Networking, Cloud Computing and SaaS

Networking Basics

• A server is a powerful computer that provides services or resources to other devices (clients) over a network
• Servers store data, run applications, and handle user requests

IP Address

• An IP address uniquely identifies every device on a network
• The two main IP versions include IPv4 (e.g., 192.168.1.1) and IPv6 (e.g., 2001:db8::1)

DNS

• DNS acts like the internet's phonebook
• DNS translates domain names (e.g., google.com) into IP addresses

Cloud Computing

• Cloud computing delivers on-demand IT services over the internet, enabling users to access technology solutions like servers, storage, and applications without extensive on-premises infrastructure.
• You can rent computing resources in the cloud instead of managing physical servers
• Cloud services include servers, databases, storage, networking, and software
• Netflix and Airbnb rely on cloud platforms for scalability and efficiency

Software as a Service (SaaS)

• SaaS provides fully managed software applications over the internet
• There's no need to install, maintain, or upgrade software on devices ; users interact with the application via a web browser or app
• SaaS benefits include quick setup and access, automatic updates and maintenance, and pay-as-you-go pricing

Platform as a Service (PaaS)

• PaaS is a development platform with infrastructure and tools to build, test, and deploy applications
• PaaS enables developers to focus on coding without managing underlying servers, storage, or networking
• PaaS benefits include faster app development, built-in scalability and monitoring, and reduced infrastructure management

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)

• IaaS provides virtualized computing resources (servers, storage, networking) on-demand
• Users have full control over the operating system and applications
• IaaS is ideal for businesses that need flexibility in configuring infrastructure
• IaaS benefits include high flexibility and control, scalable infrastructure on demand, and pay only for the resources used

Public Cloud

• Public clouds are cloud services shared across multiple customers (e.g., AWS, Azure, Google Cloud)
• Public clouds are cost-effective and scalable

Private Cloud

• Private clouds are dedicated infrastructure for a single organization
• Private clouds provide better security and control but at higher costs

Hybrid Cloud

• Hybrid clouds include a mix of public and private clouds, offering both flexibility and control
• Hybrid clouds are used to handle sensitive data while using public cloud resources for scalability

Benefits of Cloud

• The cloud provides scalability to easily adjust resources up or down based on demand
• The cloud provides elasticity to automatically adjust resources to match workload
• The cloud provides cost efficiency to pay only for the resources used, reducing upfront costs
• The cloud provides global reach which allows access to cloud services from anywhere in the world

Analogy: On Premises IT

• Owning your own parking lot is analogous to On Premises IT
• On Premises IT entails purchasing land, laying down asphalt, repairs, security cameras, gates, etc.

Analogy: Cloud

• Renting it from a parking provider is analogous to Cloud
• Cloud entails pre-built security, better service, and no overhead on infrastructure

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

• AWS is the largest cloud service provider in the world
• AWS offers more than 200 fully-featured services for computing, storage, networking, machine learning, and more
• AWS customers include startups, large enterprises, and public sector organizations
• Examples: NASA, Spotify, and Netflix use AWS to power their services

AWS Global Architecture: Regions

• Regions refer to geographically distributed locations where AWS data centers are hosted
• Regions include US East (Virginia) and Asia Pacific (Mumbai)

AWS Global Architecture: Availability Zones (AZs)

• AZs refer to multiple isolated data centers within a region used for high availability
• Applications can be deployed across AZs to ensure that there is redundancy

AWS Global Architecture: Edge Locations

• Edge locations are points of presence that cache content for faster delivery
• AWS CloudFront delivers content with low latency using edge locations

Core AWS Overview: Compute

• EC2: Scalable virtual servers
• Lambda: Run code without managing servers (serverless)

Core AWS Overview: Storage

• S3: Highly durable object storage for files, images, and backups
• EBS: Block storage for use with EC2 instances

Core AWS Overview: Networking

• VPC (Virtual Private Cloud): Isolated network environments in AWS
• Route 53: DNS and domain management service

Common Cloud Uses

• Web Hosting: Deploy scalable websites and applications with services like EC2 and S3
• Data Storage and Backup: Use S3 to store large datasets and Glacier for archiving
• Machine Learning: Train and deploy machine learning models with AWS SageMaker
• Disaster Recovery: Ensure business continuity by replicating data across multiple regions

AWS Free Tier

• There are services available indefinitely without a time limit in the AWS free tier
• Amazon DynamoDB (25 GB storage) and Amazon S3 (5 GB storage) are available in the AWS free tier
• Some services are free for 12 months after signing up in the AWS free tier
• EC2 (750 hours/month of t2.micro instance), RDS (750 hours/month of db.t2.micro), and Amazon CloudFront (50 GB data transfer) are available in the AWS free tier after signing up
• There are short-term free trials available for a limited period in the AWS free tier
• Amazon Redshift (free for 2 months) and Amazon SageMaker (250 hours/month for 2 months) are services available in the free tier for a limited period