Both cloud computing and grid computing will entail the involvement of large computer networks; however, these two terms are not necessarily synonymous. Theoretically speaking, both cloud computing and grid computing may be alike since they both will deal with a huge network infrastructure. These concepts have both been introduced for distributed computing. Cloud computing refers to IT services that are delivered by cloud service providers to enterprises. The cloud is basically a pool of useful computing resources which can take care of heavy workloads and allows for their easy deployment through virtual servers. This makes cloud computing highly reliable and scalable which makes resource allocation possible in real time.
What is Cloud Computing and Grid Computing?
More and more businesses are seeking cloud computing solutions to facilitate better infrastructure management and to eliminate costs for maintaining hardware. So, cloud computing is important because it eliminates difficulties that would normally arise in deploying computing services. The main idea behind designing the cloud is to enable users to avail of shared resources and capabilities; in this sense, both cloud and grid computing share the same goals.
The grid refers to a system which can organize and manage resources that get distributed over multiple domains. They make use of interfaces and offer high quality services. Grid computing is resource sharing or problem solving that takes place in a changing environment which has many institutions.
These are networks that can abstract processing jobs; through abstraction, it is possible to hide the complexities of processes and offer users simplified interfaces to work with. So, both cloud computing and grid computing aims to make a system more user-friendly without eliminating the benefits of complicated processes. These two terms are not mutually exclusive because you can have a cloud within a grid and a computational grid within a cloud. Both are examples of distributed computing where computing network elements are distributed across a large geographical area.
Cloud Computing vs. Grid Computing
Cloud computing allows users to access the computing resources, processing power and storage from any computer. Grids enable you to get leased computing power or storage from your computer. While you will find individual companies such as Amazon or Microsoft offering cloud computing services, grid computing will be made available through universities and research institutions which amalgamate their services through grid infrastructures. Cloud computing is accessed by mainly small and medium sized businesses for their IT needs while grid computing serves research collaborations that bring researchers working in the same area from different parts of the world. So, the government or publicly-funded organizations for research pay for grid computing services which cloud computing is paid for by the cloud services provider.
In cloud computing, the vendors own private data centers in some locations which have excellent network connectivity and redundant power supplies for data storage. The resources in grid computing are distributes across many countries and sites in computing centers. Cloud computing allows you to access additional computing resources whenever there are traffic spikes or for handling peak workloads without having to purchase or maintain a data center. Grid computing is useful because users will not need to buy and maintain their own computing centers and can handle complex problems faster. Secure data sharing is also possible with the distributed team.
Clouds are very useful for supporting long-term services while the grid is mainly designed for short term tasks involving colossal amounts of data. Clouds are proprietary technology and the vendor alone knows exactly how a cloud is managing and securing the data stored in it. But the grid is open source and both the provider and user know and manage the working of the grid.
As far as advantages of the cloud are concerned, cloud users can outsource resources during high traffic peaks without any long term commitment. The vendor also gets financial gains because they guarantee availability of services. Moreover, the cloud is very easy to use even if you are not a seasoned cloud user. In comparison, grid computing offers federated platform for collective tasks. The providers have control over resources which they are giving to the grid. All technologies used are open source so that transparency is maintained. Since grids are located in various sites, there are fewer risks involved when failure in any site eliminates important resources from the network.
