Over the last decade, cloud computing has emerged as a popular model for distributed, efficient and commercial computation. The cloud represents a computing paradigm where shared configurable resources (e.g. networks, servers, computation resources, and applications) are provided as a service over the Internet. Despite the various paradigms that have emerged with respect to the business philosophy adopted and respective research value, the basic goal is to create a fluid pool of virtual resources across computers, servers and data centers that enable users to access stored data and applications on an on-demand basis.Over the last decade, cloud computing has emerged as a popular model for distributed, efficient and commercial computation. The cloud represents a computing paradigm where shared configurable resources (e.g. networks, servers, computation resources, and applications) are provided as a service over the Internet. Despite the various paradigms that have emerged with respect to the business philosophy adopted and respective research value, the basic goal is to create a fluid pool of virtual resources across computers, servers and data centers that enable users to access stored data and applications on an on-demand basis.Over the last decade, cloud computing has emerged as a popular model for distributed, efficient and commercial computation. The cloud represents a computing paradigm where shared configurable resources (e.g. networks, servers, computation resources, and applications) are provided as a service over the Internet. Despite the various paradigms that have emerged with respect to the business philosophy adopted and respective research value, the basic goal is to create a fluid pool of virtual resources across computers, servers and data centers that enable users to access stored data and applications on an on-demand basis.