Types of Cloud Computing
- Types According to Delivery Models
- Types According to Service Types
Types According to Delivery Models
Let's first look at the different types of
cloud deployments. There are six options:
- Private cloud.
- Public cloud.
- Bare metal cloud (BMC)
- Virtual private cloud (VPC).
- Hybrid cloud.
- Community cloud.
- Multi-cloud.
Private Cloud
The private cloud's resources are available only to a select group of users, typically all working for one organization. A private cloud runs either in on-site data centers (in the office of the company that uses the cloud) or within a third-party colocation center.
The private cloud requires the owner to build and maintain the underlying infrastructure. This model offers the same versatility and convenience as other clouds, but the strategy enables you to keep hardware management and security measures in-house.
Public Cloud
In a public cloud model, the service provider owns and manages all hardware, software, and supporting infrastructure. The vendor delivers IT resources (servers, storage, etc.) to end-users over the Internet.
Third-party providers sell public cloud services on demand, typically charging by the minute or hour of service use. The customer only pays for the central processing unit cycles, storage, and bandwidth they consume.
Bare Metal Cloud (BMC)
Bare metal cloud (BMC) is a hybrid of bare metal and cloud computing. BMC provides direct access to bare metal hardware combined with the self-service properties of cloud computing. As opposed to other cloud computing models, BMC has no virtualization overhead, while it still provides cloud-native environments deployable in less than 2 minutes.
The goal of Bare Metal Cloud is to provide all the benefits of bare metal resources combined with the flexibility of cloud computing. BMC is delivered through an Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) model.
Virtual Private Cloud (VPC)
Hybrid CloudThe virtual private cloud mixes public and private offerings—a VPC user has exclusive access to an isolated segment of a public cloud. This model is a compromise between a private and public model in terms of price and features.
You access a dedicated VPC segment via a secure connection (typically a VPN), and you have more security features than what a "vanilla" public cloud offers (custom firewalls, IP address whitelisting, etc.).
A hybrid cloud combines different on-prem and cloud environments (on-site hosting, collocation, public cloud, private cloud, etc.) to create a unified IT environment. All integrated systems communicate with each other, so there's a strong emphasis on orchestration and automation features.
Setting up a hybrid cloud is more complex than a private cloud and has some unique challenges. However, the effort pays off as you place each workload in an ideal IT environment (e.g., you run mission-critical workloads on a private cloud and use a public offering to handle workload bursts or spikes in demand).
Community Cloud
A community cloud is a shared environment that supports a particular user group with the same concerns or goals (e.g., the same mission, cyber security requirements, compliance rules, etc.).
This model operates either on-site (at one or shared between multiple tenant organizations) or at a third-party facility. A community cloud is typically not open to the general public regardless of where the hosting takes place.
Multi-Cloud
A multi-cloud is an environment in which the user relies on several cloud providers instead of a single vendor. You are free to pick and choose the best services from each provider based on:
- Service price.
- IT and data center requirements.
- The location of major user bases.
Whether you want to minimize cloud outages or take advantage of a particular provider's pricing, a multi-cloud is a worthwhile option. There are some specific security risks, however, so ensure the team considers cloud computing security before you start relying on multiple vendors.
Community Cloud
A community cloud is a shared environment that supports a particular user group with the same concerns or goals (e.g., the same mission, cyber security requirements, compliance rules, etc.).
This model operates either on-site (at one or shared between multiple tenant organizations) or at a third-party facility. A community cloud is typically not open to the general public regardless of where the hosting takes place.
Multi-Cloud
A multi-cloud is an environment in which the user relies on several cloud providers instead of a single vendor. You are free to pick and choose the best services from each provider based on:
- Service price.
- IT and data center requirements.
- The location of major user bases.
Whether you want to minimize cloud outages or take advantage of a particular provider's pricing, a multi-cloud is a worthwhile option. There are some specific security risks, however, so ensure the team considers cloud computing security before you start relying on multiple vendors.
Types According to Service Types
Every cloud computing service belongs in one of the four categories:
- Infrastructure as a service (IaaS).
- Platform as a service (PaaS).
- Serverless computing ((or function as a service (FaaS)).
- Software as a service (SaaS).
Providers often refer to these categories as the "stack" because they build on top of one another.
IaaS - Infrastructure-as-a-Service
Infrastructure as a service (IaaS) means the consumer buys access to raw computing hardware over the Internet. IaaS offers infrastructure components that typically run in the provider's data center, such as:
- Computing resources (CPU and RAM).
- Data storage.
- Networking hardware.
IaaS also offers a range of
services to accompany these components, such as:
- Server
monitoring.
- Log access.
- Cyber security measures.
- Load balancing.
- Clustering.
- Managed services.
- Disaster recovery as a service, data backups and replication.
IaaS offers the most basic computing services, so the in-house team of a client company must have a high level of IT expertise to run the system efficiently.
PaaS - Platform-as-a-Service
Platform as a service (PaaS) is a cloud computing service in which a provider delivers hardware and software tools to users. Most PaaS web-based tools aid development and end-users access them via APIs, web portals, or gateway software.
For example, a client might both develop an e-commerce website and host its key aspects (including web design, the shopping cart, checkout systems, etc.) on the cloud provider's server. The PaaS vendor provides tools needed for:
- App design and development.
- Software testing and deployment.
- Web service
and database integrations. competition
PaaS offers all components in the IaaS package, plus hosts and manages operating systems and middleware the client needs to create and run an app. PaaS enables rapid development, so this model also offers on-demand environments for the entire software development life cycle.
Serverless Computing (or
Function as a Service (FaaS))
In a server less model, the provider is the one who provisions, manages, and scales the cloud-based infrastructure. Developers get to focus on writing code while event-based services (such as AWS Lambda or Azure Functions) handle the execution. Clients only pay for the number of transactions that the function executes.
Like with PaaS, the provider is responsible for all routine management (OS updates and patches, security management, capacity planning, cloud monitoring, etc.). When applied correctly, server less computing leads to:
- Lower costs of development.
- Quicker time to release.
- More flexibility for the in-house team.
The name is a bit misleading, though. Serverless computing does not remove the use of servers, but the client's team does not have anything to do with hardware. Instead, developers focus solely on creating apps and event-handling routines, which is why server less computing is often associated with the NoOps movement.
SaaS -
Software-as-a-Service
Software as a Service (SaaS) means a client runs the complete app on the cloud and that the provider makes it available to end users over the Internet. Google Documents is the best-known example of SaaS.
As the broadest form of cloud computing, SaaS enables a client to think only about how the business and customers use the software, not how to deliver or maintain it.
