When someone refers to having a strong knowledge of cloud computing platforms, they are typically referring to understanding both the core concepts and the services provided by cloud platforms like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, or Google Cloud Platform (GCP). Here are the key concepts that one should understand:
- Cloud Deployment Models:
Public Cloud: Services are provided over the internet and shared across multiple organizations (e.g., AWS, Azure, GCP).
Private Cloud: Cloud infrastructure is used exclusively by one organization, providing more control over security.
Hybrid Cloud: Combines both public and private clouds, allowing data and applications to be shared between them for greater flexibility.
- Cloud Service Models:
Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): Provides virtualized computing resources over the internet (e.g., Virtual Machines, storage, networks).
Platform as a Service (PaaS): Offers hardware and software tools over the internet (e.g., app hosting, databases, development tools).
Software as a Service (SaaS): Delivers software applications over the internet on a subscription basis (e.g., Google Workspace, Microsoft 365).
- Compute Resources:
Virtual Machines (VMs): Virtualized servers that can run applications just like physical servers.
Containers: Lightweight, portable, and self-sufficient units that can run any application and its dependencies (e.g., Docker, Kubernetes).
Serverless Computing: Running code without provisioning or managing servers, where cloud platforms handle resource management (e.g., AWS Lambda, Azure Functions).
- Storage Services:
Object Storage: Used for storing unstructured data (e.g., AWS S3, Azure Blob Storage).
Block Storage: Provides persistent storage for virtual machines (e.g., AWS EBS, Azure Disk Storage).
File Storage: A network-based storage solution that provides file-based access (e.g., Azure Files, Amazon EFS).
- Networking:
Virtual Networks (VNet): Isolated network environments in the cloud to connect cloud resources securely (e.g., Azure VNet, AWS VPC).
Load Balancers: Distribute incoming traffic across multiple resources to ensure high availability and reliability (e.g., AWS Elastic Load Balancing).
CDNs (Content Delivery Networks): Distribute content to users across various geographic locations (e.g., Azure CDN, Amazon CloudFront).
- Security:
Identity and Access Management (IAM): Controls user access to cloud resources, ensuring secure operations (e.g., AWS IAM, Azure Active Directory).
Encryption: Protects data both at rest and in transit to ensure privacy (e.g., SSL/TLS, KMS).
Firewalls and Security Groups: Protect cloud networks and resources from unauthorized access (e.g., AWS Security Groups, Azure Network Security Groups).
- Databases:
Managed Databases: Cloud-hosted databases that are fully managed, scalable, and secure (e.g., Amazon RDS, Azure SQL Database).
NoSQL Databases: Cloud-based databases designed for handling unstructured or semi-structured data (e.g., Amazon DynamoDB, Azure Cosmos DB).
Data Warehousing: Cloud platforms for storing large volumes of data for analytics (e.g., Amazon Redshift, Azure Synapse Analytics).
- Monitoring and Management:
Cloud Monitoring: Tools to monitor the performance, health, and security of cloud resources (e.g., AWS CloudWatch, Azure Monitor).
Cost Management: Services for tracking and optimizing cloud resource usage and costs (e.g., AWS Cost Explorer, Azure Cost Management).
Automation: Tools to automate repetitive tasks such as provisioning resources (e.g., AWS CloudFormation, Azure Resource Manager).
- DevOps and CI/CD:
Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (CI/CD): Tools for automating the development pipeline, from code integration to deployment (e.g., AWS CodePipeline, Azure DevOps).
Infrastructure as Code (IaC): Managing and provisioning cloud infrastructure through code (e.g., AWS CloudFormation, Azure Resource Manager templates).
- Big Data and AI:
Data Lakes: Storage systems that handle massive amounts of raw data (e.g., Azure Data Lake, Amazon S3 with AWS Glue).
Machine Learning and AI Services: Pre-built AI and ML tools for building intelligent applications (e.g., Azure AI, AWS SageMaker).
Serverless Analytics: Scalable analytics services that don’t require server management (e.g., Azure Synapse, AWS Athena).
- Disaster Recovery & Backup:
Disaster Recovery (DR): Strategies and services for recovering data and services in case of failure (e.g., Azure Site Recovery, AWS Disaster Recovery).
Backup Services: Cloud-native tools for backing up data and ensuring availability (e.g., Azure Backup, AWS Backup).
A strong understanding of cloud computing platforms also involves knowing best practices for resource provisioning, security, cost management, and designing highly available, scalable, and fault-tolerant architectures in the cloud.
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