Cloud computing tutorial for beginners from the Coding compiler. A very comprehensive tutorial on Cloud computing that you’ve ever read. In this tutorial, you’ll learn about what is cloud computing, commonly used cloud computing services, the benefits of cloud computing and how to decide which cloud deployment model (IaaS, SaaS, PaaS) is best for you.
Cloud Computing Tutorial
This is an in-depth cloud computing tutorial for beginners and experienced created by the professional cloud computing engineers for you, after reading this tutorial you’ll understand every aspect of the cloud computing types, models, and how to use them. Let’s start to learning cloud computing.
What is cloud computing?
In cloud computing, you rent and use resources, such as storage space or CPU systems, on the computers of cloud computing companies such as Microsoft Azure. You only pay for what you use. The company that provides these services is referred to as a cloud provider. Providers include Microsoft, Amazon, and Google.
Getting Started with Cloud Computing
Click on the below image to enroll for the “Getting Started with Cloud Computing” course.
Related Article: What is Cloud Computing – A Comprehensive Guide
The cloud provider is responsible for the physical hardware required to perform your work and must also keep it up to date. The computing services offered often differ by the cloud provider. However, they usually include:
- Computing power: such as Linux servers or web applications
- Storage: such as files and databases
- Networks: such as secure connections between the cloud provider and your company
- Analytics options: for example to visualize telemetry data and performance data
Cloud computing services
The goal of cloud computing is to make it easier and more efficient to run a business, be it a small start-up or a large enterprise. Each company is unique and has different needs. Cloud computing providers are eager to meet those needs and therefore offer a wide range of services.
You need to have basic knowledge of some of the services that the providers offer. We briefly discuss the two most common services offered by all cloud providers – computing power and storage.
Computing power
When you send an email, make a reservation on the web application, pay an invoice online, or even read this azure tutorial on this website, you’re dealing with servers in the cloud that process every request and return a response. As consumers, we all depend on computing services provided by different cloud providers.
When you build solutions using cloud computing, you can choose how your work should be done based on your resources and needs.
Related Article: What Is Cognitive Computing?
Virtual Machines
For example, if you want more control and responsibility for maintenance, you can create a virtual machine (VM). When using a VM, a computer (like the one desktop or laptop you’re currently using) is emulated.
Each VM contains an operating system and hardware. The VM is perceived by the user as a physical computer running Windows or Linux. Then you can install software that you want to run in the cloud to accomplish tasks.
The difference is that you don’t have to buy hardware or install the operating system. The cloud provider runs your virtual machine on a physical server in one of its data centers.
Your VM typically shares a server with other VMs (isolated and secured). Thanks to the cloud, you can get started with a VM in minutes and VMs are cheaper than physical computers.
VMs are not the only choice in computing; two other popular choices are containers and serverless computing.
Related Article: VMware Interview Questions And Answers
What are the containers?
Containers provide a consistent, isolated execution environment for applications. They are similar to virtual machines, except that no guest operating system is required.
Instead, the application and its dependencies are packaged in a ‘container’ and then a standard runtime environment is used to run the app.
This allows the container to boot in just a few seconds since no operating system needs to be initialized. You just need to launch the app.
Docker Container
The open-source project Docker is one of the leading platforms for container management. Docker containers allow you to deploy applications efficiently and easily because you can deploy different parts of an application separately in different containers.
Several containers can be carried out on one machine. Containers can also be moved between machines. Because containers are so flexible to deploy, it’s easy to deploy applications across multiple environments, on-premises or in the cloud, often without needing to change the application.
Related Article: Kubernetes vs Docker Swarm
What is serverless computing?
With server-free computing, you can execute application code without a server to create, configure or maintain. The idea is that your application is divided into separate functions that run when triggered by a certain action.
This is ideal for automated tasks: for example, you can set up a serverless process that automatically sends an email confirmation to customers after they have made a purchase online.
The Difference Between Serverless Models, Virtual Machines and Containers
The difference between serverless models and VMs and containers is that you only pay for the processing time that each function uses at run time. Virtual machines and containers are always charged when they run, even when no applications are running.
This architecture doesn’t work for every app, but if the app’s logic can be broken down into separate units, you can test them separately, update them separately, and start in microseconds, making this the fastest approach to implementation.
Serverless Models Vs Virtual Machines Vs Containers
Here is the diagram that compares three computing approaches.
Storage
Most devices and applications read and / or write data. Here are some examples:
- Buy a movie ticket online
- Look up the price of an online product
- Taking a picture
- Sending an email
- Recording a voicemail message
In all these cases, data is either read (look up a price) or written (taking a picture). The type of data and how it is stored differs in all these cases.
Cloud providers typically provide services that can handle all these types of data. For example, if you want to save text or a video clip, you can use a file on a disc. If you have a set of relationships, such as an address book, you can use a more structured approach, such as a database.
The advantage of using cloud data storage is that you can scale to meet your needs. If you need more space to store your video clips, you can pay a little more and add more available space.
In some cases, the storage can even be expanded and reduced automatically, so you pay exactly for what you need at the time.
Every company has different needs and requirements. Cloud computing is flexible and cost-efficient and can be useful for all businesses, whether startups or large enterprises.
Advantages of cloud computing
Cloud computing is not an all-or-nothing service approach. Businesses can choose to use the cloud to store their data and perform logic as much or as little as necessary to meet their business requirements. Existing companies can opt for a gradual move to save money on infrastructure and management (also known as ‘lift and shift’) while starting a new business in the cloud.
We list some of the main advantages of cloud computing.
Cloud computing is beneficial and most cost-effective
Cloud computing has a pricing model where you pay per use: you don’t pay anything upfront.
This usage-based model has many benefits, including:
- No upfront costs for the infrastructure
- There is no need to buy and manage the expensive infrastructure while it may not be fully deployed
- The ability to pay for additional resources only when they are needed
- The ability to stop paying for resources that are no longer needed
This allows a better prediction of the costs. Prices for individual resources and services are shown so you know how much you’ve spent over a given billing period (based on expected usage).
You can also perform an analysis of future growth by using the cloud provider’s historical usage data.
Cloud computing is scalable
You can use more or fewer resources and services based on whether the workload is at a specific time. Cloud computing can be scaled both vertically and horizontally depending on your needs.
Vertical scaling: Vertical scaling is also known as upscaling, is adding resources to increase the capacity of an existing server. Some examples of vertical scaling are adding extra CPUs or more memory.
Horizontal Scaling: Horizontal Scaling is also known as scaling out, is adding multiple servers that function together as one unit. An example of this is that you have multiple servers for processing incoming requests.
You can scale manually or automatically based on specific triggers, such as the CPU usage or the number of requests and resources that can be allocated or canceled in minutes.
Cloud computing is elastic
If your workload changes due to sudden peaks or dips in demand, a cloud computing system can automatically add or remove resources to compensate.
For example, say your website is featured in a news article and this leads to a spike in traffic at night. Because the cloud is elastic, more resources can be automatically allocated to handle the increased traffic.
When traffic begins to normalize, the cloud automatically removes the additional resources to minimize costs.
Another example: you are running an application that is used by employees. You can have the cloud automatically add resources during the busiest hours of use where many people use the application and have the resources removed at the end of the day.
Cloud computing is current
When you use the cloud, you can focus on what matters: building and deploying applications. Cloud usage eliminates the need to deal with software patch maintenance, hardware installation, upgrades, and other IT management tasks.
All this is automatically arranged for you so that you always have the latest and best tools for your business. In addition, computer hardware is maintained and upgraded by the cloud provider.
For example, if a disk fails, the disk is replaced by the cloud provider. When a hardware update is available, you don’t have to worry about replacing that hardware yourself.
The cloud provider ensures that the hardware updates are automatically made available to you.
Cloud computing is reliable
When you run a business, you want to be assured that your data is always available. Cloud computing providers provide data backup, disaster recovery and data replication services to ensure your data is always safe. In addition, redundancy is often built into the architecture of cloud services.
If a certain part no longer works, a backup part is immediately deployed. This is also called fault tolerance and ensures that your customers are not bothered when a disaster occurs.
Cloud computing is global – The whole world is using it
Cloud providers have fully redundant data centers in different regions around the world. This gives you a local presence near your customers to give them the best possible response time wherever they are in the world.
You can replicate your redundancy and proximity services to multiple regions, or you can choose a specific region to ensure data stays within limits and that your customers’ laws are complied with.
Cloud computing is safe
Think about how you will secure your data center. There is physical security – which has access to the building, which can operate the server racks, and so on.
There’s also the digital security – which is allowed to connect to your systems and data over the network.
Cloud providers offer a wide variety of policies, technologies, controls, and expert technical skills that help you get better security than would otherwise be feasible in most organizations. The result is excellent security that protects data, apps, and infrastructure from potential threats.
As for threats to physical security – from the cloud infrastructure, cloud providers invest heavily in walls, cameras, gates, security personnel and more to protect their physical assets.
There are also strict procedures in place to ensure that employees only have access to the resources they are authorized to manage.
We are going to talk about digital security. You want only authorized users to be able to log in to virtual machines or storage systems running in the cloud. Cloud providers provide tools that help you mitigate security risks, and you must use these tools to help protect the resources used.
Cloud computing makes running a business easier. Cloud computing is economical, scalable, flexible, always up-to-date, reliable and secure. This means you can spend more time on important matters and less time managing the underlying details.
Cloud Computing Compliance Terms and Requirements
When selecting a cloud provider to host your solutions, consider how that provider can help you meet strict regulations and standards. Questions you can ask about a possible provider include:
- Does the cloud provider handle sensitive data and meet all the rules?
- Do the services that the cloud provider offers to meet all the rules?
- How can I implement my own cloud solutions in scenarios subject to accreditation or compliance requirements?
- What conditions are part of the privacy statement for the provider?
Compliance offers
The following list provides detailed information about certain compliance offers available.
- Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) – A U.S. state or local authority that seeks access to the FBI’s CJIS database is required to comply with the CJIS security policy. Azure is the only major cloud provider that has contractually committed to compliance with the CJIS security policy.
- Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) STAR certification – Azure, Intune, and Microsoft Power BI have obtained STAR certification, which includes a rigorous independent assessment of a cloud provider’s security status.
- This STAR certification is based on achieving the ISO / IEC 27001 certification and meeting criteria specified in the Cloud Controls Matrix (CCM). This certification demonstrates that a cloud service provider:
- Meets applicable requirements of ISO / IEC 27001;
- Addressed issues critical to cloud security, as described in the CCM; and
- Has been assessed based on the STAR Capability Maturity Model for managing operations in areas under CCM management.
- General data protection regulation (GDPR) – The AVG, a European privacy law, has been in force since 25 May 2018. Through the GDPR, new rules are imposed on companies, government agencies, non-profit organizations, and other organizations that offer goods and services to people in the European Union (EU) or that collect and analyze data from EU residents. The GDPR applies regardless of where you are.
- Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) – HIPAA is a U.S. federal law that regulates Protected Health Information (PHI). Azure provides customers with a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) HIPAA agreement, which requires compliance with certain security and privacy provisions in the HIPAA and the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH). To support customers in their individual compliance efforts, Microsoft Azure customers offer a BAA as an addendum to the contract.
- International Organization for Standardization (ISO) – ISO and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) 27018. Microsoft is the first cloud provider to adopt the ISO / IEC 27018 code of conduct. This Code of Conduct covers the processing of personal data by cloud service providers.
- MTCS (Multi-Tier Cloud Security) Singapore – After rigorous assessments conducted by the MTCS certification body, Microsoft cloud services have received MTCS 584: 2013 certification in all three service categories:
- Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
- Platform as a Service (PaaS)
- Software as a Service (SaaS)
- Microsoft is the first global Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) to receive this certification in all three categories.
- SOC (Service Organization Controls) 1, 2 and 3. Cloud services provided by Microsoft are reviewed at least annually by independent, external auditors based on the SOC report framework. The Microsoft cloud services audit covers the data security, availability, processing integrity, and confidentiality controls as applicable to trust principles for each service within the scope.
- National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) – National Institute of Standards and Technology, Cybersecurity Framework (CSF, Cybersecurity Framework). NIST CSF is a voluntary framework consisting of standards, guidelines and best practices for managing cybersecurity risks. Microsoft cloud services have undergone independent, external FedRAMP Moderate and High Baseline (FedRAMP: Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program) audits and are certified to FedRAMP standards.
- UK Government G-Cloud – The UK Government G-Cloud is a cloud computing certification for services used by government agencies in the United Kingdom. Azure has received official accreditation from the UK Government Pan Government Accreditor.
Economies of scale
Economies of scale is the ability to work more efficiently or at a lower cost per unit when working on a larger scale. The low costs are an important advantage of cloud computing.
Cloud providers such as Microsoft, Google and Amazon are large companies that leverage economies of scale. Customers can take advantage of these benefits.
These savings become visible to end users in several ways. For example, they can purchase hardware at a lower cost. Cloud providers can also close deals with local governments and utilities for tax savings, lower energy prices, cooling, and a fast network connection between sites. Cloud providers can then let end users take advantage of these benefits in the form of lower prices.
Capital expenditures (CapEx) vs. Operating expenses (OpEx)
In the past, companies had to have physical spaces and infrastructure to perform work. A lot had to be invested in hardware and infrastructure beforehand to set up or grow the company. Cloud computing provides services to customers without high upfront costs or a lot of installation time.
These two different investment methods have the following names:
- Capital Expenses (CapEx) – At CapEx, money is spent upfront on physical infrastructure. These costs are then deducted from the tax over a certain period. CapEx is a start-up cost item with a value that decreases over time.
- Operational Expenses (OpEx) – At OpEx, money is now being spent on services or products and charged. You can still deduct these costs from the tax in the same year. There are no upfront costs. You pay for a service or product when you use the service or product.
Calculation costs based on CapEx
The following costs are incurred for a common on-premises data center:
Server costs
These costs include all hardware components and the costs of supporting these components. When you buy servers, make sure to build in fault tolerance and redundancy, including server clusters, external power sources, and backup power supplies.
If a server needs to be replaced or added to a data center, you have to pay for the computer. This can have direct consequences for your cash flow because you have to pay for the server in advance.
Storage costs
These costs include all storage hardware components and the costs of supporting these components. Central storage can be expensive depending on the application and the degree of fault tolerance.
In larger organizations, you can create storage tiers, using the more expensive fault-tolerant storage for critical applications and the cheaper storage for lower-priority data.
Network costs
Network costs include all costs for on-premises hardware components, such as cables, switches, access points, and routers. These also include the WAN (Wide Area Network) and internet connections.
Backup and archive costs
These are the costs for making backups, making copies and archiving data. For example, it may be possible to set up a backup to or from the cloud. Prepayment is required for the hardware and the additional costs for backup maintenance and consumables, such as tapes.
Business continuity and disaster recovery costs
You should think not only about the server’s fault tolerance and redundancy but also about disaster recovery and the possibilities to continue working. A data recovery location must be created in your plan. Backup generators could also be included.
In most cases, this involves upfront costs, especially if you’re building a data recovery site, but there are also ongoing costs for infrastructure and maintenance, for example.
Costs for the data center infrastructure
These are the costs for construction and construction equipment, as well as future renovation and refurbishment costs that may arise as demand increases. In addition, operational costs are charged for this infrastructure for the electricity, floor space, cooling and maintenance of the building.
Technical staff
While it’s not a capital expenditure, you need dedicated on-premises data center personnel to work on your infrastructure. You need technical knowledge and expertise to install, deploy and manage the systems in the data center and data recovery site.
Cloud computing costs based on OpEx
In cloud computing, many of the costs for an on-premises data center are with the service provider. Instead of the costs for physical hardware and a data center, other costs apply for cloud computing.
For accounting purposes, the following costs are also known as operating costs:
Lease software and custom functions
Pay per use requires you to actively manage your subscriptions to ensure that users do not abuse the services and that provisioned accounts are actually used and not wasted. Costs are incurred from the moment the provider provision resources.
It is your responsibility to redesign resources when they are not being used; this way you can keep costs as low as possible.
Scale costs based on usage/demand rather than fixed hardware or capacity.
Cloud computing can be billed in several ways, such as based on the number of users or the CPU usage time. However, it is also possible to look at the allocated RAM, the number of I / O operations per second (IOPS) and the storage space.
Plan for backup traffic and data recovery traffic to determine the required bandwidth.
Billing at the user or organizational level.
The subscription model (Pay per use) is a calculation billing method that can be used for organizations and users. The organization or user receives an invoice for the services used, usually on a periodic basis. You can scale, adjust and organize the calculation resources (such as software, storage and development platforms).
For example, if you use a dedicated cloud service, you can pay based on the server hardware and usage.
Benefits of CapEx
With capital expenditure, you plan in advance of a project or budget period how much you can and will outsource. The costs are fixed, which means you know exactly how much is being spent.
This is interesting if you need to be able to predict the expenditure before the start of a project because the budget is limited.
Benefits of OpEx
Demand and growth can be unpredictable and exceed expectations. This poses problems for the CapEx model, as shown in the following diagram.
With the OpEx model, companies eager to try out new products or services don’t have to invest a lot in equipment. Instead, they pay as little as possible for the necessary infrastructure.
OpEx is particularly attractive when demand fluctuates or is unknown. Cloud services are often flexible. This cloud flexibility means that the IT infrastructure can be quickly changed based on the changing needs of the company.
For example, if there is a peak in the usage of your service for a month, you can scale based on demand and pay extra that month. If demand drops again the following month, you can reduce the number of resources used and therefore pay less.
Flexibility allows you to dynamically manage your costs and optimize expenses as requirements change.
Cloud implementation models
There are three different cloud implementation models. A cloud deployment model defines where your data is stored and what your customers can do with it.
How do they access this data and where are the applications running? It also depends on how much of your own infrastructure you want or needs to manage.
Cloud computing deployment methods
Public versus private versus hybrid
Watch the video from Microsoft: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/videoplayer/embed/RE2yEv7
What is Public Cloud?
This is the most common implementation model. In this case, you don’t have local hardware to manage or keep up to date.
Everything is done on the cloud provider’s hardware. In some cases, you can save extra costs by sharing computer resources with other cloud users.
Companies can use multiple public cloud providers with different scales. Microsoft Azure is an example of a public cloud provider.
Benefits of Public Cloud
- High scalability/flexibility: no need to buy a new server to scale
- Pay per use: you only pay for what you use, no CapEx costs
- You are not responsible for the maintenance or updates of the hardware
- Minimal technical knowledge for configuration and use: You can use the skills and expertise of the cloud provider to ensure that workloads remain safe and highly available
Public Cloud Example
A common scenario is that a web application or blog site is deployed on hardware and resources owned by a cloud provider. If cloud users use a public cloud in this scenario, they can quickly post their website or blog online and then focus on maintenance. They don’t have to worry about buying, managing or maintaining the underlying hardware.
Disadvantages of Public Cloud
The public cloud is not the right choice in all scenarios. Some disadvantages:
- There may be specific security requirements that cannot be met with a public cloud
- There may be government policies, industry standards, or legal requirements that cannot be met with a public cloud
- You do not own the hardware or services, so you may not be able to manage them as you would like
- It can be difficult to meet unique business requirements, such as continuing to use an older application
What is a Private Cloud?
With a private cloud, you create a cloud environment in your own data center and offer users in your organization self-service access to compute resources. This simulates a public cloud for your users but retains full responsibility for purchasing and maintaining the hardware and software you use.
Benefits of Private Cloud
This approach has several advantages:
- You can ensure that the configuration supports all scenarios and older applications
- You have control over (and responsibility for) security
- Private clouds can meet stringent security, compliance, and regulatory requirements
Disadvantages of Private Cloud
Some reasons why teams are moving away from the private cloud:
- There are certain initial CapEx costs, and hardware must be purchased to set up and maintain the cloud
- Flexibility is limited when equipment is owned: Scaling requires purchasing, installing and configuring new hardware
- Working with private clouds requires special IT skills and expertise that many people don’t have
Private Cloud Example
For example, a private cloud can be used if an organization has data that should not be placed in the public cloud due to applicable laws. It may be that the government has rules on the basis of which specific data must be stored domestically or privately.
A private cloud can also provide cloud functionality to external customers, or to specific internal departments such as Accounting or Human Resources.
What is Hybrid Cloud?
A hybrid cloud combines public and private clouds; this allows you to run your applications in the most suitable location.
For example, you can host a website in the public cloud and link it to a highly secured database in your private cloud (or in your on-premises data center).
This is useful when you can’t put something in the cloud for legal reasons.
For example, you may have specific information that should not be made public (such as medical information).
These must be stored in your private data center. Another example is when you have applications running on old hardware that cannot be updated. In that case, you can run the old system locally and connect it to the public cloud for authorization or storage.
Benefits of Hybrid Cloud
Some advantages of the hybrid cloud:
- You can keep systems that use outdated hardware or an outdated operating system and keep them accessible
- You can choose what you do locally and what you do in the cloud
- For services and resources, you can take advantage of the economies of scale of public cloud providers when it is beneficial for you and use your own equipment when there is no advantage
- You can use your own equipment to meet safety and compliance requirements or use older applications when you need full control of the environment
Disadvantages of Hybrid Cloud
Some things you should pay attention to:
- This can be more expensive than if you choose only one implementation model because you have to invest in advance (CapEx)
- This can be more complicated to set up and manage
Cloud computing is flexible and allows you to choose an implementation method. Which cloud deployment model you choose depends on your budget and your security, scalability, and maintenance requirements.
Types of cloud services
There are three main categories of cloud computing. It is important to understand the differences because they are often used in conversations, documentation, and training.
IaaS vs SaaS vs PaaS – The three categories of cloud computing
Let’s discuss about the difference between IaaS, SaaS, and PaaS clould computing categories.
What is Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)?
Infrastructure as a service is the most flexible category of cloud services. You have complete control over the hardware on which your application runs (IT infrastructure servers, virtual machines (VMs), storage and operating systems).
With IaaS you rent hardware, instead of buying it. You have a readily available computing infrastructure that is set up and managed via the internet.
Note: If you use IaaS, multiple parties must ensure that the services remain active: the cloud provider must ensure that the cloud infrastructure is working properly and the cloud customer must ensure that the service used is properly configured, up to date and available is for its customers. This is also called the shared responsibility model.
IaaS Usage Scenarios
IaaS is typically used in the following scenarios:
Migrate workloads
Typically, IaaS facilities are managed about the same as on-premises infrastructure. These facilities make it easy to move existing applications to the cloud.
Testing and developing
Teams can quickly set up and remove test and development environments, enabling new applications to be brought to market faster. With IaaS, scaling development and test environments becomes simple, fast and cheap.
Storage, backup and restore
Organizations avoid storage management and the investment and complexity that comes with it. Typically, experienced personnel is required to manage data and comply with legal and compliance requirements.
IaaS is useful for unpredictable demand and steadily growing storage needs. IaaS can also simplify planning and managing backup and recovery systems.
What is Platform as a service (PaaS)?
PaaS provides an environment for developing, testing and implementing software applications. The goal of PaaS is to help you create applications quickly, without having to manage the underlying infrastructure.
For example, when you deploy a web application with PaaS, you don’t need to install an operating system, a web server, and not even system updates.
PaaS is a complete development and implementation environment in the cloud, with resources that enable organizations to offer many different things: from simple cloud applications to extensive business applications in the cloud.
Resources are purchased through a cloud service provider on a Pay Per Use basis. They can be accessed via a secure internet connection.
PaaS Usage Scenarios
PaaS is usually used in the following scenarios:
Development framework
PaaS provides a framework on which developers can build when developing and customizing cloud applications. As with Microsoft Excel macro, developers with PaaS can create applications using built-in software components.
Cloud features such as scalability, high availability, and multi-tenant capabilities are included, reducing the need for developers to code themselves.
Analyzes and business intelligence
Utilities offered as a service through PaaS allow organizations to analyze and mine their data. They can gain insights, discover patterns, and predict results to make better business decisions (for example, with regard to forecasting, product design, and return on investment.
What is Software as a service (SaaS)?
SaaS is software centrally hosted and managed for the end customer. SaaS is typically used with an architecture where one version of the application is used for all customers and licensed through a monthly or annual subscription. Office 365, Skype and Dynamics CRM Online are perfect examples of SaaS software.
IaaS vs SaaS vs PaaS – Cost and Ownership
| IaaS | Easter | SaaS | |
| Costs in advance | There are no upfront costs. Users only pay for what they use. | There are no upfront costs. Users only pay for what they use. | There are no start-up costs for users; they pay for a subscription (usually on a monthly or annual basis). |
| Ownership of the user | The user is responsible for purchasing, installing, configuring and managing their own operating systems, middleware and applications. | The user is responsible for developing his own applications. However, the server and infrastructure do not need to be managed. This allows the user to focus on the application or workload to run. | Users only use application software. They are not responsible for maintaining or managing the software. |
| Owned by the cloud provider | The cloud provider must ensure that the underlying cloud infrastructure (such as virtual machines, storage, and networks) is available to the user. | The cloud provider is responsible for operating system management and configuring the network and services. Cloud providers are typically responsible for everything but the applications that users want to run. They provide a fully managed platform on which the application can run. | The cloud provider is responsible for setting up, managing and maintaining the application software. |
Management responsibilities
It is important to remember that these categories are superimposed as layers. For example, PaaS adds a layer above IaaS with a certain amount of abstraction. This abstraction hides the details you may not want to deal with, so you can get started writing code faster.
However, one of the consequences of this is that you have less control over the underlying hardware. The following figure shows a list of resources that you manage and that your service provider manages for each cloud service category.
- IaaS requires users to perform more management tasks than other cloud services. The user is responsible for managing the operating systems, data and applications.
- With PaaS, users need to manage less. The cloud provider manages the operating systems and the user is responsible for the applications and data they run and store.
- The amount of management is the most limited with SaaS. The cloud provider manages everything. The end-user only uses the software.
Cloud services combine to meet your needs
IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS each contain different levels of managed services. You can easily use a combination of these types of infrastructure.
You can use Office 365 on your company’s computers (SaaS), host your VMs in Azure (IaaS), and use Azure SQL Database (PaaS) to store your data. With the flexibility of the cloud, you can use any combination with which you achieve optimal results.
Microsoft Azure
Azure is a cloud computing platform from Microsoft. Azure offers more than 100 services that allow you to do everything from running your existing applications on virtual machines to exploring new software paradigms, such as intelligent bots and mixed reality.
Azure Services
The following are some types of services you will use in Azure:
- Compute services, such as virtual machines and containers that can run your applications
- Database services that offer both relational and NoSQL options
- Identity services that allow you to authenticate and secure your users
- Network services that connect your data center to the cloud, provide high availability or host your DNS domain
- Storage solutions suitable for large amounts of structured and unstructured data
- AI and Machine Learning services can analyze data, text, and images, understand speech and make predictions based on data. This has since led to fundamental changes in agriculture, health care, and many other sectors.
- And many more.!
Summary of Cloud Computing Tutorial
In this module, you have learned more about cloud computing: what it is and what its main features are. Here are some of the important things discussed.
- Different types of cloud models available and points of attention when using the different models.
- Some of the key terms and concepts such as high availability, flexibility, elasticity, fault tolerance and CapEx vs. OpEx.
- Which cloud services are available, the benefits of the different types, and the management responsibilities associated with each service type.
- Cloud models (public, private and hybrid) and the main features of each model.
- What different types of cloud services are available: IaaS, PaaS and SaaS; what the main features of each service are and when to choose which service.
We hope that you enjoyed reading this tutorial. If you want to share your thoughts with the community here, just drop your comment in the below comment box. Happy learning.