Classification and Types of Cloud Computing Models.
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Let me welcome you to today's reading on the tech merchant blogs. Treated in the last edition of the tech merchant blogs was the concept of cloud computing and how it has helped relieved organisations with the challenge of on-the-premises data centres and physical computing resources.
In today's blog, we will delve further into how cloud computing works by looking into the different classifications and types of cloud computing models.
According to Jatinder Kumar and Ashutosh Kumar Singh of the Department of Computer Applications National Institute of Technology Kurukshetra, India; in their publication "Security and privacy-preservation of IOT data in cloud-fog computing environment" published on research gate in December 2022, There are two major classifications of Cloud Computing which are based on Service and Deployments.
A: Classification of cloud computing by Service model:
According to the diagram, the service model of cloud computing is in 3 (three) categories and they are:
1: Infrastrastructure as a Service (Iaas):
In this type of arrangement in cloud computing, the cloud service provider manages the infrastructure, actual servers, network, virtualization, and data storage through an internet connection. The user has access through an API or dashboard and essentially rents the infrastructure. The user manages things like the operating system, and apps, while the provider takes care of any hardware, networking, hard drives, data storage, and servers; and has the responsibility of taking care of outages, repairs, and hardware issues.
2: Platform as a Service (Paas):
Under this category, the hardware and an application-software platform are provided and managed by the cloud service provider, but the user handles the apps running on top of the platform and the data the app relies on. this type of scenario in cloud computing is majorly for developers and programmers, PaaS gives users a shared cloud platform for application development and management without having to build and maintain the infrastructure usually associated with the process.
3: Software as a Service (SaaS):
This is a category under the service model in cloud computing where the cloud service providers are responsible for the management and delivery of the software application for its users or subscribers. Typically, SaaS apps are web applications or mobile apps that users can access via a web browser. Software updates, bug fixes, and other general software maintenance are taken care by the cloud service provider for the user, and they connect to the cloud applications via a dashboard or API. SaaS also eliminates the need to have an app installed locally on each user’s computer, allowing greater methods of group or team access to the software.
B: Classification of Cloud Computing Model by deployment.
According to Jatinder Kumar and Ashutosh Kumar Singh; the cloud computing model by deployments is categorised into 4 (four):
1 Private Cloud:
This could be defined as cloud environments solely dedicated to a single end-user or group, All clouds become private clouds when the underlying IT infrastructure is dedicated to a single customer with completely isolated access. private clouds are those pools of computing resources that are offered via a private network of computers for the exclusive use of a single organization over a long period.
Under the private clouds, different scenarios could be adopted based on the peculiarity of the end user or subscriber's need. The different kinds of possible scenarios under the private cloud are:
Managed private clouds
This is a scenario where end-user organisations create and use a private cloud that's deployed, configured, and managed by a third-party vendor. Managed private clouds are a cloud delivery option that helps enterprises with understaffed or underskilled IT teams provide better private cloud services and infrastructure.
Dedicated clouds
this is a scenario where you have a cloud within another cloud. You can have a dedicated cloud on a private cloud. For example, an accounting department in an organisation could have its dedicated cloud within the organization's private cloud.
2: Public Cloud:
This refers to a set of computing services that are being provided over the Internet by third-party providers. In contrast to private clouds, public clouds offer a wide range of services that can be purchased or used by anyone interested in using or purchasing them. There are several cloud computing types with examples where these services are available free of charge or can be purchased on-demand, with users only paying per CPU cycle, storage, or bandwidth that is used.
3: Hybrid Cloud:
A hybrid cloud is just what it sounds like—a combination of public and private cloud environments. Specifically, and ideally, a hybrid cloud connects an organization's private cloud services and public clouds into a single, flexible infrastructure for running the organization’s applications and workloads.
The goal of a hybrid cloud is to establish a mix of public and private cloud resources with a level of orchestration between them that gives an organization the flexibility to choose the optimal cloud for each application or workload and to move workloads freely between the two clouds as circumstances change. This enables the organization to meet its technical and business objectives more effectively and cost-efficiently than it could with public or private cloud alone.
4: Community Cloud:
A community cloud is shared between/among organizations with a common goal or that fits into a specific community (professional community, geographic community, etc.). For example, a community cloud can belong to the government of a single country. Community clouds can be located both on and off the premises.
Below are other types of cloud deployment that are applicable based on unique scenarios and needs of business organisations.
Multi-Cloud:
Multicloud is the use of two or more clouds from two or more different cloud providers. Having a multi-cloud environment can be as simple as using email SaaS from one vendor and image editing SaaS from another. But when enterprises talk about multi-cloud, they're typically talking about using multiple cloud services—including SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS services—from two or more of the leading public cloud providers.
Hybrid Multi-Cloud:
Hybrid multi-cloud is the use of two or more public clouds together with a private cloud environment.
Organizations choose multi-cloud to avoid vendor lock-in, to have more services to choose from and to access more innovation. However, it should be considered that the more clouds that an organisation subscribe to; each with its own set of management tools, data transmission rates, and security protocols; the more difficult it can be to manage the organisation's environment. Multi-cloud management platforms provide visibility across multiple provider cloud services through a central dashboard, where development teams can see their projects and deployments, operations teams can keep an eye on clusters and nodes, and the cybersecurity staff can monitor for threats.
I Hope the above-explained information is helpful to you. Watch out for more updates and publications on Cloud Computing services on the tech merchant's blog.
