Learn general cloud computing concepts along with demonstration
Build knowledge from beginner to advanced level

Introduction to Cloud Computing course covers the cloud basics and advanced topics; therefore can help you in being a cloud practitioner by the end of the course. You will also learn the fundamental cloud computing concepts. The course is ideal for beginners having no prior cloud computing expertise. The course consists of interactive visuals such as diagrams and videos to demonstrate better and ensure that the audience understands concepts.

Rupali Mishra

Software Developer | Engineer

Introduction to Cloud Computing

# Introduction

Let us start with understanding what the cloud is all about. Going to the cloud means that resources are owned and managed by a third-party provider rather than the end-user. Therefore, we do not have to worry about hard drives, main-frames, or any hardware and software. 

# Cloud definition

Cloud computing is defined as a model for convenient on-demand network access to shared pools of configurable computing resources, enabling ubiquitous that can be released with minimal management effort and rapidly provisioned and or service provider interaction.

# Features of cloud computing

Features of cloud computing are as follows :

*Resource Pooling*: Resource Pooling refers to the ability of the cloud to pull the computing resources to provide services to multiple organizations with the help of a multi-tenant model. Various physical and virtual resources can be assigned and reassigned depending on the needs of the customer.

*Easy Maintenance*: Cloud Computing makes improvements to itself by making gradual advancements every time by easily maintaining the servers and providing low downtime or no downtime in some cases.

*On-Demand Self Service*: One of the essential and valuable features of Cloud Computing is that the user can continuously monitor the server uptime, capacity, and allocated network storage. In addition, the user also can monitor the computing capabilities.

*Availability*: Cloud capabilities can be modified according to use and can be extended significantly. Cloud analyzes the user's storage needs and allows them to purchase extra Cloud storage if required for a minimal fee.

*Large Network Access*: Data can be accessed in the cloud or uploaded from any device, provided the user has a device and internet connection. These capabilities are available across the network and accessed through the internet.

*Security*: Security is one of the best features of cloud computing. A snapshot of the data is created not to be lost in case of damage to a server. The data is stored within storage devices that unauthorized individuals cannot access.

*Economical*: The capabilities of the Cloud can be modified as per the use and can be extended a lot. It analyzes the storage usage and allows the user to buy extra Cloud storage if needed for a very small amount.

*Pay As You Go*: Cloud computing requires the user to pay only for the service or space they have utilized. There are no hidden or extra fees involved. The service is inexpensive, and often some space is free.

*Measured Service*: A company uses cloud computing resources for monitoring and recording. This resource utilization is analyzed by supporting a charge-per-use system. This means that the resource usage for either virtual servers or cloud-based instances is monitored, measured, and reported by the service provider. The pay-as-you-go model is variable based on the actual consumption of the manufacturing organization.

*Automatic System*: In some instances, cloud computing can handle metering capabilities and automatically analyze the data needed. This enables us to monitor, control, and report usage. It will provide transparency for both the host and the customer.

# Benefits of cloud

Along with this definition of the cloud and understanding, what features it has, we will discuss a few benefits that it brings.
Some of them are as follows :

## Rapid provisioning 

*Rapid Provisioning* is a process to get what we need as quickly as possible, shared pooling of resources, whether computing resources or storage resources and even minimal management because we can manage things on a massive scale.

## Ubiquitous

*Ubiquitous* means it is available anywhere, there is an internet connection, the cloud is public. They are also convenient since we do not have to consider data centers having servers or setting up a network, implementing proper cooling and fire protection. There is no power provisioning required because we are not powering the servers. There is no hardware installation required because they are not our physical boxes. It is just someone else, i.e., the cloud provider, who has to worry about that. We use the resources. Furthermore, sometimes no software installation is required because we use cloud service. 

## On-Demand

*On-Demand* means it is available when required. We can also have scheduled availability, i.e., we can make the resource come online when it is necessary to serve the purpose and then go offline when it is not required anymore.

We have a compute instance in the cloud used for intensive video processing.
We can configure it to be available in the early morning when video batch processing occurs. Once it is over, it automatically shuts itself down because we only need to pay for the resources we will use and not when they are not in use. Therefore we do not want to leave them up and running if we do not need them.

# Traditional idea of setting up a server

Now let us think about the typical process of getting a server up and running. Firstly we have to define what we need in a server, get all the specifications, the memory, the processing power, and the operating system network it will run on. Furthermore, the list could go on and on. Once we get the specs, we order it from someone and wait for it to come in. Once we set it up, we have to connect it to the network, then utilize it.

Also, we will have to maintain it on an ongoing basis as per the requirement.
That is the traditional way of getting a server up and running. In less than 10 minutes, we have got a server up and running because it is a virtual server in the cloud.

## Shared pool

That brings us to an essential concept of a *Shared Pool*. With cloud services, we are primarily using a multi-tenant solution, i.e., more than one tenant may be using a server at a time. Most cloud providers provide us with ways to implement a server that we are dedicatedly using. However, suppose we do not explicitly mention that. In that case, the default behavior is a multi-tenant solution in use because we have a virtual server in a cloud, and someone else also has a virtual server with the same cloud provider. It also does take care of automatic prioritization.
So if we paid more for the service, we would get more than others. The algorithms in the cloud service provider handle that prioritization, which brings us to the next important concept, computing resources.

So all those virtual machines or computing resources have to run still on a processor with storage, memory, and other necessary factors.

So computing resources are the processing required, the memory needed to do the processing, the storage needed for our configuration files, our data files, our operating system, etc. The networking is communicated within the cloud between different resources and externally to the cloud when someone accesses the resources.

The most significant benefit in the cloud is rapidly provisioning the resources or instances.

*Cloud provisioning* is simplified because we have a *single-click* launch which refers to the concept of launching a server with one single click as long as that server is based on a template that meets our exact requirements. Otherwise, we can create our templates based on our defined requirements.

Furthermore, once we have our template ready with us, we can do a template-based launch that exactly meets our needs.

We can also do a *solution-based* launch.
Not only can we launch a single server with a single click, but we can also launch a whole bunch of servers with a single click and all of the application platforms required for the solution that we are deploying.

We will have minimal management post-deployment.

A benefit of the cloud for small businesses is that they have the big I.T. groups that can manage all for them because of the cloud. Even small companies can often implement large-scale technologies without having as many members in staff because the hardware setup is not something we have to consider anymore.

## Automatic scaling

*Automatic scaling* for growth, elasticity, and shrinkage of our resources as needed and scheduled availability.
So all of these factors allow us to manage our cloud without necessarily being directly involved in management dedicatedly.

As we can see, the cloud provides us with many benefits for the modern enterprise down to the small companies. We can quickly and easily with the cloud because we do not need servers or server rooms.

We need an account set up as per our requirements to get the job done and then follow the pay as we grow the model.

# Conclusion

The information technology department is responsible for maintaining the servers, managing the servers' failures, and taking care of them. As part of the business operation, the company also purchases software and licenses. To maintain all these things, firms that they serve are expected to pay a monthly fee. The company is so focused on providing a quality service that it will fall behind its competitors if they fail to do so. 
Both customers and hosts can benefit from cloud computing because of the numerous benefits. Customers are also provided with numerous benefits by the hosts.

Get introduced to the idea of cloud computing as the delivery of computing resources as a service.

Defining the Cloud

Introduction

Cloud definition