What is Cloud Computing?

Cloud Computing is a network of remote servers hosted on the internet for

storing and retrieving data. The cloud provides a number of IT services such as
servers, databases, software, virtual storage, and networking, among others
Companies that offer all the services mentioned above are called cloud
providers. They provide you with the ability to store and retrieve data and run
applications, managing them through configuration portals. Two of the best
cloud providers available today are Amazon Web Services and Microsoft
Azure.

Benefits of Cloud Computing

Cloud platforms offer some significant benefits today, which are driving
businesses to adopt Cloud Computing. Those major benefits include:

 Speed
 Cost
 Scalability
 Accessibility
 Better Security
1. Speed
If you want an IT resource or service from the cloud, it is available almost
instantaneously, and ready for production virtually at the same time. This means
that the product, service, and the go-live date hit the market almost
immediately, a considerable advantage over using a legacy environment. This
has helped many businesses’ services generate revenue much sooner after they
go live.

2. Cost
Planning and buying the right kind of hardware has always been a challenge in
the traditional legacy environment. If you purchase hardware that doesn’t fit
your needs, then chances are you might need to live with that purchase
indefinitely. However, this is not an issue with the cloud, since you do not need
to buy any hardware. Instead, you pay to use the host’s hardware, and once it
does not fit your needs, you can release it and can replace it with a better
configuration. In that way, you save a lot of money since you only pay for the
time you use.

3. Scalability
In a legacy environment, forecasting demands is a full-time job, but with cloud
services, you can easily set up an automated monitoring tool to do the job for
you. That information will let you accurately upscale or downscale the rate of
work you do depend on the needs.

4. Accessibility
Cloud Computing allows you to access resources, data, services, and
applications from anywhere you want, as long as you are connected to the
internet. If you are not connected to the internet, some tools and techniques will
allow you to access the cloud whenever needed.

5. Better Security
Ensuring that your data is stored in a secure, durable place is a priority for all
businesses. The cloud provides highly secure storage for customers’ data, yet
letting it be accessed anytime and anyplace that it’s required. Also, all data
stored in the cloud is encrypted and secured so that it cannot be tampered with.

Types of Cloud Computing

Cloud Computing is multiplying, resulting in it being classified into several

different categories. However, out of various categories, there are six that stand
out. These six categories are further divided into two parts: the category
of cloud-based deployment and the category of cloud-based services. 

Cloud Computing is divided into three categories based on deployment,

including:

 Public cloud
 Private cloud
 Hybrid cloud
The remaining three categories are divided based on the services they offer,
including:

 Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)

 Platform as a Service (PaaS)
 Software as a Service (SaaS)

Cloud Categories Based on Deployment Models

1. Public Cloud

In a public cloud, everything is stored and accessed through the internet. This
deployment system allows anyone with proper permissions to access some of
the applications and resources. The most exciting part about the public cloud is
that you own none of the components present in it, be it the hardware, software,
or application. All the components here are managed by the provider. Amazon
Web Services and Microsoft Azure are two prominent examples of the public
cloud.

2. Private Cloud
A private cloud is used exclusively in organizations, which they can run locally
or choose to outsource it to other cloud services providers. This infrastructure
runs strictly on a private network, which means that people present in the
network can only access it. VMware cloud and some of the AWS products are
some of the examples of a private cloud.

3. Hybrid cloud
It is probably the fascinating form of Cloud Computing that contains the
functionality of both public and private clouds. Organizations using the hybrid
cloud can choose to keep some of their data locally and some on the cloud.
NASA is the best-known example of an organization that uses a hybrid cloud. It
uses a private cloud to store sensitive data and uses the public cloud to save and
share data that can be viewed by the public worldwide.

Cloud Categories Based on Service Models

1. IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service)
This category consists of IT infrastructure that you can rent from a cloud
provider on a pay-as-you-go basis, including servers, networks, and others. The
best part about this service is that you have access to the services you
provisioned, and some grant you root-level access as well. EC2, or the AWS
Elastic Compute Cloud, is an excellent example of IaaS.

2. PaaS (Platform as a Service)

In this model, you are supplied with a pre-built platform from the cloud
providers, where you can deploy your codes and applications. You only need to
manage the codes and the applications, not the infrastructure. AWS Elastic
Beanstalk is an example of a PaaS cloud.

3. SaaS (Software as a Service)

Here, the cloud providers offer you the end product, which could be an
application or software that you can buy directly on a subscription. As a part of
this service, the client maintains control of the software environment but does
not maintain any equipment. There are some products of AWS and Microsoft
Azure that provide SaaS.
Difference Between IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS
Who Uses Cloud Services?

There are several well-known organizations across the world that have already
migrated to the cloud environment. Some of the examples include:

 Pinterest 

Uses the AWS cloud environment to manage multiple petabytes of data that
are generated by its users every day.

 Spotify

Uses the AWS cloud environment to store its vast repository of songs.

 Netflix

One of the largest video streaming services, it uses AWS to allow users to
stream shows from anywhere in the world.

 Expedia

Uses AWS cloud services to accommodate a highly scalable infrastructure.

What is AWS?

Amazon web service is an online platform that provides scalable and cost-
effective cloud computing solutions.

AWS is a broadly adopted cloud platform that offers several on-demand

operations like compute power, database storage, content delivery, etc., to help
corporates scale and grow.

History of AWS

 In the year 2002 - AWS services were launched

 In the year 2006- AWS cloud products were launched
 In the year 2012 - AWS had its first customer event
 In the year 2015- AWS achieved $4.6 billion
 In the year 2016- Surpassed the $10 billion revenue target
 In the year 2016- AWS snowball and AWS snowmobile were launched
 In the year 2019- Released approximately 100 cloud services

Applications of AWS

AWS enables businesses to build a number of sophisticated applications.

Organizations of every industry and of every size, can run every imaginable use
case on AWS. Here are some of the most common applications of AWS:

1. Storage and Backup

One of the reasons why many businesses use AWS is because it offers multiple
types of storage to choose from and is easily accessible as well. It can be used
for storage and file indexing as well as to run critical business applications.

2. Websites

Businesses can host their websites on the AWS cloud, similar to other web
applications. 

3. Gaming

There is a lot of computing power needed to run gaming applications. AWS

makes it easier to provide the best online gaming experience to gamers across
the world.

4. Mobile, Web and Social Applications

A feature that separates AWS from other cloud services is its capability to
launch and scale mobile, e-commerce, and SaaS applications. API-driven code
on AWS can enable companies to build uncompromisingly scalable applications
without requiring any OS and other systems.

Advantages of AWS Services

The power of AWS services lies in the fact that it enables businesses to reach
the marketplaces with little initial investment. Here are some advantages of
AWS services:

1. Security

There is a false misconception that data stored in a public cloud is not secure.
On the contrary, not only does AWS offer security tools that are cheaper than
other alternatives, but it is one of the most secure, extensive, and reliable cloud
platforms.  
2. Global Availability 

AWS has 80 Availability Zones across 25 geographic regions global data

centers. 

2. Scalability and Flexibility 

AWS offers unlimited flexibility and scalability on demand. This enables

organizations to plan their infrastructure roadmap on a subscription basis
without full commitment.

3. Little Investment 

AWS cloud services enable companies to save expenditures on extra software

and hardware. There is no physical data required, which ultimately lowers down
operating costs. 

AWS Services

Amazon has many services for cloud applications. Let us list down a few key
services of the AWS ecosystem and a brief description of how developers use
them in their business.

Amazon has a list of services:

 Compute service
 Storage
 Database
 Networking and delivery of content
 Security tools
 Developer tools
 Management tools
Compute Service

These services help developers build, deploy, and scale an application in the
cloud platform.

AWS EC2

 It is a web service that allows developers to rent virtual machines and

automatically scales the compute capacity when required.
 It offers various instance types to developers so that they can choose required
resources such as CPU, memory, storage, and networking capacity based on
their application requirements.

AWS Lambda

 It is a serverless compute service. It is also responsible for executing code for

applications.
 It helps you execute a program without the hassle of managing servers.

Storage

AWS provides web data storage service for archiving data. Also, its primary
advantage is disaster data recovery with high durability. 

Amazon S3

 It is an open cloud-based storage service that is utilized for online data

backup.
 Amazon S3 provides storage through a web services interface and is designed
for developers where web-scale computing can be easier for themAmazon
EBS

 It provides a high availability storage volume for persistent data. It is mainly

used by Amazon EC2 instances.
 EBS volumes are used explicitly for primary storage such as file storage,
databases storage, and block-level storage.

Database

AWS database domain service offers cost-efficient, highly secure, and scalable
database instances in the cloud.

DynamoDB

 It is a flexible NoSQL database service that offers fast and reliable

performance with no scalability issues.
 It is a multi-region and durable database with instant built-in security, backup
and restores features.

RDS

 It is a managed distributed relational database cloud service that helps

developers to operate and scale a database in a simple manner.
 We launched it to simplify the setup, operation, and scaling process for
developers while accessing a relational database.

VPC

 It helps a developer to deploy AWS resources, such as Amazon EC2

instances into a private virtual cloud.
 It gives you control over the complete cloud network environment,
including the section of your IP address range, subnets, route table
configuration, and network gateways.
 With this, developers can both IPv4 and IPv6 at a time for your resources
in a highly secure environment.

Networking and Delivery of Content

It offers a highly secure cloud platform and connects your physical network to
your private VN with a high transfer speed.

Route 53

 It is a web service with a highly available Domain Name System (DNS)

that helps users to route software by translating the text into an IP
address.
 We launched it for developers to provide them a cost-effective method of
routing end users to cloud applications. 

Developer Tools

It helps a user build, deploy, and run an application source code automatically.
It also updates the server and instance on the workload.

CodeStar

It is a service designed to manage application development in a single place.

Here, developers can quickly develop, build and deploy applications on AWS

Code Build

 This removes the hassle of managing physical servers and helps developers
build and test code with continuous scaling.
 In simple words, it compiles your code, executes unit tests, and gives output
artifacts that are ready to deploy.

Security, Identity & Compliance

It helps in monitoring a safe environment for your AWS resources by providing
limited access to specific users.

IAM

 Identity Access Management is a framework that helps in maintaining access

to AWS services in a secure way.
 The service gives you Shared access to your AWS account and Secure access
to AWS services that run on the AWS EC2 application. 

KMS

 It enables users to create and manage the encryption keys that are used for
encrypting data.
 The service includes a key generation method where digital sign within your
applications becomes easier.

Management Tools

Using this service, an individual can optimize costs, minimize risks, and
automate all the resources running efficiently on the AWS infrastructure.

Cloud Watch

 It is a monitoring tool for AWS resources and customer applications running

on the AWS platform.
 The service helps you gather and access all your operational data in the form
of logs from a single interface.
Cloud Formation

 This service helps you in monitoring all your AWS resources in one place so
that you can spend minimum time managing those resources and maximum
time developing applications.
 It allows developers to manage their cloud infrastructure either in a text file
or a template.

REGISTER FOR AWS FREE TIER ACCOUNT

1. First Open your web browser and navigate to AWS Free Tier Page
2. On middle-click on Create a Free Account
3. Issue the details which you want to use for login your AWS account and click
on Continue
• Email address: Provide the mail id which hasn’t registered yet with Amazon
AWS.
• Password: Type your password.
• Confirm password: Authenticate the password.
• AWS Account name: Choose a name for your account. You can change this
name in your account settings after you sign up.

4. Contact Information

1.Select your AWS type (Profesional/ Personal)

2.Fill in the correct information to validate your account if you’re going to
create personal use then click on “personal Account” else use “Company
Account”

3. Accepts the Terms and condition

4.click on Create Account and Continue

Note: Make sure to provide proper contact details and mobile number to get the
Verification code from AWS.
5. Payment and PAN information:
1. you must fill in your credit card /Debit Card info and billing address
2.click on Secure Submit.

6. In this step, it will take you to the payment gateway to validate your payment
information and for your credit card verification, Amazon will charge the
minimum price based on Country. Here I have provided India, so Amazon
charged 2 INR.
7. Phone verification:

1. Here you will be taken to an identity verification page that will already have
your phone number, so you just have to select either “Text message or Voice
call” Provide a valid phone number

2.Solve the captcha

3. Then click on Send SMS or Call Me Now(depending upon your selection).

8. After clicking on Send SMS or Call me Now, you will immediately receive a
call or SMS from Amazon, for verification code, Enter your code then click on
Verify Code
9. Support plan: AWS support offers a selection of plans to meet your business
needs.
Select your suitable plan then click continue
10. Registration Confirmation page.
Once you completed all the above steps and processes. You’ll get the
confirmation page as below. Now your account will be processed for activation.
It may take somewhere between 30 minutes to 1 hour for you to receive an
email confirmation that your Amazon Cloud Services account has been
activated.