What is a cloud? Here is a short glossary to help you get your bearings, with the main characteristics of each. We added elements of comparison because technologies can compete or complement each other, depending on the context. In the second part, we will look at edge and fog computing.
For many people, the cloud is a nebulous concept. It’s well summed up by its title: it’s far.
Even when we know what a concept stands for, it’s not necessarily easy to know what it actually means, especially as technology evolves according to blueprints and geopolitics.
Among all the concepts that exist in this area, we will start with the main one, which will serve as an element of comparison for the rest: the cloud itself. Here is the definition given by CNIL, which we will look at in detail later:
“Cloud computing is the use of memory and computing power of computers and servers distributed around the world and connected by a network. Applications and data are no longer on a specific computer, but in a cloud (cloud) consisting of many interconnected remote servers. »
Our Cloud Lexicon:
Cloud computing: far in the sky
Cloud refers primarily to the remote location of data. They may or may not be present on the device, but the device will in any case connect to the server to retrieve them, for example, to check their relevance.
Today, the smartphone is constantly connected to the cloud. When you use a Google or Apple account to sync data, it’s the cloud. When a weather app loads and displays information, it takes it from the cloud. When you use OneDrive, Google Drive, kDrive, or Proton Drive, it’s still a cloud.
In particular, “cloud computing” is closely related to data centers. Their multiplication led to the explosion of the cloud as we know it today, and its omnipresence raises many questions.