ABSTRACT
Cloud computing has become the dominant mode of delivering Internet-based services to both fixed and mobile endpoints. Since 2008, most Internet traffic has originated or terminated in a data center [16]. Multiple factors have contributed to the rise of the cloud, including the widespread support for virtualization in the industry standard x86 processor architecture, a low cost VM rental model (Infrastructure as a Service or IaaS), the plunging cost of computer hardware together with the exponential increase in computer performance, high-bandwidth connectivity, and the rise of mobile devices and smartphones with the ability to stream various services from cloud-based back ends over the Internet.
