Cloud Computing: Theory and Practice, Third Edition provides students and IT professionals with an in-depth analysis of the cloud from the ground up. After an introduction to network-centric computing and network-centric content, the book reviews basic concepts of concurrency and parallel and distributed systems, presents critical components of the cloud ecosystem as cloud service providers, cloud access, cloud data storage, and cloud hardware and software, covers cloud applications and cloud security, and presents research topics in cloud computing. Specific topics covered include resource virtualization, resource management and scheduling, and advanced topics like the impact of scale on efficiency, cloud scheduling subject to deadlines, alternative cloud architectures, and vehicular clouds. An included glossary covers terms grouped in several categories, from general to services, virtualization, desirable attributes and security. - Presents updated content throughout chapters on concurrency, cloud hardware and software, challenges posed by big data, mobile applications and advanced topics - Includes an expanded appendix that presents several cloud computing projects - Provides more than 400 references in the text, including recent research results in several areas related to cloud computing