Upon completion of this chapter, you will be able to answer the following questions:
• What are the characteristics of clouds and cloud services?
• What is the purpose and the characteristics of virtualization?
This chapter uses the following key terms. You can find the definitions in the Glossary.
Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
In planning the future network, Bob believes that Marcy and Vincent should take advantage of cloud services and virtualization. Bob explained that they can lease services from a cloud provider. Marcy and Vincent wanted to know why they should consider this. Bob explains that this will use less energy, require less equipment, and less space. It can also help with disaster recovery. He compares this to Marcy and Vincent’s pictures on their mobile phones being backed up to a cloud. Even if the mobile phone gets damaged, the photos can still be retrieved.
Can you think of how you use the cloud? How much do you know about the cloud and virtualization? Let me help you out with learning more. Take this module!
Cloud and Cloud Services (19.1)
Cloud computing is one of the ways that we access and store data. Cloud computing allows us to store personal files, even backup an entire drive on servers over the internet. Applications such as word processing and photo editing can be accessed using the cloud. Cloud computing is possible because of data centers. Data centers house servers, storage devices, and other network infrastructure equipment.
Video – Cloud and Virtualization (19.1.1)
The video describes the following cloud services:
• SaaS – Software as a service
• PaaS – Platform as a service
• IaaS – Infrastructure as a service
Refer to the online course to view this video.
There are four primary cloud models:
• Public clouds – Cloud-based applications and services offered in a public cloud are made available to the general population. Services may be free or are offered on a pay-per-use model, such as paying for online storage. The public cloud uses the internet to provide services.
• Private clouds – Cloud-based applications and services offered in a private cloud are intended for a specific organization or entity, such as the government. A private cloud can be set up using the private network of an organization, though this can be expensive to build and maintain. A private cloud can also be managed by an outside organization with strict access security.
• Hybrid clouds – A hybrid cloud is made up of two or more clouds (example: part private, part public), where each part remains a separate object, but both are connected using a single architecture. Individuals on a hybrid cloud would be able to have degrees of access to various services based on user access rights.
• Community clouds – A community cloud is created for exclusive use by a specific community. The differences between public clouds and community clouds are the functional needs that have been customized for the community. For example, healthcare organizations must remain compliant with policies and laws (e.g., HIPAA) that require special authentication and confidentiality.