Cloud Computing explained. For Teachers, academic administrators, and students

1. Cloud Computing
Mukesh N. Tekwani
Dept. of Physics (Junior College)
Ismail Yusuf College, Mumbai, INDIA
2017

2. Jeff Bezos - Amazon
“You don’t generate your own electricity.
Why generate your own computing?”

3. Presentation Outline
1. What is Cloud Computing?
2. How is it different from the Computing we do today in our homes/offices?
3. Service Models - Iaas, Paas, Saas
4. Examples
5. What are its advantages and disadvantages?
6. Cloud computing for students
7. Cloud computing for teachers
8. Cloud computing for teacher administrators
9. Cloud computing for personal use

4. What is Cloud Computing?
❖ Internet is cloud computing
❖ Cloud computing requires Internet
❖ Cloud => Storing and accessing data and programs (software) over the
Internet
➢ Local hard drive? Data centres
➢ Local Area Network (LAN)?
❖ Cloud platform provides on-demand services => always on, anywhere,
anytime
❖ Cloud computing refers to many services e.g., storage, servers,
applications

5. Why Cloud ?
❖ Cloud gets rid of hardware infrastructure at user end
❖ Software licensing costs removed
❖ Hardware upgrades ?
❖ Software upgrades (drivers, patches, security…) ?
❖ Latest versions of software
❖ Hardware maintenance costs
❖ Use low-powered devices like tablets, smartphones to access
applications/data that are located on more powerful servers.

6. Cloud Characteristics
❖ Remotely hosted - data centre machines
❖ Available anywhere - through Internet
❖ Resilience - assured by mirroring of data and programs at multiple data
centres. Data locations geo-spread
❖ On-demand self-service -- user can directly configure computing
resources such as memory (increase / decrease available RAM), server
time, server storage space. This model is based on pay-as-you-use
❖ Elasticity - Use services that you require; so pay also for what you use.
During peak times, scale-up resources; when traffic is low, reduce
resource usage => reduce costs

7. Cloud Characteristics
❖ Fully managed by provider - HW and SW taken care of by service
provider so user is not burdened.

8. Cloud Disadvantages
❖ Connectivity - high speed data connectivity is always necessary
❖ Security of data
❖ Who owns data?
❖ Who owns applications?

9. Service Models
What can we buy ? Products and Services.
Product => computer hardware, software. Have always been priced
Service => maintenance of hardware, software training. Now priced
(and taxed !!)
1. Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
2. Platform as a Service (Paas)
3. Software as a Service (SaaS)

10. Service Model - IaaS
IaaS - Infrastructure as a Service
Hardware infrastructure used as a service
Data Centres provide this infrastructure of HW, networking, storage, scaling,
maintenance
User must manage operating system (OS), install applications, upgrade
applications and OS
Service provider only provides hardware.
Price

11. Service Model - PaaS
PaaS - Platform as a Service
Platform?
Here we get infrastructure (as in IaaS)
But we also get tools to develop, test, host and maintain applications,
environment for programming languages
Platform gives some readymade tools so developing applications becomes
easier. Useful for developers
Service provider takes care of OS and provides many readymade services
E.g. Google Apps (Google Script), Microsoft Azure. Programming through

12. Service Model - SaaS
SaaS - Software as a Service
Examples - GMail, Google Apps (Google Docs, Google Sheets…) , Office 365.
Ready-to-use application provided. Hardware/software infrastructure is
transparent for end-user
Application is on the cloud - just use through browser
Any application hosted on a remote server that can be accessed over the
Internet is considered as SaaS

13. Service Models Compared

14. Service Models Compared
Application
Packaged
Software
Data
Runtime
Operating System
Servers
Storage
Networking
Application
Infrastructure as a
Service
Data
Runtime
Operating System
Servers
Storage
Networking
Application
Platform as a
Service
Data
Runtime
Operating System
Servers
Storage
Networking
Application
Software as a
Service
Data
Runtime
Operating System
Servers
Storage
Networking

15. Service Models Compared
Packaged Software
Traditional way of developing SW
Organisation must take care of: Purchasing HW / SW, Networking, develop /
maintain applications, install OS on client and server systems, storage,
hardware maintenance… Everything !!

16. Service Models Compared
IaaS
We only manage Applications, Data, Runtime, and OS.
What about networking, storage, servers? These are provided by the
Cloud service provider.
Maintenance of network, storage space, server?

17. Service Models Compared
PaaS
We only manage Applications, Data.
We build the application and use it
What about OS, networking, storage, servers? These are provided by
the Cloud service provider.
What about network maintenance, storage space, server, OS
upgradation? Cloud provider

18. Service Models Compared
SaaS
Everything is taken care of by the service provider.
We simply use the application
Example: Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Drive
Developers have used PaaS, but the end result of developing the
application is SaaS.
Least control in hands of user

19. What do you use on Cloud?

20. Advantages for the User
❖ Reduced hardware costs
❖ Reduced Software costs
❖ Negligible maintenance costs
❖ Increased data reliability due to mirroring
❖ Practically unlimited storage - ask and you shall have more storage,
more processing power...

21. Advantages for the User
❖ Resources like storage, memory can be scaled - during peak and
lean times. Pay-as-you-go model
❖ Data + Programs accessible anywhere, anytime
❖ Device independence - smartphone, tab, laptop
❖ Automatic software updates
❖ Virus checks built-in into the applications on cloud (e.g. GMail)
❖ Pen drive / CD become obsolete

22. Disadvantages for the User
❖ Internet must be always available
❖ High speed connection
❖ Security of data
❖ Certain features may not be available with certain providers
❖ Policies? Who owns data of an Indian company if data centre is in,
say, Australia?

23. Cloud Computing for Students
Textbook costs reduce
Put textbooks on cloud.
CBSE - http://cbse.nic.in/ecbse/index.html
Google books - books.google.com
Free Online material by Universities
MIT - https://ocw.mit.edu/index.htm

25. Cloud Computing for Students
❖ Access study material through smartphone, tablet.
❖ Software => Browser
❖ No need of expensive external storage
❖ Software available cheaply (sometimes free) e.g.
Google Docs, Google Sheets, Google Slides.

26. How can we use cloud and help students ?
❖ Put up study material online
❖ Many free sites / free storage such as Google Docs
❖ Put up all info of daily relevance on cloud - exam schedules,
project submission deadlines, defaulter’s lists, exam/test marks
❖ Refer students to online resources
❖ Some books have online supplementary resources - digital
editions
❖ Conduct onine exams

28. Cloud Computing for Teachers
❖ Provide lecture notes online; great for those students who couldnot
attend the lecture
❖ Put up project topics, project submission guidelines, etc on the cloud - a
website or a blog.
❖ Here, the Junior College uses the FREE resource from Google - BLOGGER
to put the latest info about HSC exams, results, schedules, study material,
etc

30. Cloud Computing for Teachers
❖ slideshare.net ----- save presentations
❖ Share files -- Google Drive or Microsoft OneDrive
❖ Create notes using online applications such as Google Docs or online
version of Microsoft Word. Same features as offline version
❖ Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel – save marks / grades. Data can be
entered in spreadsheet by more than one user at a time
❖ Collaborate with colleagues in preparing presentation using Google Slides
or PowerPoint Online
❖ Google Forms – great tool to collect info

31. Cloud Computing for Teacher Administrators
❖Typical scenario - data collected after much running around, data printed
and put in a file “somewhere”, and given to “somebody” !
❖When needed in a few months, data unavailable
❖Result? Run around again - collecting data or re-creating data
❖Alternative ? As soon as data is created put on cloud. Better still, create it on
cloud. Restrict who can edit/access this data.
❖That way data can be available on demand, any time.

32. Cloud Computing for Teacher Administrators
That’s what we do in Junior College here - past GRs, circulars, statistics,
results of previous years, General Register - all available online
BUT - even though this data is online on cloud, it is not accessible to
everybody as access is restricted
Providing access to others when required is easier than creating / searching
for data

33. Cloud for your Personal Use

34. Cloud for your Personal Use
Save your valuable info on the cloud – accessible anywhere.
Certificates, letters…
Info about your investments – save online. Just imagine the loss if that
personal diary which contains all investment data is lost/misplaced !!!
Use encryption tools or create your own policy to encrypt data
Save your passwords online – encrypt passwords!
Save the pics, videos, .. online