| Web 3.0 - What's Next? - Cloud Computing |
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| Written by the Cyberspace Pursuit Team | ||||||||||
Page 3 of 8 Cloud ComputingCloud Computing is a very general term used to refer to a system of web deployment which has recently gained traction among web developers. This system, which is already used by many large web entities and applications (including AHSTSA.org), dynamically scalableMost cloud computing applications include support for scaling, or resizing resources, of web deployments. This way, once a site begins to become popular, it is very easy for its administrator to upgrade serving resources, say, host the website on a dedicated server. and usually virtualized resourcesIt is common practice within the web hosting niche to virtualize resources. This encompasses using very high-processing power, high memory servers to create virtual hardware. This is much more practical for scalability, as "servers" can quickly be resized and resources redistributed. are provided as a service over the Internet. Instead of websites and businesses relying on self-maintained servers to deliver content, groups can simply upload web content and applications to adapting systems of connected servers. Many cloud computing architectures dynamically distribute web content across a large, flexible network, often described as- and therefore named- a cloud, that can be maintained either commercially or fundamentally user-driven.This brings the web closer to its original intention- not only can the cloud route information through multiple paths, but it can also deliver it from multiple points, thus increasing overall speed and efficiency. Some believe cloud computing is just another marketing term for old ideas, but some point to some fundamental differences. Essentially, "cloud computing" is still a part of the system used by web hosting companies for years, but the new, broader terminology also conveys further innovation.
CommercialCommercialCloud computing, from a commercial standpoint, can take a variety of forms. It is a way for web developers to focus more on their work as developers instead of administrators; through cloud computing, developers need not worry about all the hardware that was once required to create a website or web application. Commercial cloud hosting clients only pay for storage space and bandwidth used, cutting out large startup costs and allowing low-capital competition and innovation. Cloud hosting also removes many hardware limitations from web deployment. When large amounts of bandwidth are needed, they can be easily obtained from the cloud; when little to no bandwidth is needed, it can be used by other web deployments instead of leaving large systems idle. This way, commercial cloud hosting environments can achieve maximum efficiency. You may be familiar with some popular cloud computing providers; Google, Amazon, Salesforce, Zoho, Yahoo, and Microsoft are all big names in "cloud computing" and frequently use the term in marketing. Marc Benioff, CEO of salesforce.com, favors this approach to web 3.0:
User-DrivenUser-DrivenIt is likely that you are familiar with user-driven cloud computing networks such as BitTorrent and Skype. These peer-to-peer networks dynamically use the bandwidth of their users to improve the networks. This idea is more accepted as the "3.0" part of cloud computing. For example, when downloading a torrent, your computer is both downloading pieces of a file and re-serving it to other computers. This assures that needed bandwidth is always available through the "cloud". While peer-to-peer file sharing may have recieved some negative publicity from illegal pirating, peer-to-peer represents an enormous leap in how we think about distributing content. While it is currently in use and considered by some to be "Web 2.0", it still has much room for improvement. New Ideas from AHSTSAMore Speculation from AHSTSA: It is the belief of the AHSTSA Cyberspace Pursuit Team that, some time in the future, all web content could be distributed in a peer-to-peer fashion, nearly eliminating the need for large server farmsAt the present time, most web content is distributed from stationary sources, usually large buildings filled with racks and rows of servers that must be maintained by teams of hardware and software specialists. altogether. The number and types of devices connected to the World Wide Web increase dramatically every day. If this trend is to continue and web data is distributed in the same way as the present time, hosting companies will be required to continue adding more and more racks, walls, and warehouses of servers, but if the internet revolutionizes to this newer, user-driven model, the number of "servers" will always be equal to the number of clients. We believe cloud computing, or at least its non-commercial, user-driven portion, is another piece of Web 3.0. |