Cloud Computing 1-3

Chapter 1: Cloud Computing Basics

Cloud Computing Overview

• Cloud Computing gets its name as a metaphor for the Internet
• A cloud is used in network diagrams to represent the Internet
• Cloud computing promises to cut operational costs and lets IT departments focus on strategic projects instead of keeping the datacenter running

• Cloud computing is a construct that allows you to access applications that actually reside at a location other than your computer or other Internet-connected device
• With cloud computing another company hosts your application and this means they handle the costs of servers, they manage the software updates and you pay less for the service

Cloud Components

• A cloud computing solution is made up of several elements:
• clients- the computers that just sit on your desk
• mobile (smartphone or PDAs)
• thin (computers that do not have internal hard drives)
• thick (regular computer, using a web browser)
• datacenter-the collection of servers where the application to which you subscribe is housed
• distributed servers- servers are in geographically disparate locations

• The Infrastructure will depend on the application and how the provider has chosen to build the cloud solution
• Cloud computing is not a one size fits all affair

• Grid Computing applied the resources of numerous computers in a network to work on a single problem at the same time
• a large project is divided among multiple computers to make use of their resources
• cloud computing allows multiple smaller applications to run at the same time
• grid computing and cloud computing do opposite things

• Full virtualization is a technique in which a complete installation of one machine is run on another. The result is a system in which all software running on the server is within a virtual machine.
• In a fully virtualized deployment, the software running on the server is displayed on the clients
• Virtualization is one of the ways in which you will access services on the cloud

• Paravirtualization allows multiple operating systems to run on a single hardware device at the same time by more efficiently using system resources, like processors and memory.

Services

• The term services in cloud computing is the concept of being able to use reusable, fine-grained components across a vendor's network
• Software as a Service (SaaS) is the model in which an application is hosted as a service to customers who access it via the Internet
• A benefit of SaaS is it costs less money than buying the application outright
• Platform as a Service (PaaS) is another application delivery model and it supplies all the resources required to build applications and services completely from the Internet, without having to download or install software
• PaaS is also known as cloudware and it allows clients to access a computing platform over a cloud computing solution
• Hardware as a Service  (HaaS) is also called Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) and allows providers to rent hardware resources

Applications

• Applications are a way of viewing, manipulating, and sharing data
• Storage-one of the uses for cloud computing is simply storage
• Databases- are repositories for information with links within the information that help make the data searchable
• Synchronization- allows content to be refreshed across multiple devices

Intranets and the Cloud

• Intranets are used within an organization and are not accessible publicly. That is, a web server is maintained in house and company info is maintained on it that others within the organization can access.

Components

• there are two main components in client/server computing:
• servers
• thin or light clients
• The servers house the applications your organization needs to run, and the thin clients--which do not have hard drives--display the results

Hypervisor Applications

• allows you to virtualize your servers so that multiple virtual servers can run on one physical server

First Movers in the Cloud

• Amazon, Google, Microsoft
• Amazon offers a number of cloud services and is the most extensive cloud service to date
• Google offers online documents and spreadsheets, and encourages developers to build features for those and other online software
• Microsoft's cloud computing solution is called Windows Azure and is an operating system that allows organizations  to run Window applications and store files and data using
• Microsoft's datacenters

Chapter 2: Your Organization and Cloud Computing

When You Can Use Cloud Computing

• Compute Clouds- allow you to access applications maintained on a provider's equipment
• Cloud Storage- allows you to store your data on a vendor's equipment
• Cloud Applications- deliver applications that depend on the infrastructure of the Internet itself

When You Shouldn't Use Cloud Computing

• Health Insurance Portability and Accounting Act
• Legislative Issues
• Geopolitical Concerns
• Hardware Dependencies- if you have an application that requires specific hardware, chips, or drivers, a cloud solution might not be good for you
• Server Control- if your application demands complete control over everything that is running, a cloud solution may not be right for you
• Cost- it may cost more to pay the cloud subscription than to have simply bought the servers yourself
• Lack of Need- if your current solution is getting the job  done, why tinker with it?
• Latency Concers- if you require data instantaneously, the cloud might not be your best option

Benefits

• Scalability- if you are anticipating a huge upswing in computing need cloud computing can help you manage
• Simplicity- the cloud solution makes it possible to get your application started immediately, and it costs a fraction of what it would cost to implement an on-site solution
• Knowledgable Vendors- companies have good vendors because they have offered reliable service and plenty of capacity
• More Internal Resources-when youre looking at service providers, make sure you find someone who offers 24-hour help and support and can repond to emegency situations
• Security-vendors have strict privacy policies

Limitations

• important concern of storing sensitive information on the cloud
• protect your data-encrypt your data before you send it to a third party
• Application not ready- in some cases applications are not ready to be used on the cloud and have little quirks

Security Concerns

• Privacy Concerns with a Third Party-the best plan is to not perform critical work on a cloud platform without extensive security controls managed by your organization
• Hackers
• Bot Attackers- attackers use botnets to perform distributed denial of service attacks (you face blackmail)

Security Benefits

• Centralized Data
• Reduced Data Loss
• Monitoring
• Instant Swapover
• Improved Software Security

Regulatory Issues

• Currently there is no existing regulation
• Government to the Rescue?
• Two thoughts on the issue:
• If government can figure out a way to safeguard data any company facing such a loss would applaud the regulation
• on the other hand, those who think the government should stay out of it and let competition and market forces guide cloud computing
• So far US courts have tended to rule that private data stored in the cloud foes not have the same level of protection from law enforcement searches than data stored on a personal computer

Chapter 25 & 26

Chapter 25- Front Matter and End Matter in Long Documents

Front matter: the cover, title page, letter of transmittal, table of contents, and abstract which give summary information about the document.

End matter: the glossary, appendices, and list of works cited which support data or help users understand things better.

Cover-Center the report title and your name 4-5 inches below the top of your page.

Example:

THE FEASIBILITY OF A TECHNICAL MARKETING CAREER:

AN ANALYSIS

by

Richard B. Larkin, Jr.

Title Page- lists the reports title, author's name, name of persons or organization to whom the report is addressed and the date.  The title should give a clear view of the reports purpose.

Letter of Transmittal- this is tailored to a particular audience.

• acknowledge those who helped with the report
• thank the recipient for any special assistance
• refer to sections of special interest
• discuss the limitaiton of your study, or any problems gathering data
• discuss possible follow-up investigations
• offer personal (or off the record) observations
• suggest some special uses for the information
• urge the recipient to immediate action

Table of Contents- this helps serves as a reference that can help the readers find what they are looking for. 

Abstract of Executive Summary- this could be the most IMPORTANT part of your document.  Sometimes readers don't have the time or patience to read the entire report, therefore they need to know the BIG PICTURE by just reading this little section.

              To prepare an informative abstract:

• make sure your abstract stands alone in terms of meaning
• write for a general audience
• add no new information just present the report's highlights
• present your information in the following sequence:
• identify the issue or need that led to the report
• offer key facts, statistics, and findings (the MUST know material)
• include a condensed conclusion and recommendations

Glossary- this is an alphabetically list of specialized terms and their definition.

Appendices- this contains large blocks of material or other documents that are relevant, but doesn't need to be placed in the middle of the document.

Documentation- this is a list of your outside references in alphabetical order.

Chapter 26- Oral Presentations 

Synopsis:
Some form of an oral presentation is bound to be apart of nearly every job you take. Especially if you are on track for higher titles/ more significant job status, your ability to speak effectively and convey information orally will be of the utmost importance. There's no near to fear, oral reports are much like other forms of technical communication.

Advantages of Oral Communication:
Oral reports are one of the only truly interactive forms of communication. When presenting orally, the speaker must rely on body languages, vocal tone, eye contact, and other elements of human chemistry. Naturally, this presentation style is geared towards those people who have personalities allowing them to step out and engage easily with others.

Disadvantages of Oral Communication:
Unfortunately, when you give your oral presentation/report you are most likely only going to have one shot to get your message across. To add to this pressure, public speaking is often sited as being the most common fear among individuals, more common than the fear of death. Unlike in a document where careful preparation allows the audience to navigate through your report, oral presentations have an established pace and flow,  creating more and more opportunities for the speaker to lose the audience.

Planning Your Presentation:
Planning your presentation is very similar to planning other technical reports. Be sure you know your audience, their expectations, and their needs. Like other types, oral presentations should always start with a clearly defined purpose.
Along with knowing your audience and the message you are trying to get across, be sure you are familiar with the setting in which the presentation will be given. The setting will effect your delivery method. The table below describes the 3 main delivery methods for oral presentations.



Preparing Your Presentation:
Developing an effective oral presentation requires the completion of many of the same steps that we have  covered for other forms of technical communication. However, the book places much more emphasis on preparing your visuals for oral presentations, compared to those previously covered. The main suggestions is to not allow your visuals to take away from your speech. You want to avoid distractions, irrelevant information, and avoid over emphasizing the information contained in your visuals. Remember, you are giving the speech. (An effective visual is depicted below.)

Delivering Your Speech:
When delivering your speech, cultivate the human landscape. Recall that a successful presentation involves relationship building with the audience. Also, be confident about your abilities and enthusiastic about the topic you are speaking on. Focus on keeping your audience engaged, but keep it natural. The introduction of your speech will be key. You have to establish relevance and credibility from the beginning. Finally, just note that the quality of your presentation will be more of a reflection of how prepared you are.

Chapter 23 & 24

(Chapter 23- Proposals)

Proposals vs. Reports

Proposals use persuasion more heavily than reports.  Reports can come before proposals to give a heads up at the facts so that when the proposal is given, it can sell the idea.

Proposal Audiences

The audience will have to read the proposal and then decide if the idea is worthwhile, or whether the product is useful.  The audience will have these questions-

• What exactly is the problem or need, and why is this such a big deal?
• Why should we spend time, money, and effort on this?
• What exactly is your plan, and how do we know it is feasible?
• Why should we accept the items that seem wrong or costly about your plan?
• What action are we supposed to take?

To deliver a good proposal you should be able to connect with your audience by spelling out the problem clearly and convincingly.  Tell the benefits of solving the problem.  Be realistic and cost effective.  Address anticipated objections and induce your audience to act.

Proposal Types

Elements of a Persuasive Proposal

• Forecasting Title: should tell the purpose and content
• Clear understanding of the audience's needs: know what the plan will do for them
• A clear focus on benefits: what the audience will gain
• Honest and supportable claims: solid ethical and legal foundation
• Appropriate detail: provide adequate detail but not excessive
• Readability: straightforward, easy to follow, easy to understand
• Convincing language: want to move people to action
• Visuals: emphasize key points
• Accessible page design: need to read quickly
• Supplements tailored for a diverse audience: need to give every member of the audience what they need
• Proper citation of sources and contributors: give credit where credit is due

Chapter 24- Formal Analytical Reports

-Leads to recommendations and replaces the memo when the topic is a lengthy discussion.

Synopsis:
Formal Analytical Reports are a replacement for the traditional memo when it is necessary to elaborate at greater lengths for the purpose of making recommendations. When your audience is done reading your report, they should know which direction to proceed based on your research and findings.



Purpose of Analysis:
Problems and issues come up in the workplace. Through analysis we can determine the best solution to these issues.

The basis procedure for analyzing a process, product, or objective is the same.

1. Asking the right questions
2. Searching the best sources
3. Evaluating and interpreting your findings
4. Drawing conclusions

Analysis can help you solve a variety of issues you may come across in the workplace. These will generally fall into one of a small number of categories. When completing causal analysis, you are trying to determine why something happened. An example of this would be a police report completed after a traffic accident. Comparative analysis is different in that you are making a choice between two products, ideas, or concepts. One comparative analysis that many of us did was deciding where to attend college. Feasibility analysis is a little different from the previous two mentioned. Feasibility deals with justifying a decision. An analysis of this nature might deal with deciding where to relocate a business or deciding whether to budget for more entry level positions in a company.

(Note: This is theory. In reality you may find yourself combining the ideas listed above to find solutions to more complex issues.)


Creating Formal Analytical Reports:
Putting an effective formal analysis together requires many of the steps and skills you've already learned how to do. Remember to be precise when defining your goal. When you are collecting data, only include relevant information that helps the audience understand the issue at hand. Developing your formal analysis is no different from writing any other formal document as far as ethics is concerned.



Analytical Report Outlining:
As with all formal documents, you can create an outline to help with the structure of your analytical document. This report should contain an introduction, body, and conclusion. The introduction should set the tone for the remainder of the document. It must contain your purpose for writing, methods of inquiry, and a brief reference to your findings and conclusion. Your conclusion should close all loose ends with a summary of your findings, and should contain your unbiased interpretation and recommendations.

The body of your analytical report should paint a clear picture of your findings. The evidence you are basing your recommendations on should be broken down by specific subtopics when appropriate. Take advantage of formatting such as the use of white space and bold text.


Closing Remarks:
Creating a formal analytical report is very similar to other forms of technical writing previously discussed in this class. The same design principles still apply. Recall that the formal analytical report differs from the memo in length and level of detail.