Chapter 3- Cloud Product and Services Providers, Platforms and

Simulation
3.1. Cloud Products and Services
• Compute
In cloud computing, the term “compute” describes concepts and objects related to software
computation. It is a generic term used to reference processing power, memory, networking,
storage, and other resources required for the computational success of any program. For example,
applications that run machine learning algorithms or 3D graphics rendering functions require many
gigs of RAM and multiple CPUs to run successfully. In this case, the CPUs, RAM, and Graphic
Processing Units required will be called compute resources, and the applications would be
compute-intensive applications.

• Storage
Cloud storage is a model of computer data storage in which the digital data is stored in logical
pools, said to be on "the cloud". The physical storage spans multiple servers (sometimes in multiple
locations), and the physical environment is typically owned and managed by a hosting company.
These cloud storage providers are responsible for keeping the data available and accessible, and
the physical environment secured, protected, and running. People and organizations buy or lease
storage capacity from the providers to store user, organization, or application data.

Cloud storage services may be accessed through a colocated cloud computing service, a web
service application programming interface (API) or by applications that use the API, such as cloud
desktop storage, a cloud storage gateway or Web-based content management systems. A
colocation center is a type of data center where equipment, space, and bandwidth are available for
rental to retail customers. Colocation facilities provide space, power, cooling, and physical security
for the server, storage, and networking equipment of other firms and also connect them to a variety
of telecommunications and network service providers with a minimum of cost and complexity.

Cloud storage is based on highly virtualized infrastructure and is like broader cloud computing in
terms of interfaces, near-instant elasticity and scalability, multi-tenancy, and metered resources.
Software multitenancy is a software architecture in which a single instance of software runs on a
server and serves multiple tenants (customers). Systems designed in such manner are "shared"
(rather than "dedicated" or "isolated").

There are three types of cloud storage: a hosted object storage service, file storage, and block
storage. Each of these cloud storage types offer their own unique advantages.
Object storage is a computer data storage that manages data as objects in which each object
typically includes the data itself, a variable amount of metadata, an attribute of the object and a
globally unique identifier. Object storage systems allow retention of massive amounts of
unstructured data in which data is written once and read once (or many times). Object storage is
used for purposes such as storing objects like videos and photos on Facebook, songs on Spotify,
or files in online collaboration services, such as Dropbox.

File system is a method and data structure that the operating system uses to control how data is
stored and retrieved. Without a file system, data placed in a storage medium would be one large
body of data with no way to tell where one piece of data stopped and the next began, or where any
piece of data was located when it was time to retrieve it. By separating the data into pieces and
giving each piece a name, the data is easily isolated and identified. Taking its name from the way
a paper-based data management system is named, each group of data is called a "file". The
structure and logic rules used to manage the groups of data and their names is called a "file system."

In computing (specifically data transmission and data storage), a block, sometimes called a
physical record, is a sequence of bytes or bits, usually containing some whole number of records,
having a maximum length; a block size. Data thus structured are said to be blocked. The process
of putting data into blocks is called blocking, while de-blocking is the process of extracting data
from blocks. Blocked data is normally stored in a data buffer, and read or written a whole block at
a time. Blocking reduces the overhead and speeds up the handling of the data-stream. Block storage
chops data into blocks and stores them as separate pieces. Each block of data is given a unique
identifier, which allows a storage system to place the smaller pieces of data wherever is most
convenient. That means that some data can be stored in a Linux® environment and some can be
stored in a Windows unit. Block storage is often configured to decouple the data from the user’s
environment and spread it across multiple environments that can better serve the data. And then,
when data is requested, the underlying storage software reassembles the blocks of data from these
environments and presents them back to the user. It is usually deployed in storage-area network
(SAN) environments and must be tied to a functioning server.
Cloud storage is made up of many distributed resources, but still acts as one, either in a federated
or a cooperative storage cloud architecture highly fault tolerant through redundancy and
distribution of data, highly durable through the creation of versioned copies typically eventually
consistent with regard to data replicas.

• Database
Database service is a cloud computing managed service offering that provides access to a database
without requiring the setup of physical hardware, the installation of software or the need to
configure the database. Most database administration and maintenance tasks are handled by the
service provider, enabling users to quickly benefit from the database service. A cloud database is
a database built to run in a public or hybrid cloud environment to help organize, store, and manage
data within an organization. Cloud databases can be offered as a managed database-as-a-service
(DBaaS) or deployed on a cloud-based virtual machine (VM) and self-managed by an in-house IT
team.

The service provider handles the high-level database administrative (DBA) tasks, including: Initial
installation, Configuration management, Database maintenance, Performance management,
Backups, Patches and upgrades, Disaster recovery, monitoring the database and the underlying
infrastructure. This type of cloud service covers both relational and non-relational databases.

A relational database is a type of database that focuses on the relation between stored data
elements. It allows users to establish links between different sets of data within the database and
use these links to manage and reference related data. This enables faster indexing and query
response times and makes the data more secure and consistent. Many relational databases use SQL
(Structured Query Language) to perform queries and maintain data. Hence relational database is
referred as SQL-database. Examples include: MySQL, PostgreSQL, MariaDB, and SQLite.

On the other hand, NoSQL databases don't need to rely on structure as much, which allows them
to store large amounts of data, remain flexible, and easily scale storage and performance. NoSQL
(Not SQL or Not Only SQL) is a generic term used for databases that do not depend on a relational
model. The data does not need to have a strict schema nor the usual SQL table structure. Most
commonly, the data is aggregated as key-value pairs, JSON documents, graphs, or wide-column
tables.

• Networking

Network service (NaaS) is a cloud service model in which customers rent networking services
from cloud providers. NaaS allows customers to operate their own networks without maintaining
their own networking infrastructure. Like other cloud services, NaaS vendors run networking
functions using software, essentially allowing companies to set up their own networks entirely
without hardware. All they need is Internet connectivity.

NaaS can replace virtual private networks (VPNs), multiprotocol label switching (MPLS)
connections, or other legacy network configurations. It can also replace on-premise networking
hardware such as firewall appliances and load balancers. A newer model for routing traffic and
applying security policies, NaaS has had a major impact on enterprise networking architecture.

A VPN connection involves the following 4 steps: The VPN client connects to the ISP using an
encrypted connection. Then the ISP connects the VPN client to the VPN server, maintaining the
encrypted connection. The VPN server decrypts the data from the user’s device and then connects
to the Internet to access the web server in an unencrypted communication. The VPN server creates
an encrypted connection with the client, known as a ‘VPN tunnel’.

The VPN tunnel between the VPN client and VPN server passes through the ISP, but since all the
data is encrypted, the ISP cannot see the user’s activity. The VPN server’s communications with
the Internet are unencrypted, but the web servers will only log the IP address of the VPN server,
which gives them no information about the user.

Network services can include virtual routers, firewalls, and bandwidth and network management
software, with other tools and functions available as required.

• Content Delivery

A content delivery network (CDN) refers to a geographically distributed group of servers which
work together to provide fast delivery of Internet content. The goal is to provide high availability
and performance by distributing the service spatially relative to end users. A CDN allows for the
quick transfer of assets needed for loading Internet content including HTML pages, javascript files,
stylesheets, images, and videos. The popularity of CDN services continues to grow, and today the
majority of web traffic is served through CDNs, including traffic from major sites like Facebook,
Netflix, and Amazon.

At its core, a CDN is a network of servers linked together with the goal of delivering content as
quickly, cheaply, reliably, and securely as possible. In order to improve speed and connectivity, a
CDN will place servers at the exchange points between different networks. These Internet
exchange points (IXPs) are the primary locations where different Internet providers connect in
order to provide each other access to traffic originating on their different networks. By having a
connection to these high speed and highly interconnected locations, a CDN provider is able to
reduce costs and transit times in high speed data delivery.

Figure 1 - (Left) Single server distribution (Right) CDN scheme of distribution

A properly configured CDN may also help protect websites against some common malicious
attacks, such as Distributed Denial of Service (DDOS) attacks.
The globally distributed nature of a CDN means reduce distance between users and website
resources. Instead of having to connect to wherever a website’s origin server may live, a CDN lets
users connect to a geographically closer data center. Less travel time means faster service.
Hardware and software optimizations such as efficient load balancing and solid-state hard drives
can help data reach the user faster.

CDNs can reduce the amount of data that’s transferred by reducing file sizes using tactics such as
minification and file compression. Smaller file sizes mean quicker load times. CDNs can also
speed up sites which use TLS/SSL certificates by optimizing connection reuse and enabling TLS
false start.

• Machine learning

Machine learning is the study of algorithms that have the ability to learn through patterns and,
based on that, make predictions against patterns of data. It’s a better alternative to leveraging static
program instructions and instead making data-driven predictions or decisions that will improve
over time without human intervention and additional programming.

Machine learning as a service (MLaaS) is an umbrella definition of various cloud-based platforms

that cover most infrastructure issues such as data pre-processing, model training, and model
evaluation, with further prediction.

• Internet of Things

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a system of interrelated computing devices, mechanical and digital
machines, objects, animals or people that are provided with unique identifiers and the ability to
transfer data over a network without requiring human-to-human or human-to-computer
interaction.

IoT has evolved with the greater generation of data. Internet of Things Cloud Service creates
excessive communication between inexpensive sensors in the IoT which means even greater
connectivity; billions of connected devices and machines will soon join human-users.

Cloud Computing in IoT works as part of a collaboration and is used to store IoT data. Utilizing
the cloud allows for processing outside of the device itself, which is often impossible or expensive
to implement on small devices or edge processors.
• Developer Tools

Cloud developer tools are used to develop, deploy, and debug programs.

3.2. Cloud Providers’ Products and services

Cloud Service providers (CSP) offer various services such as Software as a Service, Platform as a
service, Infrastructure as a service, network services, business applications, mobile applications,
and infrastructure in the cloud. The cloud service providers host these services in a data center,
and users can access these services through cloud provider companies using an Internet
connection.

1. Amazon Web Services (AWS)

In 2006, Amazon Web Services (AWS) began offering IT infrastructure services to businesses in
the form of web services -- now commonly known as cloud computing. Amazon Web Services is
a secure cloud service platform provided by Amazon. Today, Amazon Web Services provides a
highly reliable, scalable, low-cost infrastructure platform in the cloud that powers hundreds of
thousands of businesses in 190 countries around the world. It offers various services such as
Compute, Storage, Database, Networking and Content Delivery, Analytics, Machine learning,
Security Identity and Compliance.
2. Microsoft Azure

Microsoft unveiled Windows Azure in early October 2008 but it went to live after February 2010.
Later in 2014, Microsoft changed its name from Windows Azure to Microsoft Azure. Azure
provided a service platform for .NET services, SQL Services, and many Live Services. Azure
offers a range of software as a service (SaaS), platform as a service (PaaS) and infrastructure as a
service (IaaS) options for deploying applications and services on Microsoft-managed data center
infrastructure. Azure’s 50 operating regions are more than any other cloud provider. Azure
provides services such as Compute, Networking, Storage, Web + Mobile, Databases, Data +
Analytics, AI + Cognitive Services, Internet of Things, Developer Tools.

3. Google Cloud Platform

Google Cloud Platform (GCP), offered by Google, is a suite of cloud computing services that runs
on the same infrastructure that Google uses internally for its end-user products, such as Google
Search, Gmail, Google Drive, and YouTube. Alongside a set of management tools, it provides a
series of modular cloud products and services including computing, data storage, data analytics
and machine learning, Compute, Networking, Big Data for big query, IoT Core - Secure device
connection and management service for Internet of Things.

4. IBM Cloud Services

IBM Cloud offers various services such as Infrastructure as a service, Software as a service, and
platform as a service. The services include AI/Machine Learning, Analytics, Automation, Block
chain, Compute, Containers, Database, Developer tools, Integration, Internet of things, Logging
and monitoring, Networking, Quantum, Security and Storage.

5. VMware Cloud

VMware Cloud Provides Simplicity across Multi-Cloud; App Platform that is used
to build, run, secure, and manage all of your apps across any cloud with application modernization
solutions and guidance from VMware; Anywhere Workspace that Enables any employee to work
from anywhere, anytime with seamless employee experiences; Deliver security and networking
as a built-in distributed service across users, apps, devices, and workloads in any cloud.

6. Oracle cloud

Oracle Cloud provides Developer Services that are used to build, deploy, and manage modern
cloud applications using developer-friendly tools and services; Application Integration Services
that Integrate SaaS, cloud, and on-premises workloads with prebuilt or custom connectivity and
Make all your data more accessible with APIs; Analytics and BI to Gain comprehensive business
intelligence with augmented analytics to help your organization grow through unique insights;
Machine Learning and AI Easily add intelligence to your applications and workloads with
prebuilt perception and decision models and out-of-the-box catboats, or build and train your own
models with our data science services; Provision of Digital Media Services that process video and
audio media into different formats for on-demand streaming and run batch operations through
APIs and command-line interface tools; Compute service provides Secure and elastic compute
capacity in the cloud that ranges from flexible virtual machines (Flex VMs) and high-performance
bare metal servers to HPC(High Performance Computing) and GPU(Graphical Processing Units); Storage service
Addresses key use cases with on-demand local, object, file, block, and archive storage; Containers
and Functions to Deploy micro services applications on high-performance, managed, open source
Docker, Kubernetes, and Fn Functions services and Networking that Connects securely to a
customizable, isolated virtual cloud network (VCN); Oracle Databases that Run cost-optimized,
high-performance, and autonomous versions of Oracle Database, the world's leading converged,
multi-model database management system in the cloud.

7. Alibaba Cloud

Featured Products of Alibaba cloud include Elastic Computing, Networking and CDN, Database
Storage, Security, Enterprise Applications & Cloud Communication, Analytics, Artificial
Intelligence, Media Services, Hybrid Cloud, Container & Middleware, Developer Services and
Internet of Things.

8. Salesforce
Salesforce's products include several customer relationship management (CRM) technologies,
including: Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Marketing Cloud, and Commerce Cloud and Platform.