Cloud computing is the latest advancement in technology and the key concept here is virtualization. Virtualization software separates a physical computing device by dividing it into one or more ‘virtual’ devices, each of which can be easily used and managed to perform computing tasks.
The operating system–level virtualization such as Docker, creates a scalable system of multiple independent computing devices and hence it efficiently utilizes idle computing devices. Virtualization provides the agility to speed up IT operations and reduces cost by increasing infrastructure utilization.
The different deployment models of cloud computing concepts are Private cloud, Public cloud and Hybrid cloud. The concept is further classified into Community cloud, Distributed cloud, Inter-cloud, Multi-cloud and so on. The cloud architecture (the software systems involved in the delivery of cloud computing) involves multiple cloud components communicating with each other over a loose coupling mechanism such as a messaging queue. The entire cloud concept covers areas like systems, software, web, performance, information, security, platform, risk, and quality engineering.
Under the circumstances, we may look into the general models and their validation in the overall area of hosting.
* Private cloud – means a cloud infrastructure operated solely for a single organization and managed and hosted either internally or by a third-party. They demand significant physical infrastructure like space, hardware, and environmental controls. As the assets need to be refreshed periodically, they come with additional capital expenditure. The biggest disadvantage is users still have to buy, build, and manage them and hence cannot be termed as an economy model.
* Public cloud – means the services are rendered over a network that is open for public use. Public cloud services may be free. Technically there is little or no difference between public and private cloud architecture, although security consideration may be substantially different for services (applications, storage, and other resources) made available for a public audience where communication is effected over a non-trusted network. Generally, most of the public cloud service providers own and operate the infrastructure at their data center and access it generally via the Internet.
* Community cloud – it shares infrastructure for several organizations belonging to a specific community with common concerns (security, compliance, jurisdiction, etc.) and managed and hosted either internally or by a third-party.
* Hybrid cloud – is a composition of two or more clouds (private, community or public) that remain distinct entities but are bound together, offering the benefits of multiple deployment models. Hybrid cloud can also mean the ability to connect, collocate, managed / dedicated services with cloud resources. A hybrid cloud service cannot be put in the category of private, public or community cloud service. It allows one to extend either the capacity or the capability of a cloud service, by aggregation, integration or customization with another cloud service. Hybrid cloud adoption depends on a number of factors such as data security and compliance requirements, level of control needed over data and the applications that are being used in the organization.
The specialized model of hybrid cloud, which is built atop heterogeneous hardware, is called ‘Cross-platform Hybrid Cloud’. A cross-platform hybrid cloud is usually powered by different CPU architectures, for example, x86-64 and ARM, underneath. Users can transparently deploy and scale applications without the knowledge on the hardware diversity of the cloud. Basically, a new reign of website and application hosting can be achieved with the help of hybrid cloud hosting along with the combined benefits of the different models of cloud concept and infrastructure.
