7 Different Types of Cloud Computing Structures

What is Cloud Computing?

Cloud computing is basically a collection of different services provided by different companies. It mainly depends on resource sharing using internet enabled devices that allow the function of application software. The Cloud can serve a wide range of functions over the Internet, such as storage from virtual servers, virtual applications, authorization of desktop applications etc. By implementing resource sharing, cloud computing is able to achieve reliability and economies of scale. There are mainly two types of cloud computing models which are service based and deployment based.

Cloud Deployment Models

Cloud computing deployment models are based on location. In order to know which deployment model would best suit your organization requirements, it is necessary to know the four deployment types. Public Cloud, is a type of hosting which cloud services are delivered over a network for public use.

• Customers do not have any control over the location of the infrastructure.
• The cost is shared by all users, and are either free or in the form of a license policy like pay per user.
• Public clouds are great for organizations that require managing the host application and the various applications users use.

Private Cloud, is a cloud infrastructure that is solely used by one organization.

• It gives organizations greater control over security and data which is safeguarded by a firewall and managed internally.
• It can be hosted internally or externally.
• Private clouds are great for organizations that have high security demands, high management demands and uptime requirements.

Hybrid Cloud, uses both private and public clouds, but can remain separate entities.

• Resources are managed and can be provided either internally or by external providers.
• A hybrid cloud is great for scalability, flexibility and security.
• An example of this is an organization can use public cloud to interact with customers, while keeping their data secured through a private cloud.

Community Cloud is an infrastructure that is mutually shared between organizations that belong to a particular community.

• The community members generally share similar privacy, performance and security concerns.
• An example of this is a community cloud at banks, government in a country, or trading firms.
• A community cloud can be managed and hosted internally or by a third party provider.
• A community cloud is good for organizations that work on joint ventures that need centralized cloud computing ability for managing, building and executing their projects.

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Cloud Service Models

Cloud service models focus on providing some type of offering to their clients. Cloud Software as a Service, is a type of cloud that offers an application to customer or organizations through a web browser.

• The data for the app runs on a server on the network, not through an app on the user’s computer.
• Software is usually sold via subscription
• Examples of SaaS are Salesforce, Google Docs, Office 365, Basecamp etc.

Cloud Infrastructure as a Service, provides the hardware and usually virtualized OS to their customers.

• Software is charged only for the computing power that is utilized, usually CPU hours used a month.
• Examples of IaaS are Amazon EC2, Rackspace, Google Compute Engine etc.

Cloud Platform as a Service, provides networked computers running in a hosted environment, and also adds support for the development environment.

• PaaS offerings generally support a specific program language or development environments.
• Deploying your app in this environment, you can take advantage of dynamic scalability, automated database backups without need to specifically code for it.
• PaaS are billed as an additional cost on top of the IaaS charges.
• Examples of PaaS are Google App Engine, Cloud Foundry, Engine Yard Etc.

What About Cloud Printing?

Cloud printing wirelessly connects with your computer, tablet, smartphones and shared printers to allow you to print documents through the internet. A major benefit to organizations using The Cloud include sharing paper amount remote locations and not having to install a wired network. It is extremely useful for organizations who deploy BYOD, where they let employees choose their own devices and OS. Cloud printing offers greater convenience and improved productivity for cloud structure industries that rely on printing.