You have heard lots of things about the cloud. Let’s understand each component of the cloud on this story. Also, let’s understand how the organizations are implementing various cloud models using Microsoft Azure. Before going further let’s know a bit about what is cloud computing is all about
Cloud computing is a model for enabling convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications, and services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction.
Cloud computing relies heavily on virtualization and automation technologies. Virtualization enables the easy abstraction and provisioning of services and underlying cloud systems into logical entities that users can request and utilize. 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.
How many types of cloud computing are there?
• On-demand self-service:
• Resource pooling:
• Rapid elasticity:
• Measured Service (with pay-per-use characteristics):
• Broad network access:
The thing that differentiates cloud and On-Premise is that cloud service must be accessible over the network (Internet) and can be accessed using different types of clients (like PC, smartphone, or tablet).
So how’s it different?
Cloud Computing typically has the following characteristics:
• Computing resources are owned and made available to you as a service by a provider.
• Computing resources are located out of your sight and may be far from where you are.
• You access the resources using web interfaces, APIs and protocols over the internet.
• Providers use virtualization to obtain multi-tenancy; i.e. the same hardware is shared by multiple customers.
• You pay for the resources you use, and/or the capacity you reserve.
• You can dynamically scale your usage of cloud resources up and down.
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Cloud computing service categories:
Cloud computing can be separated into three general service delivery categories or forms of cloud computing:
1. 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. 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. Common PaaS products include Salesforce’s Lightning Platform, AWS Elastic Beanstalk and Google App Engine.
3. 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. One common example of a SaaS application is Microsoft 365 for productivity and email services.
Cloud computing deployment models
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. Leading public CSPs include AWS, Microsoft Azure, IBM and Google Cloud Platform (GCP), as well as IBM, Oracle and Tencent.
A private cloud is the opposite of a public cloud. Services offered in a private cloud are typically consumed by a single organization. The infrastructure can be located either on-premise or in a data center owned and operated by a service provider. The provider of the private cloud service is the IT department. It is also possible that the cloud management is outsourced to a vendor while the IT department handles the governance. A private cloud, in most cases, exists in large organizations that have frequent demands for new IT services. Organizations with a lot of software developers are use cases for private cloud, as developers have frequent requests for new virtual machines. Common private cloud technologies and vendors include VMware and OpenStack.
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.
To our interest , how can we use Cloud Computing and how can it affect us in a good way.
Azure is one of the top players when it comes to Cloud Computing Market.
Some of the leading Cloud players are :
1. Microsoft Azure
2. Amazon Web Services
3. Digital Ocean
4. IBM Cloud
5. Google Cloud Platform
Why Microsoft Azure is the best among the all?
Microsoft Azure is an open and flexible cloud platform that serves as the development, data storing, service hosting and service management environment. Microsoft Azure provides on-demand compute and storage to host, scale, and manage web applications on the internet through Microsoft data centers. Even, you can integrate your public cloud applications with your existing IT environment.
The following are some important aspects wherein Azure scores over any other Cloud Providers out there:
1. PaaS Capabilities
2. Net Compatibility
3. Security Offerings
4. Hybrid solutions for Seamless Cloud Connectivity
5. Integrated Environment
6. Gentle Learning Curve
7. The ‘Enterprise Agreement’ Advantage
Now, why should you learn Azure?
The demand for Azure Solutions Architect and Developers as can be seen in the trends are increasing, and hence it makes sense for you to upgrade yourself to be the master of the cloud.
