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cloud computing

By Kinza Yasar

What is cloud computing?

Cloud computing is a general term for the delivery of hosted computing services and IT resources over the internet with pay-as-you-go pricing. Users can obtain technology services such as processing power, storage and databases from a cloud provider, eliminating the need for purchasing, operating and maintaining on-premises physical data centers and servers.

A cloud can be private, public or a hybrid. A public cloud sells services to anyone on the internet. A private cloud is a proprietary network or a data center that supplies hosted services to a limited number of people, with certain access and permissions settings. A hybrid cloud offers a mixed computing environment where data and resources can be shared between both public and private clouds. Regardless of the type, the goal of cloud computing is to provide easy, scalable access to computing resources and IT services.

Cloud infrastructure involves the hardware and software components required for the proper deployment of a cloud computing model. Cloud computing can also be thought of as utility computing or on-demand computing.

The name cloud computing was inspired by the cloud symbol that's often used to represent the internet in flowcharts and diagrams.

How does cloud computing work?

Cloud computing lets client devices access rented computing resources, such as data, analytics and cloud applications over the internet. It relies on a network of remote data centers, servers and storage systems that are owned and operated by cloud service providers. The providers are responsible for ensuring the storage capacity, security and computing power needed to maintain the data users send to the cloud.

Typically, the following steps are involved in cloud computing:

  1. An internet network connection links the front end -- the accessing client device, browser, network and cloud software applications -- with the back end, which consists of databases, servers, operating systems and computers.
  2. The back end functions as a repository, storing data accessed by the front end.
  3. A central server manages communications between the front and back ends. It relies on protocols to facilitate the exchange of data. The central server uses both software and middleware to manage connectivity between different client devices and cloud servers.
  4. Typically, there's a dedicated server for each application or workload.

Cloud computing relies heavily on virtualization and automation technologies. Virtualization lets IT organizations create virtual instances of servers, storage and other resources that let multiple VMs or cloud environments run on a single physical server using software known as a hypervisor. This simplifies the abstraction and provisioning of cloud resources into logical entities, letting users easily request and use these resources. Automation and accompanying orchestration capabilities provide users with a high degree of self-service to provision resources, connect services and deploy workloads without direct intervention from the cloud provider's IT staff.

What are the different types of cloud computing services?

Cloud services can be classified into three general service delivery categories:

  1. Infrastructure as a service (IaaS). IaaS providers, such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), supply a virtual server instance and storage, as well as application programming interfaces (APIs) that let users migrate workloads to a virtual machine (VM). Users have an allocated storage capacity and can start, stop, access and configure the VM and storage as desired. IaaS providers offer small, medium, large, extra-large and memory- or compute-optimized instances, in addition to enabling customization of instances for various workload needs. The IaaS cloud model is closest to a remote data center for business users.
  2. Platform as a service (PaaS). In the PaaS model, cloud providers host development tools on their infrastructures. Users access these tools over the internet using APIs, web portals or gateway software. PaaS is used for general software development and many PaaS providers host the software after it's developed. Examples of PaaS products include Salesforce Lightning, AWS Elastic Beanstalk and Google App Engine.
  3. Software as a service (SaaS). SaaS is a distribution model that delivers software applications over the internet; these applications are often called web services. Users can access SaaS applications and services from any location using a computer or mobile device that has internet access. In the SaaS model, users gain access to application software and databases. An example of a SaaS application is Microsoft 365 for productivity and email services.
  4. Function as a service (FaaS). FaaS, also known as serverless computing, lets users run code in the cloud without having to worry about the underlying infrastructure. Users can create and deploy functions that respond to events or triggers. FaaS abstracts server and infrastructure management, letting developers concentrate solely on code creation.

Cloud computing deployment models

There are several cloud computing deployment methods, including the following:

Private cloud

A business's data center delivers private cloud services to internal users. With a private cloud, an organization builds and maintains its own underlying cloud infrastructure. This model offers the versatility and convenience of the cloud, while preserving the management, control and security common to local data centers. Internal users might be billed for services through IT chargeback. Examples of private cloud technologies and vendors include VMware and OpenStack.

Public cloud

In the public cloud model, a third-party cloud service provider (CSP) delivers the cloud service over the internet. Public cloud services are sold on demand, typically by the minute or hour, though long-term commitments are available for many services. Customers only pay for the central processing unit cycles, storage or bandwidth they consume. Examples of public CSPs include AWS, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), IBM, Microsoft Azure, Oracle and Tencent Cloud.

Hybrid cloud

A hybrid cloud is a combination of public cloud services and an on-premises private cloud, with orchestration and automation between the two. Companies can run mission-critical workloads or sensitive applications on the private cloud and use the public cloud to handle workload bursts or spikes in demand. The goal of a hybrid cloud is to create a unified, automated, scalable environment that takes advantage of all that a public cloud infrastructure can provide, while still maintaining control over mission-critical data.

Multi-cloud

Organizations are increasingly embracing a multi-cloud model, or the use of multiple IaaS providers. This lets applications migrate between different cloud providers or operate concurrently across two or more cloud providers.

Organizations adopt multi-cloud for various reasons, including to help them minimize the risk of a cloud service outage or take advantage of more competitive pricing from a particular provider. It also helps organizations avoid vendor lock-in, letting them switch from one provider to another if needed.

However, multi-cloud deployment and application development can be a challenge because of the differences between cloud providers' services and APIs. Multi-cloud deployments should become easier as cloud providers work toward standardization and convergence of their services and APIs. Industry initiatives such as Open Cloud Computing Interface aim to promote interoperability and simplify multi-cloud deployments.

Community cloud

A community cloud, which several organizations share, supports a particular community that has the same concerns, mission, policy, security requirements and compliance considerations. A community cloud is either managed by these organizations or a third-party vendor and can be on or off premises.

Characteristics of cloud computing

Cloud computing has been around for several decades and today's cloud computing infrastructure demonstrates an array of characteristics that have brought meaningful benefits to businesses of all sizes.

Characteristics of cloud computing include the following:

What are the benefits of cloud computing?

Cloud computing provides a variety of benefits for modern business, including the following:

What are the disadvantages of cloud computing?

Despite the clear upsides to relying on cloud services, cloud computing has its own challenges for IT professionals:

Cloud computing examples

Cloud computing has evolved and diversified into a wide array of offerings and capabilities designed to suit almost any conceivable business need. Examples of cloud computing capabilities and diversity include the following:

Cloud computing use cases

How is the cloud actually used? The myriad services and capabilities found in modern public clouds have been applied across countless use cases, such as the following:

Cloud computing vs. traditional web hosting

Given the many different services and capabilities of the public cloud, there has been some confusion between cloud computing and major uses, such as web hosting. While the public cloud is often used for web hosting, the two are quite different. Significant innovations in virtualization and distributed computing, as well as improved access to high-speed internet, have accelerated interest in cloud computing.

The distinct characteristics of cloud computing that differentiate it from traditional web hosting include the following:

  1. With cloud computing, users can access large amounts of computing power on demand. It's typically sold by the minute or the hour. With traditional hosting, users typically pay for a set amount of storage and processing power. Since resources are limited, businesses can look into virtual private servers or dedicated hosting as their business and demands grow.
  2. Cloud computing is elastic, meaning users can have as much or as little of a service as they want at any given time. However, with traditional hosting, scalability is often constrained, particularly in shared hosting. Shared hosting involves multiple websites sharing resources on a single server, potentially causing performance issues and slower website speeds if one site encounters a sudden surge in traffic.
  3. Service is fully managed by the provider on cloud computing platforms; the consumer needs nothing but a PC and internet access. While shared traditional hosting is also fully managed by the provider, typically users are required to control their website from a user-friendly interface such as cPanel.
  4. In comparison to traditional hosting, cloud hosting is more reliable. Cloud providers maintain redundant infrastructure and operate across numerous data centers, reducing downtime and increasing availability. Traditional hosting, on the other hand, is based on a single server, making it more prone to hardware failures and higher downtime threats.
  5. Both cloud hosting and traditional hosting entail security considerations. Cloud hosting providers invest significantly in security measures to safeguard data and infrastructure. However, certain organizations might find traditional hosting more suitable, as it provides greater control over security measures and can accommodate specific security requirements.

Cloud computing service providers

The cloud service market has no shortage of providers. The three largest public CSPs -- AWS, GCP and Microsoft Azure -- have established themselves as dominant players in the industry. According to the Synergy Research Group, at the end of 2022, these three vendors made up 66% of the worldwide cloud infrastructure market.

Other major CSPs include the following:

When selecting a cloud service vendor, organizations should consider certain things. First, the actual suite of services can vary between providers, and business users must select a provider offering services -- such as big data analytics or AI services -- that support the intended use case.

Though cloud services typically rely on a pay-per-use model, different providers often have variations in their pricing plans to consider. Furthermore, if the cloud provider will be storing sensitive data, an organization should also consider the physical location of the provider's servers.

Naturally, reliability and security should be top priorities. A provider's service-level agreement should specify a level of service uptime that's satisfactory to client business needs. When considering different cloud vendors, organizations should pay close attention to what technologies and configuration settings are used to secure sensitive information.

Cloud computing security

Security remains a primary concern for businesses contemplating cloud adoption -- especially public cloud adoption. Public CSPs share their underlying hardware infrastructure between numerous customers, as the public cloud is a multi-tenant environment. This environment demands significant isolation between logical compute resources. At the same time, access to public cloud storage and compute resources is guarded by account login credentials.

Many organizations bound by complex regulatory obligations and governance standards are still hesitant to place data or workloads in the public cloud for fear of outages, loss or theft. However, this resistance is fading, as logical isolation has proven reliable and the addition of data encryption and various identity and access management tools have improved security within the public cloud.

Ultimately, the responsibility for establishing and maintaining a secure cloud environment falls to the individual business user who is responsible for building the workload's architecture -- the combination of cloud resources and services in which the workload runs -- and using the security features that the cloud provider offers.

History of cloud computing

The history and evolution of cloud computing date back to the 1950s and 1960s.

Future of cloud computing and emerging technologies

Cloud computing is expected to see substantial breakthroughs and the adoption of new technologies. Back in its "2020 Data Attack Surface Report," Arcserve predicted that there will be 200 zettabytes of data stored in the cloud by 2025.

Some major trends and key points that are shaping the future of cloud computing include the following:

When contemplating a move to the cloud, businesses must assess key factors such as latency, bandwidth, quality of service and security. Explore the top five network requirements for effective cloud computing.

27 Dec 2023

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