Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) is a fast-growing category of cloud computing that provides IT staff the flexibility to deploy virtual compute and storage resources in a service provider’s data center with application specific configurations. Users can manage the environments themselves or leverage the services of the provider or a third party for additional support and efficiencies.
Although major public cloud players like AWS and Microsoft Azure tend to dominate the IaaS discussion, such hyperscale platforms are not the only model for success. To help readers navigate the many nuances of the IaaS marketplace, we lovingly built the following interactive infographic: Iaas for Business, Explained.
Click the image below to begin your tour of “Cloud Town” or read on for some highlights.
So why the city and building metaphor? Because much like people choosing where to live based on diverse socio-economic, lifestyle and family considerations, workload and application placement in the cloud is predicated on a series of comparable factors – e.g. economics, security, performance requirements, range of managed services, data center location, etc.
Cloud Town showcases residents of four distinct neighborhoods: Public Cloud District, Dedicated Private Cloud Gated Community, Virtual Private Cloud Townhomes, and On-Premisville. Here are a few select snapshots.
Public Cloud
Public clouds are virtualized, multi-tenant environments. Hyperscale providers offer global redundancy, pay-as-you consume pricing models, and instant scalability. While easy to spin up and scale, determining how to manage, secure and optimize resources across cloud and on-premises platforms can be challenging.
Dedicated Private Cloud
Dedicated Private Clouds are fully isolated environments custom designed from single-tenant compute nodes. These hosted environments are ideal for applications with predictable performance requirements or require complex architectures and highly customized configurations.
Virtual Private Cloud
Virtual Private Clouds are logically isolated multi-tenant environments that offer consistent performance and easy-to-scale compute resources that are ideal for applications with significant variable resource requirements.
The drive through Cloud Town builds to an important conclusion:
So where’s the best place to live in Cloud Town? There’s no right answer. That’s because it’s not the physical home that matters — it all comes down to the diverse needs of residents and families.
In fact, most denizens of the cloud won’t stay put in one environment . . .
The concept ‘multicloud’ is quickly becoming an apt descriptor for many modern IT strategies. It’s sort of like accommodating the needs of several generations of a family at once. Unless you’re in a 90s sitcom, not everyone’s going to fit under one roof.
If you’re exploring Infrastructure as a Service solutions for your applications, you’re in the right place. Whether you need help designing and managing an AWS or Azure deployment or need a hyper-secure, high-powered environment for your critical applications, SingleHop has managed solutions and certified engineers to help you navigate every cloud lifestyle. We hope you enjoy the tour!
