7.5 Cloud Environments

A cloud environment is a computing environment where resources such as servers, storage, applications, and services are delivered over a network, typically the internet.

Cloud environments allow organisations to access and scale resources on demand without owning or maintaining physical infrastructure.

Private cloud:

• Used by a single organisation
• Greater control and security
• Higher setup and running costs

Public cloud:

• Provided by third‑party cloud providers
• Shared infrastructure
• Highly scalable and cost‑effective

The use of cloud environments provides:

• Portability of data and applications
• Elasticity – easy scaling of resources
• Fewer storage limitations
• Cost effectiveness through pay‑as‑you‑go models

Client manages:

• Application software
• Operating system and middleware
• Runtime
• Data and user accounts

Cloud provider manages:

• Virtualisation
• Servers, network and storage hardware

Client manages:

• Application software
• Data
• User accounts

Cloud provider manages:

• Virtualisation
• Servers, storage, and networking
• Operating system, middleware, and runtime

Client manages:

• User accounts
• Data

Cloud provider manages:

• Application software
• Runtime and operating systems
• Virtualisation
• Servers, network, and storage