02 insight february 2012

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A MONTHLY PUBLICATION OF FEDERAL ROAD SAFETY COMMISSION

www.frscinsight.com JANUARY 2012

crown magesta 2012

From The Editor-In-Chief

www.saferoadinnigeria.org

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ave you ever wondered why God in creating human beings did not position the ear, like all other organs within the head region, in the front? The ear is rather placed at both sides of the head. Why should God do that, even though he has power to just place the ear similar to other organs alongside each other on the head. We may not understand why God "simply" crafted the ear where it is located. After all the snake, another creature of God can hear but does not have an ear, and does not require one as it hears with its tongue. It is not only the snake that does not have a visible ear. Other animals like the cat, fish, whale, crocodile and lizard do not have ears. I think you can begin to appreciate why God created you with a pair of ear, either located besides or in front of your head.

Our ears, small or large, are created to lead us to act in making informed decisions. We need to transform FRSC into a world class organization. Merely hearing that phrase over and over again, could make even the most chronic skeptic to understand that, ‘’if only we can believe it, then we can achieve it’’. Masaru Ibuka, in 1946 started what is today known as Sony Corporation – the electronic and telecommunication giant – which he conceived as an organization whose goal is to project positively the Japanese culture. By this singular act, Sony products wherever sold worldwide has helped to launder the image of Japan.

As the Corps progresses towards becoming a world class organization, you need to know what cloud computing can contribute to making this goal a reality. In this edition of Insight you can also read the technological height of a world class car manufacturing company, Toyota Crown Majesta 2012 car built with Advanced Crash Avoidance Technology. All you need to know about the sickle cell disorder can be read in this edition, along side other exciting stories.

The name John Emmanuel Sanni, Assistant Route Commander, may not ring a bell, but when you read his interview in this edition, you will not but agree with us why we featured him as the model officer, worthy of emulation by others. This practice as customary is done monthly to celebrate FRSC staff that are making waves, irrespective of where they are serving. If you know any such staff in your command that we should show to the whole world, then do not hesitate to inform us of such accomplishments. Remember, you can always read all the previous editions of Insight on www.frscinsight.com .

editorial OC Oladele (DCC) Head, Planning Advisory Unit Editor – In - Chief

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IN THIS EDITION ■ 2012 Toyota Crown Mageta - pg 4 ■ Quotable Quotes - pg 7 ■ Effects of Smoking - pg 8 ■ One-On-One [An Interview] ... - pg 12 ■ Management Meeting Exerpts - pg 15 ■ Cloud Computing - pg 16

Copyright & Disclaimer .

The information contained in this Newsletter has been compiled by Federal Road Safety Corps [FRSC].

It provides general information only. Some photographs and graphics contained therein are only for dramatization (i.e. may not represent any member, client, partner, facilities, employee etc. of Federal Road Safety Corps). No responsibility is accepted for the correctness and completeness of the given information. .

Copyright © Federal Road Safety Commission. All rights reserved.

Contact Details Federal Road Safety Corps National Headquaters Olusegun Obasanjo Way, Zone 7, Wuse District.

PMB 125, Abuja, Nigeria 0700- CALL - FRSC 0700 - 2255 - 3772 0807- 769 - 0362 (Text Messages Only) Email: info@frsc.gov.ng Website: www.frsc.gov.ng

EDITORIAL BOARD Osita Chidoka Corps Marshal/Chief Executive Publisher

OC Oladele (DCC) Editor–In-Chief

KD Alegieuno (ARC) Editor

Members VO Ogunnupebi (ACC) AR Obagbemiro (CRC) CB Nwokolo (DRC) DO Enakireru (ARC) 0I IKOKU (ARC)

Cloud Computing

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his is marketing term for technologies that provide computation, software, data access, and storage services that do not require end-user knowledge of the physical location and configuration of the system that delivers the services. A parallel to this concept can be drawn with the electricity grid, wherein end-users consume power without needing to understand the component devices or infrastructure required to provide the service. Cloud computing describes a new supplement, consumption, and delivery model for IT services based on Internet protocols, and it typically involves provisioning of dynamically scalable and often virtualised resources. It is a byproduct and conse-quence of the ease-of-access to remote computing sites provi-ded by the Internet. This may take the form of webbased tools or applications that users can access and use through a web browser as if the programs were installed locally on their own computers... See page 16

www.frscinsight.org

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TOYOTA

2012

Crown Majesta BUILT WITH ADVANCED CRASH AVOIDANCE TECHNOLOGY

BY CD NWOKOLO (DRC)

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ith the launch of the remodeled Crown Majesta, Toyota Motor has taken its safety programme to a new level. The luxury sedan, flagship of the automaker's revamped domestic sales organization, is equipped with two all-new safety systems: VDIM (for Vehicle Dynamics Integrated Management) and a pre-crash radar system that integrates millimeter-wave radar with a CCD camera. Other advanced safety features on the car include lane-keeping assist, near-infrared night vision and adaptive-front lighting.

VDIM, an evolution of Toyota's vehicle stability control system, integrates anti-lock braking, electronic-power steering and traction control. The automaker says the system is the first of its kind. Analysts expect the technology to be adopted next on the Toyota's

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Lexus lineup.Senior research executive Tetsuo Hattori explains that previous braking, steering, vehicle stability and traction control systems functioned independently. "With VDIM, each system is integrated and seamlessly managed. Moreover," he says, "control is actuated before the vehicle exceeds its movement threshold. This assures a high degree of preventive safety and significantly improves upon ordinary driving performance in terms of "traveling, tuning and stopping."

Hattori adds that VDIM "begins integrated control of the brakes, engine and steering before the vehicle reaches its limits, thereby achieving higher preventive safety performance and ideal vehicle kinetics." [In a test drive on simulated ice, the system did not allow the driver to veer off-course and

spin the car.] VDIM is the latest in a growing lineup of advanced safety features available on Toyota cars. In 2003, the automaker incorporated the world's first radar-based pre-crash system into the Harrier (featuring millimeter wave radar, precrash brake assist, pre-crash seatbelts and emergency brakinginduced PSB). Later, the automaker added pre-crash brakes and suspension control for the Celsior (sold as the LS430 in the U.S. and Europe. Most recently, the company added camera image processing for the Crown Majesta which, according to Hattori, improves collision forecast accuracy and improves warning and control levels.

Toyota is not alone in offering state-of-the-art safety features.

In 2001, Nissan introduced a lane-deviation prevention system

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on the President and Cima. Management plans to introduce the system, along with "intelligent braking," on all upscale cars by 2010. Elsewhere, Honda introduced a lane-keeping assist system on the domestic Accord and Inspire in October 2002 and June 2003. Both Honda and Nissan now offer frontcollision avoidance on several domestic models including the Inspire, Odyssey, President and Cima.

And the list goes on.

Meanwhile, at a safety symposium held in June at Toyota's Higashi-Fuji Technical Center, management revealed that the automaker crashed 1,500 vehicles in 2003, up nearly one-third from five years before. They expect that number to increase to 2,000 units in 2008. On average, Toyota crashes 80 cars for development of a new platform although the number varies by product segment (sedan, sportutility vehicle and minivan) and grade (economy, mid-range and luxury). In the future, researchers do not expect the number of crash tests to decrease despite improvements in simulation technology because test conditions will increase.

Toyota researchers warn that there are limits to safety technology. They note that even if vehicular safety measures were utilized fully, traffic fatalities would not fall below 40 percent of current levels by 2030. In 2003, there were an estimated 7,700 traffic fatalities in Japan of which 30 percent involved pedestrians.

"To realize zero injuries and fatalities," says Toyota executive Takeshi Uchiyamada, "it is necessary that proactive measures be taken not only toward automobiles but also from the perspective of people and that such countermeasures treat the respective spheres as an interrelated whole." Meanwhile, the number of injuries resulting from traffic accidents peaked last year at 1.2 million. Hattori attributes the increase to more vehicles on Japanese roads and more people having licenses.

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Q

uotes Freely we serve, because we freely love, as in our will to love or not; in this we stand or fall. - John Milton Volunteers don't get paid, not because they're worthless, but because they're priceless. - Sherry Anderson The broadest, and maybe the most meaningful definition of volunteering: Doing more than you have to because you want to, in a cause you consider good. Ivan Scheier There is no exercise better for the heart than reaching down and lifting people up. - John Andrew Holmes Jr. Service is the rent we pay to be living. It is the very purpose of life and not something you do in your spare time. – Marian Wright Edelman Volunteering is not a choice, it's a responsibility. - Ashley E. Hyder Unselfish and noble actions are the most radiant pages in the biography of souls. - David Thomas Nothing liberates our greatness like the desire to help, the desire to serve. - Marianne Williamson

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40

RANDOM FACTS ABOUT

Smoki

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1. Smoking tobacco emerged from religious ceremonies in the Americas and was pro-bably initially restricted to only shamans, priests, and medicine men. Both in ancient America and in sixteenth-century Europe, “holy smoke” from tobacco was thought to help cure illness and drive out evil spirits.

2. Ramon Pane, a monk who accompanied Christopher Columbus to the Americas, is usually credited with introducing tobacco to Europe.

3. In ancient America, tobacco was chewed, drunk as tea, inhaled as a powder-like snuff, and consumed as a jelly—but smoking tobacco was by far the most popular.

4. The Peruvian Aguaruna aboriginals would make hallucinogenic enemas using tobacco.

5. Smoking tobacco was thought to cure syphilis in the mid-sixteenth century in Europe.

6. Claims for the benefits of smoking in sixteenth-century England rested in large part on Galen’s (A.D. 129-200) theory of the four humors, which asserted that the body was composed of hot, cold, wet, and dry humors. Smoking was understood to heat and dry the body to a state of manly vigor.

7. Sir Walter Raleigh took his pipe with him to the scaffold when he was beheaded in 1618.

8. The term “smoking” wasn’t established until the late seventeenth century. Before then, it was often referred to as “Dry Drunkenness.”

9. Urea, a chemical compound found in urine, is added to cigarettes for extra flavour.

10. European traders introduced tobacco to Asia and India by the mid-seventeenth century. In these countries, tobacco was often mixed with other leaves and spices and then smoked through a water pipe known as a hookah.

The smoke was cooled, giving considerable relief in the hot climate.

11. Sugar and cocoa are often added to cigarettes, a fact many diabetic smokers are unaware of.

12. According to an ancient Huron Indian myth, a woman was sent by the Great Spirit to save humanity from starvation. Potatoes grew where her right hand touched, and corn grew under her left hand. After she made the Earth fertile, she rested, and tobacco grew where she rested.

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13. The Chongzhen emperor (1627-44) in China warned that “common people who smoked would be punished like traitors,” and in 1634 the Patriarch of Moscow warned that both men and women who smoked would have their nostrils slit or would have the skin whipped off their backs.

14. Renaissance author Ben Jonson argued that smoking was the "devil’s fart.”

15. Pierre de Lancre (1553-1631), an educated French magistrate and influential demonologist, argued that smoking tobacco directly linked accused witches in Europe with the “diabolical” Indians in the Old World. For Lancre and several other witch hunters, tobacco was seen as inversion of the Christian sacrament.

16. The Aztecs regarded tobacco as the incarnation of the goddess Cihuacoatl whose body, they believed, was composed of tobacco. Tobacco gourds and pouches were seen as symbols of divinity.

17. Nicotine is named after Jean Nicot, the French ambassador to Portugal who brought tobacco and smoking to the French court in the mid-sixteenth century as a medicine.

18. Only recently, and mainly in Western countries, has smoking been seen as a serious health hazard. Smoking rates in the United States have dropped by half since 1965, from 42% to 26% of adults. Smoking in developing countries, however, is rising.

19. Cigarettes are the most traded item in the world.

20. Kentucky has the highest rate of smokers (28.7%) in the U.S., while Utah (11.5%) has the lowest.

21. Currently, over 5.5 trillion cigarettes are produced globally per year. Cigarettes are an attractive source of government revenue because so many people smoke them.

22. The cigarette and cigar are recognized phallic symbols, and several Internet sites are devoted to smoking fetishisms.

Ironically, smoking has been directly linked to sexual impotence.

23. Women in the United States increasingly began smoking publicly in the 1920s when the cigarette was adopted by advertisers as a symbol of equality, rebellion, and women’s independence. Currently, cigarette smoking kills an estimated 178,030 women in the United States annually.

24. Pregnant women who smoke are more likely to deliver not only low birth weight babies but also highly aggressive children.

25. A British survey found that nearly 99% of women did not know the link between smoking and cervical cancer.

26. In the United States, over 3,000 deaths from lung cancer in nonsmokers are due to secondhand smoke.

27. Of the thousands of chemical agents in tobacco smoke, more than 50 have been proven to cause cancer.

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36. The Anti-Cigarette League of America tried to convince both children and adults not to smoke and tried to exert lobbying pressure on state and national legislation against smoking cigarettes. The League lasted only a few years (1919-1927).

37. Anti-cigarette activist and automaker Henry Ford popularized the term “The Little White Slaver” in reference to the cigarette in the early twentieth century. Both Henry Ford and Thomas A. Edison objected to cigarettes and refused to hire anyone who smoked them, on or off the job.

38. Because so many soldiers smoked cigarettes, WWI helped legitimate cigarettes by linking them to an icon of manliness and civic virtue.

39. During WWI, Americans were asked to send cigarettes to soldiers as part of the war effort. During WWII, cigarettes were part of soldiers' rations.

40. French anthropologist and ethnologist Claude Levi-Strauss argues that people smoking tobacco together reinforces personal relationships and often serves as a type of social initiation.

28. Within 20 minutes of quitting smoking, a person’s blood pressure returns to normal. Within one year, the chance of suffering a heart attack decreases by half.

29. Tobacco smoking, particularly cigarette smoking, is the single-most preventable cause of the death in the United States.

30. Smoking rates are higher among those living below the poverty level and those who have little education.

31. Every cigarette smoked cuts at least five minutes of life on average, which is roughly the time it takes to smoke one cigarette.

32. Ambergris (whale vomit) has been added to cigarettes for flavour.

33. In early Hollywood, directors used cigarette smoke to add atmosphere, mystery, and sensuousness to their films. Tobacco firms also paid Hollywood to place cigarette products in popular movies in the 1930s, 40s, and 50s.

34. Two men who appeared in the wildly popular Marlboro Man advertisements died of lung cancer, earning Marlboro cigarettes the nickname “Cowboy Killer.”

35. Though some cigarettes are made with lower tar and nicotine contents, smokers usually inhale them more deeply to get the same buzz as with regular cigarettes.

References 1. American Heart Association. “Cigarette Smoking Statistics.” January 30, 2009. Accessed: January 29, 2009.

2. American Lung Association. “Smoking and Women Fact Sheet.” September 2008.

Accessed: January 25, 2009.

3. Gilman, Sander L. and Zhou Xun. 2004. Smoke: A Global History of Smoking. London, UK: Reakton Books, Ltd. 4. Goodman, Jordan. 1993. Tobacco in History: The Cultures of Dependence. New York, NY: Routledge, Inc. 5. Hughes, Jason. 2003. Learning to Smoke: Tobacco Use in the West. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press, Chicago.

6. Kluger, Jeffery. “Hollywood’s Smoke Alarm.” Time. April 12, 2007. Accessed: January 30, 2009.

7. Norton, Marcy. 2008. Sacred Gifts, Profane Pleasures: A History of Tobacco and Chocolate in the Atlantic World. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University 8. Raconteur, Ivan. “Turning Morons into Millionaires.” Herald Journal Enterprise Dispatch.

May 28, 2007. Accessed: January 29, 2009.

9. Sanders, Bruce. 2005. Let’s Talk About Smoking. Monkato, MN: Black Rabbit Books.

10. ScienceDaily. “Smoking During Pregnancy Fosters Aggression in Children.” January 9, 2009. Accessed: January 29, 2009.

11. Tate, Cassandra. 1999. Cigarette Wars: The Triumph of “The Little White Slaver.” New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

one-on-one

ONE The bicycle revolution is now becoming a household name in the Corps, yet many are still having doubt on the possibility of it working in Nigeria. Insight crew had a chart with ES John, ARC, the staff behind the idea.

ON

ONE May we meet you?

I am John Emmanuel Sanni, Assistant Route Commander Tell us about your educational background including your professional qualification?

I did my primary school in Ofoke in Apa Local Government Area of Benue State and my secondary school in Government Comprehensive Secondary School, Gboko in the same Apa Local Government. I had a National Diploma, Mechanical Engineering from the Federal Polytechnic, Nasarawa State and my Higher National Diploma, Mechanical Engineering, Kaduna Polytechnic. Presently, I am a post graduate student of Energy Studies Art, the Federal University of Technology, Markurdi. I have a Diploma in computer from the Federal Polytechnic, Nasarawa.

an interview

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When did you join the Corps?

12 December, 1997. We had our training at the Nigerian Army School of Military Police, Basawa, Zaria. I was converted into an officer cadre on 6 of December, 2005 May we know your department?

COMACE office Tell us the various places you have worked before posted to your present department My first Command was RS 4.21, Akwanga Unit Command as Staff Officer, Public Education Unit, I was later posted to Motor Vehicle Administration Unit and then Radio Room.

Subsequently, I was posted to the Account Unit as the Account Clerk. Months later, I was transferred to RS 3.12, Hung Unit Command, Adamawa State where I served briefly as Account Clerk for three months and then was made the Accountant. I served as the Accountant for one year and six months before transferred to RS 8.1, kwara Sector Command where I worked as the Staff Officer, Road Safety Club, Duty Officer, Staff Officer, Operations and Sector Protocol Officer amongst others. From there, I was posted to Corps Planning, RSHQ, Budget Office and then COMACE office Tell us about the bicycle revolution?

I was concerned about the traffic situation in the city. While working on a research paper on the plight of the physically challenged, I stumbled on papers from different nations on bicycle transportation. In one of those days, I was in my house watching CCTV news, China when I saw a documentary on bicycle usage in china so I took my pen and a paper and started taking notes. At the end, I combined the information I got from the documentary with the various data I got from the internet and wrote a proposal for bicycle transportation in Nigeria. At first, there was apathy and resistance but when the document got to COMACE, he immediately directed that I should be commended and he constituted a technical committee. That was how it started.

What is the present situation of the project?

The Corps set up a technical committee. Last year we had a field survey of nine states and FCT. That same year, a national stakeholder forum was also inaugurated on 17 of October comprising Federal Ministries of Transport, Works, FCT, NIIT, Zaria, NESREA, National Planning Commission, National Automotive Council amongst others. The stakeholders are meeting regularly.

Do you think this is visible in Nigeria?

Yes , absolutely feasible, the data we got from the survey we carried last year showed that about 62% of respondents are willing to ride a bicycle if there are necessary facilities, enabling laws, safety programmes and that is why the relevant stakeholders are involved to get the facilities in place.

Considering the Nigeria roads, how do you think the government will carry out the readjustment to provide space for bicycle lanes?

Urban centres in Nigeria that have master plans have bicycle

infrastructure in the plans. For instance, in FCT, most of the roads have bicycle lanes in them but for the fact that the bicycles lanes are not marked out and there are no furniture in defining them, residents have converted them to other use. So all urban centres are already being encouraged to start defining bicycles lane in all road network and the relevant stakeholders are working together to ensure that all future road designs and constructions take into cognisance the plight of active mobility (bicycle riders and pedestrians) We understand that you represented COMACE in two countries tell us more about that The first was in Paris, France during the PRI general meeting and workshop where ACM Erudgergbor and I represented the Corps on behalf of COMACE. It was one of the opportunities to study one of the best bicycle transportation facilities in the world. In Australia, Commander Osawe and I represented the Corps on behalf of COMACE at the 4th Australia Cycling Conference where I presented a paper on behalf of the Corps Marshal. We also had the privilege of studying the bicycle transportation system in Australia.

Who is your role model?

In the Corps, as it relates to vision and passion for accomplishment, Osita Chidoka is my role model and as it relates to spiritual life and other aspects of my life, Bishop David O. Abioye is my role model.

How will you want to see the Corps in the next 100 years from now?

A vibrant technology driven organisation that doesn’t need to have its staff stand on the sun to enforce traffic rules. A Corps that is on top of every traffic situation in the country. A Corps that is fully in charge of the transport system in the nation.

Most importantly, a Corps that is helping to see Nigerians leave their car at home for occasional use while riding bicycle along the streets in our urban centres.

What advice do you have for those who are aspiring to be like you?

Every young person should have passion for acquiring knowledge and more knowledge; this will drive them into research. They should have what I call sacrificial diligence rather than waiting for what to get. I have always believe in the principle that the worst staff of an organisation is not the one that had plenty of queries in his files or even have to be terminated or dismissed but one who collects salaries throughout his service without significant footprint or innovation throughout his work life.

Are you married?

Properly married with two kids What are your hobbies?

Research and more research

management meeting EXCERPT FROM DECISIONS TAKEN BY THE MANAGEMENT MEETING S/N 1

DATE 13 March, 2012

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13 March, 2012

3

13 March, 2012

4

13 March, 2012

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13 March, 2012

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13 March, 2012

PARTICULARS SED should investigate the trend of RTC in Zones RS4 Jos, RS7 Abuja, RS11 Oshogbo and RS12 Bauchi as posted on the Dashboard for week 10 and present in the next meeting CMRO should verify the Leadership Newspaper report on RTC involving NYSC Corps Members travelling from Owerri to Jalingo and report to DCM (Ops) before 1600hrs on Tuesday 13 March, 2012 CLA should work out details of offenders convicted by mobile courts between 2009 till date and present in next meeting CMRO should liaise with HOS Communications to sort out the distribution line of CUGs supplied to Hospitals and report in two weeks The heavy tow-truck located at Gwagwalada should be relocated to the City Gate DCM (Ops) should write write a letter to the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Civil defence, State Security Services (SSS) and relevant stakeholders on the sustainance of enforcement on RMH

ACTION SED

CMRO

CLA CMRO

CLog Ops

ESTABLISHMENT OF 6 UNIT COMMANDS S/N

Command Code

Unit Command

Town of Location

1 2 3 4 5 6

RS5.34 RS5.35 RS7.112 RS7.113 RS7.114 RS8.37

Ihiala Ekwulobia Abuja Airport Zuba Lokogoma Okene

Ihiala Ekwulobia NAIA, Abuja Zuba FCT Sector Command Okene

Sector Command Anambra Anambra FCT FCT FCT Kogi

Zonal Command Zone RS5 Zone RS5 Zone RS7 Zone RS7 Zone RS7 Zone RS8

Cloud Computing

BY O IKOKU (ARC)

Cloud computing is a marketing term for technologies that provide computation, software, data access, and storage services that do not require end-user knowledge of the physical location and configuration of the system that delivers the services. A parallel to this concept can be drawn with the electricity grid, wherein end-users consume power without needing to understand the component devices or infrastructure required to provide the service.

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Overview Cloud computing describes a new supplement, consumption, and delivery model for IT services based on Internet protocols, and it typically involves provisioning of dynamically scalable and often virtualised resources. It is a byproduct and consequence of the ease-of-access to remote computing sites provided by the Internet. This may take the form of web-based tools or applications that users can access and use through a web browser as if the programs were installed locally on their own computers. Cloud computing providers deliver applications via the internet, which are accessed from web browsers and desktop and mobile apps, while the business software and data are stored on servers at a remote location. In some cases, legacy applications (line of business applications that until now have been prevalent in thin client Windows computing) are delivered via a screen-sharing technology, while the computing resources are consolidated at a remote data center location; in other cases, entire business applications have been coded using web-based technologies such as AJAX. At the foundation of cloud computing is the broader concept of infrastructure convergence (or Converged Infrastructure) and shared services. This type of data center environment allows enterprises to get their applications up and running faster, with easier manageability and less maintenance, and enables IT to more rapidly adjust IT resources (such as servers, storage, and networking) to meet fluctuating and unpredictable business demand. Most cloud computing infrastructures consist of services delivered through shared data-centers and appearing as a single point of access for consumers' computing needs.

Commercial offerings may be required to meet service-level agreements (SLAs), but specific terms are less often negotiated by smaller companies. The tremendous impact of cloud computing on business has prompted the federal United States government to look to the cloud as a means to reorganize their IT infrastructure and decrease their spending budgets. With the advent of the top government official mandating cloud adoption, many agencies already have at least one or more cloud systems online.

Comparison Cloud computing shares characteristics with: ■ Autonomic computing — Computer systems capable of selfmanagement.

■ Client–server model — Client–server computing refers broadly to any distributed application that distinguishes between service providers (servers) and service requesters (clients).

■ Grid computing — "A form of distributed and parallel computing, whereby a 'super and virtual computer' is composed of a cluster of networked, loosely coupled computers acting in concert to perform very large tasks.”

■ Mainframe computer — Powerful computers used mainly by large organisations for critical applications, typically bulk data processing such as census, industry and consumer statistics, enterprise resource planning, and financial transaction processing.

■Utility computing — The "packaging of computing resources, such as computation and storage, as a metered service similar to a traditional public utility, such as electricity.”

■ Peer-to-peer — Distributed architecture without the need for central coordination, with participants being at the same time both suppliers and consumers of resources (in contrast to the traditional client–server model).

Characteristics Cloud computing exhibits the following key characteristics: ■ Empowerment of end-users of computing resources by putting the provisioning of those resources in their own control, as opposed to the control of a centralized IT service (for example) ■ Agility improves with users' ability to re-provision technological infrastructure resources.

■ Application programming interface (API) accessibility to software that enables machines to interact with cloud software in the same way the user interface facilitates interaction between humans and computers. Cloud computing systems typically use REST-based APIs. ■ Cost is claimed to be reduced and in a public cloud delivery model capital expenditure is converted to operational expenditure. This is purported to lower barriers to entry, as infrastructure is typically provided by a third-party and does not need to be purchased for one-time or infrequent intensive computing tasks. Pricing on a utility computing basis is finegrained with usage-based options and fewer IT skills are required for implementation (in-house).

■ Device and location independence enable users to access systems using a web browser regardless of their location or what device they are using (e.g., PC, mobile phone). As infrastructure is off-site (typically provided by a third-party) and accessed via the Internet, users can connect from anywhere.

■Multi-tenancy enables sharing of resources and costs across a large pool of users thus allowing for: ■ Centralisation of infrastructure in locations with lower costs (such as real estate, electricity, etc.)

■ Peak-load capacity increases (users need not engineer for highest possible load-levels) ■ Utilisation and efficiency improvements for systems that are often only 10–20% utilised.

■ Reliability is improved if multiple redundant sites are used, which makes well-designed cloud computing suitable for business continuity and disaster recovery.

■ Scalability and Elasticity via dynamic ("on-demand") provisioning of resources on a fine-grained, self-service basis near real-time, without users having to engineer for peak loads.

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â– Performance is monitored, and consistent and loosely coupled architectures are constructed using web services as the system interface. â– Security could improve due to centralisation of data, increased security-focused resources, etc., but concerns can persist about loss of control over certain sensitive data, and the lack of security for stored kernels. Security is often as good as or better than other traditional systems, in part because providers are able to devote resources to solving security issues that many customers cannot afford. However, the complexity of security is greatly increased when data is distributed over a wider area or greater number of devices and in multi-tenant systems that are being shared by unrelated users. In addition, user access to security audit logs may be difficult or impossible. Private cloud installations are in part motivated by users' desire to retain control over the infrastructure and avoid losing control of information security. â– Maintenance of cloud computing applications is easier, because they do not need to be installed on each user's computer.

History The term "cloud" is used as a metaphor for the Internet, based on the cloud drawing used in the past to represent the telephone network, and later to depict the Internet in computer network diagrams as an abstraction of the underlying infrastructure it represents. Cloud computing is a natural evolution of the widespread adoption of virtualisation, service-oriented architecture, autonomic, and utility computing. Details are abstracted from end-users, who no longer have need for expertise in, or control over, the technology infrastructure "in the cloud" that supports them. The underlying concept of cloud computing dates back to the 1960s, when John McCarthy opined that "computation may someday be organised as a public utility."

Almost all the modern-day characteristics of cloud computing (elastic provision, provided as a utility, online, illusion of infinite supply), the comparison to the electricity industry and the use of public, private, government, and community forms, were thoroughly explored in Douglas Parkhill's 1966 book, The Challenge of the Computer Utility. Other scholars have shown that cloud computing's roots go all the way back to the 1950s when scientist Herb Grosch (the author of Grosch's law) postulated that the entire world would operate on dumb terminals powered by about 15 large data centers. The actual term "cloud" borrows from telephony in that telecommunications companies, who until the 1990s offered primarily dedicated point-to-point data circuits, began offering Virtual Private Network (VPN) services with comparable quality of service but at a much lower cost. By switching traffic to balance utilisation as they saw fit, they were able to utilise their overall network bandwidth more effectively.

The cloud symbol was used to denote the demarcation point between that which was the responsibility of the provider and

that which was the responsibility of the user. Cloud computing extends this boundary to cover servers as well as the network infrastructure. After the dot-com bubble, Amazon played a key role in the development of cloud computing by modernising their data centers, which, like most computer networks, were using as little as 10% of their capacity at any one time, just to leave room for occasional spikes. Having found that the new cloud architecture resulted in significant internal efficiency improvements whereby small, fast-moving "two-pizza teams" could add new features faster and more easily, Amazon initiated a new product development effort to provide cloud computing to external customers, and launched Amazon Web Service (AWS) on a utility computing basis in 2006.

In early 2008, Eucalyptus became the first open-source, AWS API-compatible platform for deploying private clouds. In early 2008, OpenNebula, enhanced in the RESERVOIR European Commission-funded project, became the first open-source software for deploying private and hybrid clouds, and for the federation of clouds. In the same year, efforts were focused on providing QoS guarantees (as required by real-time interactive applications) to cloud-based infrastructures, in the framework of the IRMOS European Commission-funded project, resulting to a real-time cloud environment. By mid-2008, Gartner saw an opportunity for cloud computing "to shape the relationship among consumers of IT services, those who use IT services and those who sell them" and observed that "[o]rganisations are switching from company-owned hardware and software assets to per-use service-based models" so that the "projected shift to cloud computing...will result in dramatic growth in IT products in some areas and significant reductions in other areas."

Layers Once an internet protocol connection is established among several computers, it is possible to share services within any one of the following layers.

Client A cloud client consists of computer hardware and/or computer software that relies on cloud computing for application delivery and that is in essence useless without it. Examples include some computers, phones and other devices, operating systems, and browsers.

Application Cloud application services or "Software as a Service (SaaS)" deliver software as a service over the Internet, eliminating the need to install and run the application on the customer's own

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computers and simplifying maintenance and support.

Platform Cloud platform services, also known as platform as a service (PaaS), deliver a computing platform and/or solution stack as a service, often consuming cloud infrastructure and sustaining cloud applications. It facilitates deployment of applications without the cost and complexity of buying and managing the underlying hardware and software layers. Cloud computing is becoming a major change in our industry, and one of the most important parts of this change is the shift of cloud platforms.

Platforms let developers write certain applications that can run in the cloud, or even use services provided by the cloud. There are different names being used for platforms which can include the on-demand platform, or Cloud 9. It's your choice on what you would like to call the platform, but they all have great potential in developing. When development teams create applications for the cloud, they must build its own cloud platform.

Infrastructure Cloud infrastructure services, also known as "infrastructure as a service" (IaaS), deliver computer infrastructure – typically a platform virtualisation environment – as a service, along with raw (block) storage and networking. Rather than purchasing servers, software, data-center space or network equipment, clients instead buy those resources as a fully outsourced service. Suppliers typically bill such services on a utility computing basis; the amount of resources consumed (and therefore the cost) will typically reflect the level of activity.

Server The servers layer consists of computer hardware and/or computer software products that are specifically designed for the delivery of cloud services, including multi-core processors, cloud-specific operating systems and combined offerings.

Deployment models

Cloud computing types Public cloud A public cloud is one based on the standard cloud computing model, in which a service provider makes resources, such as applications and storage, available to the general public over the Internet. Public cloud services may be free or offered on a pay-per-usage model.

Community cloud Community cloud shares infrastructure between several

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organizations from a specific community with common concerns (security, compliance, jurisdiction, etc.), whether managed internally or by a third-party and hosted internally or externally. The costs are spread over fewer users than a public cloud (but more than a private cloud), so only some of the benefits of cloud computing are realized.

Hybrid cloud Hybrid cloud is a composition of two or more clouds (private, community, or public) that remain unique entities but are bound together, offering the benefits of multiple deployment models. It can also be defined as multiple cloud systems that are connected in a way that allows programs and data to be moved easily from one deployment system to another.

Private cloud Private cloud is infrastructure operated solely for a single organization, whether managed internally or by a third-party and hosted internally or externally. They have attracted criticism because users "still have to buy, build, and manage them" and thus do not benefit from lower up-front capital costs and less hands-on management, essentially "[lacking] the economic model that makes cloud computing such an intriguing concept".

Architecture

Cloud computing sample architecture Cloud architecture,[49] the systems architecture of the software systems involved in the delivery of cloud computing, typically involves multiple cloud components communicating with each other over a loose coupling mechanism such as a messaging queue.

The Intercloud The Intercloud is an interconnected global "cloud of clouds" and an extension of the Internet "network of networks" on which it is based.

Cloud engineering Cloud engineering is the application of engineering disciplines

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to cloud computing. It brings a systematic approach to the high level concerns of commercialisation, standardisation, and governance in conceiving, developing, operating and maintaining cloud computing systems. It is a multidisciplinary method encompassing contributions from diverse areas such as systems, software, web, performance, information, security, platform, risk, and quality engineering.

Issues Privacy The cloud model has been criticised by privacy advocates for the greater ease in which the companies hosting the cloud services control, thus, can monitor at will, lawfully or unlawfully, the communication and data stored between the user and the host company. Instances such as the secret NSA program, working with AT&T, and Verizon, which recorded over 10 million phone calls between American citizens, causes uncertainty among privacy advocates, and the greater powers it gives to telecommunication companies to monitor user activity. While there have been efforts (such as US-EU Safe Harbor) to "harmonise" the legal environment, providers such as Amazon still cater to major markets (typically the United States and the European Union) by deploying local infrastructure and allowing customers to select "availability zones."

Cloud computing poses privacy concerns basically, because the service provider at any point in time, may access the data that is on the cloud. They could accidentally or deliberately alter or even delete some info.

Compliance In order to obtain compliance with regulations including FISMA, HIPAA, and SOX in the United States, the Data Protection Directive in the EU and the credit card industry's PCI DSS, users may have to adopt community or hybrid deployment modes that are typically more expensive and may offer restricted benefits. This is how Google is able to "manage and meet additional government policy requirements beyond FISMA" and Rackspace Cloud or QubeSpace are able to claim PCI compliance. Many providers also obtain SAS 70 Type II certification, but this has been criticised on the grounds that the hand-picked set of goals and standards determined by the auditor and the auditee are often not disclosed and can vary widely. Providers typically make this information available on request, under non-disclosure agreement. Customers in the EU contracting with cloud providers established outside the EU/EEA have to adhere to the EU regulations on export of personal data.

Legal As can be expected with any revolutionary change in the landscape of global computing, certain legal issues arise; everything from trademark infringement, security concerns to the sharing of propriety data resources.

Open source Open-source software has provided the foundation for many cloud computing implementations, one prominent example being the Hadoop framework. In November 2007, the Free

Software Foundation released the Affero General Public License, a version of GPLv3 intended to close a perceived legal loophole associated with free software designed to be run over a network.

Security As cloud computing is achieving increased popularity, concerns are being voiced about the security issues introduced through adoption of this new model. The effectiveness and efficiency of traditional protection mechanisms are being reconsidered as the characteristics of this innovative deployment model differ widely from those of traditional architectures. The relative security of cloud computing services is a contentious issue that may be delaying its adoption. Issues barring the adoption of cloud computing are due in large part to the private and public sectors unease surrounding the external management of security-based services. It is the very nature of cloud computing-based services, private or public, that promote external management of provided services.

This delivers great incentive to cloud computing service providers to prioritize building and maintaining strong management of secure services. Security issues have been categorised into sensitive data access, data segregation, privacy, bug exploitation, recovery, accountability, malicious insiders, management console security, account control, and multi-tenancy issues.

Solutions to various cloud security issues vary, from cryptography, particularly public key infrastructure (PKI), to use of multiple cloud providers, standardisation of APIs, and improving virtual machine support and legal support.

Sustainability Although cloud computing is often assumed to be a form of "green computing", there is as of yet no published study to substantiate this assumption. Siting the servers affects the environmental effects of cloud computing. In areas where climate favors natural cooling and renewable electricity is readily available, the environmental effects will be more moderate. (The same holds true for "traditional" data centers.)

Thus countries with favorable conditions, such as Finland, Sweden and Switzerland, are trying to attract cloud computing data centers. Energy efficiency in cloud computing can result from energy-aware scheduling and server consolidation.

However, in the case of distributed clouds over data centers with different source of energies including renewable source of energies, a small compromise on energy consumption reduction could result in high carbon footprint reduction.

Abuse As with privately purchased hardware, crackers posing as legitimate customers can purchase the services of cloud computing for nefarious purposes. This includes password cracking and launching attacks using the purchased services. In 2009, a banking trojan illegally used the popular Amazon service as a command and control channel that issued software updates and malicious instructions to PCs that were infected by the malware.