Cloud computing and Grid computing are two different realms of managing IT related work activities in the smoothest way possible.
Where cloud computing is a branch of Information technology that invites businesses to become virtual, grid computing on the other hand calls for a shared environment on a common computer system from multiple administrative domains. Although, both of them function with a purpose to provide a good percentage of scalability levels to high-end computer networks, the cost of deploying these is equally high.
An elaborated comparison between the two technologies is given below:
Cloud Computing
Cloud and cloud managed services are designed in such a manner so that businesses get rid of the hardware and software mess, which kills their quality time as well as money. Cloud, as per several researchers has provided a platform where three elements of IT IaaS, PaaS and SaaS cater to the requirements of the customers in the most flexible manner possible.
Characteristics features like managed and monitored cloud environment, load balancing, SRC (Security, Risk Management and Compliance Management), high scalability, a complete secured environment, cost-effective and extremely reliable.
For all IT organizations, that lack storage space and their servers hardly entertain any new data can opt for managed cloud services from reputed cloud providers. The role of these cloud providers is not till the time you avail services from them but they manage your entire in-house IT operations in the efficient way possible.
Apart from all these factors, disaster recovery and data backup plan in cloud technology helps to restore data at the time a server or data crashes. Incorporating disaster recovery and data backup plan is one of the essential parts of cloud computing and to make it run effectively and efficiently is the utmost priority of cloud providers.
Grid Computing
As grid computing works on the fundamental principle of shared environment of computer systems from multiple administrative domains, it gives rise to certain advantages in terms of boosting daily operations of a business enterprise. The advantages related to grid computing are as follows:
- Foremost use of a grid computing network is to run an already running software application on a different as well as distant machine. Thus, it provides a flexible environment to run any application of different computer systems.
- As it works on the basic principle of shared environment, grid computing breaks a single large task into several smaller ones through a distributed system on multiple computer networks. This helps to ease down work burden. Let us explain this point with an example.
Hypothetical example on shared grid environment:
Suppose, an IT organization is developing an application, which would help to run the daily attendance of all the employees. Now, because the company is huge, its employee strength is also quite large. Developing an application for their daily attendance is quite a painstaking task.
Thus, the higher management working on the project decides to do it in a shared grid environment. Why they chose of grid computing is because of the fact that the work of this software application can be distributed or computed on different computer networks for convenience sake and making in-house IT work environment more efficient.
When the application finishes its work on the distributed grids, it is sent back to the original computer network for final implementation.
- One feature that makes grid environment more flexible and viable than cloud is the fact that even if shared load collapses and fails at one server point, other distributed compute systems are there to pick up the load. This cannot be felt in cloud computing until or unless you are using Load Balancer on Cloud.
- Upgrading any software application while on grid is possible and convenient. This is because, the application is distributed evenly on several other servers out of which some can be taken on offline mode for doing so.
- What users get is the scaled up environment. Thus, if a single compute network is making your work harder, simply add more servers and desktops by incorporating grid network software in it and see your task completing within no time.
After so many discussions on cloud and grid computing, one thing that is similar in both is that both the technologies work or function with a view to enhance and improve the existing resources. The basic differentiating point between the two is the fact that in cloud computing users can operate their daily activities on a virtual environment that is free of hardware and software stuff, whereas grid computing works on the shared environment of the distributed administrative domains.
CloudWays offers comprehensive cloud management services to get your IT infrastructure up and running in virtual cloud environment.
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