This book is your personal on-ramp to cloud computing, particularly private and hybrid cloud solutions using Eucalyptus, the most widely-deployed private Infrastructure as a Service (Iaas) software in the world. It includes an in-depth and authoritative explanation of cloud computing, cloud vs. virtualization, and the various models of cloud computing, then explains where Eucalyptus fits into the overall picture and how that benefits organizations like yours. It follows up with an overview of Eucalyptus platform concepts and architecture, and finally contains a section filled with hands-on exercises to help you make your first cloud connections a reality. The book explains how to set up a Windows desktop for managing a cloud, how to quickly build your first cloud with Eucalyptus FastStart, and how to practice what you have learned in the Eucalyptus Community Cloud.