Cloud Computing can be defined as the practice of using a network of remote servers hosted on the Internet to store, manage, and process data, rather than a local server or a personal computer. Companies offering such kinds of cloud computing services are called cloud providers and typically charge for cloud computing services based on usage. Grids and clusters are the foundations for cloud computing.
Types of Cloud Computing
Most cloud computing services fall into five broad categories:
- Software as a service [SaaS]
- Platform as a service [PaaS]
- Infrastructure as a service [IaaS]
- Anything/Everything as a service [XaaS]
- Function as a Service [FaaS]
These are sometimes called the cloud computing stack because they are built on top of one another. Knowing what they are and how they are different, makes it easier to accomplish your goals. These abstraction layers can also be viewed as a layered architecture where services of a higher layer can be composed of services of the underlying layer i.e, SaaS can provide Infrastructure.
Software as a Service[SaaS]
Software-as-a-Service [SaaS] is a way of delivering services and applications over the Internet. Instead of installing and maintaining software, we simply access it via the Internet, freeing ourselves from the complex software and hardware management. It removes the need to install and run applications on our own computers or in the data centers eliminating the expenses of hardware as well as software maintenance.
SaaS provides a complete software solution that you purchase on a pay-as-you-go basis from a cloud service provider. Most SaaS applications can be run directly from a web browser without any downloads or installations required. The SaaS applications are sometimes called Web-based software, on-demand software, or hosted software.
Advantages of SaaS
- Cost-Effective: Pay only for what you use.
- Reduced time: Users can run most SaaS apps directly from their web browser without needing to download and install any software. This reduces the time spent in installation and configuration and can reduce the issues that can get in the way of the software deployment.
- Accessibility: We can Access app data from anywhere.
- Automatic updates: Rather than purchasing new software, customers rely on a SaaS provider to automatically perform the updates.
- Scalability: It allows the users to access the services and features on-demand.
The various companies providing Function as a Service are Amazon Web Services – Firecracker, Google – Kubernetes, Oracle – Fn, Apache OpenWhisk – IBM, OpenFaaS,
The cloud gives you easy access to a broad range of technologies so that you can innovate faster and build nearly anything that you can imagine. You can quickly spin up resources as you need them–from infrastructure services, such as compute, storage, and databases, to Internet of Things, machine learning, data lakes and analytics, and much more.
You can deploy technology services in a matter of minutes, and get from idea to implementation several orders of magnitude faster than before. This gives you the freedom to experiment, test new ideas to differentiate customer experiences, and transform your business.
The most basic category of cloud computing services. With IaaS, you rent IT infrastructure—servers and virtual machines [VMs], storage, networks, operating systems—from a cloud provider on a pay-as-you-go basis.
Learn more about IaaSPlatform as a service [PaaS]
Platform as a service refers to cloud computing services that supply an on-demand environment for developing, testing, delivering, and managing software applications. PaaS is designed to make it easier for developers to quickly create web or mobile apps, without worrying about setting up or managing the underlying infrastructure of servers, storage, network, and databases needed for development.
Learn more about PaaSServerless computing
Overlapping with PaaS, serverless computing focuses on building app functionality without spending time continually managing the servers and infrastructure required to do so. The cloud provider handles the setup, capacity planning, and server management for you. Serverless architectures are highly scalable and event-driven, only using resources when a specific function or trigger occurs.
Learn more about serverless computingSoftware as a service [SaaS]
Software as a service is a method for delivering software applications over the Internet, on demand and typically on a subscription basis. With SaaS, cloud providers host and manage the software application and underlying infrastructure, and handle any maintenance, like software upgrades and security patching. Users connect to the application over the Internet, usually with a web browser on their phone, tablet, or PC.