What are the Components of Cloud in Cloud Computing?

  1. Client
  2. Service
  3. Application
  4. Platform
  5. Storage
  6. Infrastructure

1. Client

A cloud client consists of computer hardware and/or computer software which relies on The Cloud for application delivery, or which is specifically designed for delivery of cloud services and which, in either case, is essentially useless without it.

For Example:

  • Mobile (Android, iPhone )
  • Thick client / Web browser (Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox)


Components of Cloud in Cloud Computing

2. Service

Cloud service includes "products, services, and solutions that are delivered and consumed in real-time over the Internet.

For example:

  • Identity (OAuth, OpenID)
  • Payments (Amazon Flexible Payments Service, Google Checkout, PayPal)
  • Mapping (Google Maps, Yahoo! Maps)
  • Search (Alexa, Google Custom Search, Yahoo! BOSS)

3. Application

A cloud application leverages the Cloud in software architecture, often eliminating the need to install and run the application on the customer's own computer, thus alleviating the burden of software maintenance, ongoing operation, and support.

For example:

  • Web application (Facebook)
  • Software as a service (Google Apps, & Salesforce)
  • Software plus services (Microsoft Online Services)

4. Platform

A cloud platform, such as Platform as a service, the delivery of a computing platform, and/or solution stack as a service, facilitates deployment of applications without the cost and complexity of buying and managing the underlying hardware and software layers.

For example:

  • Web application frameworks
  • Ajax (Caspio)
  • Python Django (Google App Engine)
  • Ruby on Rails (Heroku)
  • Web hosting (Mosso, Clustered Cloud)

5. Storage

Cloud storage involves the delivery of data storage as a service, including database-like services, often billed on a utility computing basis, e.g., per gigabyte per month.

For example:

  • Database (Amazon SimpleDB, Google App Engine's BigTable )
  • Web service (Amazon Simple Storage Service, Nirvanix )

6. Infrastructure

Cloud infrastructure, such as Infrastructure as a service, is the delivery of computer infrastructure, typically a platform virtualization environment, as a service.

For example: 

  • Full virtualization (GoGrid, Skytap)
  • Grid computing (Sun Grid)
  • Compute (Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud)