Computing Reviews
Today's Issue Hot Topics Search Browse Recommended My Account Log In
Review Help
Search
Cloud computing : methods and practical approaches
Mahmood Z., Springer Publishing Company, Incorporated, New York, NY, 2013. 415 pp. Type: Book (978-1-447151-06-7)
Date Reviewed: Nov 21 2013

Mahmood, the book’s editor, assembled the content via a public call for book chapters in 2012. In this process, authors submit their chapters for review, and those that the editor accepts are included in the book. Such an approach has benefits and drawbacks.

Each chapter is written by an expert in the field, while a single author of a whole book is unlikely to be a specialist in all of the included topics. On the other hand, authors have unique styles of writing and focus on things they consider interesting. That is why chapters in such books, and this one is no different, have many inconsistent styles. Another downside is that certain popular issues are described many times because the authors cannot know that they are covered in other parts. In this book, for example, the three layers of cloud computing (software as a service, platform as a service, and infrastructure as a service) are defined and described over and over again.

The 15 chapters of the book are grouped into four parts. Part 1 deals with cloud infrastructures and frameworks and the various types of clouds, including scientific data, social, dynamic, metadata-based, and consumer systems. The real strength of this part is found in the numerous examples of real systems and architectures.

Part 2 presents cloud management issues, the role of service brokers, and resource and scheduling management processes. This part also examines power-efficient infrastructures for cloud computing that follow the general “green” trend in computing and networking.

Part 3 describes cloud computing perspectives and patterns, and shows how cloud computing works in the mobile world and what issues are involved. One chapter in this part shows how cloud computing can be used for enterprise resource planning, while the last two chapters present solution patterns related to cloud computing for both infrastructure and applications.

Part 4 deals with modernization and migration issues of cloud computing, such as when to initiate and how to accomplish cloud implementation successfully and without problems, how to determine when to migrate to the cloud, and so on. This part also answers questions such as how to use cloud resources to conduct application performance testing, and how clouds support the portability of applications.

The editor achieved his goal of presenting current research and development with respect to frameworks, methods, and practical approaches in cloud computing. The book is a collection of separate chapters gathered, somewhat artificially structured, and assembled into one volume. Some of the included authors advertise their research and present their ideas and new approaches. Others survey state-of-the-art solutions.

On the other hand, I do not agree with the editor’s assertion as to the suggested use of the book. This is not a textbook for undergraduate students. It would be very difficult to learn cloud computing from it. Some chapters start from scratch, which would be good for a textbook, but other chapters, including the very first one, jump right to the merit of cloud computing without explaining the basics. As a result, this book is difficult to understand for non-specialists.

Although it is not for undergrads, I can recommend this book for readers who already have some background in cloud computing and wish to enhance their knowledge. This would be a good starting point for a PhD student or a post-doc who wants to venture into cloud computing.

Reviewer:  Robert Wojcik Review #: CR141751 (1401-0005)
Bookmark and Share
  Featured Reviewer  
 
Cloud Computing (C.2.4 ... )
 
 
Performance of Systems (C.4 )
 
Would you recommend this review?
yes
no
Other reviews under "Cloud Computing": Date
Cloud security and privacy: an enterprise perspective on risks and compliance
Mather T., Kumaraswamy S., Latif S., O’Reilly Media, Inc., Sebastopol, CA, 2009.  336, Type: Book (9780596802769), Reviews: (1 of 3)
Dec 14 2009
Cloud security and privacy: an enterprise perspective on risks and compliance
Mather T., Kumaraswamy S., Latif S., O’Reilly Media, Inc., Sebastopol, CA, 2009.  336, Type: Book (9780596802769), Reviews: (2 of 3)
Jan 26 2010
Cloud security and privacy: an enterprise perspective on risks and compliance
Mather T., Kumaraswamy S., Latif S., O’Reilly Media, Inc., Sebastopol, CA, 2009.  336, Type: Book (9780596802769), Reviews: (3 of 3)
Mar 18 2010
more...

E-Mail This Printer-Friendly
Send Your Comments
Contact Us
Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.   Copyright 1999-2024 ThinkLoud®
Terms of Use
| Privacy Policy