NIST cloud computing architecture:

Cloud
Consumer
Cloud
Cloud Provider Broker
Cloud
Auditor

Cloud Carrier

Cloud consumer:

i. A cloud consumer is the end user who browses or utilizes the services
provided by Cloud Service Providers (CSP), sets up service contracts with the
cloud provider.

ii. In this, set of organizations having mutual regulatory constraints performs a

security and risk assessment for each use case of cloud migrations and
deployments.

iii. Cloud consumers use Service-Level Agreement (SLAs) to specify the

technical performance requirements to be fulfilled by a cloud provider.

iv. SLAs can cover terms concerning the quality of service, security, and
remedies for performance failures.

Cloud auditor:

Cloud Architecture, Services & Storage

i. Cloud auditor is an entity that can conduct independent assessment of cloud

services, security, performance and information system operations of the
cloud implementations.
ii. The services that are provided by Cloud Service Providers (CSP) can be
evaluated by service auditors in terms of privacy impact, security control and
performance, etc.

iii. Cloud Auditor can make assessment of the security controls in the
information system to determine the extent to which the controla are
implemented correctly, operating as planned and constructing the desired
outcome with respect to meeting the security necessities for the system.

iv. There are three major roles of cloud auditor:

a. Security audit

b. Privacy impact audit

c. C Performance audit

Cloud service providers:

i. It offers consumers to purchase a growing variety of cloud services from

cloud service providers.

ii. It is a group or object that delivers cloud services to cloud consumen or end
users.

There are various categories of cloud-based services

a. IaaS providers: In this model, the cloud service providers offer infrastructure
components that would exist in an on- premises datacenter. These
components consist of servers, virtualization Inyer networking and storage as
well as the virtualization Layer.

b. SaaS providers: In Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), vendors provide a wide

sequence of business technologies, such as Human Resources Management
(HRM) software, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software, all of
which the SaaS vendor hosts and provide services through internet.

c. Paas providers: In Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS), vendors offer cloud

infrastructure and services that can access to perform many functions. In PaaS,
services and products are mostly utilized in software development. PaaS
providers offer more services than laas providers. PaaS providers provide
 operating system and middleware along with application stack to the
underlying infrastructure.

Cloud broker:

i An organization or a unit that manages the performance, use and delivery of

cloud services by enhancing specific capability and offers the value-added
services to cloud consumers.

ii It combines and integrates various services into one or more new services.

Cloud carrier:

i. The mediator who offer connectivity and transport of cloud services within
cloud service providers and cloud consumers.

ii. It allows access to the services of cloud through Internet network,

telecommunication, and other access devices.

scope between provider and consumer of NIST cloud computing reference

architecture.

1 The cloud provider and cloud consumer share the control of resources in a
cloud system.

2 This analysis of description of controls over the application stack helps to

understand the responsibilities of parties involved in managing the cloud
application.

Cloud Consumer

SaaS
PaaS
Application IaaS
Layer
Middleware
SaaS Layer
PaaS Operating System
IaaS Layer

Cloud Provider
3. The application layer includes software applications targeted at end
users or programs.

4. The applications are used by SaaS consumers, or installed/managed/

maintained by Paas consumers, IaaS consumers, and SaaS providers.

5. The middleware layer provides software building blocks (for example,

libraries, database, and Java Virtual Machine) for developing application
software in the cloud. The middleware is used by PaaS consumers,
installed/managed/maintained by IaaS consumers or PaaS providers, and
hidden from SaaS consumers.

6. The OS layer includes operating system and drivers, and is hidden from SaaS
consumers and PaaS consumers.

7. An IaaS cloud allows one or multiple guest OS's to run virtualized on

a single physical host.

8. Generally, consumers have broad freedom to choose which OS to be

hosted among all the OS's that could be supported by the cloud provider.

9. The laas consumers should assume full responsibility for the guest OS's,
while the laaS provider controls the host OS.

Public Cloud

1. Public cloud is a cloud in which the cloud infrastructure and computing

resources are made available to the general publicser a public network

2. Public cloud offers resource pooling, self-service, service accounting

elasticity, multi-tenancy to manage the solutions, deployment, and securing
the resources and applications
3. Enterprises are able to offload commodity applications to third-party service
providers (hosters).
4. The term 'public' does not mean :

a. That it is free, even though it can be free or fairly inexpensive to use.

b. That a user's data is publicly visible - public cloud vendors typically provide
an access control mechanism for their users.

5. Following are the examples of public cloud application:

a Public facing web pages

b. Public Wiki's and blogs
C. Jobs resembling batch processing with lower security constraints.
d. Data intensive workloads

6. The services consumed from a public cloud are as follows:

i. Security and data privacy

ii. Ease of access
iii. Discovery of services
iv. RESTful interface support
V. Lower cost
vi. Speed and availability

Security in a Public Cloud

1. Multi-Tenancy.
2. Security Review.
3. Mutual Risk.
4. Employee Physical Screening.
5. Multi-geographical datacenters.
6. Physical Security.
7. Regulations.
8. Programming Conventions.
9. Data Control.

Advantages of Public Cloud

1. Flexible
2. Reliable
3. High Scalable
4. Low cost
5. Place independence
Disadvantages of Public Cloud
1. Less Secured
2. Poor Customizable

Private Cloud
A private cloud computing environment is one that is only used by one
organization or firm, as opposed to being shared by several organizations, as is
the case with public clouds. The private cloud infrastructure may be set up on-
site or hosted by a different company.

o A private cloud is also known as an internal cloud or corporate cloud.

o The private cloud provides computing services to a private internal
network (within the organization) and selected users instead of the
general public.
o The private cloud provides high security and privacy to data through
firewalls and internal hosting. It also ensures that operational and
sensitive data are not accessible to third-party providers.

Services in private cloud:

1. Virtualization
2. Government and management
3. Multi-tenancy
4.Consistent deployment
5. Chargeback and pricing
6. Security and access control

Benefits of using private clouds:

1 Eliminating capital expenses and operating costs:

 Ownership of the hardware or software eliminates the pay-per use

potential, as these must be upfront purchases.
 The full cost of operations must be shouldered as there is no elasticity.
 If the private cloud hardware is sized for peak loads, there will be
inefficient excess capacity. iv. Otherwise, the owner will face complex
procurement cycles

Removing undifferentiated heavy lifting by offloading data center operations:

Utility pricing (for lower capital expenses and operating expenses) usually
implies an outside vendor offering on-demand services.

It relies on the economies of multiple tenants sharing a larger pool of

resources.

These higher costs might be justified if the benefits of quicker and easier self-
service provisioning and service-oriented access are large.

Types of Private Cloud

 This is a shared compute capacity with variable usage-based pricing to

business units that are based on service offerings, accounts data
centers.

 It requires an internal profit center to take over or buy infrastructure

made available through account consolidations.

2. Dedicated private cloud:

 a. Dedicated private cloud has IT service catalog with dynamic
provisioning.

b. It depends on standardized Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) assets

that can be broadly deployed into new and existing accounts and is a
lower-cost model.

3. Dynamic private cloud:

a. Dynamic private cloud allows client workloads to dynamically migrate

from and to the compute cloud as needed.
b. This model can be shared and dedicated.
c. It delivers the ultimate value of clouds.
d. This is a very low-management model with reliable SLAs and
Advantages of Private Cloud
a. Highly private and secured
b. Control Oriented
Disadvantages of Private Cloud
a. Poor Scalability
b. Costly
c. Pricing
d. Restriction

Hybrid Cloud

A computer system known as a hybrid cloud involves the usage of both public
and private cloud services. Utilizing the advantages of both kinds of clouds
enables organizations to meet their own demands and wants.
A private cloud infrastructure, which is devoted to a single organization and
gives additional control, security, and flexibility, is used to host some
applications, data, or workloads in a hybrid cloud configuration. Other
workloads, data, or applications may also be hosted concurrently in a public
cloud environment. This environment is shared by many users and provides
scalability, cost-effectiveness, and flexibility.

o The main aim of combining these clouds (Public and Private) is to create
a unified, automated, and well-managed computing environment.
o In the Hybrid cloud, non-critical activities are performed by the public
cloud, and critical activities are performed by the private cloud.
o Mainly, a hybrid cloud is used in finance, healthcare, and Universities.
o The best hybrid cloud provider companies are Amazon, Microsoft,
Google, Cisco, and NetApp.

Characteristics of Hybrid Cloud:

o Integration: Hybrid cloud enables businesses to combine their current

on-premises infrastructure seamlessly with public cloud environments.
o Flexibility: Hybrid cloud gives organizations better control over their
infrastructure by allowing them to use the public cloud for non-critical
tasks and the private cloud for sensitive applications.
o Savings(Cost): Organisations can benefit from the public cloud's cost
reductions while still preserving control over their sensitive data and
apps by using hybrid clouds.
o Scalability: With a hybrid cloud, resources may be scaled up or down as
needed without the need for extra on-premises infrastructure
investments.
o Security: By retaining sensitive data and apps in a private cloud
environment and utilizing the security features offered by public cloud
providers, the hybrid cloud enables organizations to maintain a high
level of protection for these assets.
o Data Mobility: The hybrid cloud gives organizations more flexibility and
agility by making it simple to move data between public and private
cloud environments. Disaster Recovery: By utilizing a hybrid cloud,
businesses may create a disaster recovery plan that incorporates both
public and private cloud environments, increasing their resilience and
redundancy.
In general, a hybrid cloud gives businesses a chance to profit from both public
and private cloud systems while also addressing some of their respective
drawbacks.

Advantages of Hybrid Cloud

o Flexibility.
o Cost Reduction
o Security
o Flexibility
o Performance Improvement.
o Risk Management.

Disadvantages of Using Hybrid Cloud:

o Complexity
o Security
o Challenges with Integration
o Data Sovereignty
o Vendor Lock-In
o Infrastructure Compatibility
o Reliability

Cloud Storage
 In Cloud Computing, Cloud storage is a virtual locker where we can
remotely stash any data.
 When we upload a file to a cloud-based server like Google Drive,
OneDrive, or iCloud that file gets copied over the Internet into a data
server that is cloud-based actual physical space where companies store
files on multiple hard drives.
  Most companies have hundreds of the ese servers known as ‘server
farms’ spanning across multiple locations.
 So, if our data gets somehow lost we will not lose our data because it
will be backed up by another location.
 This is known as redundancy which keeps our data safe from being lost.

Features of Cloud Storage System:

 It has a greater availability of resources.

 Easy maintenance is one of the key benefits of using Cloud computing.
 Cloud computing has a Large Network Access.
 It has an automatic system.
 Security is one of the major components and using cloud computing you
can secure all over the networks.

Storage Systems in the Cloud

There are 3 types of storage systems in the Cloud as follows.
 Block-Based Storage System
 File-Based Storage System
 Object-Based Storage System

Advantages of Cloud Storage

 Scalability – Capacity and storage can be expanded and performance can

be enhanced.
 Flexibility – Data can be manipulated and scaled according to the rules.
 Simpler Data Migrations – As it can add and remove new and old data
when required and eliminates disruptive data migrations.
 Recovery -In the event of a hard drive failure or other hardware
malfunction, you can access your files on the cloud.

Disadvantages of Cloud Storage

 Data centers require electricity and proper internet facility to operate

their work, failing which system will not work properly.
 Support for cloud storage isn’t the best, especially if you are using a free
version of a cloud provider.
 When you use a cloud provider, your data is no longer on your physical
storage.
 Cloud-based storage is dependent on having an internet connection. If you
are on a slow network you may have issues accessing your storage.

Cloud Service Models

1. Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)

2. Platform as a Service (PaaS)
3. Software as a Service (SaaS)

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)

IaaS is also known as Hardware as a Service (HaaS). It is a computing

infrastructure managed over the internet. The main advantage of using IaaS is
that it helps users to avoid the cost and complexity of purchasing and
managing the physical servers.

Characteristics of IaaS
There are the following characteristics of IaaS -

o Resources are available as a service

o Services are highly scalable
o Dynamic and flexible
o GUI and API-based access
o Automated administrative tasks
Example: DigitalOcean, Linode, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure,
Google Compute Engine (GCE), Rackspace, and Cisco Metacloud.

To know more about the IaaS, click here.

Platform as a Service (PaaS)

PaaS cloud computing platform is created for the programmer to develop, test,
run, and manage the applications.

Characteristics of PaaS
There are the following characteristics of PaaS -

o Accessible to various users via the same development application.

o Integrates with web services and databases.
o Builds on virtualization technology, so resources can easily be scaled up
or down as per the organization's need.
o Support multiple languages and frameworks.
o Provides an ability to "Auto-scale".
Example: AWS Elastic Beanstalk, Windows Azure, Heroku, Force.com, Google
App Engine, Apache Stratos, Magento Commerce Cloud, and OpenShift.

To know more about PaaS, click here.

Software as a Service (SaaS)

SaaS is also known as "on-demand software". It is a software in which the

applications are hosted by a cloud service provider. Users can access these
applications with the help of internet connection and web browser.

Characteristics of SaaS
There are the following characteristics of SaaS -

o Managed from a central location

o Hosted on a remote server
o Accessible over the internet
o Users are not responsible for hardware and software updates. Updates
are applied automatically.
o The services are purchased on the pay-as-per-use basis

Advantages of Cloud Service Models

 Cost Efficiency

 Scalability

 Accessibility and Flexibility

 Rapid Deployment
  Managed Services

 Automatic Updates and Patch Management

Disadvantages of Cloud Service Models

 Security Concerns

 Dependency on Internet Connectivity

 Limited Customization in SaaS

 Data Transfer Costs

 Vendor Lock-In

 Potential for Downtime

Infrastructure as a Service | IaaS

 Iaas is also known as Hardware as a Service (HaaS).

 It is one of the layers of the cloud computing platform.

 It allows customers to outsource their IT infrastructures, such as servers,

networking, processing, storage, virtual machines, and other resources.

 Customers access these resources on the Internet using a pay-as-per-use

model.

 In traditional hosting services, IT infrastructure was rented out for a

specific period of time, with pre-determined hardware configuration.

 The client paid for the configuration and time, regardless of the actual
use.

 With the help of the IaaS cloud computing platform layer, clients can
dynamically scale the configuration to meet changing requirements and
are billed only for the services actually used.

 The IaaS cloud computing platform layer eliminates the need for every
organization to maintain its IT infrastructure.
IaaS provider provides the following services -

Computing: To provision virtual machines (VMs) for end users, IaaS providers
offer virtual central processing units (CPUs) and virtual main memory.
Storage: Back-end storage services are provided by IaaS providers, enabling
users to store and access their files and data.
Network: IaaS providers provide networking tools, including routers, switches,
and bridges for the VMs through Network as a Service (NaaS).
Load balancers: Infrastructure-layer load balancing services are provided by
IaaS providers.
Security: Security features and services are frequently offered by IaaS
providers as part of their offering.
Backup and disaster recovery services: This promotes business continuity and
data security.
Monitoring and Management: IaaS suppliers provide tools and services for
monitoring and controlling the resources and infrastructure.

Advantages of IaaS Cloud Computing Layer

1. Shared infrastructure
IaaS allows multiple users to share the same physical infrastructure.

2. Web access to the resources

Iaas allows IT users to access resources over the internet.

3. Pay-as-per-use model

IaaS providers provide services based on a pay-as-per-use basis. The users are
required to pay for what they have used.

4. Focus on the core business

IaaS providers focus on the organization's core business rather than on IT

infrastructure.

5. On-demand scalability

On-demand scalability is one of the biggest advantages of IaaS. Using IaaS,

users do not worry about upgrading software and troubleshooting issues
related to hardware components.

Disadvantages of IaaS Cloud Computing Layer

Security: In the IaaS context, security is still a major problem.

Maintenance and Upgrade: Compatibility problems could come from this,

making it harder for customers to maintain their current software.

Interoperability Issues: Interoperability Problems: Because of interoperability

problems, moving virtual machines (VMs) from one IaaS provider to another
can be difficult.

Performance Variability: Due to shared resources and multi-tenancy, the

performance of VMs in the IaaS system can change.

Dependency on Internet Connectivity: Internet access is crucial to IaaS, which

is largely dependent on it.

Learning Curve and Complexity: Using and administering IaaS calls for a
certain amount of technical know-how and comprehension of cloud computing
principles.
Cost Management: Higher costs may be the result of inefficient use of
resources or improper resource allocation.

Platform as a Service | PaaS

 Platform as a Service (PaaS) provides a runtime environment.

 It allows programmers to easily create, test, run, and deploy web

applications.

 You can purchase these applications from a cloud service provider on a

pay-as-per-use basis and access them using an Internet connection.

 In PaaS, back-end scalability is managed by the cloud service provider, so

end-users do not need to worry about managing the infrastructure.

 PaaS includes infrastructure and platform to support the web

application life cycle.

 Examples: Google App Engine, Force.com, Joyent, Azure.

Advantages of PaaS

1) Simplified Development

PaaS allows developers to focus on development and innovation without

worrying about infrastructure management.

2) Lower risk

No need for up-front investment in hardware and software.

3) Prebuilt business functionality

Some PaaS vendors also provide already defined business functionality so that
users can avoid building everything from very scratch and hence can directly
start the projects only.

4) Instant community

PaaS vendors frequently provide online communities where the developer can
get ideas, share experiences, and seek advice from others.

5) Scalability

Applications deployed can scale from one to thousands of users without any
changes to the applications.

Disadvantages of PaaS Loud Computing Layer

1) Vendor lock-in

One has to write the applications according to the platform provided by the
PaaS vendor, so the migration of an application to another PaaS vendor would
be a problem.

2) Data Privacy

Corporate data, whether it can be critical or not, will be private, so if it is not

located within the walls of the company, there can be a risk in terms of privacy
of data.

3) Integration with the rest of the systems applications

It may happen that some applications are local, and some are in the cloud.

4) Limited Customization and Control: The degree of customization and

control over the underlying infrastructure is constrained by PaaS platforms'
frequent provision of pre-configured services and their relative rigidity.

Popular PaaS Providers

Software as a Service | SaaS

 SaaS is also known as "On-Demand Software.

 It is a software distribution model in which services are hosted by a

cloud service provider.

 These services are available to end-users over the internet, so the end-
users do not need to install any software on their devices to access these
services.

Services Provided by SaaS:

 Business Services

 Document Management

 Social Networks
  Mail Services

 Collaboration Tools

 Human Resources Management

 Customer Support and Help Desk

 Marketing and Sales Automation

 E-commerce Platforms

Advantages of SaaS Cloud Computing Layer

1. SaaS is easy to buy- SaaS pricing is based on a monthly fee or annual fee
subscription, so it allows organizations to access business functionality at a low
cost, which is less than licensed applications.

2. One to Many -SaaS services are offered as a one-to-many model means a

single instance of the application is shared by multiple users.

3. Less hardware required for SaaS- The software is hosted remotely, so

organizations do not need to invest in additional hardware.
4. Low maintenance required for SaaS

5. No special software or hardware versions are required- All users will have
the same version of the software and typically access it through the web
browser.

6. Multidevice support- SaaS services can be accessed from any device, such as
desktops, laptops, tablets, phones, and thin clients.

7. API Integration- SaaS services easily integrate with other software or

services through standard APIs.

8. No client-side installation- SaaS services are accessed directly from the

service provider using an internet connection, so they do not need to require
any software installation.

Disadvantages of SaaS Cloud Computing Layer:

1) Security
Actually, data is stored in the cloud, so security may be an issue for some
users. However, cloud computing is not more secure than in-house
deployment.

2) Latency issue

Therefore, the SaaS model is not suitable for applications whose demand
response time is in milliseconds.

3) Total Dependency on the Internet

Without an internet connection, most SaaS applications are not usable.

4) Switching between SaaS vendors is difficult

Switching SaaS vendors involves the difficult and slow task of transferring very
large data files over the internet and then converting and importing them into
another SaaS also.