1.1 Introduction
Cloud Computing is a new paradigm of computing which has evolved in recent times, it’s a platform where hardware and software are delivered to users in a manner that resembles the way utilities such as electricity are delivered to households today (Flanagan, 2002). Cloud computing is an online form of computing where users can access applications (especially, Web-Based Applications) via a web-browser, while the application is installed and stored on a data center which comprises several servers. Cloud based sharing storage is a relatively new technology advancement which has been steadily taking over more and more market share in the past three years. Cloud file sharing storage is publicized as the next major step for all forms of typical information technology use. From businesses, to non-profit organizations, to single users, there seems to be various applications which can use cloud file sharing storage or storage in daily computer usage, to offer a better, faster, and smarter way to share important document.
As a prelude to other parts of this study, this chapter will discuss the background upon which this study was initiated, the statement of problems that led to this study, the Aim and Objectives of the study. Others are Significance of the study, Scope of work, Limitations of the Study and Definition of technical terms.
1.2 Background of Study
Several trends are opening up the era of Cloud Computing, which is an Internet-based development and use of computer technology. The ever cheaper and more powerful processors, together with the software as a service (SaaS) computing architecture, are transforming data centers into pools of computing service on a huge scale. The increasing network bandwidth and reliable yet flexible network connections make it even possible that users can now subscribe high quality services from data and software that reside solely on remote data centers.
The Phrase "cloud computing" is defined as a framework or sort of programming application. Cloud computing is on high request and saves a lot of cost in processing and adaptability, high-accessibility, and decreased data usage. Amazon's Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) is a case of IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) stage. It offers fundamental foundation segment, for example, CPUs, memory, and capacity. Google App Engine is a case of PaaS (Platform as a Service) stage. In Distributed computing stage Cloud server is a physical server. In light of IaaS and PaaS stages, a lot of time and money have been saved for start-up companies, such as foursquare and dropbox. Cloud computing is a technology that utilizes the web and central remote servers to keep up applications and data storage. One significant challenge is the manner by which to move these conventional applications to the cloud. This research focuses on the migration of specific flies of any size, from the local storage device to a cloud based system with more security, and can be easily accessed at any part of the world.
The cloud computing is developing quickly for it offers on-demand computing power and capacity. The power of cloud computing empowers dynamic adaptability of utilizations confronting different methods of file transfer in our advanced technology age. However, challenges emerge while considering the enormous amount of files to be shared. In this research, we propose moving of flies, from the traditional FTP service to the cloud. We execute FTP file transfer on Windows Azure Platform alongside the auto-scaling cloud feature. Furthermore, we implement a benchmark to study the performance of our Cloud sharing storage system. This research focuses on designing and implementing a cloud file sharing storage system, the potential benefits and technical issues associated with sharing of files easily for easy retrieval.
1.3 Statement of Problem
Investigation revealed that the essential challenges faced with the conventional way of file sharing, management and storage techniques (such as manual filing or sharing of images, documents etc) is that users have little control over –or even knowledge the type of file being shared, if it contains a virus. Also, users do not or sometimes don’t remember the names of these files, the files contents, and their storage locations; this increases the risk of lost.
There may also be irregularities during file sharing, this could be lack of connectivity strength, device compatibility and other human factors. The Cloud based file storage system will be an effective way to share files over the internet and give other usage access to view or manage the uploaded files easily at any part of the globe via the internet.
1.4 Aim and Objectives of the Study
The aim of the study is to design and implement a Cloud based file storage system. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out as follows to develop an application software that will:
- Enable users to easily host, store and backup data, with high-performance computing easy to retrieve.
- Ensure files accessibility without any limiting factor, example device compatibilities.
- Make file available to the end-user at any point in time. Cloud computing offers availability difficulties experienced in the conventional way of file sharing storage.
1.5 Significance of Study
This research work is designed to provide a means to transmit files (data / video) from one system to another system or a group of systems connected to a hub or connected via an Ethernet straight-through cable. It also provides a cost-effective, secured, safe, faster means to transfer files from one device to another device. It is also a secured and effective way of transferring the results of students in the department to the office of the dean. It is an improved means for proper administration of students in the department, to eradicate the issues associated with missing results in the department, and also saves cost because we would not have need to get a server.
This study will be of immense benefit to other researchers who intend to know more on this study and can also be used by non-researchers to build more on their research work. This study contributes to knowledge and could serve as a guide for other study.
1.6 Scope of Study
The scope of the research is focused on designing and implementing a Cloud based file storage system, which will represent as a platform for file sharing, information storage and dissemination.
1.7 Limitations of the Study
During the course of this study, many things militated against its completion, some of which are:
- Time Constraint: The time frame given to accomplish this project was very short due to school academic calendar and it was carried out under pressure which made the researcher not to implement some necessary features.
- Research material: availability of research material is a major setback to the scope of the study.
- Frequent power failure: This made the researcher append more money on fuel to ensure sustainable power.
- Financial Constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet).
1.8 Definition of Terms
Cloud computing: The practice of using a network of remote servers hosted on the Internet to store, manage, and process data, rather than a local server or a personal computer
Internet: an electronic communications network that connects computer networks and organizational computer facilities around the world.
