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Introduction to Cloud Computing

This is the digital and cloud era, with one of the leading cloud computing platforms being Microsoft Azure. Now, more than ever, it is important to know how cloud computing platforms function and how the different services and resources they provide can be utilized by an organization to meet their needs.

This book provides a solid grip on the cloud concepts and the Microsoft Azure cloud computing platform. By the end of this book, you will have a thorough and complete knowledge of cloud concepts and Azure fundamentals, enabling you to pass the AZ-900 certification exam confidently and easily.

This chapter primarily focuses on the Describe cloud concepts module from the Skills Measured section of the AZ-900 Azure Fundamentals exam.

Note

You can find a detailed AZ-900 Azure Fundamentals exam skills area in the Appendix, Assessing AZ-900 Exam Skills of this book.

Making the Most Out of this Book - Your Certification and Beyond

This book and its accompanying online resources are designed to be a complete preparation tool for your AZ-900 exam.

The book is written in a way that you can apply everything you've learned here even after your certification. The online practice resources that come with this book (Figure 1.1) are designed to improve your test-taking skills. They are loaded with timed mock exams, hands-on activities, interactive flashcards, and exam tips to help you work on your exam readiness from now till your test day.

Before You Proceed

To learn how to access these resources, head over to Chapter 11, Accessing the Online Practice Resources, at the end of the book.

Figure 1.1: Dashboard interface of the online practice resources

Here are some tips on how to make the most out of this book so that you can clear your certification and retain your knowledge beyond your exam:

1. Read each section thoroughly.
2. Make ample notes: You can use your favorite online note-taking tool or use a physical notebook. The free online resources also give you access to an online version of this book. Click the BACK TO THE BOOK link from the Dashboard to access the book in Packt Reader. You can highlight specific sections of the book there.
3. Chapter Review Questions: At the end of this chapter, you'll find a link to review questions for this chapter. These are designed to test your knowledge of the chapter. Aim to score at least 75% before moving on to the next chapter. You'll find detailed instructions on how to make the most of these questions at the end of this chapter in the Exam Readiness Drill - Chapter Review Questions section. That way, you're improving your exam-taking skills after each chapter, rather than at the end.
4. Flashcards: After you've gone through the book and scored 75% more in each of the chapter review questions, start reviewing the online flashcards. They will help you memorize key concepts.
5. Mock Exams: Solve the mock exams that come with the book till your exam day. If you get some answers wrong, go back to the book and revisit the concepts you're weak in.
6. Hands-On Activities: After completing this book, complete the hands-on activities online to improve your practical experience.
7. Exam Tips: Review these from time to time to improve your exam readiness even further.

The main emphasis of this chapter is on the module that delves into cloud concepts described in the Skills Measured section of the AZ-900 Azure Fundamentals exam.

By the end of this chapter, you will be able to confidently answer questions on the following topics:

• Cloud computing
• The shared responsibility model
• Cloud models, including public, private, and hybrid
• Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
• Platform as a Service (PaaS)
• Software as a Service (SaaS)
• Appropriate use cases for each cloud service model (IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS)
• Appropriate use cases for each cloud delivery model (public, private, and hybrid)

This chapter will outline what cloud computing is, where the cloud computing model evolved from, and the evolution of cloud computing architectures, as well as look at adopting cloud computing and knowing its target audience. You will learn about the shared responsibility model, the cloud computing delivery and service models, and the characteristics and a comparison of each model.

In addition, this chapter's goal is to take your knowledge beyond the exam's content to prepare you for a real-world, day-to-day Azure-focused role.

What is Cloud Computing?

Cloud computing is something of a misnomer; it is a marketing term for a technology model that may be adopted to consume computing resources and services.

As a technology platform, the cloud can benefit many audiences, addressing a need to access self-service, on-demand computing resources and services that are secure, governed, automated, elastic, and scalable, allowing the platform to cater to demand.

The value of a cloud provider platform is as an enabler of digital transformation and innovation. It provides quicker time to market and value and economies of scale, with an operating model that is governed, elastic, agile, and combined with a flexible cost model.

These abilities provide choices in how computing resources and services can be provided and consumed to suit an organization's needs and operating model most appropriately.

Microsoft, Amazon, Alibaba, and Google are the largest cloud platform providers. The public cloud operating model implements hardware and software at the cloud platform provider's facilities, from which they create compute, storage, network, and other resources and services. These are made available to all tenants on the platform, who use their portion of the shared resources and services and are billed only for what they use (or consume). The users of these multi-tenant (shared) computing platforms benefit through economies of scale, that is, cost reductions that can be passed on due to efficiencies in the scale of operation.

Many of these providers now offer hybrid cloud solutions, meaning the hardware, software, services, and resources can also now sit in the customer's locations, or even a third-party provider's locations, with a control plane that operates over a network from the cloud provider's platform locations. Microsoft's examples of this are Azure Stack and Azure Arc.

The following section will further help in learning more about Cloud Computing.

The NIST Definition of Cloud Computing

The US government agency National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) defines "cloud computing" as the following:

Cloud computing is a model for enabling ubiquitous, convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications, and services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction. This cloud model is composed of five essential characteristics, three service models, and four deployment models.

The following are the essential characteristics of cloud model:

• On-demand self-service
• Broad network access
• Resource pooling
• Rapid elasticity
• Measured service

The service models are listed as follows:

• SaaS
• PaaS
• IaaS

The deployment models include the following:

• Private Cloud
• Public Cloud
• Hybrid Cloud

Note

You can find more information about NIST at...