 - What is a public cloud?
A public cloud is one based on the standard cloud computing model, in which a service provider makes resources, such as applications and storage, available to the general public over the Internet. Public cloud services may be free or offered on a pay-per-usage model.
The main benefits of using a public cloud service are:
-
Easy and inexpensive set-up because hardware, application and bandwidth costs are covered by the provider.
- Scalability to meet needs.
- No wasted resources because you pay for what you use.
The term "public cloud" arose to differentiate between the standard model and the private cloud, which is a proprietary network or data center that uses cloud computing technologies, such as virtualization. A private cloud is managed by the organization it serves. A third model, the hybrid cloud, is maintained by both internal and external providers.
Examples of public clouds include Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2), IBM's Blue Cloud, Sun Cloud, Google AppEngine and Windows Azure Services Platform.
Learn More About IT:
> Mike Maxey discusses public and private clouds.
> Christopher Hoff blogs about public and private clouds.
> Sam Johnston offers explanations of public clouds, private clouds and hybrid clouds.
 |
Learn more about Cloud computing services |
| Cloud Computing e-book: This e-book examines the case for moving to cloud computing as well as issues involved with using the cloud as an application development platform, test bed and storage solution. |
| Amazon Web Services product directory: Discover the products, from Amazon and third-party companies such as CA, IBM and Oracle, available in the cloud to Amazon Web Services customers. |
| Cloud computing programming API tutorial: In this tutorial, we will dive into the more interesting sites with resources and tips on development. Find out about the trends for APIs in emerging cloud computing architectures. |
| Protocols for cloud services - Part 2: This article takes a look at JavaSpace and Hadoop, two different technologies that distribute computing jobs to cloud computing resources, manage it, and get results back. |
| Getting started with Amazon EC2: With all the hype surrounding Amazon's EC2 and Web Services, it's hard to find independent advice on how to start out. Here is a primer on stepping into the cloud. |
| LAST UPDATED: |
15 May 2009
|
 |
Do you have something to add to this definition? Let us know.
Send your comments to techterms@whatis.com
|
 |
 |
| |
RELATED GLOSSARY TERMS
| Terms from Whatis.com − the technology online dictionary |
 |
Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud
(SearchCloudComputing.com)
The Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) is a Web-based service that allows business subscribers to run application programs in the Amazon.com...
|
|
Blue Cloud
(SearchCloudComputing.com)
Blue Cloud is an approach to shared infrastructure developed by IBM. The goal of IBM's Blue Cloud is to provide services that automate fluctuating...
|
|
|
Show me everything on 