The Cloud Computing Conceptual Reference Model
(credit: NIST)
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has published two new documents on cloud computing: the first edition of a cloud computing standards roadmap, and a cloud computing reference architecture and taxonomy. The documents provide guidance to help understand cloud computing standards and categories of cloud services that can be used government-wide.
Cloud computing involves five actors: consumer, provider, auditor, broker and carrier. This illustration shows the possible communication paths between them
(credit: NIST)
These documents, along with others from NIST and NIST working groups, will be incorporated into the NIST U.S. Government Cloud Computing Technology Roadmap, expected to be published in November 2011.
Cloud computing is a model for enabling ubiquitous, convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of computing resources, including servers, data storage, and applications and services. NIST is responsible for accelerating the federal government’s secure adoption of cloud computing by leading efforts to develop standards and guidelines in close consultation and collaboration with standards bodies, the private sector and other stakeholders, including federal agencies.
Ref.: Michael Hogan, et al., NIST Cloud Computing Standards Roadmap, NIST, 2011; [link]
Ref.: Fang Liu, et al., NIST Cloud Computing Reference Architecture, NIST, 2011; [link]
