Differences Between Cloud Computing and Grid Computing

In this post you will understand the main differences between cloud computing and grid computing. Grid computing is the collection of computer resources from multiple locations to reach a common goal. The grid is a distributed system with non-interactive workloads that involve a large number of files.

Cloud computing means storing and accessing data and programs over the Internet instead of your computer’s hard drive.

In other words, Cloud Computing refers to manipulating, configuring, & accessing the hardware and software resources remotely. It offers online data storage, infrastructure, and application.

Cloud computing allows users to access the computing resources, processing power and storage from any computer. Grids enable you to get leased computing power or storage from your computer. While you will find individual companies such as Amazon or Microsoft offering cloud computing services, grid computing will be made available through universities and research institutions which amalgamate their services through grid infrastructures. Cloud computing is accessed by mainly small and medium sized businesses for their IT needs while grid computing serves research collaborations that bring researchers working in the same area from different parts of the world. So, the government or publicly-funded organizations for research pay for grid computing services which cloud computing is paid for by the cloud services provider.

In cloud computing, the vendors own private data centers in some locations which have excellent network connectivity and redundant power supplies for data storage. The resources in grid computing are distributes across many countries and sites in computing centers. Cloud computing allows you to access additional computing resources whenever there are traffic spikes or for handling peak workloads without having to purchase or maintain a data center. Grid computing is useful because users will not need to buy and maintain their own computing centers and can handle complex problems faster. Secure data sharing is also possible with the distributed team.

Clouds are very useful for supporting long-term services while the grid is mainly designed for short term tasks involving colossal amounts of data. Clouds are proprietary technology and the vendor alone knows exactly how a cloud is managing and securing the data stored in it. But the grid is open source and both the provider and user know and manage the working of the grid.