Ref: https://learn.cantrill.io/courses/2022818/lectures/45718076

• Summary
• Contents:

Cloud Computing

• 🔧 Def: Model for enabling ubiquitous, convenient, on-demand NW access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g. servers, NWs, storage, apps, services)
  • Computing resources can be rapidly provisioned & released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction
• Cloud computing revolutionized the way businesses and individuals access and use computing resources
  • 👍 Advantages: ↑ scalability, ↑ flexibility, ↓ maintenance, ↓ physical infrastructure

Five Characteristics of a Cloud Platform

• 🔧 Five characteristics are:
  • On-Demand Self-Service
  • Broad NW Access
  • Resource Pooling
  • Rapid Elasticity
  • Measured Service
  • Summary/Overview

ON-DEMAND SELF-SERVICE

• Customers can provision resources as needed without human interaction
  • 💡 Management can be done through UI, CLI or APIs

BROAD NETWORK ACCESS

• Resources are available over the NW and accessed through standard mechanisms
  • 💡 No need to use niche devices nor non-standard NW protocols

RESOURCE POOLING

• Resources are pooled to serve multiple consumers using a multi-tenant model
• Sense of location independence → no control/knowledge of exact location of resources
• ❗ Consumers benefit from economies of scale
  • 💡Cheaper to buy a lot of infrastructure/hardware in bulk. Cloud providers can offer discounted prices for their HW to consumers.

RAPID ELASTICITY

• Resources can be elastically provisioned and released to scale rapidly outward/inward with demand
  • Never overprovision → no wasted money
  • Never underprovision → no performance issues