Day 2 : Understanding Cloud Computing Basics

Getting Started

On day 1 of Cloud Computing, we discussed what cloud computing is at an elementary level. Here, we will dive into more concepts to help you get started with the various services and use cases of AWS Cloud.

Let's get started !!

In preparing for the CCP exam, knowing the advantages of cloud computing is important. Here are the six advantages of cloud computing according to AWS cloud documentation:

Six advantages of cloud computing

  • Trade fixed expense for variable expense -

    In simple words, instead of heavily investing in infrastructure based on the predictions, you pay only when you consume and how much you consume those computing resources.

  • Stop guessing capacity -

    Cloud eliminates the capacity decision before deploying an application. You can access as much or as little capacity as you need, and scale up and down as required with only a few minutes’ notice.

  • Stop spending money running and maintaining data centres -

    Expense on maintaining infrastructure is eliminated as it is purely managed by the cloud service provider and you only focus on your customer's needs and business value.

  • Benefit from massive economies of scale -

    Cloud provides users with the advantage of lower variable costs. This is achieved because the usage of hundreds and thousands of customers is aggregated in the cloud, which results in lower pay-as-you-go prices.

  • Increase speed and agility -

    In a cloud computing environment, we can access resources with a click away. This saves users time and increases productivity

  • Go global in minutes -

    AWS has a global infrastructure with which you can deploy your applications in multiple regions around the globe with just a few clicks. This provides lower latency and the best user experience at less expense.

Now that we've understood what cloud computing offers, let's go over some terms that will be used often when learning about cloud computing, specifically AWS cloud.

Reliability

The ability of a workload to perform its intended function correctly and consistently when expected. Note that this is also a pillar of AWS Well-Architected Framework (will be discussed in upcoming blogs)

High Availability

The ability of a system to maintain its uptime regardless of any state of failure or provide its functionality always without any low time in user experience. In AWS high availability is achieved through maintaining application across 2 or more availability zones.

Resiliency

It refers to the ability to continue when errors occur or the ability of workload to recover from infra or service disruption.

Redundancy

Duplication of hardware or software components to protect against single points of failure. Therefore, redundancy is one way to achieve resiliency.

Elasticity

The ability to acquire resources as you need them and release resources when you no longer need them. In the cloud, you want to do this Automatically. The ease with which you can procure resources when needed and contract when you no longer need the resource.

Agility

Agility is the ability of a business to quickly and inexpensively respond to change. In the context of IT in general and mainframes in particular, change refers to modifying applications and infrastructures to alter functionality, configurations, or resources. The ability to quickly respond to change is referred to as agility.

Scalability

Scalability refers to the ability of your connectivity solution to grow and evolve over time as your requirements change. Scalability can be of the following types: scale in, scale out, scale up, scale down.

Economy of Scale

The ability to do things more cheaply and efficiently when operating at a larger scale in comparison to operating at a smaller scale. This is possible because of the ability to acquire hardware at a lower cost than if a single user or small business were purchasing it.

Note that understanding these terms will enhance your cloud computing knowledge, but you don't need to memorize them.

That's it for this blog. Stay tuned as we dive deeper into this cloud journey.

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