By now we've all heard about cloud computing and, even if you work in IT, you might still be a little unclear as to what that refers to. A quick search on the net will show that there are multiple definitions; and all of them differ slightly.
Cloud Computing describes a scenario whereby computing resources, servers, storage, databases, networking, software, etc. are delivered on demand and as a service over a network connection, which is usually, but not always, the internet.
Let's look at the types of clouds first. You would have heard about, Public Clouds, Private Clouds, and more recently Hybrid clouds. They all have specific use cases and your choice of cloud will be influenced by the level of security, agility and manageability required. • Public Cloud services and infrastructure are provided off-site over the Internet • Private Cloud services and infrastructure are maintained on a private network, usually on premise • Hybrid Cloud services and infrastructure are combination of public and private giving you the flexibility to place workloads in the location that best match their performance and security requirement.
Now that we understand the "where", we can look at the cloud computing stack, and what those 'aaS' acronyms refer to. • Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) – Cloud provider manages the networking, storage, servers and virtualization. You manage the Operating System, Database, Security, and Application. • Platform as a Service (PaaS) – Cloud provider manages the networking, storage, servers, virtualization, Operating System, Database and Security. You manage the Application. • Software as a Service (SaaS) – Cloud provider manages everything. You sit back and relax.
Before jumping on the cloud bandwagon, it is important to assess the applications or services you plan to migrate, the cloud model and stack, as well as the service providers you're considering in terms of factors such as Security, Compliance, Visibility, Elasticity, Migration, Data Protection, Availability, Disaster Recovery, and Operational Cost.
To summarize, a well planned cloud migration strategy is the first step on a long journey into the cloud, and having industry experts available to guide you will make the journey a lot less turbulent. Get in touch with Condo Protego if you've started, or are thinking of cloud adoption.
by Riaan Badenhorst Riaan is our Data Protection and High Availability Solution architect, Veritas Evangelist, Cloud Enthusiast, and all round Problem solver.
Condo Protego Editorial Team
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