What does “Cloud Management services” mean?

Cloud services management fall into three main groups: IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS. Each is discussed in the following sections.

What does “IaaS” mean in cloud computing?

According to “The NIST Definition of Cloud Computing,” in IaaS, “the capability provided to the consumer is to provision processing, storage, networks, and other fundamental computing resources where the consumer can deploy and run arbitrary software, which can include OSs and applications.

The consumer does not manage or control the underlying cloud infrastructure but has control over OSs, storage, and deployed applications; and possibly limited control of select networking components (e.g., host firewalls).”

4 Traditionally, infrastructure has always been the focal point for ensuring which capabilities and organization requirements could be met versus those that were restricted.

It also represented possibly the most significant investments in terms of CapEx and skilled resources made by the organization.

The emergence of the cloud has changed this traditional view of infrastructure’s role significantly by commoditizing it and allowing it to be consumed through an on-demand, pay-as-you-go model.

What are the IaaS Key Components and Characteristics?

The Cloud services management following form is the basis for the IaaS service model:

1. Scale: The requirement for automation and tools to support the potentially significant workloads of either internal users or those across multiple cloud deployments (dependent on which cloud service offering) is a key component of IaaS.

• Users and customers require optimal levels of visibility, control, and assurances related to the infrastructure and its ability to satisfy their requirements.

2. Converged network and IT capacity pool: This follows from the scale focus, but it looks to drill into the virtualization and service management components required to cover and provide appropriate levels of service across network boundaries.

• From a customer or user perspective, the pool appears seamless and endless (no visible barriers or restrictions, along with the minimal requirement to initiate additional resources) for both the servers and the network.

• These are (or should be) driven and focused at all times in supporting and meeting relevant platform and application SLAs.

3. Self-service and on-demand capacity: This requires an online resource or customer portal that allows the customers to have complete visibility and awareness of Architectural Concepts and Design Requirements 1 Cloud Service Categories 19 of the virtual IaaS environment they currently utilize.

• It additionally allows customers to acquire, remove, manage, and report on resources, without the need to engage or speak with resources internally or with the provider.

4. High reliability and resilience: To be effective, the requirement for automated distribution across the virtualized infrastructure is increasing and affording resilience, while enforcing and meeting SLA requirements.

What are “IaaS Key Benefits” in cloud computing?

• IaaS has several key benefits for organizations, which include but are not limited to the following:

1. Usage metered and priced based on units (or instances) consumed. This can also be billed back to specific departments or functions.
2. The ability to scale up and down infrastructure services based on actual usage. This is particularly useful and beneficial when there are significant spikes and dips within the usage curve for infrastructure.
3. Reduced cost of ownership. There is no need to buy assets for everyday use, no loss of asset value over time, and reduced costs of maintenance and support.
4. Reduced energy and cooling costs along with “green IT” environment effect with optimum use of IT resources and systems.

• Cloud services management Significant and notable providers in the IaaS space include Amazon, AT&T, Rackspace, Verizon/Terremark, and HP, among others.

What does “PaaS” mean in cloud computing?

According to “The NIST Definition of Cloud Computing,” in PaaS, “the capability provided to the consumer is to deploy onto the cloud infrastructure consumer-created or acquired applications created using programming languages, libraries, services, and tools supported by the provider.

The consumer does not manage or control the underlying cloud infrastructure, including network, servers,

OSs, or storage, but has control over the deployed applications and possibly configuration settings for the application-hosting environment.

”PaaS and the cloud platform components have revolutionized how development and software have been delivered to customers and users over the past few years.

The barrier for entry in terms of costs, resources, capabilities, and ease of use have dramatically reduced time to market promoting and harvesting the innovative culture within many organizations.

What are the “PaaS Key Capabilities and Characteristics” in cloud?

Cloud services management outside of the key benefits, PaaS should have the following key capabilities and characteristics:

1. Support multiple languages and frameworks: PaaS should support multiple programming languages and frameworks, thus enabling the developers to code in whichever language they prefer or whatever the design requirements specify.

• In recent times, significant strides and efforts have been taken to ensure that open source stacks are both supported and utilized, thus reducing lock-in or issues with interoperability when changing CSPs.

2. Multiple hosting environments: The ability to support a wide choice and variety of underlying hosting environments for the platform is key to meeting customer requirements and demands.

• Whether public cloud, private cloud, local hypervisor, or bare metal, supporting multiple hosting environments allows the application developer or administrator to migrate the application when and as required.

• This can also be used as a form of contingency and continuity and to ensure ongoing availability.

3. Flexibility: Traditionally, platform providers provided features and requirements that they felt suited the client requirements, along with what suited their service offering, and positioned them as the provider of choice, with limited options for the customers to move easily.

• This has changed drastically, with extensibility and flexibility now offered to meet the needs and requirements of developer audiences. This has been heavily influenced by open source, which allows relevant plug-ins to be quickly and efficiently introduced into the platform.

4. Allow choice and reduce lock-in: Learning from previous horror stories and restrictions, proprietary meant red tape, barriers, and restrictions on what developers could do when it came to migration or adding features and components to the platform.

• Although the requirement to code to specific application programming interfaces (APIs) was made available by the provider, developers could run their apps in various environments based on commonality and standard API structures, ensuring a level of consistency and quality for customers and users.

6. Ability to auto-scale: This enables the application to seamlessly scale up and down as required to accommodate the cyclical demands of users. The platform will allocate resources and assign these to the application, as required.

• This serves as a key driver for any seasonal organizations that experience spikes and drops in usage. Architectural Concepts and Design Requirements

What are the “PaaS Key Benefits” in cloud?

PaaS has several key benefits for developers, which include but are not limited to these:

1. OSs can be changed and upgraded frequently, including associated features and system services.
2. Globally distributed development teams can work together on software development projects within the same environment.
3. Services are available and can be obtained from diverse sources that cross-national and international boundaries.
4. Upfront and recurring or ongoing costs can be significantly reduced by utilizing a single vendor instead of maintaining multiple hardware facilities and environments.

Cloud services management Significant and notable providers in the PaaS space include Microsoft, OpenStack, and Google, among others.

What does “SaaS” mean in cloud computing?

According to “The NIST Definition of Cloud Computing,” in SaaS, “The capability provided to the consumer is to use the provider’s applications running on a cloud infrastructure.

The applications are accessible from various client devices through either a thin client interface, such as a web browser (e.g., web-based email), or a program interface.

The consumer does not manage or control the underlying cloud infrastructure including networks, servers, operating systems, storage, or even individual application capabilities, with the possible exception of limited user-specific application configuration settings.

What are the SaaS Delivery Models for Cloud services management?

Cloud services management Within SaaS, two delivery models are currently used:

1. Hosted application management (hosted AM): The provider hosts commercially available software for customers and delivers it over the Web (Internet).

2. Software on demand: The CSP gives customers network-based access to a single copy of an application created specifically for SaaS distribution (typically within the same network segment).

What are SaaS Benefits to Cloud services management?

Cloud computing provides significant and potentially limitless possibilities for organizations to run programs and applications that may previously have not been practical or feasible given the limitations of their systems, infrastructure, or resources.

When utilizing and deploying the right middleware and associated components, the ability to run and execute programs with flexibility, scalability, and on-demand self-service capabilities can present massive incentives and benefits for scalability, usability, reliability, productivity, and cost savings.

Clients can access their applications and data from anywhere at any time.

They can access the cloud computing system using any computer linked to the Internet. Other capabilities and benefits related to the application include these:

1. Overall reduction of costs: Cloud deployments reduce the need for advanced hardware to be deployed on the client-side. Essentially, requirements to purchase high specification systems, redundancy, storage, and so on, to support applications are no longer necessary.

• From a customer perspective, a device to connect to the relevant application with the appropriate middleware is all that should be required.

• Application and software licensing: Customers no longer need to purchase licenses, support, and associated costs because licensing is leased and is relevant only when in use (covered by the provider).

• Additionally, purchasing bulk licensing and the associated CapEx is removed and replaced by a pay-per-use licensing model.

2. Reduced support costs: Customers save money on support issues because the relevant CSP handles them. Appropriately managed, owned, and operated streamlined hardware would, in theory, have fewer problems than a network of heterogeneous machines and OSs

1. SaaS has several key benefits for organizations, which include but are not limited to these:
2. Ease of use and limited administration.
3. Automatic updates and patch management. The user is always running the latest version and most up-to-date deployment of the software release as well as any relevant security updates (no manual patching required).
4. Standardization and compatibility. All users have the same version of the software release.
5. Global accessibility.

Cloud services management Significant and notable providers in the SaaS space include Microsoft, Google, Salesforce.com, Oracle, and SAP, among others.