Abstract:

Cloud computing has been envisioned as the next innovation of IT enterprise. It will ultimately change the working and commerce pattern. The concept was presented in 2007. Cloud computing is the convergence and evolution of several concepts from virtualization，distributed storage，grid，and automatization management to enable a more flexible approach for deploying and scaling applications. In this paper，firstly，the related concepts of cloud computing is introduced. Secondly，the function characteristics，architecture and application significance is analyzed. Finally，further evolution of cloud computing is forecasted.

Key words: cloud computing, grid computing, utility computing, virtualization