Foundations of Cloud Computing provides readers with a guidebook to navigating the field of Cloud Computing, including the guiding principles, key concepts, history, terminology, state-of-the-art in research, and a roadmap to where the field intersects and interacts with related fields of research and development. In this age of total connectivity, researchers need to be able to communicate and collaborate with a wide range of colleagues across multiple disciplines. This book helps researchers from all fields understand what Cloud Computing is, how it works, and how to speak the language of collaboration with developers and researchers who specialize in the field. With a complete and in-depth foundation in the key concepts of the field, and a roadmap to where and how Cloud Computing intersects across the domains of scientific research and application development, this book gives readers everything they need to navigate and apply this important, ubiquitous technology. Covers research issues and concepts of Cloud Computing, providing a complete foundational understanding of the field, including history of the field, the state-of-the-art, principles, and key concepts Provides in-depth information about the technical underpinnings of Cloud Computing, such as mathematical formulas, programming methods, algorithms, and protocols Helps readers understand the links between Cloud Computing and related interdisciplinary fields for collaboration in research and development, by providing applications and case studies, a road map of related fields, glossary, frontiers of research, as well as challenges and future directions