Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)

What is Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)

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. IaaS is one of the three categories of cloud services, where the other two are Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS). In Infrastructure as a Service, 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.

IaaS Architecture

In this section, we study about the underlying architecture of the Iaas model. 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, clusterings, and storage resilience, such as backup, replication, and recovery.

Major IaaS Vendors and Products

There are a lot of IaaS Vendors that provide a wide range of services and products in the perform of different cloud services. Some of the commonly known vendors include:

• Amazon EC2
• DigitalOcean
• Azure Virtual Machines
• MicroHost Cloud
• Linode
• Compute Engine

The various factors that need to be kept in mind while choosing an IaaS Provider are discussed in the next section.

Things to Consider While Choosing an IaaS Provider

The following are some points that need to be kept in mind while selecting an Iaas provider.

• Security should always be given priority while selecting a service provider. Always check whether the service provider has a solid track record and the means to stop and handle any security threats. Do there exist some established catastrophe recovery protocols that guarantee business continuity?
• The second point is how much flexibility and control the user has over the service components. The user should easily be able to scale in and scale out the resources as per the business requirements.
• Reliability is also an important factor that must be kept in mind. Performance and speed are primarily provider-dependent. Runtimes for the user will be impacted by any hardware or software issues on their end.

Service Level Agreements (SLA)

A service-level agreement (SLA) outlines the degree of service that a client expects from a service provider, the metrics used to measure that performance, and any penalties that may be imposed if the agreed-upon service standards are not fulfilled. SLAs can exist between two departments inside a firm, although they typically exist between businesses and outside suppliers.

A contract with an IT vendor must include SLAs. An SLA compiles details about each contracted service and the expected reliability of those services into a single document. They express measurements, duties, and expectations in explicit terms so that neither side may claim ignorance if there are problems with the service. It guarantees that the criteria are understood by both parties.

The majority of service providers offer standard service level agreements (SLAs), sometimes multiple ones reflecting varying levels of service at various costs, which can be a useful place to start when negotiating. However, because they are typically biased in favor of the provider, these should be examined and updated by the client and legal counsel.

Virtual Private Cloud (VPC)

A VPC is a private cloud that resides inside a public cloud. It is much more secure than a normal public cloud and is logically separated from the public cloud of which it is a part. Customers of VPC can perform all of the functions of a typical private cloud, including running code, storing data, hosting websites, and so on, but the private cloud is hosted remotely by a public cloud provider. (This is not how all private clouds are hosted.) VPCs combine the scalability and convenience of public cloud computing with the data isolation of private cloud computing.

Advantages and Disadvantages of IaaS

There are many advantages associated with using the Iaas model.

• We can reduce the maintenance of on-premises data centers, save money on buying the hardware, and obtain real-time business insights by moving the organization's infrastructure to an IaaS service.
• IaaS solutions provide the freedom to adjust the number of IT resources according to demand. Additionally, they improve the dependability of the underlying infrastructure while assisting in quickly provisioning new applications.
• We may avoid the expense and difficulty of purchasing and managing actual servers and data center equipment using IaaS.
• One needs to pay for a specific resource for as long as one really uses it because each resource in an Iaas architecture is provided as a separate service component.

Although using IaaS has many advantages associated with it, but there are some challenges associated with the use of this as well. Some of the challenges include:

• Security risks: Although infrastructure is secured by IaaS providers, businesses are still in charge of everything they host.
• Complex Integration: Sometimes, it becomes difficult to integrate the IaaS service with the existing system/application.
• Cost Overruns: Monthly costs may accumulate, or peak usage may be more than anticipated.

IaaS vs. SaaS vs. PaaS

In the case of Iaas, a provider offers users access to computing resources like servers, networking, and storage through a cloud computing service. Within the infrastructure of a service provider, organizations utilize their own platforms and applications.

Platform as a Service (PaaS) gives its consumers access to a cloud environment where they may create, maintain, and distribute applications. Users can create, modify, and test their own apps using a set of prebuilt tools in addition to storage and other computational resources.

Service-based software (SaaS) is a type of cloud computing service that gives customers access to a vendor's cloud-based applications. Applications are not installed by users on their local devices. The programs are instead located on a distant cloud network that may be accessed via the web or an API. Users of the application can work together on projects while storing and analyzing data.

IaaS vs. Containers vs. Serverless

An IaaS service may also allow containerization, a software development process in which the complete software code, including all libraries, frameworks, and other dependencies, is packaged in a Linux container and prepared for deployment into a computing environment. Containers can be substantially smaller than virtual machines because they do not have their own operating system (OS).

Developers using containers can benefit from specific IaaS solutions. Kubernetes, a famous container orchestration platform that aids in the huge-scale management of distributed, containerized applications, is one remedy. Automating the deployment and maintenance of containers are handled by Kubernetes. Kubernetes is available as a service from some IaaS providers.

Serverless computing, which is frequently connected with IaaS, is a cloud-native development methodology in which servers are abstracted away from app development. A cloud provider manages the infrastructure and app scaling in a serverless architecture. Containers in which serverless apps are deployed instantly launch whenever a call is made.

IaaS often leaves it up to the user to increase server capacity during periods of high demand and decrease server capacity when it is no longer required. Even when an app isn't being used, the cloud infrastructure required to run it is still in use.