Intro to Cloud Computing

• Cloud computing uses shared computing resources instead of local servers or personal devices.
• Cloud computing provides resources like servers, storage, networks, software, and services managed by a provider.
• Cloud computing advantages: reduced IT infrastructure, scalability, cost efficiency, faster deployment, efficient resource sharing, and faster innovation, saving time and money.

History of Cloud Computing

• Cloud computing started in the 1950s with the first remote job submission.
• The technology allowed users to submit jobs to a remote computer and receive results back.
• In the 1960s, time-sharing and virtual machines allowed multiple users to access the same computer.
• The term "cloud computing" was coined in the late 1990s, with increasing use of distributed computing and data storage.
• In 2006, Amazon Web Services (AWS) launched cloud-based services for businesses and individuals.
• The cloud computing market has since grown exponentially, with companies like Microsoft, IBM, and Google offering cloud services.
• The industry was expected to be worth over $500 billion by 2020.

Cloud Computing Definition

• Cloud computing delivers computing services like servers, storage, databases, networking, software, and analytics over the Internet.
• Cloud computing enables users to access data, applications, and services from any device, anytime, anywhere.
• It provides scalability, flexibility, and cost savings, allowing businesses to pay for only the services and resources they use and scale as needed.
• Cloud computing increases efficiency, reduces IT costs, and improves user experience.
• Cloud computing relies on shared computing resources instead of local servers or personal devices.
• It involves using a network of remote servers hosted on the Internet to store, manage, and process data.
• Cloud computing services: web hosting, storage, virtual machines, analytics, and Software as a Service (SaaS).
• NIST’s cloud model includes five essential characteristics, three service models, and four deployment models.
• Cloud computing provides on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources with minimal management effort.

Cloud Computing Characteristics

• Five essential characteristics for a cloud service create the cloud computing infrastructure, including a physical layer of hardware resources and an abstraction layer.
• On-Demand Self-Service: Cloud users can acquire services on their own without IT department intervention.
• To support self-service, providers must provide automated interfaces like web portals or mobile apps.
• Users should be able to request and cancel cloud services at any time.
• Broad Network Access: Cloud services must be available over communication networks and accessible from any location and internet-enabled device.
• Resource Pooling: Multiple customers share cloud service resources in a multi-tenancy model.
• This model raises privacy and security concerns, requiring users to protect their data and assets.
• Rapid Elasticity: Cloud services can scale up or down automatically to meet user needs, providing access to resources like processing power, memory, network bandwidth, and storage.
• Measured Service: A cloud service offers metering capabilities for pay-as-you-go pricing.
• This gives users transparency and control over their cloud costs.

Need for Cloud Computing

• Cloud computing is increasingly popular as businesses aim to increase efficiency, reduce costs, and become more agile.
• Advantages:
• Cost savings with access to services and applications on a pay-as-you-go basis.
• Scalability to quickly scale up or down.
• Flexibility to access data and applications from anywhere at any time.
• Enhanced security and privacy to protect data and applications.
• Reliable access to applications hosted in secure data centers.
• Cloud computing provides businesses with numerous benefits, making it an attractive option.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Cloud Computing

• Advantages:
• Cost savings over the long run, despite potentially high initial implementation costs.
• Global spending on cloud services is projected to reach $331.2 billion by 2022.
• Most cloud computing services are pay-as-you-go, requiring payment only for used features and data storage.
• Reliability through around-the-clock support and seamless data transfer to available servers in case of a disaster.
• Cloud service providers adhere to Service Level Agreements (SLAs).
• Strategic edge by implementing the latest technologies and infrastructure without major capital investments.
• Advanced security features with full backup and recovery, including encryption of transmitted and stored data.
• 94% of companies saw significant security improvements after moving to the cloud.
• Disadvantages:
• Downtime can lead to lost customers, data, and revenue due to internet-based systems.
• Best practices to reduce downtime:
  • Deploying multiple regions for business continuity.
  • Defining a disaster recovery plan with low recovery time/point objectives.
  • Designing all services with disaster recovery in mind.
• Vendor lock-in can make it difficult to switch providers due to compatibility issues.
• Best practices to reduce vendor reliance:
  • Implementing a multi-cloud strategy.
  • Building flexibility into application development for portability.
  • Understanding what cloud providers are selling to avoid lock-in.
• Limited control and flexibility due to provider management of infrastructure.
• Best practices to maintain control and flexibility:
• Understanding provider responsibilities in contracts.
• Understanding provider support levels.
• Understanding how SLAs affect customer agreements.
• Security:
• Data is vulnerable to cyberattacks.
• By 2025, 99% of data breaches will be due to customer or human error.

Cloud Deployment Models

• A cloud deployment model defines the cloud services used and the accountability model for managing those services.
• It defines the cloud architecture, scalability, services provided, and relationships between the cloud infrastructure and users.
• Cloud deployment models determine access and control levels.

Public Cloud

• Public clouds have resources are provided by a cloud service provider and shared by all users (multitenancy).
• Advantages include elastic scalability, resource efficiency, and reduced upfront investment.
• Resources can dynamically adapt to workload.
• Public cloud providers: Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, IBM Cloud, and Google Cloud.
• Easy deployment without upfront costs.
• Support for workloads of any size.
• Extensive catalog of business services.
• Cost-effective due to competitive pricing.
• Disadvantages:
• Risk of disclosing sensitive data to other tenants (ChaosDB).
• Data residency/privacy regulations may not be met.
• You pay for everything you use.

Private Cloud

• Private cloud means a dedicated environment for a single company/organization with no resource sharing.
• The main difference between a data center and a private cloud is how resources are managed and provisioned.
• Users can provision resources as in a public cloud, but hardware failures should not affect uptime.
• An abstraction layer on physical servers provides flexibility similar to a public cloud, increasing scalability, with details hidden from users.
• Private clouds can also be provided by a public cloud provider, isolating resources for a single customer.
• Important attribute is that resources are dedicated to one company.
• Private cloud providers include: Red Hat OpenStack, Rackspace, IBM Bluemix Private Cloud, Microsoft Azure Stack, and VMware Private Cloud.
• Advantages:
• Reduced risk of exposing sensitive data.
• Better control over data storage and privacy.
• More restrictive access and higher security.
• Alternative to on-premise computing.
• Disadvantages:
• Restrictive catalog of service offerings.
• Higher initial costs for both the provider and customer.

Hybrid Cloud

• Hybrid cloud combines public and private clouds.
• Model commonly used due to investments in own hardware, needing cloud migration.
• A company uses public cloud and on-premise systems connected to work as one system.
• Model allows transition to public cloud over time, combining public cloud benefits with on-premises requirements.
• Run mission-critical applications on-premises while using public cloud services.
• Bandwidth between the two clouds is critical.
• Advantages:
• It Enables migration from on-premise to scalable cloud solutions.
• It Reduces the effort and cost of cloud migration while phasing out data center costs.
• Access cloud services from your data center.
• Keep sensitive data on-premises for better control.
• Disadvantage:
• Complex infrastructure management.
• Migration between on-premises and cloud services is not always a one-to-one proposition.
• Scalability is limited by on-premises systems.
• Failures can be harder to diagnose due to complex architecture.

Community Cloud

• The community cloud is reserved for a few organizations from the same "community"
• It is not a public cloud (not open to everyone) or a private cloud (used by more than one user/organization).
• It Includes clouds used by multiple banks.
• The Benefit it can is tailored to a specific "community”.
• Advantages:
• They possess much of the control of a private cloud, without the burden of owning the infrastructure.
• Optimization of architecture and resources for community workloads.
• Disadvantages:
• There are still the multi-tenant cloud risks present in the public cloud, but with a smaller blast radius

Cloud Service Models: IaaS, PaaS, SaaS

• A service model defines the way a cloud service that is provided to customers.
• Deployment types define how resources are deployed and managed.
• Choosing a deployment model depends on factors like pricing, privacy concerns, data residency, and business needs.
• Service models available in the cloud vary among providers but offer different ways to manage architectures, services, and tools. Services include cloud architectures, cloud computing services, and tools to help manage infrastructure. IaaS, PaaS and SaaS vary in the level of support they provide.

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)

• The cloud provider manages the physical hardware; the user manages rest.
• Provides full access to users' machines at the operating system level and lets you configure software.
• Advantages are flexibility and virtualization.
• Provision virtual machines quickly without worrying about initial investment
• Can be used to create test environments, disaster recovery solutions, or redundant infrastructures.
• Pros:
• One machine, one network, one storage is very flexible.
• Can do anything you can do on-premises.
• Cons:
• Requires effort to manage, install, update, and configure.

Platform as a Service (PaaS)

• The cloud service provider manages the operating system and software installed on the machine with optimal installation and configuration.
• Benefits are no installation and maintenance needed.
• Pros:
• Easy to deploy and resource many platforms.
• Cons:
• Some cost savings are common as cloud service providers benefit from economies of scale.
• Complexity of configuration and setup.
• Less control over platform configuration compared to IaaS.

Software as a Service (SaaS)

• Service provider manages all layers of cloud infrastructure.
• Requires user to only concern themselves with end users.
• The service provider manages all other issues.
• Compared to PaaS, SaaS limits you to a specific application.
• Pros:
• Can deploy a database within minutes.
• Reduces risk of failure and provides best virtualization.
• Cons:
• Cloud service offerings vary by cloud service provider (not easy to migrate)
• Optimal operational efficiency and infrastructure issues.
• Less flexible than IaaS and PaaS.

Cloud Scalability

• The ultimate goal is to enable software delivery in a way that balances cost, security, compliance, and scalability.
• Software should be released on demand with flexibility, scalability, and control.
• Key for quickly and cost effectively scaling to a cloud-based hosting solution which allows you to easily add or remove computing resources as needed, without the need for additional hardware or software purchases.
• It is the ability of a cloud computing system to increase its capacity to meet the growing demand of its users.
• Cloud computing enables businesses to scale up or down as needed to maintain service levels and reduce costs.
• Scenarios for using cloud scalability:
• Handling increased demand during peak times.
• Scaling down when demand slows.
• Meeting increased demand for a new product or service.
• Meeting changing customer needs.
• Meeting seasonal demands.
• Meeting the needs of a particular region or country.