Cloud computing versus Grid computing

[ Thanks to An Anonymous Reader for this link. ]

"You may have wondered about cloud computing as compared to grid computing. In this article, I talk about cloud computing service types and the similarities and differences between cloud and grid computing. I look at why cloud computing may be advantageous over grid computing, what issues to consider in both, and some security concerns. I use Amazon Web Services as an example.

"To get cloud computing to work, you need three things: thin clients (or clients with a thick-thin switch), grid computing, and utility computing. Grid computing links disparate computers to form one large infrastructure, harnessing unused resources. Utility computing is paying for what you use on shared servers like you pay for a public utility (such as electricity, gas, and so on).

"With grid computing, you can provision computing resources as a utility that can be turned on or off. Cloud computing goes one step further with on-demand resource provisioning. This eliminates over-provisioning when used with utility pricing. It also removes the need to over-provision in order to meet the demands of millions of users."

Complete Story

Related Stories:

• Ubuntu Makes Cloud Strategy a Big Joke(Feb 26, 2009)
• Zmanda Brings Open Source Backup to the Cloud(Feb 19, 2009)
• KVM & OpenVZ Virtualization And Cloud Computing With Proxmox VE(Feb 18, 2009)
• Real Geeks do Peer Clouding(Feb 06, 2009)
• EnterpriseDB and Sun Reaping Benefits from Open Source Databases(Jan 30, 2009)
• Debian Founder Murdock Now Sun's Cloud Strategist(Jan 29, 2009)
• JumpBox: Open Source Meets SaaS (Again)(Dec 23, 2008)