CLOUD COMPUTING FUNDAMENTALS

Cloud computing can be defined as delivery of various services over the Internet that provide tools and applications such as databases, servers and software. While proposed that cloud computing has 2 different meanings. The first meaning is the general one which is running workloads through the Internet in the data center of a commercial provider. The second meaning is describing how actually it operates and the functions. Cloud computing is important especially for well-established companies as it provides the flexibility in managing the data in one time. The price is also worth the service offered. In future, cloud computing is expected to evolve more and more with new functions that will be developed throughout the years.

•  Public Model

-It encourages technologies and programs to be readily available to the public at large. IT giants such as Google, Amazon and Microsoft deliver Internet-based cloud services. There are many advantages of deploying cloud as a public cloud model, such as cost effective, reliability, flexibility, location independence, utility style costing, and high scalability.

•   Private Model

-It consists of tools used solely by one corporation or entity for cloud computing. The private cloud can be physically housed in the on-site data center of the enterprise, or a third-party storage provider can host it.

•  Hybrid Model

-A type of cloud computing that integrates on-site technology with a public cloud, or a private cloud. Hybrid clouds allow the flow of data and applications between the two worlds.

•  Infrastructure as a Service

-IaaS provides businesses access to computing services such as storage space and servers. Companies can rent these infrastructures, rather than having their own services.

•  Platform as a Service

-PaaS is a type of cloud computing offering in which a service provider provides customers with a platform, allowing them to construct, operate and manage business applications without the need to build and maintain the infrastructure usually needed by software development processes.

•  Software as a Service

-SaaS is a software distribution model in which applications are hosted and made accessible to consumers over the Internet by a third-party provider.

Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud Platform are the top 3 leading cloud computing providers.

• Amazon EC2

Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud  is a service that is based on the web. The interface of  Amazon EC2 is easy to understand and allows us to control our resources completely. Amazon EC2 has its strength when users have complete power on their virtual servers. Users also can choose where to run the operating system (OS), considering there are some companies that have been using an OS for a long time. Amazon EC2 also has security features that are built together with the server. Users can select whoever they want to access the instances. However, Amazon EC2 has so many options, it makes it look complicated. It also provides multiple functions that have different pricing, so the billing also can be confusing. In addition, the customer support, especially on how to manage the servers are less.

• Google Cloud Platform

Offered by Google, it is a suite of public cloud computing services with more than 90 services. Google Cloud Platform (GCP) was launched in 2008 and widely used in many fields. GCP has its strength when it specializes in high-computing services such as Big Data, analytics and machine learning. It also provides substantial balancing of size and load and also knows data centers and quick response time. It is built for cloud-native companies. Google Cloud Platform is an open source. It also offers deep discounts and flexible contracts. Its expertise for DevOps. On the downside, Google is a distant third in market share, possibly because it does not have the conventional relationship with business clients. Google Cloud Platform is a late entrant to the market for Infrastructure as a service (IaaS).It also has fewer attributes and facilities for its customers. Its not historically based as an organization.

• Microsoft Azure

In 2008, Microsoft first announced its plans to launch Windows Azure which is currently known as Microsoft Azure, a cloud storage service. Preview models of the service were made available and created in early 2010, prior to its commercial launch. Microsoft Azure is Microsoft's public cloud storage platform. It delivers a variety of services in the cloud, including computation, analytics, storage and networking; is also used as a platform for hosting databases in the cloud. Azure has good data loss prevention and has been listed as the market leader in Cloud Computing as a Service by Gartner. Scalable: One of Azure's greatest strengths is that it provides scalability. However, Microsoft Azure has a Steep learning curve. It is relatively difficult to use and handle. Compared to AWS and GCP, it is more expensive and has weak DevOps support.