Trust Calculation Using Fuzzy Logic in Cloud Computing

Introduction

Cloud Computing is emerging as a promising way to change the perception of technology as we have today. Zhang et al. (2010) have defined cloud computing as “a model for enabling convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction.” It is based on the premise of “why buy when you can rent”. In simple words, it provides the consumers or users with an opportunity to use the resources provided by another party on pay-per-use basis. That is, users don’t need to buy or install the hardware or software at their end. Instead they can use the services installed by another party and pay them as per their use. This results in reduction in the costs incurred by the users. While this arrangement has many benefits, it also has some drawbacks. One major question that arises is – which Cloud Service Provider (CSP) should a user choose? Or framed in another way – which Cloud Service Provider should a user trust?

The basic objectives of this chapter are:

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  To describe the issue of trust evaluation in cloud computing.

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  To understand the basics and importance of fuzzy logic.

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  To describe various approaches for calculation of trust using fuzzy logic.

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  To highlight latest happenings particularly in cloud computing.

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  To identify the opportunities and challenges.

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  To identify new research directions.