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Cloud Computing Basics

November 26, 2021 Business

Cloud computing is one of the most complete technology solutions offered as a service, presented as an alternative to Internet-based computing where resource sharing is established.  Computers configured for cloud computing are able to develop the potential of various applications that can be controlled by a group of users at the same time.

The versatility of the cloud and scalability in cloud computing makes it one of the main advantages to be cited over current computing.  Gradually, cloud services have spread across all sectors, reaching both companies and users themselves.  Because of this, it is always important that we pay a little bit of attention to the basics of cloud computing to stay up to date with what you need to know in order to benefit from this trending technology resource.

Important elements in the cloud

Cloud computing consists of two important elements, external and internal, which in most cases are connected via the Internet:

The interface is the environment that allows the user to interact with the system.  The front-end consists of the company’s hardware or computer network, as well as applications that are typically used to access the cloud.

The backend is the cloud itself.  The back end provides the servers, computers, and information storage offered by cloud service providers.

Types of clouds

We also need to know the types of clouds that can be public, private, or hybrid:

Public clouds are those that are publicly available and provided by an industrial cloud provider.

Private clouds exist in-house and are managed directly by trained staff in the same organization.  The company builds and operates its cloud computing services.

Hybrid clouds are those that take advantage of the best of both worlds, public and private clouds.  The company and the public cloud provider share responsibility for managing the system.  With a hybrid cloud, organizations can determine how they will meet their needs based on their goals and requirements.

Fundamental roles

There are several critical roles for the proper functioning of the cloud environment, such as cloud developer, administrator, and architect.

The developer is a key player in the cloud due to the increasing use of mobile devices, the continued growth of social media and other aspects of the business evolution of IT systems and processes.

Administrators are managers and those who control the functions of the IT system.  They are responsible for controlling user access to the network.

Finally, the function of architecture is to effectively model the functionality of a given system in the real world.  An architect’s primary responsibility is to develop a cloud computing model to work correctly.

Cloud layers

And once the roles are known, we need to talk about their layers:

The infrastructure layer is the basic layer that consists of physical assets such as network devices, storage drives, and servers.  Also known as Infrastructure as a Service or from the English acronym (IaaS).

The platform is middle tier and provides application infrastructure.  Also known as Platform as a Service (PaaS), it provides access to operating systems and related services.

Provides a way to deploy cloud applications using vendor support tools and programming languages.

In the case of an application, this is the top layer and is interpreted as a cloud.  At this stage, applications are launched that are provided at the request of the user.  Software as a Service (SaaS) has vendors such as Google Useful Software.  Useful Google apps include web-accessible apps, including Calendar, Gmail, Google Talk, Docs, and more.

Cloud computing is attractive because of the benefits of reducing both capital and operating costs.  The staff of the company does not waste time on maintenance of hardware and software, because this is the responsibility of the cloud provider.  In addition, its flexibility allows its capacity to be increased or decreased at any time according to the needs of the user.