need for complicated software and device maintenance.

 

SaaS programmes are also known as web-based software, on-demand software, and hosted software. SaaS apps, regardless of their name, are hosted on a SaaS provider's servers. The security, availability, and performance of the application are all under the control of the service provider.

 

• PaaS

 

Platform as a service(PaaS) is a complete cloud development and deployment environment with tools that allow you to create everything from simple cloud-based apps to sophisticated, cloud-enabled commercial systems. 

 

You pay a cloud service provider on a per-use basis for the resources you require, and you access them over a secure Internet connection. PaaS is designed to support the complete lifetime of a web application, including development, testing, deployment, maintenance, and upgrades.

 

• IaaS

 

Infrastructure as a service (IaaS) is a pay-as-you-go cloud computing service that provides critical computation, storage, and networking resources on demand. IaaS is one of the four types of cloud services, along with software as a service (SaaS), platform as a service (PaaS), and serverless. 

 

Migrating your company's infrastructure to an IaaS solution minimises on-premises data centre maintenance, cuts hardware costs, and gives you access to real-time business intelligence.

 

• FaaS

 

FaaS, or Function-as-a-Service, is frequently confused with serverless computing, but it's actually a subset of the latter. FaaS enables developers to respond to specific events by executing sections of application code (called functions). 

 

The cloud service provider spins down everything except the code—physical hardware, virtual machine operating system, and web server software management—in real-time as the code executes. Billing begins when the execution begins and ends when the execution ends.