What are Cloud Service Models in Cloud Computing

You’ve already seen the PaaS, IaaS, and SaaS acronyms for the various cloud service models if you’ve been around cloud computing for a while. Cloud service models specify various levels of shared responsibility that a cloud provider and a cloud tenant are responsible for handle.

What are cloud service models in cloud computing?

There are 3 types of Cloud Service Models

1. Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
2. Platform as a Service (PaaS)
3. Software as a Service (SaaS)
4. Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)

The cloud service model of IaaS is the closest to physical server management; the infrastructure will be held up-to-date by a cloud provider, but the maintenance of the operating system and network configuration is up to you as the cloud tenant.

Often known as hardware as a facility, IaaS is (HaaS). It is an internet-managed computing infrastructure. The primary benefit of using IaaS is that it allows users to minimize the expense and complexity of buying and maintaining physical servers.

  For example, Azure virtual machines are fully operating virtual machines running in Microsoft data canters. The fast deployment of new computing devices is a benefit of this cloud service model. It is considerably quicker to set up a new virtual machine than to purchase, mount, and configure a physical server.

Advantages of infrastructure As a service (IaaS)

• Increased Performance, Decreased CapEx

Increased efficiency is among the more well-known advantages of IaaS. With IaaS, the IaaS cloud service provider of your choosing provides and maintains the infrastructure. A cloud provider usually has an infrastructure set-up that is more stable, redundant, and robust than what would be feasible and financially practical in an office setting. This means that the upfront costs associated with buying, maintaining and running hardware can be saved by your business, minimizing the total capital expenditure (CapEx) for your IT spending.

• Agility or versatility

Applications can be easily made available and, whenever desired, deprovisioned.

• Administration /Management   

The model of shared responsibility applies; the customer manages and maintains the services they have delivered, and the cloud provider manages the cloud infrastructure and maintains it.

• Consumption-based model

In an Operating Expenditure (OpEx) model, companies pay only for what they use and maintain.

• Skills

To deploy, use, and obtain the benefits of a public cloud, no deep technical skills are needed. Organizations should make use of the cloud provider’s skills and experience to ensure that workloads are healthy, stable, and highly accessible.

• Cloud benefits

To ensure that workloads are made safe and highly accessible, companies should use the cloud provider’s skills and expertise.

• Flexibility

IaaS is the most versatile cloud service because you have control over the configuration and management of your application’s running hardware.

2. Platform as a Service (PaaS)

A managed hosting environment is this model of cloud service. The virtual machines and networking services are operated by the cloud provider, and the cloud tenant deploys their applications into the managed hosting environment. 

The PaaS cloud computing platform is designed to create, test, operate, and manage applications for the programmer. For example Azure App Services offers a controlled hosting environment in which developers can upload their web apps without having to worry about the specifications for physical hardware and software.

Advantage of Platform as a Service (PaaS)

• No CapEx

 Users should not have any up-front expenditure.

• Agility

 PaaS is more agile than IaaS, and servers for running applications do not need to be configured by users.

• Consumption-based model

 Users pay and work under an OpEx model only for what they use.

• Skills

To deploy, use, and obtain the benefits of PaaS, no profound technical skills are needed.

• Cloud benefits

To ensure that their workloads are made stable and highly accessible, users can take advantage of the cloud provider’s skills and expertise. Furthermore, users can gain access to more cutting-edge resources for growth. They can then apply these tools throughout the lifecycle of an application.

• Productivity

Users should concentrate only on application development, since all platform maintenance is done by the cloud provider. Working with distributed teams as services is easier because the platform can be accessed over the Internet. You can make the platform more easily available globally.

Disadvantage of Platform as a Service (PaaS)

Platform limitations

A cloud platform may have certain drawbacks that could impact how an application runs. When deciding which PaaS platform is ideally suited for a workload, make sure that any limitations in this field are considered.

3. Software as a Service (SaaS)

Also known as “on-demand tech” is SaaS. It is a program in which the apps are hosted by a provider of cloud services. With the support of an Internet connection and a web browser, users can access these programs.

The cloud provider handles all facets of the application environment in this cloud service model, such as virtual machines, networking services, storage of data, and applications. The cloud tenant only needs to provide the application managed by the cloud provider with their data.

For example, Microsoft Office 365, for instance, offers a completely operating version of Microsoft Office that runs on the cloud. Creating your content is what you need to do, because Office 365 takes care of everything else.

Advantages of Software as a Service (SaaS)

• No CapEx

Users should not have any up-front expenses.

• Agility

Users can quickly and conveniently provide workers with access to the latest technologies.

• Pay-as-you-go pricing model

On a subscription model, users pay for the software they use, usually weekly or annually, regardless of how often they use the software.

• Skills

To deploy, use, and obtain the benefits of SaaS, no profound technical skills are needed.

• Flexibility

From anywhere, users can access the same application data.

Disadvantage

Software limitations

A software application may have certain limitations that could affect how users function. You don’t have direct function control because you’re using as-is software. Be sure to consider any business needs and software limitations when determining which SaaS platform is ideally suited for a workload.

The following illustration demonstrates the services that might run in each of the cloud service models.

What is serverless computing?

Serverless computing, like PaaS, helps developers to create applications quicker by removing the need to handle infrastructure for them. The cloud service provider automatically provisions, scales, and manages the infrastructure needed to run the code with serverless applications. Serverless architectures are highly scalable and event-driven, utilizing resources only when there is a specific function or event or trigger occurs.

Describe the various types of cloud computing.

What are public, private, and hybrid clouds?

For cloud computing, there are three deployment models: public cloud, private cloud, and hybrid cloud. There are various aspects to each deployment model that you should consider when you switch to the cloud.

Deployment model	Description
Public cloud	Services are delivered over the public internet and are open to anyone who wishes to buy them. Cloud services are owned and managed by a third-party cloud service provider, such as servers and storage, and distributed over the internet.
Private cloud	A private cloud consists of technological tools used only by users of one company or organization. A private cloud can be physically hosted at the on-site (on-site) data center of your enterprise, or a third-party service provider can host it.
Hybrid cloud	A hybrid cloud is a computing system that blends a public cloud and a private cloud by allowing the sharing of information and applications between them.

The image below shows some of the principles of cloud computing that are discussed in this unit. In this example, when deciding where to deploy a database server in a hybrid cloud environment, several considerations are shown: as your resources shift from on-site to off-site, your costs are reduced and your management requirements decrease.