Term of the Moment
data type
Redirected from: Internet cloud
Definition: cloud computing
Hardware and software services from a provider on the Internet (the "cloud"). Cloud providers replace in-house operations for general data processing and AI processing tasks.
Is Every Internet Function Cloud Computing?
Pretty much. Websites, email, automatic updates, backup, photo storage, streaming, virtually anything over the Internet is cloud computing because the cloud is the network, and the Internet is the biggest cloud there is. See cloud.
Software Service
Cloud computing started with software as a service (SaaS), which offers online business applications by subscription. Everything is managed by the cloud provider and accessed online via the Web browser, the only application the user requires.
Hardware Service
Amazon, Google, Microsoft and other cloud providers let customers rent their servers to run their own software. Amazon is the largest. See Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud Platform and Microsoft Azure.
Cloud Computing Features
(Self Service) Customers set up an account online and manage the process from start to finish.
(Scalability) Servers can be easily added and deleted.
(Speed and Reliability) Redundant datacenters and high-speed network backbones offer fault tolerance and fast response times.
Software as a Service (SaaS)
After the Web became popular in the late 1990s, for the first time, SaaS providers offered business applications to the end user online, eliminating routine and error-prone in-house software maintenance. Salesforce.com was notably one of the first, and customers pay by number of users. For the IT department, this was a paradigm shift. However, every solution generates problems, because when data are stored outside the company, there are security and privacy issues.
Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
Also called "cloud hosting" and "utility computing," IaaS provides the bare server hardware, or the hardware plus a virtual machine (VM), which is one partition in a server shared by many customers. IaaS customers upload all the software, from OS to applications. See virtual machine and software stack.
Platform as a Service (PaaS)
PaaS includes the server hardware, operating system and database, plus all necessary system software to run applications (the "stack"). With IaaS and PaaS, customers pay by some combination of server size, speed, storage capacity and network time (uploads and downloads). See stack, runtime engine and system software.
Function as a Service (FaaS)
FaaS includes the server hardware at the most granular level. FaaS customers pay only for the time it takes to execute specific tasks (see serverless computing).
The Virtualization Foundation
Cloud datacenters employ server virtualization, which, among other benefits, allows workloads to be added and removed as self-contained modules. IaaS and PaaS customers require technical skills to configure these functions. It is safe to say that without virtualization having become mainstream in the IT world, cloud computing would not have emerged. See server virtualization and virtual machine.
Private and Hybrid Clouds
Enterprises can create private clouds in their datacenters that employ the same cloud computing infrastructure used on the Internet. The private cloud provides the same flexibility and self-service capabilities, but with control of privacy.
A Cloud Computing Facility
Avoiding Natural Disasters
Is Every Internet Function Cloud Computing?
Pretty much. Websites, email, automatic updates, backup, photo storage, streaming, virtually anything over the Internet is cloud computing because the cloud is the network, and the Internet is the biggest cloud there is. See cloud.
Software Service
Cloud computing started with software as a service (SaaS), which offers online business applications by subscription. Everything is managed by the cloud provider and accessed online via the Web browser, the only application the user requires.
Hardware Service
Amazon, Google, Microsoft and other cloud providers let customers rent their servers to run their own software. Amazon is the largest. See Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud Platform and Microsoft Azure.
Cloud Computing Features
(Self Service) Customers set up an account online and manage the process from start to finish.
(Scalability) Servers can be easily added and deleted.
(Speed and Reliability) Redundant datacenters and high-speed network backbones offer fault tolerance and fast response times.
Software as a Service (SaaS)
After the Web became popular in the late 1990s, for the first time, SaaS providers offered business applications to the end user online, eliminating routine and error-prone in-house software maintenance. Salesforce.com was notably one of the first, and customers pay by number of users. For the IT department, this was a paradigm shift. However, every solution generates problems, because when data are stored outside the company, there are security and privacy issues.
Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
Also called "cloud hosting" and "utility computing," IaaS provides the bare server hardware, or the hardware plus a virtual machine (VM), which is one partition in a server shared by many customers. IaaS customers upload all the software, from OS to applications. See virtual machine and software stack.
Platform as a Service (PaaS)
PaaS includes the server hardware, operating system and database, plus all necessary system software to run applications (the "stack"). With IaaS and PaaS, customers pay by some combination of server size, speed, storage capacity and network time (uploads and downloads). See stack, runtime engine and system software.
Function as a Service (FaaS)
FaaS includes the server hardware at the most granular level. FaaS customers pay only for the time it takes to execute specific tasks (see serverless computing).
The Virtualization Foundation
Cloud datacenters employ server virtualization, which, among other benefits, allows workloads to be added and removed as self-contained modules. IaaS and PaaS customers require technical skills to configure these functions. It is safe to say that without virtualization having become mainstream in the IT world, cloud computing would not have emerged. See server virtualization and virtual machine.
Private and Hybrid Clouds
Enterprises can create private clouds in their datacenters that employ the same cloud computing infrastructure used on the Internet. The private cloud provides the same flexibility and self-service capabilities, but with control of privacy.
A cloud datacenter is mostly rows of rack-mounted servers that are in an unlit room until an engineer needs to perform maintenance. See rack mounted.
Housed in the former Pionen civil defense center 100 feet below Vita Berg Park in Stockholm, Bahnhof AB offers Internet access and a variety of cloud computing services in one of the world's most unique and secure datacenters. (Image courtesy of Bahnhof, AB.)