Introduction
In essence, technology is advancing every day to new heights, but to build these technologies, there is a long process where a lot of services, hardware and software are significantly required. This includes infrastructure requirements, development tools, testing platforms, software licensing, computing resources and many more. To get all these services, a considerable cost needs to be spent. Cloud computing provides all these services over the internet at lower prices. It refers to the on-demand delivery of IT resources through the internet on a pay-as-you-go basis. These services include hardware, middleware and software services and can be accessed remotely.
Features & Advantages of Cloud System
Cloud system includes various services which provide multiple features to their users, and some of them are detailed as follows-
- Effective Cost- For any project or service, buying physical resources and software licensing is very high. On cloud systems, the user can use any IT resource and service per their requirement and pay per usage (Núñez et al., 2022).
- Flexible- Another feature of a cloud system is its flexibility. The cloud system’s services can be increased or decreased per user’s requirement and charged accordingly. It provides on-demand delivery of required resources for a required time.
- Remote Access- One of the main features of a cloud system is its remote access. The data or services stored on the cloud can be accessed from any place at any time via the internet.
- Data Security- Data storage on the internet always concerns security and data loss. Cloud security is a feature of a cloud system that creates an exact imitation of the data stored so that the data remains safe on the internet in case of data loss or server damage.
- Maintenance- All services require proper care for better functioning. In the case of cloud systems, it is easily maintained as it undergoes various updates regularly to maintain its functioning (Núñez et al., 2022).
Disadvantages of Cloud System
Digital services provided by the cloud system have various features. But, it comes with a few disadvantages as well. Some of these are as follows-
- Control- Cloud system has various flexible and remotely accessible services. But, when it comes to controlling these services, this is where the cloud system lacks. The service provider governs all the services offered by the cloud system.
- Vulnerable to cyber-attacks (In case of misconfiguration)- Cloud systems offer services via the internet. In case of misconfiguration from the client’s end, it may lead to data theft, loss, and mismanagement of services. Indeed, the cloud is secure, but due to misconfiguration from the client’s end, it may affect virtual instances extensively.
Cloud Service Models
Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
IaaS includes the on-demand delivery of hardware or infrastructure resources over the internet, and users can use these services to fulfil the hardware requirements for a project or service. These hardware requirements include servers for storage & processing and network requirements. All these resources provided by the cloud system are flexible and can be added and subtracted as per requirements.
Advantages of IaaS-
Physical servers for storing and processing a large volume of data require a considerable capital investment. IaaS provides cloud servers and network services for storage, processing, and data sharing. All these services are flexible and can be customised per requirements and based on pay per usage. Users can access the data stored on the cloud from anywhere via the internet. DigitalOcean, Linode, Rackspace, and Amazon Web Services (AWS) fall under IaaS.
Platform as a Service (PaaS)
PaaS includes on-demand delivery of development and testing tools for programmers. This includes programming and testing platforms for creating, testing, running and managing applications over the internet. Using the PaaS model, there is no need to install or license software for development as the cloud system provides licensed software and platforms on the internet. It provides the middleware and hardware required for the development process. For example, AWS Elastic Beanstalk, Windows Azure, and Heroku are some common examples of platforms as a service (Khelifa et al., 2022).
Advantages of PaaS-
By using PAAS, a developer does not need to worry about the infrastructure and software requirements for the development. It eliminates the software licensing and infrastructure cost for a development process. Testing and managing the application and code is more accessible through the cloud platforms. This makes the development process easy as only a pc and internet connection is required, and all other services are provided on the cloud via the internet (Khelifa et al., 2022).
Software as a Service (SaaS)
SaaS refers to the hosting of applications over the cloud. Users can access the software via the internet on a subscription. Users can access this software through the platform and infrastructure services. Some examples of software include Google Workspace (formerly G-Suite), Dropbox, and the TC.
Advantages of SaaS-
- Cloud-hosted applications are accessible from anywhere by logging in using credentials (Khelifa et al., 2022).
- The cost of the cloud-hosted application is significantly less as it is available on a subscription basis with no infrastructure and platform cost.
- Cloud-hosted applications are maintained by the cloud service providers and provide regular updates.
Cloud Deployment Models
Public
In the Public Cloud deployment model, the services offered by the cloud system are accessible to the general public. Using the public cloud model, the services provided by cloud systems such as infrastructure, platforms and software are accessible to the general public on a subscription basis.
Advantages
The cost of these services is less as the hardware and software services are provided over the cloud, and the user needs to pay per usage.
The user doesn’t need to worry about the maintenance of the services as the service providers do.
Private
The private Cloud deployment model is the exact opposite of the public model. This model provides one-to-one access to services on the internet. The services on the private cloud are not accessible to the general public. The confidential data and services that the organisation needs to be accessed only within the organisation are stored in a private cloud (Yeh & Yu, 2022).
Advantages
The data stored in the private cloud is more secure because users can only access it within the organisation. This reduces the chance of unauthorised access to the data and data theft. Also, it provides better control over the services as it is managed within the organisation.
Hybrid
The hybrid cloud deployment model is a combination of both public and private models. The services that are not confidential and can be accessed by the general public are stored in a public cloud, and the personal data and services are stored in a private cloud.
Advantages
they can move the data between two deployment models in a hybrid cloud according to the requirement. The hybrid model provides better control over the services as you can transfer the confidential data to a private model, and users can store the rest in the public model. The use of a shared model also reduces the cost of services (Yeh & Yu, 2022).
References:
- Suryateja, P. (2018). threats and Vulnerabilities of Cloud Computing: A Review. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF COMPUTER SCIENCES AND ENGINEERING, 6(3). https://doi.org/10.26438/ijcse/v6i3.298303
- Khelifa, A., Mokadem, R., Hamrouni, T., & Ben Charrada, F. (2022). Data correlation and fuzzy inference system-based data replication in federated cloud systems. Simulation Modelling Practice And Theory, 115, 102428. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.simpat.2021.102428
- Núñez, A., Cañizares, P., & de Lara, J. (2022). CloudExpert: An intelligent system for selecting cloud system simulators. Expert Systems With Applications, 187, 115955. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eswa.2021.115955
- Yeh, T., & Yu, S. (2022). Realising dynamic resource orchestration on cloud systems in the cloud-to-edge continuum. Journal Of Parallel And Distributed Computing, 160, 100-109. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpdc.2021.10.006
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