Cloud Computing Explained

Summary

Cloud computing refers to the storage and operation of data and applications on remote servers accessed via the internet, rather than on local computers. This approach offloads the burden of hardware maintenance and allows for scalable, cost-effective solutions. Major cloud providers like Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform offer various services, including Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS), catering to different needs and levels of control. Companies like Netflix benefit from cloud computing by outsourcing their data and storage needs, ensuring reliability and focusing on their core business.

Takeaways

• 🌐 Cloud computing refers to storing and running data/applications on remote servers accessed via the internet, instead of local devices.
• 🏢 The 'cloud' is a metaphor for large data centers filled with servers that provide various services to clients.
• 💻 Servers in the cloud perform tasks like running applications, storing data, and web hosting, and are networked for internet access.
• 🛠️ Cloud providers offer computing resources as a service, allowing users to outsource their computing needs instead of managing their own hardware.
• 💰 Cost efficiency is a major advantage of cloud computing, as it eliminates expenses related to hardware, maintenance, and data center operations.
• 🔄 Reliability is enhanced with cloud computing, as providers handle data backup and disaster recovery, ensuring minimal downtime.
• 📈 Scalability is a key feature, with 'pay as you go' options allowing businesses to adjust their computing resources based on needs.
• 🔧 Three types of cloud computing services exist: Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS).
• 🛠️ IaaS provides users with managed hardware and networking but requires control over the software layer, like applications and OS.
• 🎨 PaaS offers more control to the provider, managing the OS, middleware, and runtime, leaving users responsible for applications and data.
• 📱 SaaS is the most common, with fully hosted applications accessible over the internet without any local software installation.

Q & A

What is the core concept of cloud computing?

Cloud computing refers to the practice of storing and running data and applications on remote servers, known as the cloud, rather than on local computers or equipment owned by the user. This allows users to access these resources over the internet, offloading the workload from personal devices to cloud-based infrastructure.

What does the term 'the cloud' represent in the context of cloud computing?

In simple terms, 'the cloud' represents a large building filled with servers that provide various services such as running applications, storing data, and web hosting on behalf of clients. These servers are networked together and can be accessed via the internet.

What are the primary benefits of using cloud computing for individuals and companies?

The primary benefits of cloud computing include cost efficiency, as it eliminates the expenses related to purchasing and maintaining hardware and software, as well as the operational costs of running a data center. It also offers reliability through data backup and disaster recovery services, and scalability, allowing users to adjust their resource usage up or down based on their needs.

Name some major cloud providers in the market today.

Some of the major cloud providers today are Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform, Alibaba Cloud, and IBM Cloud. AWS is currently the largest, holding about a third of the cloud market share.

How does cloud computing work for email services?

Instead of hosting their own physical email server, individuals or companies can outsource their email services to cloud providers like Gmail or Hotmail. These providers host the email on their servers in the cloud, eliminating the need for users to manage their own email infrastructure.

What is an example of a service that video creators can use to leverage cloud computing?

Video creators can use platforms like YouTube, which is a cloud service that allows them to upload and host their videos without the need to build and maintain their own video servers. YouTube handles the storage, streaming, and bandwidth requirements, and in return, it earns a share of the ad revenue generated by the videos.

What are the three types of cloud computing services?

The three types of cloud computing services are Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS). IaaS provides users with managed hardware, PaaS adds managed operating systems and middleware, and SaaS offers fully hosted applications that users can access over the internet without any local installation.

How does Netflix benefit from using Amazon Web Services (AWS)?

Netflix benefits from using AWS by offloading the responsibility of managing its data centers, including hardware maintenance, data backup, security, and uptime. This allows Netflix to focus on its core business operations without the burden of IT infrastructure management.

What is the difference between IaaS and PaaS in terms of control and flexibility?

In IaaS, the cloud provider manages the hardware components such as servers, storage, and networking, while the user manages the software components like the operating system, applications, and data. In PaaS, the cloud provider takes on more control by also managing the operating system, middleware, and runtime, leaving the user responsible only for their applications and data.

How does Software as a Service (SaaS) differ from the other two types of cloud computing?

SaaS is different from IaaS and PaaS in that it provides fully hosted applications that users can access and run over the internet through a web browser. There is no need for any software installation on the user's device, and the cloud provider manages all aspects of the infrastructure, including hardware, software, networking, and storage.

What is a common example of SaaS that many people use?

A common example of SaaS is Google Docs, a free online office suite that users can access and use through a web browser without the need to install any additional software on their computers.

Outlines

00:00

🌐 Introduction to Cloud Computing

This paragraph introduces the concept of cloud computing, explaining that it involves storing data and running applications on remote servers accessible via the internet, rather than on local computers. It describes the cloud as large data centers filled with servers that provide various services such as application running, data storage, and web hosting. The paragraph also explains the role of cloud providers, who offer computing resources as a service, and gives examples of how cloud computing can be used by individuals and businesses, such as email hosting and video streaming on platforms like YouTube.

05:04

💼 Benefits and Examples of Cloud Computing

This paragraph discusses the benefits of cloud computing, including cost efficiency, reliability, and scalability. It explains how cloud computing eliminates the need for purchasing and maintaining hardware and software, and how it provides data backup and disaster recovery services. The paragraph also provides examples of major cloud providers like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform, Alibaba, and IBM, and highlights AWS's significant market share. It further explains the three types of cloud computing services: Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS), detailing the level of control and flexibility each offers to the user.

Keywords

💡Cloud Computing

Cloud computing refers to the practice of using remote servers hosted on the internet to store, manage, and process data, rather than a local server or personal computer. It is a central theme of the video, illustrating a shift from traditional computing methods to a more scalable and efficient model where services are accessed online. Examples include cloud storage and running applications on the cloud, as opposed to local equipment.

💡Data Center

A data center is a large facility filled with servers that provide various services such as running applications, storing data, and web hosting. These centers are the physical infrastructure behind cloud computing, housing the equipment necessary for the operation of cloud services. The video emphasizes the vastness of data centers and their role in cloud computing.

💡Cloud Providers

Cloud providers are companies that own and operate data centers, offering cloud computing services to clients. They rent out computing resources as a service, allowing clients to outsource their computing needs instead of managing their own infrastructure. The video mentions major cloud providers such as Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform.

💡Cost Efficiency

Cost efficiency in the context of cloud computing refers to the financial benefits of using cloud services over maintaining one's own hardware and software. It eliminates expenses related to purchasing, maintaining, and running a data center, making it a more economical choice for individuals and companies. The video highlights this as a major reason for adopting cloud computing.

💡Reliability

Reliability in cloud computing denotes the dependability of cloud services to provide consistent performance and uptime. Cloud providers are responsible for data backup and disaster recovery, ensuring that services are available even if one data center fails. The video emphasizes the reliability of cloud computing as a key advantage, with redundant sites to prevent downtime.

💡Scalability

Scalability refers to the ability of a system, service, or process to handle growth by adding resources easily. In cloud computing, this means that users can quickly and弹性地 rent more or fewer computing resources based on their needs, without the overhead of managing physical infrastructure. The video presents scalability as a benefit of cloud computing, allowing businesses to adjust their computing power as they expand.

💡Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) is a cloud computing model where the provider manages the hardware components such as servers, storage, and networking, while the user maintains control over the software layer, including the operating system, applications, and data. This service allows users to focus on their core applications without worrying about the underlying infrastructure.

💡Platform as a Service (PaaS)

Platform as a Service (PaaS) is a cloud computing model that offers a platform allowing users to develop, run, and manage applications without the complexity of building and maintaining the infrastructure typically associated with this process. The cloud provider manages both the hardware and software layers, including the operating system, middleware, and runtime, while the user focuses on the applications and data.

💡Software as a Service (SaaS)

Software as a Service (SaaS) is a model of cloud computing where the provider hosts the applications and makes them available to users over the internet. Users can access and use software applications without installing any software on their local devices. The cloud provider manages all aspects of the infrastructure, including hardware, networking, and software updates.

💡Netflix

Netflix is used in the video as an example of a major cloud computing user. The company relies on Amazon Web Services for its computing and storage needs, including databases, analytics, and video transcoding. By outsourcing these services to a cloud provider, Netflix avoids the costs and complexities of building and maintaining its own data center, allowing it to focus on its core business activities.

💡Downtime

Downtime refers to the period when a system or service is not operational or available for use. In the context of cloud computing, providers aim to minimize downtime by ensuring high availability and redundancy across their data centers. The video highlights that cloud providers take responsibility for preventing downtime, which is a significant advantage for users of cloud services.

Highlights

Cloud computing refers to data and applications being stored and run on the cloud rather than on local computers.

The cloud is a large building filled with servers that provide services on behalf of clients.

Cloud providers sell their computing resources as a service, allowing users to outsource their computing needs.

Cost efficiency is a major advantage of cloud computing, as it eliminates expenses related to hardware, software, and data center maintenance.

Reliability is enhanced with cloud computing as providers handle data backup and disaster recovery, ensuring no downtime.

Scalability is a key feature of cloud computing, offering 'pay as you go' options to suit varying needs.

Major cloud providers include Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform, Alibaba, and IBM.

Netflix is a notable user of AWS, outsourcing its computing and storage needs to focus on its core business.

There are three types of cloud computing: Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS).

IaaS involves the cloud provider managing the hardware portion, while the user controls the software.

PaaS gives the cloud provider more control, managing both hardware and the operating system, middleware, and runtime.

SaaS is the most common cloud service type, where the cloud provider manages all aspects of the software, allowing users to access applications over the internet.

Google Docs is an example of SaaS, providing an online office suite accessible through a web browser without the need for additional software installation.

Cloud computing allows individuals and companies to eliminate the hassle and upkeep of maintaining their own servers and software.

The shift to cloud computing has significant implications for businesses, enabling them to focus on their core competencies while leveraging the benefits of cloud infrastructure.

The concept of cloud computing has revolutionized the way data and applications are managed, offering a more flexible and cost-effective solution for various computing needs.

Transcripts

What is cloud computing? So that is the topic  of this video. Now you may have heard of people  

talking about the cloud, such as cloud computing  or cloud storage, but you probably weren't sure  

exactly what it was. Well, the term cloud computing  refers to data and applications being stored and  

run on the cloud rather than being stored and run  on your local computer or on any equipment that  

you own. Then this data and the applications which  are on the cloud are accessed through the internet  

So the workload is no longer on your computer or  on any equipment that you own, it's on the cloud.  

So what is the cloud? Now to put it simple, the  cloud is just a big building that's filled  

with computers. To be specific, it's a big building  filled with servers and servers are just computers  

that provide services on behalf of clients. Now  these buildings are very large, and well they have  

to be, because when you take a look inside, it's a  giant data center that contains servers as far as  

the eye can see. And these servers perform numerous  tasks, such as running applications, storing data,  

data processing, web hosting, and so on. And they  are also all networked together and they can be  

accessed on the internet. So what is the purpose of  a cloud? Well, the companies that own these clouds  

are called cloud providers and their purpose is to  sell their computers as a service. Now a service is  

just something that you pay someone to do for you  rather than doing the job yourself. So if a person  

or a company wanted to hire another company  to do part or all of their computing workload,  

they would outsource it to a third party. In other words, they would use cloud computing  

So back in the old days before cloud computing and  as an example we'll use email. So at your home or  

office if you wanted to use email you would have  your own physical email server. So you would have  

a server, an operating system, and email software  such as Microsoft exchange. And then after some  

configuration , you would be able to use email.  But the problem is, is that if anything goes  

wrong with the server, such as a hardware failure  or a software problem , or if the operating system  

crashed, then you would be responsible for fixing  the problem, not to mention any maintenance that is  

needed to keep the server up and running. However  you do have the option of eliminating all the  

hassle and upkeep of your own email server and  have another company host all of your email on  

their servers in the cloud for you, such as gmail  hotmail and a bunch of others. But email is just  

one example of cloud computing. There are also  other services such as productivity software,  

web servers, databases, and even Youtube. So yes  you as an individual can use Youtube as a cloud  

So if you're a video creator and instead  of building and maintaining your own video  

server and software and the extreme high cost of  internet bandwidth that you would need for people  

to watch your videos from your server, you can  bypass that and you can just upload your videos  

to Youtube and let Youtube handle everything for  you. But instead of directly paying youtube like a  

regular cloud provider, Youtube will get a share of  the ad revenue generated by your videos. So another  

question is, why would an individual or a company  use cloud computing? Well as I just mentioned a  

major reason is cost. With cloud computing a person  or company eliminates a lot of the expense of  

buying their own hardware and software, along  with the building maintenance and electricity  

it takes to run their own data center. So it would  be more cost efficient to use a cloud instead.  

And another reason is reliability. Because when you  hire a cloud, the cloud provider is responsible for  

all of the data backup and disaster recovery. And  if one of its data centers goes down, they will  

also have several redundant sites as a backup  which will ensure that there is no downtime. And 

another reason is scalability. Cloud providers will  offer a 'pay as you go' method where you can pay for  

only what you need. So whether you need to rent  a few computers or a lot, it doesn't matter. So if  

you only want to rent a small amount of computers  to start out, you can do that. But as your business  

expands, you have the option of instantly  renting more computers to suit your needs  

And if you don't need to rent as many computers,  you can instantly scale back to renting only a few  

So who are the cloud providers today? Well  the major cloud providers today are Amazon  

Web Services or (AWS). Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform, Alibaba, and IBM. With Amazon Web Services  

being the biggest of them all - taking about a third  of the cloud market share. In fact one of AWS' 

biggest customers is Netflix. Netflix uses Amazon Web Services for nearly all of its computer and  

storage needs including databases, analytics ,video  transcoding, and so on. So instead of building its  

own data center and spending hundreds of millions  of dollars on hosting its own data, Netflix chose  

to outsource it to a cloud provider which is  Amazon. So a major advantage that Netflix has  

of using a cloud is that they don't have to worry  about downtime, security, data backup, or the high  

cost of building and maintaining their own data  center. They can just pay Amazon to do it for them  

So this takes a tremendous burden off of Netflix  which allows them to focus on other things  

pertaining to their business. Now there are  three different types of cloud computing. There's  

infrastructure as a service or (IaaS). Platform as a  service or (PaaS) and Software as a service or (SaaS). 

And these three vary in control and flexibility.  So it's up to the user to decide what suits their  

needs. So the first one is infrastructure as a  service. Now this type is basically where you're  

going to let the cloud provider manage a portion  of your business which is going to be the hardware  

portion. The cloud provider will manage the servers,  storage, virtualization, and the networking portion.  

You on the other hand will still have control over  the software portion. Such as the applications, data,  

operating system, middleware, and runtime. Some  examples of infrastructure as a service that  

the common person would use would be online data  backup services, such as iDrive and Carbonite that  

provide cloud storage. And the next one is called  platform as a service. Now (PaaS) like (IaaS) allows  

the cloud provider to manage a portion of your  business. But the cloud provider has more control.  

In a (PaaS) the cloud provider not only manages the  hardware such as servers, storage, and networking, but  

it also manages the operating system, middleware,  and runtime. You on the other hand are only  

responsible for the applications and the data. And finally there's software as a service or (SaaS)  

Now this is probably the most common cloud  service by far. In this type, all the applications  

are hosted by the cloud provider. There is no  software to install on your computer and no  

hardware to manage. You just simply access and  run the application from your computer when you  

connect to the cloud service through the internet.  So the cloud provider manages all the hardware,  

software, networking, operating system, and storage.  A good example of (SaaS) is something that I use  

all the time, which is Google Docs. Google  Docs is a free online office suite that is  

accessed using a web browser. There is no  additional software that needs to be installed  

on your computer to use Google Docs. Everything  is accessed and managed from your web browser. 

So this concludes the video on cloud computing.  Please subscribe and thank you for watching.