We’ve all heard of “the cloud,” but many of us still don’t understand what it is. Learn about the importance of the “cloud” for both companies and individuals, as well as of the cloud data centers and their work principle.
Cloud Data Center: What Is It and How to Choose?
“Cloud computing” (or “cloud” for short) means tasks and services that are provided or hosted over the Internet for a fee. The ability to store, process, and manage data over the Internet has been available for some time, but cloud data center architecture allows it to be done on a much larger scale.
Cloud data centers represent programs and platforms that “live” and work on the servers of cloud providers. The main feature of cloud applications is that by creating an account on such a platform, a person will be able to access their own information from any gadget anywhere in the world. To do this, you need to create a username and password. Using cloud services is not only convenient but also safe. Even if something happens to your phone or computer, your data will not disappear.
In a narrow sense, cloud data centers are online programs that help organize remote work and solve business problems. Employees get access to a common database from anywhere in the world and can manage projects. Each employee sees the result in real-time, can make comments, and edits, and perform personal or joint tasks.
The Main Features of Cloud Data Centers
Among the main features of cloud data centers are:
- Self-service on demand.
The consumer, when necessary, can independently use computing capabilities, such as server time or network storage, automatically, without interaction with the service provider’s personnel.
- Broad accessibility via the network (Internet).
Opportunities are available through the web; access to them is carried out on the basis of standard mechanisms, which ensures the use of heterogeneous thin and thick client platforms (for example, mobile phones, laptops, and PDAs).
- Pooling Resources.
The supplier pools its computing resources to serve a large number of consumers using the principle of multiple leases.
How to Work with the Cloud Data Center?
Cloud data centers allow users not to think about the fact that they do not have enough disk space on a computer, smartphone, or tablet to store thousands of photos, and hundreds of videos. Now they do not have to store all this locally but redirect everything to the cloud storage. Moreover, you do not have to stand in line to retrieve your data and files from the cloud; it is always available if the network is connected. Accessible from anywhere in the world at the same speed.
Despite belonging to different companies, the principle of operation of cloud storage differs from each other only in detail. The user needs to register, come up with a login and password to enter his account, and download and install special software for synchronizing files. Further, almost all “cloud” resources are ready to provide a certain amount for free use.
The main driving force behind the development of “cloud” computing in the corporate sector is the opportunity to save money on the purchase and maintenance of own servers, software applications, data storage devices, licenses, etc. After all, the provider of “cloud” computing services can be paid only for actually used services.