The cloud infrastructure refers to
the back end components of the cloud architecture such as servers, storage
devices, networking elements and virtualisation software. Thus cloud
infrastructure is a mix of both hardware and software components. It is an essential
part of all three cloud-computing models.
Business organisations use the
cloud infrastructure to host their applications. To use the cloud
infrastructure of the service provider, clients make use of pay-as-you-go model in which they
pay for only the services used by them. This is a very cost-efficient means of
using the required infrastructure and can be done in an hourly, weekly or
monthly basis.
Most cloud service providers who
are into Infrastructure services rely on virtual machine technology (or
Virtualisation) to deliver servers and run client applications. Virtual servers
act really well like physical servers delivering a certain number of microprocessor
(CPU) cycles, memory access and network bandwidth to customers. These virtual
servers are containers having specific physical resources (or) a specific
capacity of a large physical hardware. The concept of virtual servers enabled
the application developers to have a new perspective towards application
programming.
Consider an example of a programmer
creating software that requires several different tasks to be performed in
parallel. He needs to write the complete code to execute all the tasks and in
addition, he would go ahead and create a separate module to handle different
threads of execution (or) connect and automate all the different tasks. The
developer can create and attach an application that uses a cloud service to the
appropriate service and allow the application itself to scale the program
execution. Therefore, an application that might take long time for a single
server to accomplish can be scaled in the cloud to many servers at once for a
short period of time to accomplish the task at faster rate at similar or lower
price.
Post 2010, some readymade code
pieces (or) libraries have been made available by Infrastructure service
providers that helps application programmers to connect them with their
application and execute required additional tasks without spending much time in
re-coding every time.
Now that we have discussed in brief
about cloud infrastructure, let us now look at few leading players in the
market.
Brief about Amazon Web Services
Amazon Web Services (AWS) offers reliable
and extensive cloud application and infrastructure services for all types of
organisations, with over 10 years of experience in supporting enterprises with
affordable cloud services, AWS cloud has grown into a leader in cloud storage
and management of various critical business processes.
Key things to know about AWS
•AWS
is the pioneer in the cloud computing race and managed to retain its top
position through the years.
•Recent
price cuts have allured more start-ups as well as government agencies towards
the AWS cloud.
•Amazon
offers three types of computing instances: on-demand, reserved and spot. All
three options come with different pricing structures.
•Amazon’s
cloud offering for Big data analytics is called Amazon Elastic Map Reduce.
Microsoft Azure and
BizSpark
Microsoft is yet another strong contender
in the cloud technology space. It offers a unified set of tools, automation
capabilities and innovative approaches to networking and storage. Microsoft the
industry’s best hybrid cloud solutions while keeping the compliance and
security costs to the minimum.
Microsoft Azure
The enterprise-grade cloud computing
platform from Microsoft is called Azure and it supports a wide selection of
tools, languages, frameworks, databases and devices. Statistics reveals that
57% of the Fortune 500 companies from various industry sectors entrust their
data and applications with Azure. The easy-to-implement and low cost hybrid
cloud solution offered by Microsoft Azure is a good fit for organisations of
all types and sizes.
Microsoft BizSpark
Start-ups that are looking to leverage
the power of cloud must turn to Microsoft for its BizSpark program. This
three-year program includes tailor-made cloud solutions for the newbies in
the block.
Google Cloud Platform
The Google Cloud Platform allows users to
build applications and store data on Google’s highly reliable and scalable
infrastructure. The innovation power of Google is world renowned and by
leveraging its cloud platform, developers can gain quicker access to its
technological innovations.
Key things to know about Google
Cloud Platform
•Google’s
network can be defined by its thousands of miles of fibre optic cables
connected through cutting-edge Andromeda networking. The consistency and speed
of such a network is unparalleled.
•Data
is 100% secure through backup storage across multiple locations.
•The
per-minute billing system allows users to handle traffic spikes with the most
cost-effective solutions.
•The
BigQuery and
Google Cloud Dataflow tools offer full support to big data solutions.
The
fact that Google Cloud Platform works on the same infrastructure that supports
the mammoth tasks of Google itself is indeed the greatest advantage. Users can
be assured of high availability, lesser costs and low latency
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