Architect of the digital age
What is a cloud?
23 July 2015
(As in cloud computing…)
Cloudwashing is rampant these days. Just about any managed service provider will tell you their offering is a cloud offering. But what defines a cloud?
The definitive source on the topic is the National Institute of Standards and Technology, or NIST for short. They define the following essential characteristics of a cloud:
-
On-demand self-service. A consumer can unilaterally provision computing capabilities, such as server time and network storage, as needed automatically without requiring human interaction with each service provider.
-
Broad network access. Capabilities are available over the network and accessed through standard mechanisms that promote use by heterogeneous thin or thick client platforms (e.g., mobile phones, tablets, laptops, and workstations).
-
Resource pooling. The provider’s computing resources are pooled to serve multiple consumers using a multi-tenant model, with different physical and virtual resources dynamically assigned and reassigned according to consumer demand. There is a sense of location independence in that the customer generally has no control or knowledge over the exact location of the provided resources but may be able to specify location at a higher level of abstraction (e.g., country, state, or datacenter). Examples of resources include storage, processing, memory, and network bandwidth.
-
Rapid elasticity. Capabilities can be elastically provisioned and released, in some cases automatically, to scale rapidly outward and inward commensurate with demand. To the consumer, the capabilities available for provisioning often appear to be unlimited and can be appropriated in any quantity at any time.
-
Measured service. Cloud systems automatically control and optimize resource use by leveraging a metering capability1 at some level of abstraction appropriate to the type of service (e.g., storage, processing, bandwidth, and active user accounts). Resource usage can be monitored, controlled, and reported, providing transparency for both the provider and consumer of the utilized service.
I encourage you to score your potential providers along these characteristics before making commitments. They should be true regardless of the service model (SaaS, PaaS, IaaS).
- Student Loan Bill Tracker
- The Anomaly Response Network
- The Mars Society
- Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation
- TechStars
- Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
- Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
- PRISM
- Free Bikes 4 Kidz
- Cincinnati Works
- Cincinnati Youth Collaborative
Reading:
Social