Exclusive Subject Summary & Exam Preparation Guide
Part 1: Fundamentals of Cloud Systems
1. Understanding Cloud Computing
Cloud computing is the on-demand delivery of
computing services—including servers, storage,
databases, networking, software, and analytics—over
the Internet ("the cloud"). Instead of buying and
maintaining physical data centers, organizations rent
access to resources from cloud providers.
Core Benefit:
It lowers operating costs, runs infrastructure more
efficiently, and allows businesses to scale up or down
instantly as computing needs change.
2. Primary Cloud Service Models
, Cloud infrastructure is generally divided into three major
service delivery categories, often referred to as the
cloud computing stack:
A. IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service)
You rent the absolute basic infrastructure like physical or
virtual servers, storage space, and networking systems
from a provider on a pay-as-you-go basis.
Key Providers: Amazon Web Services (AWS),
Microsoft Azure.
B. PaaS (Platform as a Service)
Provides an on-demand environment for developing,
testing, delivering, and managing software applications.
It allows developers to focus on apps without worrying
about managing servers.
Key Providers: Google App Engine, Heroku.
C. SaaS (Software as a Service)
A method for delivering software applications over the
Internet securely, typically on a subscription model. The
cloud provider hosts and manages the entire software
application.
Key Providers: Google Workspace, Microsoft 365,
Dropbox.