5.5.2 What is the Cloud?

5.5.2 What is the Cloud? One of the easiest ways to explain cloud services is by thinking about sharing the workload. In a regular client-server setup, companies handle their own servers, storage, and networking. They buy costly and complicated hardware, hire experts to manage it, and can't easily adjust as their business grows or changes. This is calledon-premisesmanagement, and it's the traditional way of setting up and running systems and software. The equipment is kept at the same place as the business. Before cloud services, this was the only choice. Benefits to on-premises systems include lower long-term costs and complete control over the IT setup.With cloud services, companies can let a cloud provider take care of some or all of these tasks. Cloud Service Types Cloud services can be defined by what they offer you. The simplest service is calledSoftware as a Service (SaaS). This lets you use a program through your web browser over the Internet. A popular example is Gmail, which is part of Google Workspace. With Gmail, you can access your email and other tools that are stored on Google's servers. The cloud service provider (Google, in this case) takes care of the hardware, the operating system, and the software updates.There are also bigger on-demand services, likePlatform as a Service (PaaS). With PaaS, you get more advanced IT tools, including operating systems. PaaS is usually for developers and database administrators. They use the platform to create applications or database services needed by the company without having to build the platforms themselves. For example, a database administrator no longer has to request a server, install an operating system, and then install a database platform such as Microsoft SQL Server. Those tasks have all been offloaded to the cloud service provider. PaaS can also grow and change quickly, giving a stable development platform as needs change.Another type of cloud service is Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS). IaaS gives you physical equipment such as servers, routers, and storage. Big businesses often use IaaS because it can be cheaper than buying the equipment themselves. Having servers on-site needs a lot of support. Servers take up a lot of space, need reliable power, constant cooling, and physical security. All these needs mean big costs for businesses. By letting a cloud service provider handle these costs, businesses can save a lot of money and time. Popular IaaS providers are Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure. Cloud Service Types Directions: Label each part. Salesforce Oracle Linux Virtualization Servers Networking Physical Security Storage Cloud Resource Deployments All these services can be managed in different ways. One way is for a single organization to handle everything itself (an on-premises solution). Another way is to have a cloud service provider manage the services for many organizations (called a cloud deployment). Organization 3 Organization 1 These two models can also be mixed into a hybrid solution. The hybrid deployment model combines both public and private for greater flexibility. Public Cloud Organization 4