Cloud Computing Architecture
As we know, cloud computing technology is used by both small and large
organizations to store the information in cloud and access it from
anywhere at any time using the internet connection.
Cloud computing architecture is a combination of service-oriented
architecture and event-driven architecture.
Cloud computing architecture is divided into the following two parts -
o Front End
o Back End
The below diagram shows the architecture of cloud computing -
Front End
The front end is used by the client. It contains client-side interfaces and
applications that are required to access the cloud computing platforms.
The front end includes web servers (including Chrome, Firefox, internet
explorer, etc.), thin & fat clients, tablets, and mobile devices.
Back End
The back end is used by the service provider. It manages all the resources
that are required to provide cloud computing services. It includes a huge
amount of data storage, security mechanism, virtual machines, deploying
models, servers, traffic control mechanisms, etc.
Components of Cloud Computing Architecture
There are the following components of cloud computing architecture -
1. Client Infrastructure
Client Infrastructure is a Front end component. It provides GUI (Graphical
User Interface) to interact with the cloud.
2. Application
The application may be any software or platform that a client wants to
access.
3. Service
A Cloud Services manages that which type of service you access
according to the client’s requirement.
Cloud computing offers the following three type of services:
i. Software as a Service (SaaS) – It is also known as cloud
application services. Mostly, SaaS applications run directly through the
web browser means we do not require to download and install these
applications. Some important example of SaaS is given below –
Example: Google Apps, Salesforce Dropbox, Slack, Hubspot, Cisco
WebEx.
ii. Platform as a Service (PaaS) – It is also known as cloud
platform services. It is quite similar to SaaS, but the difference is that
PaaS provides a platform for software creation, but using SaaS, we can
access software over the internet without the need of any platform.
Example: Windows Azure, Force.com, Magento Commerce Cloud,
OpenShift.
iii. Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) – It is also known as cloud
infrastructure services. It is responsible for managing applications
data, middleware, and runtime environments.
Example: Amazon Web Services (AWS) EC2, Google Compute Engine
(GCE), Cisco Metapod.
4. Runtime Cloud
Runtime Cloud provides the execution and runtime environment to
the virtual machines.
5. Storage
Storage is one of the most important components of cloud computing. It
provides a huge amount of storage capacity in the cloud to store and
manage data.
6. Infrastructure
It provides services on the host level, application level, and network
level. Cloud infrastructure includes hardware and software components
such as servers, storage, network devices, virtualization software, and
other storage resources that are needed to support the cloud computing
model.
7. Management
Management is used to manage components such as application, service,
runtime cloud, storage, infrastructure, and other security issues in the
backend and establish coordination between them.
8. Security
Security is an in-built back end component of cloud computing. It
implements a security mechanism in the back end.
9. Internet
The Internet is medium through which front end and back end can interact
and communicate with each other.
