Characteristics

3.1 Essential Cloud Computing Characteristics

Broad network access, resource pooling, on-demand self-service, rapid elasticity and measured services are the five essential characteristics as defined by the National Institute of Standards.

Broad network access describes cloud services available through multiple device types such as laptops, smart phones, tablets and workstations and from a wide range of locations [2].

Resource pooling is based on multi tenancy where environment resources are shared by many organizations. It is the pooled computing resources of the provider used to serve multiple clients. According to customer demand, the different virtual and physical resources of the provider are dynamically assigned and reassigned [2,3].

On-demand self-service refers to the large pool of resources provided by cloud computing vendors such as server time and network storage. The customer can procure computing resources as needed without requiring interaction with each service provider independent of location and device. On-demand self-service is related to pay-as-you go method. Therefore, the customer pays for only the amount of service used instead of the entire infrastructure [3,5].

Rapid elasticity defines how services are rapidly scaled and released without the user’s intercession. The services and capabilities provided appear to be infinite and can be obtained at any time and in any quantity [2,3].

Measured service is an aspect of cloud computing which is controlled and monitored by the cloud provider. The provider measures or monitors the services for billing, resource optimization, access control and overall predictive planning [2,3].