Cloud Computing Basics

Study Notes

Cloud computing is described as "someone else's computer on steroids"
Cloud computing is a service that provides various infrastructures (e.g., routers, switches, and cables) that are not owned by the user, but by cloud providers. Users pay for using these infrastructures.
Cloud providers offer these infrastructures to users and the user is responsible for paying for the usage of the resources.

Computers, infrastructure (routers, switches, cables, etc.) not owned by a company or a person
This is managed from a cloud provider
The cloud provider supplies the resources asked for
The user pays for the resources.

A location with many servers, switches, and routers
Allows for remote computing
A company can be placed anywhere, as long as there is a connection with a data center

Approximately 10,978 data centers worldwide as of the end of 2023
5,388 are situated in the US, followed by Germany (522), and the Netherlands (around 300)
Data center usage accounts for 4% of the world's energy consumption.
There was a 55% increase in energy consumption compared to 2022. In 2022, 4.9 Gigawatts of energy was used, while in 2023 the usage was 7.3 Gigawatts (measured by energy).
Data centers in Finland enjoy 8000 free cooling hours due to climatic factors (a specific condition of the region in relation to the weather and electricity consumption)

AWS (Amazon Web Services) is the largest cloud provider. Multiple data centers as well as available regions.
Azure (Microsoft) with 160 data centers in 60 regions
GCP (Google Cloud Platform) with 135 data centers in 41 regions
Together, these three providers account for 64% of the cloud market.
Other notable players include Kamatera, Alibaba Cloud, Oracle Cloud and IBM Cloud.

Offers web servers to host websites
Databases, allowing for storage & data analysis
Virtual Machines that provide computing resources.
Azure functions, which are event-driven and don't require the management of infrastructure.

Managed by the Cloud Provider
Physical data centers and networks.
Physical servers.
Operating systems.
Applications like Microsoft 365, Dropbox, or Mailchimp that are applications offered in the cloud.

Specific responsibilities are defined for either the cloud provider or the customer.
The customer is mainly responsible for data, devices, accounts, identities and directory infrastructure as well as applications, network controls and operating systems as well as the physical hosts.
- The Cloud Provider is responsible for physical network, physical data centers

The large cloud providers need many data centers to provide enough resources, handle scalability demands, and ensure availability.
Local data centers are beneficial for businesses as they reduce latency and improve performance.
There needs to be a strategy regarding the environment and sustainability in their business model. Different strategies are needed for the providers.