Cloud computing (UNIT – III)

Cloud architecture, services and storage

1. ARCHITECTURE DEFINED
The term architecture originates from building construction where it refers to the art of designing and
constructing buildings. While in ordinary terms it refers to the art form, this term in essence also conveys how
the functionality is achieved using common principles. In the world of information technology it one of the
components is not working properly along the access chain, the cloud implementation will fail.
 Cloud Architecture refers to the various components in terms of databases, software capabilities, applications,
etc. engineered to leverage the power of cloud resources to solve business problems. Cloud architecture defines the
components as well as the relationships between them.
The various components of Cloud Architecture are:
 On premise resources
 Cloud resources
 Software components and services
 Middleware
The entire cloud architecture is aimed at providing the users with high bandwidth, allowing users to have uninterrupted
access to data and applications, on-demand agile network with possibility to move quickly and efficiently between
servers or even between clouds and most importantly network security
The various cloud based services have their own distinct and unique cloud architectures:

Cloud Computing
A cloud computing architecture consists of a front end and a back end. They connect to each other through a network,
usually the Internet. The front end is the side the computer user, or client, sees. The back end is the “cloud” section of
the system.

A. Front end (Cloud Computing Architecture)

The front end of the cloud computing system has client’s devices (or it may be a computer network) and some
applications are needed for accessing the cloud computing system. All the cloud computing systems do not give the
same interface to users. Web services like electronic mail programs use some existing web browsers such as Firefox,
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Microsoft’s internet explorer or Apple’s Safari. Other types of systems have some unique applications which provide
network access to its clients.
B. Back end (Cloud Computing Architecture)
Back end have to some physical peripherals. In cloud computing, the back end is cloud itself which may various
computer machines, data storage systems and servers.

Layers Architecture of Cloud Computing

In the layers architecture of Cloud computing, cloud service providers into three categories:
 Software as a service
 Platform as a service
 Infrastructure as a service
2. Cloud Computing Reference Architecture: An Overview
Figure presents an overview of the NIST cloud computing reference architecture, which identifies the major actors,
their activities and functions in cloud computing. The diagram depicts a generic high-level architecture and is intended
to facilitate the understanding of the requirements, uses, characteristics and standards of cloud computing.

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As shown in Figure , the NIST cloud computing reference architecture defines five major actors: cloud consumer, cloud
provider, cloud carrier, cloud auditor and cloud broker. Each actor is an entity (a person or an organization) that
participates in a transaction or process and/or performs tasks in cloud computing. Table 1 briefly lists the actors
defined in the NIST cloud computing reference architecture. The general activities of the actors are discussed in the
remainder of this section.

Figure 2 illustrates the interactions among the actors. A cloud consumer may request cloud services from a cloud
provider directly or via a cloud broker. A cloud auditor conducts independent audits and may contact the others to
collect necessary information.

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Cloud Consumer: The cloud consumer is the principal stakeholder for the cloud computing service. A cloud consumer
represents a person or organization that maintains a business relationship with, and uses the service from a cloud
provider. A cloud consumer browses the service catalog from a cloud provider, requests the appropriate service, sets
up service contracts with the cloud provider, and uses the service. The cloud consumer may be billed for the service
provisioned, and needs to arrange payments accordingly.
Depending on the services requested, the activities and usage scenarios can be different among cloud consumers.
Figure 6 presents some example cloud services available to a cloud consumer.

1. There are certain services and models working behind the scene making the cloud computing feasible and
accessible to end users. The following are the working models for cloud computing:
o Deployment models
o Service models
 Cloud computing deployment models
There are various types of clouds, each of which is different from the other. It is often divided into three categories:
o public
o private
o Hybrid,
referring to who has access to the
services or infrastructure.

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Public-cloud services are made available to anybody that wants to purchase. Public cloud services are sold on
demand, typically by the minute or hour, though long-term commitments are available for many services. Customers
only pay for the CPU cycles, storage or bandwidth they consume. Public clouds can also typically be deployed much
faster and with more scalability and accessibility than on-premises infrastructure. Leading public cloud service
providers include Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, IBM and Google Cloud Platform.
Private-cloud services are built by enterprises for use by their employees and partners only. In other word it is a cloud
environment set aside for the exclusive use of one organization.
Top Vendors: HPE, VMware, Dell EMC, IBM, Red Hat, Microsoft, OpenStack.
A hybrid cloud is a combination of both a public and private cloud with some level of integration between the two. In
which some critical data resides in the enterprise’s private cloud while other data is stored in and accessible from a
public cloud. Hybrid clouds seek to deliver the advantages of scalability, reliability, rapid deployment and potential cost
savings of public clouds with the security and increased control and management of private clouds.
Top Vendors: Combination of both public and private cloud providers
 Types of cloud computing services (Or Common Cloud Service Models or Types of Cloud Computing)
Cloud computing is not a single piece of technology like a microchip or a cellphone. Rather, it's a system primarily
comprised of three services:
o software-as-a-service (SaaS)
o platform-as-a-service (PaaS)
o infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS)
There are many other service models all of which can take
Like XaaS, i.e. Anything as a Service. This can be Network
a as Service, Business as a Service, Identity as a Service,
Database as a Service or Strategy as a Service.
The Infrastructure as a Service ( IaaS) is the most basic
level of service. Each of the service models make use of
the underlying(fundamental) service model, i.e. each
inherits the security and management mechanism from
the underlying model, as shown in the following diagram.
(I) Infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS)
Its provide access to fundamental resources such as physical machines, virtual machines, virtual storage, etc. It involves
a method for delivering everything from operating systems to servers and storage through IP-based connectivity as part
of an on-demand service. Clients can avoid the need to purchase software or servers, and instead procure these
resources in an outsourced, on-demand service. Popular examples of the IaaS system include IBM Cloud and Microsoft
Azure.
(II) Platform as a Service (PaaS)
It provide the runtime environment for applications, development & deployment tools etc. PaaS is a computing
platform being delivered as a service. PaaS shares some similarities with SaaS, the primary difference being that instead
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of delivering software online, it is actually a platform for creating software that is delivered via the Internet. Here the
platform is outsourced in place of a company or data center purchasing and managing its own hardware and software
layers. Most PaaS are designed for developers and aim to simplify the process of creating and deploying software. For
example, a Web developer might use a PaaS that includes operating system software, Web server software, a database
and related Web development tools. The leading PaaS vendors include Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, IBM
and Google Cloud Platform,Heroku.
(III) Software as a Service (SaaS)
SaaS is a software delivery method that provides access to software and its functions remotely as a Web-based service.
Instead of paying an upfront fee to purchase and/or license software, SaaS customers pay a recurring (often monthly or
annual) fee to subscribe to the service. In general, they can access the SaaS from any Internet-connected device, any
time day or night. Well-known examples of SaaS include Salesforce, Microsoft Office 365, Google G Suite, Dropbox,
Adobe Creative Cloud and others.
When it comes to providing services, the big players in the corporate computing sphere include:
o Google Cloud
o Amazon Web Services (AWS)
o Microsoft Azure
o IBM Cloud
o Aliyun