Cloud Computing
Cloud Computing
Cloud computing is the delivery of computing
services - servers, storage, databases, networking, software, analytics and
more - over the Internet (“the cloud”). Companies offering these computing
services are called cloud providers and typically charge for cloud computing
services based on usage, similar to how you are billed for water or electricity
at home.
Uses of Cloud Computing
You are probably using cloud computing right now, even if you
don’t realise it. If you use an online service to send email, edit documents,
watch movies or TV, listen to music, play games or store pictures and other
files, it is likely that cloud computing is making it all possible behind the
scenes.
Here are a few of the things you can do with the cloud:
·
Create new apps and
services
·
Store, back up and
recover data
·
Host websites and
blogs
·
Stream audio and video
·
Deliver software on
demand
·
Analyse data for
patterns and make predictions
For more details refer the link https://azure.microsoft.com/en-in/overview/what-is-cloud-computing/
Top benefits of cloud computing
1. Cost
Cloud computing
eliminates the capital expense of buying hardware and software and setting up
and running on-site datacenters - the racks of servers, the round-the-clock
electricity for power and cooling, the IT experts for managing the
infrastructure. It adds up fast.
2. Speed
Most cloud computing
services are provided self service and on demand, so even vast amounts of
computing resources can be provisioned in minutes, typically with just a few
mouse clicks, giving businesses a lot of flexibility and taking the pressure
off capacity planning.
3. Global scale
The benefits of cloud
computing services include the ability to scale elastically. In cloud speak,
that means delivering the right amount of IT resources—for example, more or
less computing power, storage, bandwidth—right when its needed and from the
right geographic location.
4. Productivity
On-site datacenters
typically require a lot of “racking and stacking”—hardware set up, software
patching and other time-consuming IT management chores. Cloud computing removes
the need for many of these tasks, so IT teams can spend time on achieving more
important business goals.
5. Performance
The biggest cloud
computing services run on a worldwide network of secure datacenters, which are
regularly upgraded to the latest generation of fast and efficient computing
hardware. This offers several benefits over a single corporate datacenter,
including reduced network latency for applications and greater economies of
scale.
6. Reliability
Cloud computing makes
data backup, disaster recovery and business continuity easier and less
expensive, because data can be mirrored at multiple redundant sites on the
cloud provider’s network.
Types of cloud services: IaaS, PaaS, SaaS
Most cloud computing services fall into three broad categories:
infrastructure as a service (IaaS), platform as a service (PaaS) and software
as a service (Saas). These are sometimes called the cloud computing stack,
because they build on top of one another. Knowing what they are and how they
are different makes it easier to accomplish your business goals.
Infrastructure-as-a-service
(IaaS)
Infrastructure as a service (IaaS) is an instant computing
infrastructure, provisioned and managed over the Internet. Quickly scale up and
down with demand and pay only for what you use.
IaaS helps you avoid the expense and
complexity of buying and managing your own physical servers and other
datacenter infrastructure. Each resource is offered as a separate service
component and you only need to rent a particular one for as long as you need
it. The cloud
computing service provider manages
the infrastructure, while you purchase, install, configure and manage your own
software—operating systems, middleware and applications.
To know more about IaaS, refer the link https://azure.microsoft.com/en-in/overview/what-is-iaas/
Platform as a service (PaaS)
Platform as a service
(PaaS) is a complete development and deployment environment in the cloud, with
resources that enable you to deliver everything from simple cloud-based apps to
sophisticated, cloud-enabled enterprise applications. You purchase the
resources you need from a cloud
service provider on a
pay-as-you-go basis and access them over a secure Internet connection.
Like IaaS, PaaS includes infrastructure—servers,
storage and networking—but also middleware, development tools, business
intelligence (BI) services, database management systems and more. PaaS is
designed to support the complete web application lifecycle: building, testing,
deploying, managing and updating.
PaaS allows you to avoid the expense and
complexity of buying and managing software licenses, the underlying application
infrastructure and middleware or the development tools and other resources. You
manage the applications and services you develop and the cloud service provider
typically manages everything else.
To know more about, refer the link https://azure.microsoft.com/en-in/overview/what-is-paas/
Software as a service (SaaS)
Software as a service
(SaaS) allows users to connect to and use cloud-based apps over the Internet.
Common examples are email, calendaring and office tools (such as Microsoft
Office 365).
SaaS provides a complete software solution
which you purchase on a pay-as-you-go basis from a cloud
service provider. You rent the use of
an app for your organisation and your users connect to it over the Internet,
usually with a web browser. All of the underlying infrastructure, middleware,
app software and app data are located in the service provider’s data center.
The service provider manages the hardware and software and with the appropriate
service agreement, will ensure the availability and the security of the app and
your data as well. SaaS allows your organisation to get quickly up and running with
an app at minimal upfront cost.
For more details, refer https://azure.microsoft.com/en-in/overview/what-is-saas/
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| Types of Cloud Services |
Microsoft Azure will provide youa total Packaged Software kit, from which we can choose according to our project environment purpose.
The above picture explains that - Under IaaS, the green color services are supported by Microsoft Azure and blue colored services are supported by you.
Under PaaS, the green color services are supported by Microsoft Azure and blue colored services are supported by you.
Under SaaS, all the packaged software kit is supported by Microsoft Azure.