Cloud Computing: Definition, Examples, Advantages, Disadvantages, Interview Questions

Cloud Computing is a technology that helps the business to rent the IT Services. Cloud Computing is a ready made resource that allows the customer to use them online in spite of trusting upon the local infrastructure. There are various Cloud Computing courses that are offered in India in various institutes. One who is eager to learn about it should make sure to know about Cloud Computing basics. The institutes that offer this course are Chitkara University Institute of Engineering and Technology, Parul University, Silver Oak University, etc.

There are several Advantages of Cloud Computing including Great Storage Capacity, reliability, cost effectiveness, etc. Moreover, one who completes the course of Cloud Computing, he/ she will be able to get great jobs. The Cloud Computing job opportunities include Cloud Engineer, Cloud Architect, Cloud Consultant, DevOps Cloud Engineer, etc. Moreover, to know more about Cloud Computing, read the complete article below.

Read More: Types of Cloud Computing

What is Cloud Computing?

• Cloud Computing is used by several business owners so as to make their work easy.
• Cloud Computing helps the person in paying just for the services used and not for every service.
• The reason of its popularity is that not only it makes work easier, but much cost effective, boosts productivity, etc.
• There are several Cloud Computing examples like Google Docs or Office 365.

How does Cloud Computing work?

The function of Cloud Computing is really simple. To work on this mechanism, one does not need anything major but a stable internet connection. However, if we see the working of this technology through the perspective of the cloud provider, then it seems to be really compound. The framework of the Computer Cloud involves two components, the frontend and the backend. Furthermore, the work of both of these components are:-

Frontend

• Frontend helps in allowing the user to acquire as well as manage the cloud based data. It also has all the elements evident to the customer, such as browsers, GUIs of the web apps, etc.
• The backend holds the responsibility of safely keeping and sharing the data. It is inclusive of all the equipment that a provider needs for hosting the data, such as storage, networks, OSes, security protocols, etc.

Backend

• Uses middleware so as to handle the link between the device of the client and cloud server.
• Uses the internet so as to share the data with customers. This is to be noted that the connection the client is using should have a high bandwidth, no late response time, and great network security.
• Banks upon the strict security protocols of the cloud so as to make the process of safely exchanging data easy.

The Computing Cloud banks upon some things such as virtualization and automation. Furthermore, the explanation of the same can be found below:-

• The system can abstract and provision ready-made IT services thanks to server virtualization.
• Users can build cloud workloads, link services, and provision resources with a high degree of self-service thanks to automation.

There are public and private clouds available. For a price, public cloud providers offer their services over the Internet. On the other hand, limited numbers of users can access private cloud services. These services consist of a networked infrastructure that offers hosted services. A blended option is also available, which includes aspects of both public and private services.

Cloud Computing: Types of Services

No matter the service type, cloud computing services provide users a number of benefits, such as:

• Email
• Storage, backup, and data retrieval
• Creating and testing apps
• Analyzing data
• Audio and video streaming
• Delivering software on demand

Cloud Computing: Types for Delivery Models

Let's begin with a look at the various cloud deployment types. There are six choices such as:-

• Private Cloud
• Public cloud.
• Metallic void (BMC)
• Private virtual cloud (VPC).
• Mixed clouds.
• Localised cloud.
• Multi-cloud.

Now, let us understand each and every delivery model in detail:-

Private Cloud

The resources of the private cloud are only accessible to a small number of users, who often all work for the same company. A private cloud can be operated in-house (at the business that employs the cloud) or in a third-party colocation facility. The owner of the private cloud must build and maintain the supporting infrastructure. The concept behind this architecture allows you to maintain hardware management and security measures in-house while still providing the same flexibility and convenience as other clouds.

Public Cloud

The service provider owns and controls all hardware, software, and support infrastructure in a public cloud model. Over the internet, the provider provides end users with IT resources (servers, storage, etc.). Public cloud services are offered on demand by third parties, who often charge by the minute or hour of service use. Only the central processing unit cycles, storage, and bandwidth used by the consumer are charged.

Metallic Void (BMC)

A mix of bare metal and cloud computing is called Bare Metal Cloud (BMC). BMC offers direct access to bare metal hardware along with cloud computing's self-service features. Unlike other cloud computing solutions, BMC has no expense associated with virtualization while still offering cloud-native environments that can be installed in under two minutes. Bare Metal Cloud seeks to combine the freedom of cloud computing with all the advantages of bare metal resources. The Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) concept is used to supply BMC.

Private Virtual Cloud

A VPC user has exclusive access to a selected classification of a public cloud since it combines private and public services. In terms of cost and features, this model finds a compromise between private and public models. You use a secure connection (usually a VPN) to access a dedicated VPC segment, and you have access to more security features than a "vanilla" public cloud provides (custom firewalls, IP address whitelisting, etc.).

Hybrid Cloud

To establish a single IT environment, a hybrid cloud integrates several on-premises and cloud platforms (on-site hosting, colocation, public cloud, private cloud, etc.). There is a big focus on orchestra and automation features because all connected systems communicate with one another. A hybrid cloud has different obstacles to set up and is more difficult to set up than a private cloud. However, the effort is worthwhile because you can put every workload in a perfect IT environment (e.g., you run mission-critical workloads on a private cloud and use a public offering to handle workload bursts or spikes in demand).

Localised Cloud

A Localised Cloud, known as a "community cloud" supports a specific user group with similar concerns or objectives (e.g., the same mission, cybersecurity requirements, compliance rules, etc.). This concept can be used at a facility owned by a third party or on-site (at a single or shared tenant organisation). Generally speaking, a community cloud is not accessible to the general public, regardless of where the hosting occurs.

Multi-Cloud

A multi-cloud environment is one where the user uses multiple cloud vendors rather than just one. A multi-cloud is a wise choice whether you want to reduce cloud disruptions or benefit from a certain provider's pricing. However, there are some particular security dangers, so make sure the team takes them into account before you start relying on several providers. You are able to decide which service provider offers the greatest options based on:

1. Service cost.
2. Requirements for data centres and IT.
3. Where the largest user bases are located.

Cloud Computing Types: According to Service Types

Each cloud computing service fits into one of the following four groups:

• Services for infrastructure (IaaS).
• Software as a platform (PaaS).
• Function as a Service (FaaS), often known as serverless computing.
• Service-based software (SaaS).

These categories are referred to as the "stack" by providers since they are stacked on top of one another.

• Services for Infrastructure (IaaS)

With infrastructure as a service (IaaS), the customer purchases online access to unprocessed computing hardware. IaaS provides infrastructure parts like: that are typically operated in the provider's data centre.

• Processing tools (CPU and RAM).
• Saving data.
• Equipment for networks.

IaaS also provides a variety of services to go along with these elements, like:

• Server observation.
• Record access.
• measures for cybersecurity.
• Balanced load.
• Clustering.
• Managed solutions.

Backup and replication of data, as well as disaster recovery as a service. IaaS provides the most fundamental computing services, so a client company's internal IT team needs to be highly skilled in order to operate the system effectively.

• Services as a platform (PaaS)

In a cloud computing service called platform as a service (PaaS), consumers receive hardware and software tools from a provider. The majority of PaaS web-based development tools are accessed by end users through APIs, web portals, or gateway software. For instance, a client might create an e-commerce website and host its essential components on the cloud provider's server, such as the web design, the shopping cart, the checkout systems, etc. The PaaS vendor offers the following tools:

1. Design and development of apps.
2. Software deployment and testing.
3. Integrations of databases and web services.

PaaS provides all the elements included in the IaaS package in addition to hosting and managing the middleware and operating systems a client needs to build and execute an app. This architecture also provides on-demand settings for the full software development lifecycle because PaaS facilitates quick development.

• Function as a Service (FaaS), often known as serverless computing.

In a serverless computing model, the cloud-based infrastructure is provisioned, managed, and scaled by the provider. While event-based services (like AWS Lambda or Azure Functions) manage the execution, developers are free to concentrate on building code. Only the number of transactions that the function completes are charged for by clients. Similar to PaaS, all routine management is the provider's responsibility (OS updates and patches, security management, capacity planning, cloud monitoring, etc.). Serverless computing achieves the following when used properly:

1. Lower development expenses.
2. More rapid time of release.
3. Greater adaptability for the internal staff.

However, the moniker is a little deceptive. Although server utilisation is not eliminated by serverless computing, the client's team is not involved in hardware. Serverless computing is sometimes compared to the NoOps movement because developers primarily concentrate on building apps and event-handling procedures.

• Service-based software (SaaS).

Software as a Service (SaaS) describes how a whole application is run by a client in the cloud and made accessible to end users via the Internet by the provider. The most popular SaaS application is Google Documents. SaaS, the most general type of cloud computing, allows a client to focus solely on how the business and its customers utilise the software rather than how to provide or maintain it.

Advantages of Cloud Computing

The following can be found as the Advantages of Cloud Computing:-

Quickness

You can easily access a wide variety of technologies thanks to the cloud, which allows you to innovate more quickly and create almost anything you can think of. You may instantly set up resources as you require them, including Internet of Things, machine learning, data lakes, analytics, and infrastructure services like computation, storage, and databases. Technology services may be deployed quickly, allowing you to move from idea to implementation much more quickly than in the past. This allows you the flexibility to try new things, test new customer experience concepts, and reinvent your company.

Elasticity

With cloud computing, you can handle future peaks in business activity without having to over-provision resources now. As an alternative, you only provide the resources that you truly require. As your company's demands change, you may scale these resources up or down to immediately increase and decrease capacity.

Cost Savings

With the cloud, you can swap out fixed costs (such data centres and physical servers) for variable costs and only pay for the IT you actually use. Additionally, because of the economies of scale, the variable costs are considerably cheaper than what you would spend to do it yourself.

Deploy Globally in minutes

With the cloud, you may quickly deploy globally and grow to new geographic areas. For instance, AWS offers infrastructure all over the world, allowing you to quickly deploy your application in several physical locations. Applications that are located nearer to end users have better connectivity and provide better user experiences.

Also Read - Characteristics of Cloud Computing

Cloud Computing: Disadvantages

We all know how Cloud Computing helps one in making the work easier, but along with pros, everything comes with some cons too. So, following are some of the demerits of Cloud Computing that one should always keep in mind:-

• You never actually own the tools

Although starting up on the cloud is less expensive than building a server room inside the company, costs add up over time. You might reflect in a few years and discover that the entire DCO budget could have been used to build a private hosting facility.

• Clouds are complicated

Multi-cloud, hybrid, and private cloud architectures can be challenging to set up, secure, and administer. Before diving fully into an ambitious cloud project, be sure the internal team has the necessary skill sets.

• Vendor lock-in

Over time, you'll probably face vendor lock-in if you build up workloads at a third-party source. This issue makes switching vendors impossible without having an impact on the hosted app. Long periods of outage, software compatibility challenges, and expensive cloud migrations are common problems.

• Limited control

The cloud is owned and managed by the provider. If this faire strategy doesn't work for you, stay away (or set up a private cloud in your office).

• Compliance issues

When hosting data at a third-party location, it can be difficult to comply with industry-specific standards.

• Security and risk issues

Although providers make significant investments in data security, cloud computing necessitates data sharing with a third party. There are new concerns because you don't have comprehensive insight or direct control over data storage.

Cloud Computing Applications

Although the cloud can support any IT function, some use cases are more practical than others. The most popular cloud computing apps are listed below:

• Users can upload, view, and share data via online storage services. Either the general public or businesses can use these platforms.
• Online conference tools for remote workers that provide seamless screen sharing and video conferencing
• E-commerce sites that experience unexpected use spikes (e.g., such as an online shop that does more business during the holiday season).
• Applications for entertainment that interact with a geographically dispersed audience via many clouds (a website for online gaming or a streaming service).
• deploying pre-made environments for software testing and development (especially useful in a CI/CD and DevOps framework).
• Cloud-native applications that utilise containers and microservices (such as software running on Docker Swarm or Kubernetes).
• social networking platforms that allow a lot of individuals to connect and exchange content like stories, photographs, and videos.
• Employees receive virtual desktops (VDI) from a corporation.
• Numerous cloud-based creative services via apps (e.g., instant designing, editing images, printing, etc.).
• Antivirus programmes that scan cloud data for malware and other risks and remove them.
• GPS systems that demand quick or immediate response.
• Real-time accounting software that keeps track of costs, gains, and losses.
• Regardless of where senders and recipients are located, email programmes that assure flawless communication are available.
• Student information portals, e-learning platforms, and online distance learning courses.
• Several use examples in healthcare (storing and sharing patient data, booking appointments, sending email reminders, performing medical data analysis, etc.).
• Software for the postal office to monitor international shipments
• Disaster recovery and data backup using the cloud.
• Use cases for machine learning and AI that demand quick data analysis (such as AI-powered big data analytics).

Cloud Computing: Future

The field of cloud computing is one that is constantly changing. An summary of what to anticipate in the upcoming years is given below:

• 95% of all new workloads will be deployed by organisations on cloud-native platforms by 2025, according to experts.
• Expect public cloud products to change as providers continue to fight for market dominance. According to research, entry-level IaaS will likely experience the most changes as companies try to offer more than basic compute and storage instances.
• More businesses will come to trust cloud computing services. Currently, 48% of firms feel comfortable putting sensitive information in the cloud (both regular and encrypted data). The next years will see an increase in this number.
• The use of serverless computing will increase as more businesses see the benefits of completely relieving teams of infrastructure maintenance.
• More businesses will begin to process big data in the public cloud. Massive data sets are already being handled by providers thanks to their quick response (e.g., Google BigQuery and Microsoft Azure Data Lake).
• Out of all the cloud service categories, SaaS will have the biggest growth over the next few years. By 2024, the market for SaaS products is anticipated to be close to $200 billion.
• Cloud-based AI and machine learning services will become more and more popular among businesses. The ready-to-use advanced services will be most advantageous to SMBs because they cannot develop such software themselves.
• For cloud-based apps that need to handle data in real-time, edge computing will keep expanding as the preferred option.

Types of Cloud Computing

The following is the list of the Types of Cloud Computing:-

• Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platforms as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service are the three primary categories of cloud computing services (SaaS).
• IaaS, which is often related to serverless computing, provides IT infrastructure to end users over the internet.
• End customers, who are typically software developers, are provided hardware and software through PaaS. Without needing to develop and maintain the infrastructure, PaaS enables users to create, manage, and run their own programmes.
• Software as a service (SaaS) is a licensing model that enables subscription-based access to software through external servers without the need to download and install it locally.

Cloud Computing: Examples

Listed below are a handful of the most well-known and frequently utilised cloud computing services:

• Users of Google Drive and Microsoft 365 can access documents, media files, presentations, and spreadsheets from any location and on any device thanks to the utilisation of the cloud.
• Emails, contacts, calendars, and other data may be stored and backed up online in the cloud using Apple iCloud. Additionally, the software offers file syncing for iOS devices and Macs.
• A cloud-based video and audio conferencing platform is called Zoom. The user can access meetings from anywhere at any time because to the app's ability to record them and save them to the cloud. Cloud computing is used by Microsoft Teams and GoToMeeting as well.
• Dropbox is a straightforward cloud-based file-syncing and storage solution.
• Every employee at the same company can communicate with one another using the cloud-based messaging application Slack.
• Two of the most well-known cloud-based antivirus applications are Kaspersky Endpoint Security Cloud and Sophos Endpoint Protection.
• WhatsApp and Skype make use of the cloud's capacity to give users remote access to data.
• Salesforce is a cloud-based CRM platform that aids in managing client relationships and increasing sales leads for businesses.
• Netflix uses AWS to offer its clients around the world billions of hours of service.

Is it safe to use Cloud Computing?

Data security and platform security are major concerns because software and data are stored remotely in cloud computing. Measures made to safeguard digital assets and data housed on cloud-based services are referred to as cloud security. Two-factor authentication (2FA), the use of VPNs, security tokens, data encryption, and firewall services are just a few of the safeguards used to protect this data.

Cloud Computing Colleges

There are various renowned institutes that offer the courses of Cloud Computing. The same can be found below:-

Cloud Computing Jobs

After pursuing the course of Cloud Computing, one has a scope of various job opportunities in the future like:-

Cloud Computing: Interview Questions

The below mentioned are the Cloud Computing Interview Questions:-

Q. What is Cloud Computing?

Ans. A modern computer technique that uses the internet is called cloud computing. The next generation of technology makes advantage of the cloud to deliver services whenever and wherever the user requires them. It offers a way to connect to several servers located all over the world.

Q. What are the benefits of Cloud Computing?

Ans. The Cloud Computing advantages are:-

• Data backup and storage of data.
• Powerful server capabilities.
• Incremented productivity.
• Very cost effective and time saving.
• Software as Service known as SaaS.

Q. Which are the different layers defining Cloud Architecture?

Ans. CLC or Cloud Controller, Walrus, Cluster Controller, SC or Storage Controller, and NC or Node Controller.

Q. What is the meaning of software as a service?

Ans. SaaS, or software as a service, is a crucial component of cloud computing. Like Google, it offers cloud apps. It makes it easier for users to produce and store documents to the cloud.

Q. What are the platforms used for large scale cloud computing?

Ans. Apache Hadoop and MapReduce