【Technology Essay】Understanding what is cloud service from three aspects

foreword

In recent years, I have often heard about cloud services and cloud computing. Many job vacancies also include cloud engineers. I always thought that cloud-related matters involve distributed computing systems, so its technical threshold should be very high. It may be difficult for the general public to understand it.

When I was chatting with my friends these days, I suddenly realized that the cloud that seemed far away is actually within reach. The cloud service has already been so close to our life. After reading this article, because I am less familiar with the cloud field, I will consider it as a learning record. Here is also a question for readers to think about, what cloud application cases may we use in our daily life?

what is cloud

We don't seem to be sure how far the cloud in the sky is from us in real life, nor can we touch the entity of the cloud. These are the places where I think the cloud and cloud-related services are quite similar, so what is the cloud?

The word cloud is used to describe the servers scattered all over the world. They are connected together through the network and some system settings to carry out some practical applications. Usually, the more common applications are "transmitting information", "executing application programs". ", "Data Storage and Management".

The service it provides is to allow users to access files and data online anytime and anywhere as long as they have a device connected to the Internet, or to use some software services online through the functions released by some companies, such as our daily use The functions of email, video streaming, social media, cloud storage, etc. are all cloud services.

For developers, under the premise that many professional knowledge is not necessarily enough, using cloud services will be a place where products can be built more quickly, and there is no need to buy hardware equipment to think about how to build and maintain, because cloud service providers Already helped.

Next, I will use three aspects to let you know a little about the advantages and types of cloud services, and what type of cloud services we use on a daily basis.

1. Three advantages of cloud services

1. Remove the hardware threshold

For the company, there is no need to think about how much hardware resources to buy, how to build hardware, firewall and connection settings, or to deal with issues related to information security or backup power when equipment is powered off.

2. Save maintenance costs

In addition to the basic settings that do not need to be done, the management of the system also does not need to be dealt with. Assuming a store or a ticketing website, you should also think about how to load the server management system if there is an event for everyone to grab tickets and buy products. , whether there will be problems with the user connection.

3. Access anytime, anywhere

As long as users have a device connected to the Internet, they can use cloud-related services anytime, anywhere, and in many cases, users do not need to install any software that is not available, and can use it directly by connecting to the Internet. You don't have to worry about complicated issues such as software compatibility.

2. Four types of cloud service modes

1. Public Cloud:

In fact, almost all the services we see on a daily basis belong to the public cloud, such as Email, Google Docs, Dropbox, or company-oriented AWS, GCP, etc. The public cloud is a cloud service provided by a company, which is for the public. , so as long as you are their user or pay to join them, everyone has the right to use it.

This kind of service is very convenient, allowing some small and medium-sized enterprises to quickly build their own products at low cost, but there are also risks, because the cloud software and hardware facilities are provided and maintained by others, and we cannot fully grasp it , and it is not very sure whether some of the more sensitive information is safe and how high the degree of confidentiality is.

2. Private Cloud:

Private cloud means that all cloud-related infrastructure, software and hardware resources are in the hands of an organization, and only members of the organization can use cloud services. Such applications will be closer to the organization's own needs, such as strengthening Information security and industrial norms are common in the financial system or public units. Compared with public clouds, the cost is higher but it is also more secure.

3. Community Cloud:

Different from public cloud and private cloud, community cloud is used exclusively for a specific community. Members of these communities usually have similar needs or belong to the same industry. Different hospitals can add, query, and modify cases through this cloud platform.

4. Hybrid Cloud:

Hybrid cloud usually combines a mix of public cloud, private cloud or even community cloud. It depends on how the enterprise intends to use it. For non-sensitive data or things with less security concerns, put them on the public cloud, and put more confidential data on the private cloud. The advantage of joining the community cloud of industry cooperation is that it can save some costs, but at the same time ensure data security.

3. The three levels of cloud services

1. IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service):

Infrastructure is the lowest cloud service among these three services, which includes storage space and computing resources. For IaaS users, they rent the basic hardware resources of cloud services. Things related to equipment and maintenance are outsourced to others for help, and resources can be obtained directly. Then it is the developer's business. Based on these hardware resources, they can continue to build their own servers, databases, and some online applications.

Common services are: AWS , Azure , Google Compute Engine

2. PaaS (Platform as a Service, Platform as a Service):

PaaS services will include IaaS services, and the service provider will create a set of virtual application services, allowing users to directly connect to it, and then they can directly develop programs on it or use some developed tools to build products, because there is no need to manage development The environment allows users to focus more on developing applications, which can greatly reduce product development costs and increase the speed of product development.

Common services are: Oracle Cloud , Google App Engine , AWS Elastic Beanstalk

3. SaaS (Software as a Service):

As I said in the preface, a few days ago, I suddenly realized that I have been using cloud services all the time. Cloud software services are very close to the daily life of ordinary people. Social media, cloud storage, etc., the service provider has made a set of software and provided a small amount of hardware computing and hardware storage resources, allowing users to connect and use anytime, anywhere, and usually the service provider will provide free use If you think this is a good product, or if you want a better user experience, it will also provide different paid plans for users to choose, just like YouTube video streaming platform provides YouTube Premium plan, and if you want to have a better experience If you find that YouTube is used to play music, you can consider upgrading to the YouTube Music Premium plan (this is not a job match, and I hope to receive Google's advertising QQ one day).

Next step?

After researching what cloud services are, I think decentralized applications like blockchain or IPFS can also be regarded as cloud services, but the service provider does not have an absolute company or organization, and we do not know how to use these services. Who gets the fee in the end, it is very interesting to think about it, and it seems that there are still many things to explore.

In addition to the cloud software services mentioned above, I also use cloud services when I rent a virtual host to set up my own website. After realizing this, I want to continue to study these cloud resources and try to do it through these services. Some things, I hope there will be a finished product to share with you~

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