Basic Cloud acronyms
There are three basic forms of cloud computing services. This set of tips delivers a brief definition for these and later tips will provide definitions of some of the rarer types. IaaS, PaaS and SaaS provide a stack of services that is the building block of most other Cloud computing services
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IaaS – Infrastructure as a service
A form of cloud computing that provides compute resources over the Internet. It can deliver both virtual or physical machines that are provided on a rental basis rather than owned by the business that makes use of them. Pricing can vary between providers and units can be provided per hour, per Mb of storage or memory and also by CPU. Where physical hardware is provided this will specify the configuration. Costs may also include operating systems as well.
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PaaS – Platform as a service
Platform as a Service providers offer both hardware and software tools over the internet. This is perhaps the most flexible of definitions as the platforms provided may be development tools or full application development environments. Database hosting may also be included within the platform or it may be that the client is required to install these,
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SaaS – Software as a Service
Software as a Service providers end users with a licensing and delivery model on a subscription basis. Users access the software using a thin client or merely a browser.
