Cloud Computing Platforms and Technologies

Introduction to Cloud Computing Platforms

Cloud platform refers to an internet-based remote server's hardware and operating system. It enables the remote and widespread coexistence of hardware and software products. Cloud systems provide a medium to access computing resources like servers, databases, storage, analytics, networking, software, and artificial intelligence. As a result, businesses are relieved of the need to build and maintain data centers and computing equipment. Thus enterprises need to pay only for the resources they consume as per the business requirements.

Evaluating Cloud Platforms

As more and more IT systems are being externalized, selecting the right cloud providers is crucial for long-term success. However, there is a sizable market, and many businesses provide a wide range of services, from larger niche enterprises offering specialized services to industry behemoths like Microsoft, Amazon, and Google. So how can one choose among them the most excellent cloud service ?

A well-defined selection and procurement procedure that gives due consideration to your unique set of needs is the answer. Your company-specific requirements and evaluation criteria will be used when selecting a cloud provider. However, any service provider evaluation frequently focuses on a few critical factors. The following are some crucial elements to consider when choosing the best type of cloud computing according to business objectives.

• Certifications
• Privacy and Security
• Proper RoadMap/ Strategy
• Service Level Agreements (SLA) and Contracts
• Performance and Reliability
• Exit Planning/Migration Support

Types of Cloud Computing Platforms Based on Service Model

Cloud computing platforms provide a wide variety of services. The kinds of services it employs determine the cloud computing platform category. Cloud computing platforms are scalable systems. Thus, they can be adjusted to different situations and circumstances. Cloud platforms address the issues and demands of both large and small businesses. For instance, there are premium storage services as well as free cloud storage. The different cloud computing service models were created due to the range of solutions to varied challenges.

SaaS Based Platforms

Software as a Service (SaaS) is a software distribution paradigm where a cloud provider hosts the applications and makes them accessible online to customers over the Internet. SaaS applications run on the servers of a SaaS provider. SaaS apps are used by many companies, institutes, IT professionals, businesses, private players, government agencies, etc. Products range from high-tech IT equipment to personal entertainment options like Netflix. SaaS products are commonly promoted to both B2B and B2C users, unlike IaaS and PaaS.

Each user of the SaaS service is served using the same single instance of the SaaS application that is deployed on the host servers. Clients are also known as tenants in the cloud computing model. The strategy employed by SaaS applications is called the multi-tenant strategy. All the tenants use the same version of the SaaS application. It is important to note that even though all the tenants will be using the same version of the SaaS application, their data will still be appropriately segregated and stored at separate locations.

The main advantage of using the multi-tenant architecture is that the cloud service provider can easily maintain, upgrade and fix the problems associated with the deployed application version. A single change applied to the application will solve the problems of all the tenants/users of the application. If there were multiple deployed copies of the application, it would take multiple iterations of changes to fix the same problem for all the users. The multi-tenancy model allows access to a bigger pool of resources while maintaining key cloud features like security, speed, and privacy.

PaaS Based Platforms

Platform as a Service (PaaS) is a cloud computing concept that allows customers to access hardware and software capabilities via the internet from a third-party supplier. These resources are frequently required for application development. A PaaS provider hosts hardware and software on its network. Because of this, PaaS relieves developers of the need to set up proprietary gear and software to create or execute new applications. The ease of use and practicality of PaaS products are frequently praised. In light of potential cost reductions compared to on-premises solutions, a company may find the switch to PaaS enticing. One way to think of PaaS is as a workflow with many functional phases. In the process of transferring an application onto a production platform, each phase completes a specific task. The phases aren't always sequential steps. They might not happen in the sequence stated below but rather in parallel.

• Deployment
• Provisioning
• Lifecycle management
• Service management
• Reporting

IaaS Based Platforms

Infrastructure as a service (IaaS) is a specific kind of cloud computing service that provides basic computation, storage, and networking resources on demand. One needs to pay on a go basis. In the Infrastructure as a Service model, while we buy, install, configure, and manage our software, including the operating systems, the middleware, and the applications, a cloud computing service provider is responsible for managing the infrastructure of the system. Microsoft Azure Virtual Machines are image service instances that provide scalable, high availability, and on-demand computing resources with on-demand and usage-based pricing. A cloud provider hosts the infrastructure parts that are typically found in an on-premises data center. This covers the virtualization or hypervisor layer as well as the servers, storage, and networking hardware. There are a variety of services to go along with those infrastructure elements that the IaaS providers provide. Some of the services include invoicing in great detail, logging access, monitoring, security, load balancing, clustering, and storage resilience, such as backup, replication, and recovery.

Types of Cloud Computing Platforms Based on Proprietorship

Platforms for cloud computing can also modify their functionality according to proprietorship. The set of problems and needs may vary depending on the organization's size and type of work. Therefore, cloud computing platforms use their scalability to adapt to specific circumstances. For instance, some companies don't require a lot of discretion and favor a more unrestricted information flow. On the other hand, other industries choose a more secure platform. The financial and national security sectors are among these. Thus different cloud computing platforms based on proprietorship have emerged to cater to these demands.

Cloud Computing Platforms in Public Cloud

In the public cloud model, everyone can use the cloud as per their requirements. This model adopts the pay-per-usage model to store and access information through the Internet. The cloud service provider manages and controls the computer resources (CSP) in a public cloud. Examples include Microsoft, Google App Engine, IBM SmartCloud Enterprise, Amazon elastic compute cloud (EC2), and Windows Azure Services Platform. Owning a public cloud is much less expensive than doing so for a private or hybrid cloud. While using a public cloud, one need not bother about maintenance-related things because the cloud service provider takes care of the public cloud. It is also a fact that integration is simpler with public clouds. Therefore, it offers customers a superior level of flexibility. The public cloud is very scalable, depending on the amount of processing power needed. There is no cap on the number of users because it is open to everyone. Due to the internet-based nature of public cloud services, they are location agnostic. But there are some limitations while using the public cloud as well. For example, security might be a concern since resources are shared publicly on public clouds, making them less secure. The performance also depends on factors like the speed of the internet connection.

Cloud Computing Platforms in Private Cloud

Private clouds are also known as internal or corporate clouds. Organizations use private clouds to operate their own data centers, either internally or through a third party. Opensource tools like Eucalyptus and OpenStack can be used to deploy private clouds. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) divides private clouds into the following categories based on location and management : On-premise private cloud and Outsourced private cloud. The users benefit from a high level of security and privacy thanks to private clouds. Private clouds provide superior performance with faster speeds and more storage space. It makes it possible for the IT staff to rapidly assign and supply IT resources on demand. Because the organization manages the cloud, it has total control over it. As a result, the organization doesn't need to rely on anyone. It is appropriate for businesses focusing on data security and needing a separate cloud for personal use. There are a few limitations to using private clouds as well. Cloud service management and operation demand skilled personnel. Only the organization can access the private cloud; thus, the operational area is constrained. Private clouds are inappropriate for businesses with a large user base, businesses without a ready-made infrastructure, and businesses without enough staff to maintain and operate the cloud.

Cloud Computing Platforms in Hybrid Cloud

Hybrid clouds are a combination of public and private clouds. The security provided by hybrid clouds lies somewhere between public and private clouds. This is because only users within the business can access services running on a private cloud, while anyone can access those running on a public cloud. Examples include Amazon Web Services, Office 365 (MS Office on the Web and One Drive), and the Google Application Suite (Google Apps like Google Drive and Gmail). Hybrid clouds are beneficial for organizations that need more security than public clouds. It is easy and quick to provide new goods and services with hybrid cloud technology. Thus hybrid clouds offer a great way to lower the risk. A hybrid cloud provides secure resources thanks to the private cloud and flexible resources thanks to the public cloud. But there are a few limitations to using hybrid clouds as well. For example, the security features in hybrid clouds are inferior to those in private clouds. The requirement for handling many deployment models makes managing a hybrid cloud challenging. The reliability of the service depends on the cloud service provider.

Cloud Platform Technologies

The following are the different types of cloud platform technologies that are available to us.

AWS

One of the most well-liked cloud computing platforms for developing interactive web solutions for your company is Amazon Web Services (AWS). AWS's architecture is so flexible you may save costs by using only the services you need. AWS offers a variety of extensive cloud IaaS services, ranging from whole computing stacks to virtual computing, storage, and networking. Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) and Simple Storage Service (S3) are two of AWS's well-known computing offerings and on-demand storage services. The end user can customize the virtual hardware they receive from EC2 to serve as the foundational architecture for deploying computing systems in the cloud. It will probably have access to various virtual hardware configurations, such as GPU and cluster instances.

The EC2 instances are deployed using either the web services API, which is accessible for many programming languages, or the AWS console, a comprehensive Web gateway for accessing AWS services. The ability to save an explicit running instance as an image is another feature of EC2 that enables users to design their system deployment templates. These templates are kept in S3, which also provides on-demand persistent storage. S3 is organized neatly into buckets that hold objects that can grow with attributes and are saved in binary form. Users can store items of any size, from little files to entire disc images. Accessing them from any location is also possible. Additionally, various services, such as networking support, caching systems, DNS, database support, and others, can be incorporated into virtual computing systems using EC2 and S3.

Microsoft Azure

Microsoft Azure is a platform where users may create cloud-based applications and a cloud operating system. Microsoft Azure has been a solid solution for businesses trying to transform their operations since its initial release in 2010 digitally. Given Microsoft's vast range of services, Azure has been recognized as one of the best cloud service platforms available. Typically, a scalable runtime environment is offered for distributed and web applications. Roles, which specify a distribution unit for applications and express the application's logic, are the central organizing principle for the organization of applications in Azure. In addition to supporting application execution, Azure offers several other services, including networking, caching, content delivery, and storage support. The wide range of services provided is adequate to suit the needs of any business in any industry. Azure enables you to run services on the cloud or integrate them with any of your current infrastructures.

Google Cloud and Google AppEngine

Google Cloud is a dependable, user-friendly, and security-focused cloud computing service. Despite having a smaller portfolio of services than Azure, Google Cloud can meet all of your IaaS and PaaS requirements. Security and usability are some of its key features. Additionally, Google asserts that its services are more affordable and cost-effective when compared to others. Another commonly used service offered by Google is the Google AppEngine. Google AppEngine is a scalable runtime environment widely used to run web apps. These use Google's extensive computing resources to scale dynamically in response to demand. AppEngine provides a collection of tools that make it easier to create scalable, high-performance web applications as well as a secure execution environment. Using the AppEngine SDK, which stimulates the production runtime environment and aids in testing and profiling apps, developers and engineers can create and test applications on their computers. After the development is complete, developers may quickly move their applications to AppEngine, set quotas to control costs, and make the applications public.

Hadoop

Apache Hadoop, a free and open-source framework. It provides a way to process massive volumes of data on inexpensive hardware. Apache Hadoop uses an application programming model called MapReduce, which Google has developed. Map and reduce are two fundamental data processing techniques included in this paradigm. Apache Hadoop is sponsored by Yahoo, which has worked hard to turn it into an enterprise-ready cloud computing platform for data processing. The Yahoo Cloud architecture relies heavily on Hadoop to handle several corporate business operations. Yahoo now runs the biggest Hadoop cluster in the world and is accessible to academic institutions.

Salesforce

The cloud computing platform Force.com allows users to create social enterprise applications. The platform is the foundation for customer relationship management Software as a Service (SaaS) known as Salesforce.com. With Force.com, you may build applications by assembling ready-to-use blocks, and a full complement of components covering all of an enterprise's operations is accessible. Force.com offers assistance with everything from arranging the data to formulating business rules and user interfaces. Through Web services technologies, this platform, which is hosted in the Cloud, provides access to all of its capabilities, including those utilized in the hosted apps.

CloudLinux

CloudLinux is the best option if you would rather create your own IT infrastructure than rely on a third-party service. It's a cloud platform for setting up your internal infrastructure; it's not a typical cloud services provider. It is a Linux-based operating system, as is evident from the name. Even though working with CloudLinux presents many difficulties, it also offers several benefits and advantages, such as total control, flexibility, security, and in-depth customization.

IBM Cloud

SaaS (Software as a Service), IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service), and PaaS (Platform as a Service) are the three primary cloud computing services that IBM Cloud primarily focuses on. It is one of the more cost-effective pricing models on the market, and the fact that it is completely adjustable helps to reduce costs further. Utilizing their APIs makes the process of creating an account on the IBM cloud simple.