Infrastructure as a Service | IaaS
IaaS is one of the layers of cloud computing platform wherein the customer organization outsources its IT infrastructure such as servers, networking, processing, storage, virtual machines and other resources. Customers access these resources over internet i.e. cloud computing platform, on a pay-per-use model.
Iaas, earlier called Hardware as a Service (HaaS), is a cloud computing platform based model.
In traditional hosting services, IT infrastructure was rented out for a specific periods of time, with pre-determined hardware configuration. The client paid for the configuration and time, regardless of the actual use. With the help of IaaS cloud computing platform layer, clients can dynamically scale the configuration to meet changing requires, and are billed only for the services actually used.
IaaS cloud computing platform layer eliminates the need for every organization to maintain the IT infrastructure.
IaaS is offered in three models: public, private, and hybrid cloud. Private cloud implies that the infrastructure resides at the customer-premise. In case of public cloud, it is located at the cloud computing platform vendor's data center; and hybrid cloud is a combination of two with customer choosing the best of both worlds.
Advantages of IaaS cloud computing layer
1) You can dynamically choose a CPU, memory and storage configuration as per your needs.
2) You easily access the vast computing power available on IaaS cloud platform.
3) You can eliminate the need of investment in rarely used IT hardware.
4) IT infra will be handled by the IaaS cloud computing platform vendors.
Disadvantages of IaaS cloud computing layer
<p1)>There is a risk of IaaS cloud computing platform vendor by gaining the access to the organization?s data. But it can be avoided by opting for private cloud.
2) IaaS cloud computing platform model is dependent on internet availability.
3) It is also dependent on the availability of virtualization services.
4) IaaS cloud computing platform can limit the user privacy and customization options.
Some pinpoint about IaaS cloud computing layer
IaaS cloud computing platform cannot replace traditional hosting method but it provides more than that and each resources which are used are predictable as per the usage.
IaaS cloud computing platform may not eliminate the need for an in-house IT department. It will be needed to monitor or control the IaaS setup. IT salary expenditure might not reduce significantly, but other IT expenses can be reduced.
Breakdowns at the IaaS cloud computing platform vendor's end can bring your business to at the halt stage. Assess the IaaS cloud computing platform vendor's stability and finances. Make sure that SLAs (i.e. Service Level Agreement) provide backups for data, hardware, network and application failures. Image portability and third-party support is a plus point.
The IaaS cloud computing platform vendor can get access to your sensitive data. So, engage with the credible companies or organizations. Study their security policies and precautions.
Top vendors who are providing IaaS cloud computing platform
| IaaS Vendor | Iaas Solution | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Amazon Web Services | Elastic, Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) MapReduce, Route 53, Virtual Private Cloud, etc. | The cloud computing platform pioneer, Amazon offers auto scaling, cloud monitoring, and load balancing features as part of its portfolio. |
| Netmagic Solutions | Netmagic IaaS Cloud | Netmagic runs from data centers in Mumbai, Chennai, and Bangalore, and a virtual data center in the United States. Plans are underway to extend services to West Asia. |
| Rackspace | Cloud servers, cloud files, cloud sites, etc. | The cloud computing platform vendor focuses primarily on enterprise-level hosting services. |
| Reliance Communications | Reliance Internet Data Center | RIDC supports both traditional hosting and cloud services, with data centers in Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, and Chennai. The cloud services offered by RIDC include IaaS and SaaS. |
| Sify Technologies | Sify IaaS | Sify's cloud computing platform is powered by HP's converged infrastructure. The vendor offers all three types of cloud services: IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS. |
| Tata Communications | InstaCompute | InstaCompute is Tata Communications' IaaS offering. InstaCompute data centers are located in Hyderabad and Singapore, with operations in both countries. |