Chapter 3

Cloud Product and Services

1. Compute
Cloud Products and Services

• In cloud computing, the term “compute” describes concepts and objects

related to software computation.
• It is a generic term used to reference processing power, memory, networking,
storage, and other resources required for the computational success of any
program.
• For example, applications that run machine learning algorithms or 3D graphics
rendering functions require many gigs of RAM and multiple CPUs to run
successfully.
• In this case, the CPUs, RAM, and Graphic Processing Units required will be
called compute resources, and the applications would be compute-intensive
applications.
2. Storage
• Cloud storage is a model of computer data storage in which the digital data is
stored in logical pools, said to be on "the cloud".
• The physical storage spans multiple servers (sometimes in multiple locations),
and the physical environment is typically owned and managed by a hosting
company.
• These cloud storage providers are responsible for keeping the data available
and accessible, and the physical environment secured, protected, and
running.
• People and organizations buy or lease storage capacity from the providers to
store user, organization, or application data.
• Cloud storage services may be accessed through a
• Colocated cloud computing service,
• A web service application programming interface (API)
2. Storage
• A colocation centre is a type of data centre where equipment, space, and
bandwidth are available for rental to retail customers.
• Colocation facilities provide space, power, cooling, and physical security for
the server, storage, and networking equipment of other firms and also
connect them to a variety of telecommunications and network service
providers with a minimum of cost and complexity.
• Unlike colocations services, cloud service providers own and are
responsible for all the utilized hardware and infrastructure. The
infrastructure while secured is shared with multiple customers.
• Cloud service providers also bill customers based on consumption for
compute resources verses the fixed cost usually associated with colocation
operators.
• API is a software intermediary that connects multiple applications and
allows them to communicate using a set of definitions and protocols.
• Cloud storage is based on highly virtualized infrastructure and is like broader
cloud computing in terms of interfaces, near-instant elasticity and scalability,
multi-tenancy, and metered resources.
• Multitenancy is a software architecture in which a single instance of software runs on a
server and serves multiple tenants (customers).
• Systems designed in such manner are "shared" (rather than "dedicated" or "isolated").
• There are three types of cloud storage: A hosted object storage service, File
storage, and block storage.
• Object storage is a computer data storage that manages data as objects in
which each object typically includes the data itself, a variable amount of
metadata, an attribute of the object and a globally unique identifier.
• Object storage systems allow retention of massive amounts of unstructured data in
which data is written once and read once (or many times).
• Object storage is used for purposes such as storing objects like videos and photos on
Facebook, songs on Spotify, or files in online collaboration services, such as Dropbox.
 ID
Data

Attribute

Metadata
• File system is a method and data structure that the operating system uses to
control how data is stored and retrieved.
• Without a file system, data placed in a storage medium would be one large
body of data with no way to tell where one piece of data stopped and the next
began, or where any piece of data was located when it was time to retrieve it.
• By separating the data into pieces and giving each piece a name, the data is
easily isolated and identified.
• Taking its name from the way a paper-based data management system is
named, each group of data is called a "file".
• The structure and logic rules used to manage the groups of data and their
names is called a "file system.“
• In computing (specifically data transmission and data storage), a block, sometimes called a
physical record, is a sequence of bytes or bits, usually containing some whole number of
records, having a maximum length; a block size.
• Data thus structured are said to be blocked.
• The process of putting data into blocks is called blocking, while de-blocking is the process of
extracting data from blocks.
• Blocked data is normally stored in a data buffer, and read or written a whole block at a time.
• Blocking reduces the overhead and speeds up the handling of the data-stream.
• Block storage chops data into blocks and stores them as separate pieces.
• Each block of data is given a unique identifier, which allows a storage system to place the
smaller pieces of data wherever is most convenient.
• That means that some data can be stored in a Linux® environment and some can be stored in
a Windows unit.
• Block storage is often configured to decouple the data from the user’s environment and
spread it across multiple environments that can better serve the data.
• And then, when data is requested, the underlying storage software reassembles the blocks of
data from these environments and presents them back to the user.
3. Database
• Database service is a cloud computing managed service offering that provides
access to a database without requiring the setup of physical hardware, the
installation of software or the need to configure the database.
• Most database administration and maintenance tasks are handled by the service
provider, enabling users to quickly benefit from the database service.
• A cloud database is a database built to run in a public or hybrid cloud environment
to help organize, store, and manage data within an organization.
• Cloud databases can be offered as a managed database-as-a-service (DBaaS) or
deployed on a cloud-based virtual machine (VM) and self-managed by an in-house
IT team.
• The service provider handles the high-level database administrative (DBA) tasks,
including: Initial installation, Configuration management, Database maintenance,
Performance management, Backups, Patches and upgrades, Disaster recovery,
monitoring the database and the underlying infrastructure.
• This type of cloud service covers both relational and non-relational databases.
• A relational database is a type of database that focuses on the relation
between stored data elements.
• It allows users to establish links between different sets of data within the database and
use these links to manage and reference related data.
• This enables faster indexing and query response times and makes the data more secure
and consistent.
• Many relational databases use SQL (Structured Query Language) to perform queries and
maintain data. Hence relational database is referred as SQL-database.
• Examples include: MySQL, PostgreSQL, MariaDB, and SQLite.
• On the other hand, NoSQL databases don't need to rely on structure as much,
which allows them to store large amounts of data, remain flexible, and easily
scale storage and performance.
• NoSQL (Not SQL or Not Only SQL) is a generic term used for databases that do not
depend on a relational model.
• The data does not need to have a strict schema nor the usual SQL table structure.
• Most commonly, the data is aggregated as key-value pairs, JSON documents, graphs, or
wide-column tables.
4. Networking
• Network service (NaaS) is a cloud service model in which customers rent
networking services from cloud providers.
• NaaS allows customers to operate their own networks without maintaining
their own networking infrastructure.
• Like other cloud services, NaaS vendors run networking functions using
software, essentially allowing companies to set up their own networks entirely
without hardware. All they need is Internet connectivity.
• NaaS can replace virtual private networks (VPNs), multiprotocol label switching
(MPLS) connections, or other legacy network configurations.
• It can also replace on-premise networking hardware such as firewall appliances
and load balancers. A newer model for routing traffic and applying security
policies, NaaS has had a major impact on enterprise networking architecture.
• A VPN connection involves the following 4 steps:
• The VPN client connects to the ISP using an encrypted connection.
• Then the ISP connects the VPN client to the VPN server, maintaining the encrypted
connection.
• The VPN server decrypts the data from the user’s device and then connects to the
Internet to access the web server in an unencrypted communication.
• The VPN server creates an encrypted connection with the client, known as a ‘VPN
tunnel’.
• The VPN tunnel between the VPN client and VPN server passes through the ISP,
but since all the data is encrypted, the ISP cannot see the user’s activity.
• The VPN server’s communications with the Internet are unencrypted, but the
web servers will only log the IP address of the VPN server, which gives them no
information about the user.
• Network services can include virtual routers, firewalls, and bandwidth and
network management software, with other tools and functions available as
required.
6. Content Delivery
• A content delivery network (CDN) refers to a geographically distributed group of servers which
work together to provide fast delivery of Internet content.
• The goal is to provide high availability and performance by distributing the service spatially
relative to end users.
• A CDN allows for the quick transfer of assets needed for loading Internet content including
HTML pages, javascript files, stylesheets, images, and videos.
• The popularity of CDN services continues to grow, and today the majority of web traffic is
served through CDNs, including traffic from major sites like Facebook, Netflix, and Amazon.
• At its core, a CDN is a network of servers linked together with the goal of delivering content as
quickly, cheaply, reliably, and securely as possible.
• In order to improve speed and connectivity, a CDN will place servers at the exchange points
between different networks.
• These Internet exchange points (IXPs) are the primary locations where different Internet
providers connect in order to provide each other access to traffic originating on their different
networks.
• By having a connection to these high speed and highly interconnected locations, a CDN
provider is able to reduce costs and transit times in high speed data delivery.
• A properly configured CDN may also help protect websites against some
common malicious attacks, such as Distributed Denial of Service (DDOS)
attacks.
• The globally distributed nature of a CDN means reduce distance between users
and website resources.
• Instead of having to connect to wherever a website’s origin server may live, a
CDN lets users connect to a geographically closer data center.
• Less travel time means faster service.
• Hardware and software optimizations such as efficient load balancing and solid-
state hard drives can help data reach the user faster.
• CDNs can reduce the amount of data that’s transferred by reducing file sizes
using tactics such as minification and file compression.
• Smaller file sizes mean quicker load times.
• CDNs can also speed up sites which use TLS/SSL certificates by optimizing
connection reuse and enabling TLS false start.
7. Machine learning
• Machine learning is the study of algorithms that have the ability to learn
through patterns and, based on that, make predictions against patterns of data.
• It’s a better alternative to leveraging static program instructions and instead
making data-driven predictions or decisions that will improve over time
without human intervention and additional programming.
• Machine learning as a service (MLaaS) is an umbrella definition of various
cloud-based platforms that cover most infrastructure issues such as data pre-
processing, model training, and model evaluation, with further prediction.
9. Internet of Things

• The Internet of Things (IoT) is a system of interrelated computing devices,

mechanical and digital machines, objects, animals or people that are
provided with unique identifiers and the ability to transfer data over a
network without requiring human-to-human or human-to-computer
interaction.
• IoT has evolved with the greater generation of data.
• Internet of Things Cloud Service creates excessive communication between
inexpensive sensors in the IoT which means even greater connectivity;
billions of connected devices and machines will soon join human-users.
• Cloud Computing in IoT works as part of a collaboration and is used to
store IoT data.
• Utilizing the cloud allows for processing outside of the device itself, which
is often impossible or expensive to implement on small devices or edge
processors.
Cloud Providers’ Products and services
• Cloud Service providers (CSP) offer various services such as Software as a
Service, Platform as a service, Infrastructure as a service, network services,
business applications, mobile applications, and infrastructure in the cloud.
• The cloud service providers host these services in a data center, and users can
access these services through cloud provider companies using an Internet
connection.
1. Amazon Web Services (AWS)

• In 2006, Amazon Web Services (AWS) began offering IT infrastructure

services to businesses in the form of web services -- now commonly
known as cloud computing.
• Amazon Web Services is a secure cloud service platform provided by
Amazon.
• Today, Amazon Web Services provides a highly reliable, scalable, low-cost
infrastructure platform in the cloud that powers hundreds of thousands of
businesses in 190 countries around the world.
• It offers various services such as Compute, Storage, Database, Networking
and Content Delivery, Analytics, Machine learning, Security Identity and
Compliance.
2. Microsoft Azure
• Microsoft unveiled Windows Azure in early October 2008 but it went to live after
February 2010.
• Later in 2014, Microsoft changed its name from Windows Azure to Microsoft
Azure.
• Azure provided a service platform for .NET services, SQL Services, and many Live
Services.
• Azure offers a range of software as a service (SaaS), platform as a service (PaaS)
and infrastructure as a service (IaaS) options for deploying applications and
services on Microsoft-managed data center infrastructure.
• Azure’s 50 operating regions are more than any other cloud provider.
• Azure provides services such as Compute, Networking, Storage, Web + Mobile,
Databases, Data + Analytics, AI + Cognitive Services, Internet of Things,
Developer Tools.
3. Google Cloud Platform

• Google Cloud Platform (GCP), offered by Google, is a suite of cloud

computing services that runs on the same infrastructure that Google uses
internally for its end-user products, such as Google Search, Gmail, Google
Drive, and YouTube.
• Alongside a set of management tools, it provides a series of modular cloud
products and services including computing, data storage, data analytics and
machine learning, Compute, Networking, Big Data for big query, IoT Core -
Secure device connection and management service for Internet of Things.
4. IBM Cloud Services
• IBM Cloud offers various services such as Infrastructure as a service,
Software as a service, and platform as a service.
• The services include AI/Machine Learning, Analytics, Automation,
Block chain, Compute, Containers, Database, Developer tools,
Integration, Internet of things, Logging and monitoring, Networking,
Quantum, Security and Storage.
5. VMware Cloud
• VMware Cloud Provides Simplicity across Multi-Cloud;
• App Platform that is used to build, run, secure, and manage all of your
apps across any cloud with application modernization solutions and
guidance from VMware;
• Anywhere Workspace that Enables any employee to work from
anywhere, anytime with seamless employee experiences;
• Deliver security and networking as a built-in distributed service across
users, apps, devices, and workloads in any cloud.
 6. Oracle cloud
• Oracle Cloud provides Developer Services that are used to build, deploy, and manage
modern cloud applications using developer-friendly tools and services;
• Application Integration Services that Integrate SaaS, cloud, and on-premises workloads with
prebuilt or custom connectivity and Make all your data more accessible with APIs;
• Analytics and BI to Gain comprehensive business intelligence with augmented analytics to
help your organization grow through unique insights;
• Machine Learning and AI Easily add intelligence to your applications and workloads with
prebuilt perception and decision models and out-of-the-box catboats, or build and train your
own models with our data science services;
• Provision of Digital Media Services that process video and audio media into different formats
for on-demand streaming and run batch operations through APIs and command-line
interface tools;
• Compute service provides Secure and elastic compute capacity in the cloud that ranges from
flexible virtual machines (Flex VMs) and high-performance bare metal servers to HPC(High
Performance Computing) and GPU(Graphical Processing Units);
• Storage service Addresses key use cases with on-demand local, object,
file, block, and archive storage;
• Containers and Functions to Deploy micro services applications on high-
performance, managed, open source Docker, Kubernetes, and Fn
Functions services and Networking that Connects securely to a
customizable, isolated virtual cloud network (VCN);
• Oracle Databases that Run cost-optimized, high-performance, and
autonomous versions of Oracle Database, the world's leading converged,
multi-model database management system in the cloud.
7. Alibaba Cloud
• Featured Products of Alibaba cloud include Elastic Computing,
Networking and CDN, Database Storage, Security, Enterprise
Applications & Cloud Communication, Analytics, Artificial Intelligence,
Media Services, Hybrid Cloud, Container & Middleware, Developer
Services and Internet of Things.
8. Salesforce
• Salesforce's products include several customer relationship
management (CRM) technologies, including: Sales Cloud, Service
Cloud, Marketing Cloud, and Commerce Cloud and Platform.