✅ UNIT I: Cloud Computing Fundamentals – Deep Dive

1. Definition of Cloud Computing

Cloud computing is the on-demand delivery of IT resources (like servers, storage, databases, networking,
software) over the internet with pay-as-you-go pricing.

Real-Life Analogy:

Think of electricity – you don’t generate it yourself, you just use what you need and pay for how much you
consume. Similarly, cloud lets you “plug into” computing resources without owning the infrastructure.

2. Service Models in Detail

A. Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)

 Provides raw resources like VMs, storage, and networks.

 Users install OS, software.

 User responsibility: OS, middleware, data.

 Provider responsibility: Hardware, virtualization.

Example: AWS EC2, Google Compute Engine.

B. Platform as a Service (PaaS)

 Platform to develop and deploy applications.

 No need to manage hardware or OS.

 Provides middleware, DBs, runtime.

Example: Google App Engine, Heroku.

C. Software as a Service (SaaS)

 Fully managed software over the internet.

 Users only use the application.

Example: Gmail, Microsoft 365, Zoom.

3. Deployment Models (Connected to Service Models)

Type Hosted by Example Use Case

Private Company Banks, government (more control needed)

Public Provider Startups, general public apps

Hybrid Both Data sensitivity + global scalability

Community Shared by specific group Universities sharing research platform

4. Benefits and Challenges (Security Link Coming Up)

Benefits:

 Elasticity: Scale up/down resources.

 Agility: Launch services fast.

 Cost-efficient: Pay only for what you use.

 Global Reach: Access anywhere.

Challenges:

 Security & Privacy (→ links to Unit III)

 Data Loss

 Latency Issues

 Compliance (→ links to Unit V)

5. Virtualization – The Foundation of Cloud

Cloud is built on virtualization, where one physical machine hosts many VMs.

Types:

 Full virtualization (complete OS per VM)

 Paravirtualization (guest OS knows it's virtual)

 Containerization (lightweight isolation via Docker)

Hypervisors:

 Type 1 (bare metal): VMware ESXi, Xen

 Type 2 (hosted): VirtualBox, VMware Workstation

✅ UNIT II: Cloud Application & Deployment

1. Web Application Architecture in Cloud

Modern apps are multi-tier:

 Frontend: HTML, CSS, JavaScript

 Backend: APIs, logic (Node.js, Java)

 Database: Cloud-hosted SQL/NoSQL

 CDN: Distribute content globally (CloudFront)

2. Cloud Deployment Tools

Tool Description

Docker Containerization tool

Kubernetes Orchestrates containers

Terraform Infrastructure as Code (IaC)

Jenkins Continuous Integration (CI/CD)

GitHub Actions Cloud-based CI/CD

3. Use of APIs in the Cloud

Cloud providers offer REST APIs to control and automate:

 Creating servers

 Managing storage

 Monitoring logs

E.g., AWS SDKs let you write code to control EC2 instances.

4. Real-World Deployment:

 Netflix on AWS uses multiple availability zones for uptime.

 Instagram uses Amazon S3 to store billions of images.

 NASA uses Microsoft Azure for research data.

✅ UNIT III: Securing the Cloud

1. Security Principles

 Confidentiality: Only authorized users can see the data (e.g., encryption).

 Integrity: Data must remain unaltered.

 Availability: Services must be online 24/7.

 Accountability: Log who did what (non-repudiation).

 Authentication & Authorization: Who you are & what you can access.
2. Cloud Security Controls

A. Identity and Access Management (IAM)

 Manage who can access what.

 Fine-grained permissions.

 Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA).

B. Encryption

 At rest: On disks (e.g., S3 with AES-256).

 In transit: During transmission (TLS/SSL).

 Key Management Services (KMS): AWS KMS, Azure Key Vault.

3. Common Threats

Threat Description

Data Breach Unauthorized access

Account Hijacking Credentials stolen

DoS Attacks Bring down services

Misconfigurations Improperly set permissions

Insider Threats Malicious employees

✅ UNIT IV: Virtualization Security

1. Virtualization Vulnerabilities

 VM Escape: Attacker breaks out of VM to control the host.

 Hypervisor attack: If hypervisor is compromised, all VMs are at risk.

 Resource contention: One VM hogs CPU, affecting others.

2. Secure Virtualization Practices

 Use hardened hypervisors.

 Apply OS & software patches.

 Use Role-Based Access Control (RBAC).

 Regular auditing & logging.

 Enable snapshot backups and firewalls on VMs.

 Multiple clients share the same hardware.

 Must isolate data and memory.

 Techniques: Namespaces, cgroups (Linux), sandboxing.

4. Secure Storage in Virtualization

 Use encryption, disk snapshots, backup policies.

 Monitor for unauthorized access.

✅ UNIT V: Cloud Security Management

1. Security Operations

A. Security Monitoring:

 CloudTrail (AWS): Track user actions.

 CloudWatch: Logs and alerts.

 SIEM tools: Collect, analyze, alert (e.g., Splunk, ELK stack).

B. Incident Response Plan:

 Identify → Contain → Eradicate → Recover → Review

2. Security Policies & Compliance

Standard Purpose

ISO 27001 Info security management system

ISO 27017 Cloud-specific controls

PCI DSS Payment security standard

HIPAA Health data protection (US)

GDPR Personal data protection (Europe)

3. Cloud Availability Strategies

 Redundancy: Extra resources ready.

 Failover: Switch to backup instantly.

 Load Balancing: Distribute traffic.

 Auto-scaling: Automatically increase/decrease servers.

 IAM roles & policies.

 Least privilege model.

 Time-based access control.

5. Data Protection in Cloud

 Use encrypted storage buckets (S3, Blob).

 Control data lifecycle (retention policies).

 Backup plans: Periodic snapshots, cross-region replication.

✅ Diagrams and Illustrations I Can Give You

 Cloud service model stack (IaaS → PaaS → SaaS)

 VM vs Container

 Cloud deployment architecture

 Security layer cake

 IAM structure

✅ Next Options:

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