Cloud Computing Architecture

As we know, cloud computing technology is used by both small and large organizations
to store the information in cloud and access it from anywhere at anytime using the internet
connection.
Cloud computing architecture is a combination of service-oriented architecture and event-
driven architecture.
Cloud computing architecture is divided into the following two parts -
o Front End
o Back End
The below diagram shows the architecture of cloud computing -

Front End
The front end is used by the client. It contains client-side interfaces and applications that are
required to access the cloud computing platforms. The front end includes web servers
(including Chrome, Firefox, internet explorer, etc.), thin & fat clients, tablets, and mobile
devices.
Back End
The back end is used by the service provider. It manages all the resources that are required to
provide cloud computing services. It includes a huge amount of data storage, security
mechanism, virtual machines, deploying models, servers, traffic control mechanisms, etc.
Note: Both front end and back end are connected to others through a network, generally
using the internet connection.
Components of Cloud Computing Architecture
There are the following components of cloud computing architecture -
1. Client Infrastructure
Client Infrastructure is a Front end component. It provides GUI (Graphical User Interface)  to
interact with the cloud.
2. Application
The application may be any software or platform that a client wants to access.
3. Service
A Cloud Services manages that which type of service you access according to the client’s
requirement.
Cloud computing offers the following three type of services:
i. Software as a Service (SaaS) – It is also known as cloud application services. Mostly,
SaaS applications run directly through the web browser means we do not require to download
and install these applications. Some important example of SaaS is given below –
Example: Google Apps, Salesforce Dropbox, Slack, Hubspot, Cisco WebEx.
ii. Platform as a Service (PaaS) – It is also known as cloud platform services. It is quite
similar to SaaS, but the difference is that PaaS provides a platform for software creation, but
using SaaS, we can access software over the internet without the need of any platform.
Example: Windows Azure, Force.com, Magento Commerce Cloud, OpenShift.
iii. Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) – It is also known as cloud infrastructure services.
It is responsible for managing applications data, middleware, and runtime environments.
Example: Amazon Web Services (AWS) EC2, Google Compute Engine (GCE), Cisco
Metapod.
4. Runtime Cloud
Runtime Cloud provides the execution and runtime environment to the virtual machines.
5. Storage
Storage is one of the most important components of cloud computing. It provides a huge
amount of storage capacity in the cloud to store and manage data.
6. Infrastructure
It provides services on the host level, application level, and network level. Cloud
infrastructure includes hardware and software components such as servers, storage, network
devices, virtualization software, and other storage resources that are needed to support the
cloud computing model.
7. Management
Management is used to manage components such as application, service, runtime cloud,
storage, infrastructure, and other security issues in the backend and establish coordination
between them.
8. Security
Security is an in-built back end component of cloud computing. It implements a security
mechanism in the back end.
9. Internet
The Internet is medium through which front end and back end can interact and communicate
with each other.
Cloud Computing Architecture Components
Some of the important components of Cloud Computing architecture that we will be
looking into are as follows:

 Hypervisor

 Management Software

 Deployment Software

 Network

 Cloud Server

 Cloud Storage
Hypervisor

 It is a virtual machine monitor which provides Virtual Operating Platforms to every user 

 It also manages guest operating systems in the cloud 

 It runs a separate virtual machine on the back end which consists of software and
hardware

 Its main objective is to divide and allocate resources

Management Software 

 Its responsibility is to manage and monitor cloud operations with various strategies to
increase the performance of the cloud

 Some of the operations performed by the management software are: 

 compliance auditing

 management of overseeing disaster

 contingency plans

Deployment Software

 It consists of all the mandatory installations and configurations required to run a cloud
service

 Every deployment of cloud services are performed using a deployment software

 The three different models which can be deployed are the following:

 SaaS - Software as a service hosts and manages applications of the end-user.

Example: Gmail
 PaaS - Platform as a service helps developers to build, create, and manage applications.

Example: Microsoft Azure

 IaaS - Infrastructure as a service provides services on a pay-as-you-go pricing model.

Network

 It connects the front-end and back-end. Also, allows every user to access cloud
resources

 It helps users to connect and customize the route and protocol

 It is a virtual server which is hosted on the cloud computing platform

 It is highly flexible, secure, and cost-effective

Cloud Storage

 Here, every bit of data is stored and accessed by a user from anywhere over the internet

 It is scalable at run-time and is automatically accessed

 Data can be modified and retrieved from cloud storage over the web

Conclusion
Cloud computing architecture gives an environment where organizations can
securely build applications and use cloud services based on the client requirement.
We learned what cloud computing is, the benefits of Cloud Computing architecture,
the architecture of cloud computing, and components of cloud computing
architecture.

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