Conceptual Framework For Cloud Computing Information Technology Essay

Conceptual Framework For Cloud Computing Information Technology Essay Cloud computing is an emerging paradigm that aims at delivering hardware infrastructure and software applications as services, which users can consume on a pay per- use-basis. Cloud computing refers to the processing and storage of data through the Internet. Computing and storage become services rather than physical resources. Files and other data can be stored in the cloud and be accessed from any Internet connection. It is a style of computing where IT-related capabilities are provided as a service, allowing users to access technology-enabled services from the Internet, or cloud, without knowledge of, expertise with, or control over the technology infrastructure that supports them. The cloud separate application and information resources from the infrastructure, and the mechanism used to deliver them. Its a technology that uses the central remote severs and internet to main application and data, by allowing businesses and consumers to use applications without installation and also allows them to access their personal files at any computer with internet access. This paper present the framework for cloud computing. Key Words: Software services, Platform service, Infrastructure service, Virtualization, cloud, SLA. 1. Introduction The interest towards Cloud computing solutions is rapid growing. As a result, they have already been adopted in different scenarios such as social networking, business applications, and content delivery networks. Cloud computing is the beginning of network based computing over the internet which is considered to be the element of two totally new computing models, the Client-Cloud computing and the Terminal-Cloud computing which would create whole generations of applications and business. It is also the beginning of a new Internet based service economy such as the Internet centric, Web based, on demand, Cloud applications and computing economy. A more structured definition is given by Buyya et al. [1] who define a Cloud as a type of parallel and distributed system consisting of a collection of interconnected and virtualized computers that are dynamically provisioned and presented as one or more unified computing resources based on service-level agreement. One of the key features chara cterizing Cloud computing is the ability of delivering both infrastructure and software as services. Cloud computing is based on a very fundamental principal of `reusability of IT capabilities According to the IEEE Computer Society Cloud Computing is: A paradigm in which information is permanently stored in servers on the Internet and cached temporarily on clients that include desktops, entertainment centres, table computers, notebooks, wall computers, handhelds, etc. [2] The cloud computing draws on many existing technologies and architectures by integrating all these models, Centralizing computing power, utility computing, distributed computing and software as a service. This integration requires computing center of power to shift from processing unit to the network. Berkeley Report [3] released in Feb 2009 notes Cloud computing, the long-held dream of computing as a utility has the potential to transform a large part of the IT industry, making software even more attractive as a service. Clouds aim to power the next generation data centers by architecting them as a network of virtual services (hardware, database, user-interface, application logic) so that users are able to access and deploy applications from anywhere in the world on demand at competitive costs depending on users Quality of Service (QoS) requirements [4]. Cloud Computing enhances collaboration, agility, scaling, and availability, and provides the potential for cost reduction through optimized and efficient computing. More specifically, cloud describes the use of a collection of services, applications, information, and infrastructure comprised of pools of compute, network, information, and storage resources. 2. Cloud Computing Overview Cloud computing is global and provides services to the mass, ranging from the end-users hosting their personal documents on the Internet to enterprises outsourcing their entire IT infrastructure to external data centers. Service Level Agreements (SLAs), which include QoS requirements, are set up between customers and Cloud providers. An SLA specifies the details of the service to be provided in terms of metrics agreed upon by all parties, and penalties for violating the expectations. SLAs act as a warranty for users, who can more comfortably move their business to the Cloud.The computing power in a Cloud computing environments is supplied by a collection of data centers, which are typically installed with hundreds to thousands of servers [5]. Different solutions are available to move from the traditional science Grids and embrace the Cloud computing paradigm. Some vendors, such as Amazon Web Services and VMWare base their offering on hardware level virtualization and provide bare com pute and storage resources on demand. Google AppEngine and Microsoft Azure are focused on application level virtualization. Other solutions provide end users with a platform for developing Cloud computing applications that can rely on, or compose, some of the existing solutions. Cloud computing focuses on delivery of reliable, secure, fault-tolerant, sustainable, and scalable infrastructures for hosting Internet-based application services, It can, to a certain extent, be regarded as the natural evolution of grid computing, considering that it was conceived to satisfy the new demands of users who, once accustomed to using the web 2.0 services, perceived the need to move much of their own data onto the web. Cloud computing customers do not generally own the physical infrastructure serving as host to the software platform in question. Instead, they avoid capital expenditure by renting usage from a third-party provider. They consume resources as a service and pay only for resources that they use. Many cloud-computing offerings employ the utility computing model, which is analogous to how traditional utility services (such as electricity) are consumed, while others bill on a subscription basis. Cloud computing is the convergence of the major trends. -Virtualization where applications are separated from infrastructure -Utility computing where server capacity is access across a grid as a vary price service. -Software as a service where applications are available on demand basis. Cloud computing can be the ability to rent a server or a thousand servers and run a geophysical modelling application on the most powerful systems available anywhere. It can be the ability to rent a virtual server, load software on it, turn it on and off at will, or clone it ten times to meet a sudden workload demand. It can be storing and securing immense amounts of data that is accessible only by authorized applications and users. It can be supported by a cloud provider that sets up a platform that includes the OS, Apache, a MySQLà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ database, Perl, Python, and PHP with the ability to scale automatically in response to changing workloads. Cloud computing can be the ability to use applications on the Internet that store and protect data while providing a service anything including email, sales force automation and tax preparation. It can be using a storage cloud to hold application, business, and personal data [3]. Cloud computing users can avoid capital expenditure on hardware, software, and services when they pay a provider only for what they use. Consumption is usually billed on a utility (e.g. resources consumed, like electricity) or subscription (e.g. time based, like a newspaper) basis with little or no upfront cost. It also gives the power of flexibility and control to big business, delivering the heavy duty processing needed for a large network with many users and many different applications, while also giving the assurance of complete administrator control over security and access. Cloud computing can additionally further facilitate the working from home revolution that we are already in the midst of. [6] 3. Cloud Computing service Models Cloud service delivery is divided among three archetypal models and various derivative combinations. The three fundamental classifications are often referred to as the SPI Model, where SPI refers to Software, Platform or Infrastructure (as a Service), respectively (Fig 1). Cloud computing delivers infrastructure, platform, and software (application) as services, which are made available as subscription-based services in a pay-as-you ­go model to consumers. These services in industry are referred to as Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS), respectively. Figure 1. Cloud Computing service Models Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): Refer to the practice of delivering IT infrastructure based on virtual or physical resources as a commodity to customers. The capability provided to the consumer is to provision processing, storage, networks, and other fundamental computing resources where the consumer is able to deploy and run arbitrary software, which can include operating systems and applications. The consumer does not manage or control the underlying cloud infrastructure but has control over operating systems, storage, deployed applications, and possibly limited control of select networking components (e.g., host firewalls). Consumers are billed on a pay per use basis and have to set up their system on top of these resources that are hosted and managed in datacenters owned by the vendor. Amazon is one of the major players in providing IaaS solutions. Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) provides a large computing infrastructure and a service based on hardware virtualization. Platform as a Service (PaaS): The capability provided to the consumer is to deploy onto the cloud infrastructure consumer-created or acquired applications created using programming languages and tools supported by the provider. The consumer does not manage or control the underlying cloud infrastructure including network, servers, operating systems, or storage, but has control over the deployed applications and possibly application hosting environment configurations. It provides an application or development platform in which users can create their own application that will run on the Cloud. PaaS implementations provide users with an application framework and a set of API that can be used by developers to program or compose applications for the Cloud. The two major players adopting this strategy are Google and Microsoft. It provides a set of APIs and an application model that allow developers to take advantage of additional services provided by Google such as Mail, Datastore, and others. Software as a Service (SaaS): They provide end users with an integrated service comprising hardware, development platforms, and applications running on a cloud infrastructure. Users are not allowed to customize the service but get access to a specific application hosted in the Cloud. The applications are accessible from various client devices through a thin client interface such as a web browser (e.g., web-based email, services provided by Google for office automation, such as Google Document and Google Calendar, which are delivered for free to the Internet users and charged for professional quality services). The consumer does not manage or control the underlying cloud infrastructure including network, servers, operating systems, storage, or even individual application capabilities, with the possible exception of limited user specific application configuration settings Cloud Deployment Models There are four deployment models for cloud services, with derivative variations that address specific requirements: Public Cloud: The cloud infrastructure is made available to the general public or a large industry group and is owned by an organization selling cloud services. Private Cloud: The cloud infrastructure is operated solely for a single organization. It may be managed by the organization or a third party, and may exist on-premises or off premises. Community Cloud: The cloud infrastructure is shared by several organizations and supports a specific community that has shared concerns (e.g., mission, security requirements, policy, or compliance considerations). It may be managed by the organizations or a third party and may exist on-premises or off-premises. Hybrid Cloud: The cloud infrastructure is a composition of two or more clouds (private, community, or public) that remain unique entities but are bound together by standardized or proprietary technology that enables data and application portability (e.g., cloud bursting for load-balancing between clouds). 4. Advantages of Cloud Computing It offers significant benefit to IT companies by freeing them from the low level tasks of setting up basic hardware (servers) and software infrastructures and thus enabling them to focus on innovation and creating business value for their services. Cloud computing infrastructure allows enterprises to achieve more efficient use of their IT hardware and software investments: it increases profitability by improving resource utilization. Pooling resources into large clouds cuts costs and increases utilization by delivering resources only for as long as those resources are needed. Cloud Computing is particularly beneficial for small and medium businesses, where effective and affordable IT tools are critical for helping them become more productive without spending a great deal of money on in ­house Cloud computing can offer expediency, delivering instant IT network infrastructure to new users in any conceivable sector. Instead of using up considerable amounts of money and time establishing a brand new network, users can plug-in to an existing cloud system and be up and running without delay. Infrastructure services address the problem of properly equipping data centers by assuring computing power when needed. The time sharing style approach are low barriers to entry, shared infrastructure and costs, low management overhead, and immediate access to a broad range of applications. Users can generally terminate the contract at any time (thereby avoiding return on investment risk and uncertainty) and the services are often covered by service level agreements (SLAs) with financial penalties. Agility improves with users able to rapidly and inexpensively re-provision technological infrastructure resources. The cost of overall computing is unchanged, however, and the providers will merely absorb up-front costs and spread costs over a longer period. Reliability improves through the use of multiple redundant sites, which makes cloud computing suitable for business continuity and disaster recovery. Nonetheless, many major cloud computing services have suffered outages, and IT and business managers can at times do little when they are affected Cloud computing offers extra level of security due to centralization of data, increased security-focused resources, etc., but concerns can persist about loss of control over certain sensitive data, and the lack of security for stored kernels. Security is often as good as or better than under traditional systems, in part because providers are able to devote resources to solving security issues that many customers cannot afford. Cloud computing also offers additional security benefits. A single central mainframe only needs a centralised firewall and malware guard software application. 5. Cloud Computing Drawback A side effect of this approach is that overall computer usage rises dramatically, as customers do not have to engineer for peak load limits. Additionally, increased high-speed bandwidth makes it possible to receive the same response times from centralized infrastructure at other sites. Transparency; Entrusting mission critical applications and data to a third party means the customer has to know exactly how cloud providers handle key security and architectural issues. How transparent providers will be about those details remains an open question. Problems currently impeding the growth of utility / cloud / grid computing include: As an emerging technology, it takes time for service providers to get over the learning curve. Service providers have been geared up for dedicated hosting for the last decade. Their infrastructure, sales channels, support systems, etc. are all built to focus on legacy systems. [7] The overriding drawback was the lack of individuality for each user and the slower processing time created by having to house every application needed by the complete user group on one mainframe and then to transfer data back and forth. 6. Conclusion Cloud Computing can be seen as a subset of grid computing as they share the same technologies and maintain the key concepts of the new distributed computing paradigm. Cloud computing can offer expediency, delivering instant IT network infrastructure to new users in any conceivable sector. Instead of using up considerable amounts of money and time establishing a brand new network, users can plug-in to an existing cloud system and be up and running without delay. Cloud computing offers tremendous opportunities for SMBs and is likely to radically change the way they use the Internet in the coming years. By developing an overall adoption strategy, or simply just recognising the importance of the wider factors mentioned above, SMBs can reduce the potential risks and ensure they get the maximum possible benefit from their journey into the cloud. Cloud computing will also have the potential to break geographical barriers to bring computing power to communities that previously did not have viable access. For example, through satellite broadband connections, remote third world locations can already gain access to first world mainframes. All they need is to be equipped with low cost basic laptop hardware. In future more and more people will want to work from home in the coming years as commuting costs rise and companies will be happy to oblige to save on office rental. Cloud computing can solve the IT problems associated with home office setup, while also meeting the budget and security requirements of business.

How Hardy and Steinbeck treat the theme of ‘outsiders’ in ‘The Withered Arm’ and ‘Of Mice and Men’ Essay

Hardy and Steinbeck both use the theme of outsiders strongly in their stories. The term ‘outsider’ means one who is not a member of a profession, party or circle or one not acquainted with or interested in something that is going on. A person can be an outsider for many different reasons for example loneliness, disability, gender, race, age, size and action. Steinbeck’s short story ‘Of Mice and Men’ was set on a ranch in California during the American Depression in the late 1930’s. The story is about two men Lennie and George. Lennie is mentally disabled so George looks after him. When Lennie and George first meet the boss’s son Curley he immediately feels threatened by Lennie’s size. Lennie and George go and work on the ranch because they want to save up their money so they can buy a ranch of their own. As the story progresses 2 other characters, Candy and Crooks, become interested in their idea and ask if they can help out. Lennie is given a puppy by Slim (another worker on the ranch). One time Lennie is petting it and does not know his own strength and kills it. Curley’s wife comes in and asks what is wrong he tells her what happened and that it only happened because he likes stroking things. She lets him stroke her hair because she thinks it is soft. Lennie gets carried away and won’t let go. Curley’s wife struggles so much that he breaks her neck. Lennie becomes so frightened that he runs away and just leaves the body. Curley sees his wife and says he is going to give Lennie a horrible death. George hears Curley and decides to kill Lennie himself quickly and painlessly. George finds Lennie and starts to talk about their dream ranch, he raises the gun and shoots Lennie in the back when he is not looking. Hardy’s novella ‘The Withered Arm’ was set in England in the 1800’s. It is about a woman named Rhoda who has a son with the owner of the dairy farm at which she works. But now the farmer does not want to know her and is married to a younger prettier woman. Rhoda wanted to know what the new wife looked like so she sent her son to go and see. The son came back and told Rhoda what she was like. Rhoda had a dream, she dreamt that Farmer Lodge’s new wife was sitting on her and she thrust her left arm with her wedding ring on into Rhoda’s face. Rhoda grabbed her arm and threw her to the floor. The next day the farmers new wife visited Rhoda and revealed to Rhoda some marks on her left arm. A few weeks later Gertrude (Farmer Lodge’s wife) came back to see Rhoda and showed her that the marks on her arm were getting worse. Months later Gertrude goes to see a conjuror who makes an egg mixture which shows Rhoda’s face and says that to cure her arm Gertrude must touch the neck of a man who has been hung before he goes cold. Rhoda and her son leave and were never seen leaving. Gertrude found out when the next hanging was taking place and she then travelled to the jail. After the hanging she was shown where the body was. As she touched the body somebody behind her screamed. Gertrude turned around and saw Rhoda and Farmer Lodge standing there. The dead boy was Rhoda’s son. A few days later Gertrude passed away with shock. There are four main outsiders in ‘Of Mice and Men’ and also in ‘The Withered Arm’. The outsiders in ‘Of Mice and Men are Crooks, Candy, Lennie and Curley’s wife and in ‘The Withered Arm’ they are Rhoda, Gertrude, Farmer Lodge and Rhoda’s son. Crooks is an outsider in ‘Of Mice and Men’ because he is black and everybody else on the ranch is white so he is branded as different. A moment in the story where Crooks’ loneliness is shown is when Lennie comes into his room: â€Å"You go on get outa my room. I ain’t wanted in the bunkhouse and you ain’t wanted in my room† This shows that Crooks is not allowed to go in their rooms invading their private space so he does not want them coming in his room doing that, if he is not allowed to do it. An outsider in ‘The Withered Arm’ Rhoda. She is and outsider because she has a son with Farmer Lodge and does not talk to any of the other workers at the dairy farm, so they think she is stuck-up: ‘†¦as the milkmaid spoke she turned her face so that she could glance past her cow’s tail to the other side of the barton, where a thin fading woman of thirty milked somewhat apart from the rest.’ This is a part in the story where Rhoda is at work at the dairy farm and all the other workers are talking about Farmer Lodge’s new wife. Rhoda does not join in the conversation for obvious reasons, but as they talk the workers look over at her. Candy is another outsider in ‘Of Mice and Men’. He is an outsider because he is older than any of the other workers. A part in the story where Candy’s loneliness is visible is when his dog is taken from him and shot by some of the other workers because they are sick of the smell of it: â€Å"Candy did not answer. The silence fell on the room again†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Candy lay still staring at the ceiling† Candy did not want his dog to be killed because it was his friend, but when it is killed he feels lonely as if he has got no one left. Farmer Lodge is also an outsider in ‘The Withered Arm’. He is an outsider because he is older than any of the other workers and he is rich, which everybody else is not. When he marries his new wife Gertrude they see him as being lonely because he has married a younger woman. Curley’s wife is an outsider because in ‘Of Mice and Men’ she has just married Curley and moved to the ranch, which his dad owns. All the other workers think she must be lonely because she is always seen wandering around the ranch, she is never seen with Curley. Similarly Gertrude is an outsider in ‘The Withered Arm’ because she has just married Farmer Lodge and moved to his home. When she comes home with Farmer Lodge everybody is talking about her ‘Who is she?’ and ‘What does she look like?’ so this must make her fell as though people are talking at her behind her back. In ‘Of Mice and Men’ Lennie is an outsider because he has a mental disability and is looked after by George. He is also does not know his own strength and hurts Curley, this incident makes him feel more vulnerable to the other workers: â€Å"Lennie smiled with his bruised mouth. ‘I didn’t want no trouble,’ he said. He walked toward the door†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ In the same way Rhoda’s son is an outsider in ‘The Withered Arm’ because he is dominated by his mother and at the end when he is hung, he is wrongly accused of something because of injustice: â€Å"a young fellow deserved to be let off, this on does; only just turned eighteen, and only present by chance when the rick was fired’ This is the part in the story when Gertrude goes to see if there is any hangings happening the next day and is told about one, which is Rhoda’s son. The man who is telling her says he is innocent. Dreams are featured a lot in both stories. Lennie, George and Candy have a dream in ‘Of Mice and Men’ to own their own ranch: â€Å"We’ll have a big vegetable patch and a rabbit-hutch and chickens.† Lennie and George at first are going to buy the ranch by themselves but then Lennie accidentally tells Candy, so George lets him help them. Curley’s wife also has a dream to become an actress and be respected. In ‘The Withered Arm’ Rhoda has a dream about Gertrude sitting on her with the wedding ring on: â€Å"the young wife, in the pale silk dress and white bonnet†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦the figure thrust forward its left hand mockingly, so as to make the wedding ring it wore glitter in Rhoda’s eyes†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦swung out her right hand seized the confronting spectre by its obtrusive left arm, and whirled it backward to the floor† However in this story the dream comes true because Gertrude visits Rhoda and shows her the marks on her arm. In ‘Of Mice and Men’ the style is mainly conversational, we learn about events through dialogue. Through language we can tell that the boss is aloof to the workers. The language is like a child’s when Lennie is moving; he is described like an animal. This story is known as a novella. It deals with poor and working class people. In ‘The Withered Arm’ the style is also conversational, we learn about Rhoda at the beginning through conversation. It is third person narrative and in the past tense. This story is known as a short story. Through language we can also tell that the boss is aloof to the workers. This story also deals with poor and working class people. The settings are very similar, as they are both set on a farm in remote areas of the countries in which they are set. ‘The Withered Arm is set on a dairy farm in England but ‘Of Mice and Men’ is set on a ranch in California.

Shadow Kiss Chapter 24

Twenty-four THE WHOLE WORLD WAS still. At this time of night, there were no birds or anything, but it seemed quieter than usual. Even the wind had fallen silent. Mason looked at me pleadingly. The nausea and prickling increased. Then, I knew. â€Å"Dimitri,† I said urgently, â€Å"there are Strig – â€Å" Too late. Dimitri and I saw him at the same time, but Dimitri was closer. Pale face. Red eyes. The Strigoi swooped toward us, and I could almost imagine he was flying, just like vampire legends used to say. But Dimitri was just as fast and nearly as strong. He had his stake – a real one, not a practice one – in his hand and met the Strigoi's attack. I think the Strigoi had hoped for the element of surprise. They grappled, and for a moment they seemed suspended in time, neither gaining ground on the other. Then Dimitri's hand snaked out, plunging the stake into the Strigoi's heart. The red eyes widened in surprise, and the Strigoi's body crumpled to the ground. Dimitri turned to me to make sure I was all right, and a thousand silent messages passed between us. He turned away and scanned the woods, peering into the darkness. My nausea had increased. I didn't understand why, but somehow I could sense the Strigoi around us. That was what was making me feel sick. Dimitri turned back to me, and there was a look I'd never seen in his eyes. â€Å"Rose. Listen to me. Run. Run as fast and as hard as you can back to your dorm. Tell the guardians.† I nodded. There was no questioning here. Reaching out, he gripped my upper arm, gaze locked on me to make sure I understood his next words. â€Å"Do not stop,† he said. â€Å"No matter what you hear, no matter what you see, do not stop. Not until you've warned the others. Don't stop unless you're directly confronted. Do you understand?† I nodded again. He released his hold. â€Å"Tell them buria.† I nodded again. â€Å"Run.† I ran. I didn't look back. I didn't ask what he was going to do because I already knew. He was going to stop as many Strigoi as he could so that I could get help. And a moment later, I heard grunts and hits that told me he'd found another. For only a heartbeat, I let myself worry about him. If he died, I was certain I would too. But then I let it go. I couldn't just think about one person, not when hundreds of lives were depending on me. There were Strigoi at our school. It was impossible. It couldn't happen. My feet hit the ground hard, splashing through the slush and mud. Around me, I thought I could hear voices and shapes – not the ghosts from the airport, but the monsters I'd been dreading for so long. But nothing stopped me. When Dimitri and I had first begun training together, he'd made me run laps every day. I'd complained, but he'd stated over and over again that it was essential. It would make me stronger, he had said. And, he'd added, a day could come when I couldn't fight and would have to flee. This was it. The dhampir dorm appeared before me, about half its windows lit. It was near curfew; people were going to bed. I burst in through the doors, feeling like my heart was going to explode from the exertion. The first person I saw was Stan, and I nearly knocked him over. He caught my wrists to steady me. â€Å"Rose, wh – â€Å" â€Å"Strigoi,† I gasped out. â€Å"There are Strigoi on campus.† He stared at me, and for the first time I'd ever seen, his mouth seriously dropped open. Then, he recovered himself, and I could immediately see what he was thinking. More ghost stories. â€Å"Rose, I don't know what you're – â€Å" â€Å"I'm not crazy!† I screamed. Everyone in the dorm's lobby was staring at us. â€Å"They're out there! They're out there, and Dimitri is fighting them alone. You have to help him.† What had Dimitri told me? What was that word? â€Å"Buria. He said to tell you buria.† And like that, Stan was gone. I had never seen any drills for Strigoi attacks, yet the guardians must have conducted them. Things moved too fast for them not to have. Every guardian in the dorm, whether they'd been awake or not, was in the lobby in a matter of minutes. Calls were made. I stood in a semicircle with other novices, who watched our elders organize themselves with amazing efficiency. Glancing around, I realized something. There were no other seniors with me. Since it was Sunday night, all of them had returned to the field experience to protect their Moroi. It was oddly relieving. The Moroi dorms had an extra line of defense. At least, the teenage Moroi did. The elementary campus did not. It had its normal guardian protection, as well as a lot of the same defenses our dorm did, like gratings on all the first-floor windows. Things like that wouldn't keep Strigoi out, but they would slow them down. No one had ever done too much more than that. There'd been no need, not with the wards. Alberta had joined the group and was sending out parties throughout campus. Some were sent to secure buildings. Some were hunting parties, specifically seeking out Strigoi and trying to figure out how many were around. As the guardians thinned out, I stepped forward. â€Å"What should we do?† I asked. Alberta turned to me. Her eyes swept over me and the others standing behind me, ages ranging from fourteen to just a little younger than me. Something flashed across her face. Sadness, I thought. â€Å"You stay here in the dorm,† she said. â€Å"No one can leave – the whole campus is under lockdown. Go up to the floors you live on. There are guardians there organizing you into groups. The Strigoi are less likely to get up there from the outside. If they get in on this floor†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She scanned around us, at the door and windows being monitored. She shook her head. â€Å"Well, we'll deal with that.† â€Å"I can help,† I told her. â€Å"You know I can.† I could tell she was about to disagree, but then she changed her mind. To my surprise, she nodded. â€Å"Take them upstairs. Watch them.† I started to protest being a babysitter, but then she did something really astonishing. She reached inside her coat and handed me a silver stake. A real one. â€Å"Go on,† she said. â€Å"We need them out of the way here.† I started to turn away but then paused. â€Å"What does buria mean?† â€Å"Storm,† she said softly. â€Å"It's Russian for ‘storm.'† I led the other novices up the stairs, directing them to their floors. Most were terrified, which was perfectly understandable. A few of them – the older ones in particular – looked like I felt. They wanted to do something, anything to help. And I knew that even though they were a year from graduation, they were still deadly in their way. I pulled a couple of them aside. â€Å"Keep them from panicking,† I said in a low voice. â€Å"And stay on watch. If something happens to the older guardians, it'll be up to you.† Their faces were sober, and they nodded at my directions. They understood perfectly. There were some novices, like Dean, who didn't always grasp the seriousness of our lives. But most did. We grew up fast. I went to the second floor because I figured that was where I'd be most useful. If any Strigoi got past the first floor, this was the next logical target. I showed my stake to the guardians on duty and told them what Alberta had said. They respected her wishes, but I could tell they didn't want me to be too involved. They directed me down a wing with one small window. Only someone my size or smaller could probably fit through, and I knew that particular section of the building was nearly impossible to climb up, due to its outside shape. But, I patrolled it anyway, desperate to know what was going on. How many Strigoi were there? Where were they? I realized then that I had a good way of finding out. Still keeping an eye on my window as best I could, I cleared my mind and slipped into Lissa's head. Lissa was with a group of other Moroi on an upper floor of her dorm too. The lockdown procedures were undoubtedly the same across campus. There was a bit more tension in this group than with mine, probably due to the fact that even while inexperienced, the novices with me right now had some idea how to fight Strigoi. The Moroi had none, despite those adamant Moroi political groups wanting to instigate some sort of training sessions. The logistics of that were still being figured out. Eddie was near Lissa. He looked so fierce and so strong – like he could single-handedly take on every Strigoi on campus. I was so glad that he among my classmates was assigned to her. Since I was completely inside her mind now, I got the full force of her feelings. Jesse's torture session seemed meaningless now compared to a Strigoi attack. Unsurprisingly, she was terrified. But most of her fear wasn't for herself. It was for me and Christian. â€Å"Rose is fine,† a voice nearby said. Lissa glanced over at Adrian. He'd apparently been in the dorm rather than guest housing. He had on his usual lazy face, but I could see fear masked behind his green eyes. â€Å"She can take on any Strigoi. Besides, Christian told you she was with Belikov. She's probably safer than we are.† Lissa nodded, wanting desperately to believe that. â€Å"But Christian†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Adrian, for all his bravado, suddenly looked away. He wouldn't meet her eyes or offer any conciliatory words. I didn't need to hear the explanation because I read it from Lissa's mind. She and Christian had wanted to meet alone and talk about what had happened to her in the woods. They'd been supposed to sneak out and meet at his â€Å"lair† in the chapel's attic. She hadn't been fast enough and had been caught by curfew just before the attack, meaning she remained in the dorm while Christian was still out there. It was Eddie who offered the words of comfort. â€Å"If he's in the chapel, he's fine. He really is the safest of all of us.† Strigoi couldn't enter holy ground. â€Å"Unless they burn it down,† said Lissa. â€Å"They used to do that.† â€Å"Four hundred years ago,† said Adrian. â€Å"I think they've got easier pickings around here without needing to go all medieval.† Lissa flinched at the words easier pickings. She knew Eddie was right about the chapel, but she couldn't shake the thought that Christian might have been on his way back to the dorm and been caught in the middle. The worry was eating her up, and she felt helpless with no way to do or find out anything. I returned to my own body, standing in the second floor hallway. Finally, I really and truly grasped what Dimitri had said about the importance of guarding someone who wasn't psychically linked to me. Don't get me wrong; I was still worried about Lissa. I worried more about her than any other Moroi on campus. The only way I wouldn't have been worried would have been if she were miles away, ringed in wards and guardians. But at least I knew she was as safe as she could be right now. That was something. But Christian †¦ I had no idea. I had no link to tell me his whereabouts or to even let me know if he was alive. This was what Dimitri had meant. It was an entirely different game when you didn't have a bond – and it was a scary one. I stared at the window without seeing it. Christian was out there. He was my charge. And even if the field experience was hypothetical†¦ well, it didn't change things. He was a Moroi. He might be in danger. I was the one who was supposed to guard him. They came first. I took a deep breath and wrestled with the decision before me. I'd been given orders, and guardians followed orders. With the dangers around us, following orders was what kept us organized and efficient. Playing rebel could sometimes get people killed. Mason had proven that in going after the Strigoi in Spokane. But it wasn't like I was the only one who faced danger here. Everyone was at risk. There was no safety, not until all the Strigoi were gone from campus, and I had no clue how many there were. Guarding this window was busy work, meant to keep me out of the way. True, someone could invade the second floor, and I'd be useful then. And true, a Strigoi could try to get in through this window, but that was unlikely. It was too difficult, and, as Adrian had pointed out, they had easier ways to get prey. But I could go through the window. I knew it was wrong, even as I opened the window up. I was exposing myself here, but I had conflicting instincts. Obey orders. Protect Moroi. I had to go make sure Christian was okay. Chilly night air blew in. No sounds from outside revealed what was happening. I'd climbed out of my room's window a number of times and had some experience with it. The problem here was that the stone beneath the window was perfectly smooth. There was no handhold. There was a small ledge down by the first floor, but the distance to it was longer than my height, so I couldn't simply slide down. If I could get to that ledge, however, I could walk off to the corner of the building where some scalloped edging would let me climb down easily. I stared at the ledge below. I was going to have to drop down to it. If I fell, I'd probably break my neck. Easy pickings for Strigoi, as Adrian would say. With a quick prayer to whoever was listening, I climbed out of the window, holding onto its sill with both hands and letting my body dangle as close to the lower ledge as I could. I still had two more feet between it and me. I counted to three and released my hold, dragging my hands along the wall as I dropped. My feet hit the ledge and I started to wobble, but my dhampir reflexes kicked in. I regained my balance and stood there, holding the wall. I'd made it. From this point, I easily moved to the corner and climbed down. I hit the ground, barely noticing I'd skinned my hands. The quad around me was silent, though I thought I heard some screams in the distance. If I were a Strigoi, I wouldn't mess with this dorm. They'd get a fight here, and while most Strigoi could probably take out a group of novices at once, there were easier ways. Moroi were less likely to put up a real fight, and anyway, Strigoi preferred their blood to ours. Still, I moved cautiously as I set out toward the chapel. I had the cover of darkness, but Strigoi could see in it even better than I could. I used trees as covers, looking every way I could, wishing I had eyes in the back of my head. Nothing, save more screams in the distance. I realized then that I didn't have that nauseous feeling from earlier. Somehow, that feeling was an indicator of nearby Strigoi. I didn't entirely trust it enough to walk off blindly, but it was reassuring to know I had some kind of early alarm system. Halfway to the chapel, I saw someone move out from behind a tree. I spun around, stake in hand, and nearly struck Christian in the heart. â€Å"God, what are you doing?† I hissed. â€Å"Trying to get back to the dorm,† he said. â€Å"What's going on? I heard screaming.† â€Å"There are Strigoi on campus,† I said. â€Å"What? How?† â€Å"I don't know. You have to go back to the chapel. It's safe there.† I could see it; we could get there easily. Christian was as reckless as me sometimes, and I almost expected a fight. He didn't give me one. â€Å"Okay. Are you going with me?† I started to say I would, and then I felt that nauseous feeling creep over me. â€Å"Get down!† I yelled. He dropped to the ground without hesitation. Two Strigoi were on us. They both moved in on me, knowing I'd be an easy target for their combined strength, and then they could go after Christian. One of them slammed me into a tree. My vision blurred for half a second, but I soon recovered. I shoved back and had the satisfaction of seeing her stagger a little. The other one – a man – reached for me, and I dodged him, slipping out of his grasp. The pair of them reminded me of Isaiah and Elena from Spokane, but I refused to get caught up in memories. Both were taller than me, but the woman was closer to my height. I feinted toward him, and then struck out as fast as I could toward her. My stake bit into her heart. It surprised both of us. My first Strigoi staking. I'd barely pulled the stake out when the other Strigoi backhanded me, snarling. I staggered but kept my balance as I sized him up. Taller. Stronger. Just like when I'd fought Dimitri. Probably faster too. We circled and then I leapt out and kicked him. He barely budged. He reached for me, and I again managed to dodge as I scanned for some opening to stake him. My narrow escape didn't slow him down, though, and he immediately attacked again. He knocked me to the ground, pinning my arms. I tried to push him off, but he didn't move. Saliva dripped from his fangs as he leaned his face down toward mine. This Strigoi wasn't like Isaiah, wasting time with stupid speeches. This one was going to go in for the kill, draining my blood and then Christian's. I felt the fangs against my neck and knew I was going to die. It was horrible. I wanted to live so, so badly†¦but this was how it would end. With my last moments, I started to yell at Christian to run, but then the Strigoi above me sudde nly lit up like a torch. He jerked back, and I rolled out from underneath him. Thick flames covered his body, completely obscuring any of his features. He was just a man-shaped bonfire. I heard a few strangled screams before he grew silent. He fell to the ground, twitching and rolling before finally going still. Steam rose from where fire hit the snow, and the flames soon burned out, revealing nothing but ashes underneath. I stared at the charred remains. Only moments ago, I'd expected to die. Now my attacker was dead. I nearly reeled from how close I'd been to dying. Life and death were so unpredictable. So close to each other. We existed moment to moment, never knowing who would be the next to leave this world. I was still in it, barely, and as I looked up from the ashes, everything around me seemed so sweet and so beautiful. The trees. The stars. The moon. I was alive – and I was glad I was. I turned to Christian, who was crouched on the ground. â€Å"Wow,† I said, helping him up. Obviously, he was the one who had saved me. â€Å"No shit,† he said. â€Å"Didn't know I had that much power.† He peered around, body rigid and tense. â€Å"Are there more?† â€Å"No,† I said. â€Å"You seem pretty certain.† â€Å"Well†¦this is going to sound weird, but I can kind of sense them. Don't ask how,† I said, seeing his mouth open. â€Å"Just roll with it. I think it's like the ghost thing, a shadow-kissed side effect. Whatever. Let's get back to the chapel.† He didn't move. A strange, speculative look was on his face. â€Å"Rose †¦ do you really want to hole up in the chapel?† â€Å"What do you mean?† â€Å"We just took out two Strigoi,† he said, pointing to the staked and charred bodies. I met his eyes, the full impact of what he was saying hitting me. I could sense Strigoi. He could use his fire on them. I could stake them. Provided we didn't hit a group of ten or something, we could do some serious damage. Then reality hit. â€Å"I can't,† I told him slowly. â€Å"I can't risk your life†¦.† â€Å"Rose. You know what we could do. I can see it in your face. It's worth risking one Moroi life – and, well, yours – to take out a bunch of Strigoi.† Putting a Moroi in danger. Taking him out to fight Strigoi. It pretty much went against everything I'd been taught. All of a sudden, I remembered that brief moment of clarity I'd just had, the wonderful joy of being alive. I could save so many others. I had to save them. I would fight as hard as I could. â€Å"Don't use your full power on them,† I finally said. â€Å"You don't need to incinerate them in ten seconds like that. Just light them up enough to distract them, and then I'll finish them. You can save your power.† A grin lit his face. â€Å"We're going hunting?† Oh man. I was going to get in so much trouble. But the idea was too appealing, too exciting. I wanted to fight back. I wanted to protect the people I loved. What I really wanted was to go to Lissa's dorm and protect her. That wasn't the most efficient idea, though. Lissa had my classmates on hand. Others weren't so lucky. I thought about those students, students like Jill. â€Å"Let's go to the elementary campus,† I said. We set off at a light run, taking a route we hoped would keep us away from other Strigoi. I still had no idea how many we were dealing with here, and that was driving me crazy. When we were almost to the other campus, I felt the weird nausea hit me. I called a warning to Christian, just as a Strigoi grabbed him. But Christian was fast. Flames wreathed the Strigoi's head. He screamed and released Christian, trying frantically to put the flames out. The Strigoi never saw me coming with the stake. The whole thing took under a minute. Christian and I exchanged looks. Yeah. We were badasses. The elementary campus proved to be a center of activity. Strigoi and guardians were actively fighting around the entrances to one of the dorms. For a moment, I froze. There were almost twenty Strigoi and half as many guardians. So many Strigoi together†¦Until recently, we'd never heard of them banding together in such large numbers. We'd thought we'd disbanded a large group of them by killing Isaiah, but apparently that wasn't true. I allowed myself only a moment more of shock, and then we jumped into the fray. Emil was near a side entrance, fending off three Strigoi. He was battered and bruised, and the body of a fourth Strigoi lay at his feet. I lunged for one of the three. She didn't see me coming, and I managed to stake her with almost no resistance. I was lucky. Christian meanwhile set flames to the others. Emil's face reflected surprise, but that didn't stop him from staking another of the Strigoi. I got the other. â€Å"You shouldn't have brought him here,† Emil said as we moved to help another guardian. â€Å"Moroi aren't supposed to get involved with this.† â€Å"Moroi should have been involved with this a long time ago,† said Christian through gritted teeth. We spoke little after that. The rest was a blur. Christian and I moved from fight to fight, combining his magic and my stake. Not all of our kills were as fast and easy as our early ones had been. Some fights were long and drawn out. Emil stuck with us, and I honestly lost count of how many Strigoi we took down. â€Å"I know you.† The words startled me. In all this bloodshed, none of us, friend or foe, did much talking. The speaker was a Strigoi who looked to be my own age but was probably at least ten times older. He had shoulder-length blond hair and eyes whose color I couldn't make out. They were ringed in red, which was all that mattered. My only answer was to swing out with my stake, but he dodged that. Christian was setting a couple of other Strigoi on fire, so I was handling this one on my own. â€Å"There's something strange about you now, but I still remember. I saw you years ago, before I was awakened.† Okay, not ten times my age, not if he'd seen me when he was a Moroi. I hoped his talking would distract him. He was actually pretty fast for a young Strigoi. â€Å"You were always with that Dragomir girl, the blonde.† My foot hit him, and I jerked my kick back before he could grab me. He barely budged. â€Å"Her parents wanted you to be her guardian, right? Before they were all killed?† â€Å"I am her guardian,† I grunted. My stake swiped dangerously close to him. â€Å"She's still alive, then†¦There were rumors that she'd died last year†¦Ã¢â‚¬  There was a sense of wonder in his voice, which mixed weirdly with the malice. â€Å"You have no idea what kind of reward I'd get to take down the last living Drag – Ahh!† He'd dodged my stake from hitting his chest again, but this time I managed an upward strike that dragged the stake's tip across his face. It wouldn't kill him there, but the touch of a stake – so filled with life – would feel like acid to the undead. He screamed, but it didn't slow his defenses. â€Å"I'll come back for you after I finish her,† he snarled. â€Å"You'll never get near her,† I growled back. Something shoved into me from the side, a Strigoi that Yuri was fighting. I stumbled but managed to drive my stake through Yuri's Strigoi's heart before he could regain his balance. Yuri gasped his thanks, and then we both turned to other parts of the battle. Only the blond Strigoi was gone. I couldn't find him anywhere. Another took his place, and as I moved toward that one, flames lit up around him, making him an easy mark for my stake. Christian had returned. â€Å"Christian, this Strigoi – â€Å" â€Å"I heard,† he panted. â€Å"We have to go to her!† â€Å"He was messing with you. She's across campus, surrounded by novices and guardians. She'll be okay.† â€Å"But – â€Å" â€Å"They need us here.† I knew he was right – and I knew how hard it was for him to say that. Like me, he wanted to run off to Lissa. Despite all the good work he was doing here, I suspected he would rather have sunk all his magic into protecting her, keeping her ringed in a wall of fire no Strigoi could cross. I had no time to deeply investigate the bond, but I could sense the important things: She was alive, and she wasn't in pain. So I stayed on, fighting with Christian and Yuri. Lissa hovered at the back of my mind, the bond telling me she was okay. Aside from that, I let battle lust consume me. I had one goal and one alone: Kill Strigoi. I couldn't let them get into this dorm, nor could I let them leave this area and possibly go to Lissa's dorm. I lost track of time. Only the Strigoi I was currently fighting at any given moment mattered. And as soon as that one was gone, it was on to the next. Until there wasn't a next one. I was sore and exhausted, adrenaline burning through my body. Christian stood beside me, panting. He hadn't engaged in physical combat like me, but he'd used a lot of magic tonight, and that had taken its own physical toll. I looked around. â€Å"We gotta find another one,† I said. â€Å"There are no others,† a familiar voice said. I turned and looked into Dimitri's face. He was alive. All the fear for him I'd held back burst through me. I wanted to throw myself at him and hold him as close to me as possible. He was alive – battered and bloody, yes – but alive. His gaze held mine for just a moment, reminding me of what had happened in the cabin. It felt like a hundred years ago, but in that brief glance, I saw love and concern – and relief. He'd been worried about me too. Then Dimitri turned and gestured to the eastern sky. I followed the motion. The horizon was pink and purple. It was nearly sunrise. â€Å"They're either dead or have run away,† he told me. He glanced between Christian and me. â€Å"What you two did – â€Å" â€Å"Was stupid?† I suggested. He shook his head. â€Å"One of the most amazing things I've ever seen. Half of those are yours.† I looked back at the dorm, shocked at the number of bodies lying around it. We had killed Strigoi. We had killed a lot of them. Death and killing were horrible things†¦but I had liked doing what I just did. I had defeated the monsters who had come after me and those in my care. Then I noticed something. My stomach twisted, but it was nothing like my earlier Strigoi-sensing feeling. This was caused by something entirely different. I turned back to Dimitri. â€Å"There are more than just Strigoi bodies there,† I said in a small voice. â€Å"I know,† he said. â€Å"We've lost a lot of people, in all senses of the word.† Christian frowned. â€Å"What do you mean?† Dimitri's face was both hard and sad. â€Å"The Strigoi killed some Moroi and dhampirs. And some†¦some they carried away.†

Performance Measures in Operation Management Essay

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