Cloud computing refers to the technology that allows and facilitates the storage of all our files and information on the Internet, without the need to worry about having enough capacity to host said information on our computer.
What is cloud computing?
Cloud computing is commonly cloud services.
This, in a few words, is a delivery model that allows us to store and access shared computing resources (servers, services, applications, networks, among others) on demand.
In a fast and easy way according to the needs of the users, under the modality of payment for consumption.
But what does it all mean?
“The cloud” is not a physical site, but rather an IT (Information Technology) resource management method that mainly replaces local machines and private data centers.
In the cloud computing model, users access storage, virtual computing resources, and network through the Internet and from a remote provider.
So instead of needing to buy extensive computing and other infrastructure, store data, and maintain it, much — or all (depending on the service and provider) — of these activities and responsibilities fall to the cloud service provider. that the company hired.
Defined by organisms
Now, since we are only in the early stages of the development of cloud computing, this term is in full evolution and not everyone defines it in the same way.
For this reason, various initiatives have emerged to try to standardize the term, with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) being the two organizations that established themselves as benchmarks in terms of the definition of cloud computing.
Being this way, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, or by its abbreviation in English “NIST”, defines cloud computing as:
…A model for enabling ubiquitous, convenient, and on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (for example, networks, servers, storage, applications, and services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort o Interaction with the service provider.
And for its part, the CSA developed a comprehensive definition of cloud computing, which builds on and describes how to get the most out of this technology.
Considering in its definition that it offers great opportunities for all organizations and that with the adoption of cloud-based solutions significant scalability, flexibility and profitability can be achieved.
Now, according to NIST, cloud computing is made up of five essential characteristics, three service models (IaaS, PaaS and SaaS) and four implementation models (private, hybrid, public and community cloud), and then we will talk about these. Let’s see!
The characteristics of cloud computing
Cloud computing has several key features that set it apart from traditional computing.
According to the NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) there are five essential characteristics of this model that companies should be aware of. And these are:
1. On-demand Self-Service
The customer can provision its computing needs, such as network server time and storage as needed, without requiring interaction with the service provider.
For example, if you have a Dropbox account with 1 TB of data and in a couple of months this capacity will reach its limit, you can easily and intuitively migrate to a higher storage plan to meet my future needs.
2. Broad Network Access or wide network access
Services are available on a network that can be private, public, hybrid, or community. In addition, with cloud computing there is no need for equipment or tedious data center rooms, since all capacities are available on the network and can be accessed through standard mechanisms that allow the use of different platforms.
In other words, it is characterized by the provision of administration consoles and multiple work environments that can be accessed through tablets, a mobile device, laptops or workstations. And regardless of where the client is located.
3. Resource-Pooling
The provider has computing resources that serve multiple consumers through a multi-user model with different virtual and physical resources dynamically allocated and reallocated according to the demands of each of its customers.
4. Rapid Elasticity
Computational resources are not limited to a static capacity.
In other words, with this feature, the systems have the ability to adapt to the load and needs to which they are being or need to be subjected, so that the storage or computing capacity of the application is not exhaustible.
5. Measurement of services
This characteristic consists of the ability of cloud systems to control and optimize the use of resources through monitoring, measurement and information of attributes in the cloud.
For example, processing and storage capacity, network bandwidth, and automatically the number of active user accounts
Therefore, this characteristic helps to determine the performance, being a key piece in this technological model, since all the resources are arranged to obtain the optimization of the final result.
Thus creating multiple integrations with which the user will be able to carry out permanent monitoring and implement corrections that allow obtaining greater capacity from the same resources.
On the other hand, other additional features that can be considered are:
Security: In cloud computing, security can trump traditional systems. This is due, in part, to the ability of vendors to dedicate resources to fixing security issues that would remain unresolved if it were the responsibility of customers.
On the other hand, it is key to note that while the cloud provider is responsible for physical security, the cloud user is responsible for security at the application level.
Cost: Costs are significantly reduced, since a server in the cloud instead of having capital expenses has operating expenses.
This results in lower barriers to entry, as the infrastructure is regularly provided by a third party and does not have to be purchased on a one-time basis and is less used for infrequent computing intensive tasks.
Maintenance: This maintenance process boils down to assigning trained personnel just to handle follow-up services.
In other words, the platform takes care of everything else, since it is possible to configure the maintenance of the systems so that it occurs automatically.
Now, as we mentioned before, cloud computing can be classified according to its service models and they refer to the way in which cloud computing is delivered and used to service users. Learn more about it!
Cloud computing models
Currently, cloud solutions are deployed in three different service models, these being: Software as a Service (SaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS). And each one represents a different part of the information stack in the cloud.
Additionally, they are offered in order to meet different requirements based on the specific needs of each company.
Let’s get to know a little about each of them:
Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
In this model, cloud providers host infrastructure components that are traditionally stored in internal data centers, such as server hardware, storage, and networking, plus the hypervisor (virtualization layer).
In this way, IaaS offers companies the ability to choose when and how they want to manage workloads without the need to purchase, manage and support the underlying infrastructure.
In other words, in this service model, the provider supplies its clients with a basic IT infrastructure, under a virtualization scheme. Having access to, for example, virtual services on demand, which are managed and operated by the client for what they need.
Platform as a Service (PaaS)
In addition to providing the infrastructure components, providers host and manage the middleware and operating systems that customers require to build and run their applications.
Being that in this model, the client has access to a programming platform provided by the provider, and can develop their own applications in the cloud on it, but they do not have control of the basic IT infrastructure.
PaaS helps make your customers more efficient because they don’t have to worry about resource provisioning, software maintenance, training planning, patching, or anything else involved in running their application.
Software as a Service (SaaS)
With SaaS, cloud providers host and manage the entire infrastructure, including end-user applications.
This means that when a client chooses a Software as a Service model, they will not need to install anything at all, just a login will be required to immediately start using the application.
Email systems like GMail and Hotmail are a classic example of this type of model.
Cloud deployment models
Regardless of whether the customer is using the cloud for IaaS, PaaS, or SaaS, the way in which the provider makes services available to source four cloud deployment models.
Public cloud
Any person or organization can contract the cloud services of the provider.
This means that the jobs of various clients may be mixed up on their servers, storage systems and other cloud infrastructures. Therefore, users do not know what other client jobs are running on the same server, disks, or network.
Private cloud
Cloud computing servers are exclusive to a single company, which in turn may own the cloud or may contract it out to a provider.
Those using this deployment model own the network, disk, and server, and can decide who is authorized to access the infrastructure.
Hybrid cloud
It is the combination of private and public cloud models. In this, the user owns one of the parts and shares others in a more controlled manner.
It is nothing more than a combination of two or more clouds of the previous types. The main idea here is that you have separate clouds but with data and application portability between them.
Community cloud
This consists of a limited group of companies or people sharing a cloud infrastructure, which is supported by the same group or by a third party.
This is all!
Cloud services are radically changing the reality of business, since they make it possible to access information from anywhere, at any time and from practically all kinds of devices.
Thus assuming a reduction in administrative actions, a reduction in deployment times and a greater facility for company system supervision.
This is why companies are now requiring experts to troubleshoot computers, to optimize performance and anticipate security problems.
