What truly is Cloud Computing
Tags: cloud, aws, cloudskills, cloudnative
Published: 2022-07-03 02:02:19

We have heard these buzz words **Cloud Technology, Cloud Computing**.

You might have asked yourself, **What is this thing called cloud computing?** Is there an actual computer hidden in the cloud? Literally?


![What?](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/1tch4h3pyc83hc6zxqdd.gif)

From my point of view. Yes, we actually do have computing power in the cloud, but not in the literal sense. 
Yikes!

To answer some of your wondering thoughts. Today we would provide answers to your budding questions.

- What is Cloud Computing
- Characteristics of Cloud Computing
- Types of Cloud Computing
- Cloud Computing Service Models
- Cloud-Based Products on AWS

**_With that been said, lets dive in._**


![dive in](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/on2fuup5aqvajvcrk6t5.jpeg)


### What is Cloud Computing

I believe Cloud computing got such a name because, the information being accessed is found remotely in the virtual space(cloud). 

Cloud computing is the on-demand availability of computer system resources, especially data storage (cloud storage) and computing power over the Internet with pay-as-you-go pricing. 

Instead of buying, owning, and maintaining physical data centers and servers, you can access technology services, such as computing power, storage, and databases, on an as-needed basis from a cloud provider like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud Platform, Microsoft Azure, and a host of other platforms.


> **Cloud computing has its roots in the 1960s, the initial concepts of [time-sharing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time-sharing) **


### Characteristics of Cloud Computing
Companies that provide cloud services enable users to store files and applications on remote servers and then access all the data via the Internet.
Below are the major characteristics of cloud computing:

- On-demand self-service
- Scalability and elasticity 
- Automation
- Security
- Multi-tenancy
- Broad network access
- Measured service
- Great Flexibility
- Resource pooling


### Types of Cloud Computing
There are 4 main types of cloud computing: 
public clouds, private clouds, hybrid clouds, and multiclouds.

**Public Cloud**
A public cloud makes resources available over the Internet to the general public.

**Private Cloud**
A private cloud is a proprietary network that supplies services to a limited number of people.

**Hybrid Cloud**
A hybrid model contains a combination of both a public and a private cloud. The hybrid model gives organizations the flexibility to slowly migrate to the cloud.

The hybrid model is a growing trend in the industry.

#### Multi-clouds
Multi-cloud is a model of cloud computing where an organization utilizes a combination of clouds—which can be two or more public clouds, two or more private clouds, or a combination of public, private and edge clouds—to distribute applications and services.

### Cloud Computing Service Models

![cloud computing service models](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/za21w2xudavbeqxt59ma.JPG)

**Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS)**
The provider supplies virtual server instances, storage, and mechanisms for you to manage servers
Examples: _DigitalOcean, Linode, Rackspace, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Cisco Metapod, Microsoft Azure, Google Compute Engine (GCE)_

**Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS)**
A platform of development tools hosted on a provider's infrastructure.
Examples: _AWS Elastic Beanstalk, Windows Azure, Heroku, Force.com, Google App Engine, Apache Stratos, OpenShift_

**Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)**
A software application that runs over the Internet and is managed by the service provider.
Examples: _Google Workspace, Dropbox, Salesforce, Cisco WebEx, Concur, GoToMeeting_
_

#### Cloud-Based Products on AWS

![AWS services](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/aoes27xe6dtmv1qjrbl3.png)
Amazon Web Services is the world's most comprehensive and broadly adopted cloud platform, offering over 200 fully featured services from data centers globally. AWS offers a broad set of global cloud-based products.
Below is a few of the most used service / resource on the platform

####Compute services

- Elastic Cloud Compute (EC2)
- Lambda
- Elastic Beanstalk

#### Database management services

- MySQL
- Oracle
- SQL Server
- DynamoDB
- MongoDB

#### Security services

- Key Management Service (KMS)
- Shield
- Identity and Access Management (IAM)

#### Application integration

- Simple Queue Service (SQS)
- Simple Notification Service (SNS)

#### Cost management

- AWS Budgets

#### Analytics

- Quick Sight
- Athena
- Redshift

#### Developer tools

- Cloud 9
- Code Pipeline


### Benefits
There are several benefits to the cloud.

- Stop guessing about capacity.
- Avoid huge capital investments up front.
- Pay for only what you use.
- Scale globally in minutes.
- Deliver faster.

And that's all for now folks!

This is my first ever post. 
If this read has helped you gain insight in any way. Kindly like this post and show some support by sharing.


![Bugs bunny](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/6ao3iqejmc7ez0kge2zv.png)