How Does Public Cloud Computing Work?

How does public cloud computing provide services and resources?

The service models of public cloud computing

The public cloud can provide different types of services depending on the level of abstraction and control that the customers need. The three most common service models are:

• Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): In this model, the public cloud provider offers access to fundamental compute, network, and storage resources on demand over the public internet or through dedicated connections. The customers can provision, configure, and operate the servers and infrastructure resources via a graphical dashboard or programmatically through application programming interfaces (APIs). The customers are responsible for managing their own operating systems, applications, data, and security settings. Examples of IaaS providers include Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), and IBM Cloud.
• Platform as a Service (PaaS): In this model, the public cloud provider offers access to a complete, ready-to-use, cloud-hosted platform for developing, running, maintaining, and managing applications. The customers can use the platform’s tools, frameworks, libraries, and services to create and deploy their own applications without worrying about the underlying infrastructure or software updates. The customers are responsible for managing their own data and application logic. Examples of PaaS providers include AWS Elastic Beanstalk, Azure App Service, Google App Engine, and IBM Cloud Foundry.
• Software as a Service (SaaS): In this model, the public cloud provider offers access to ready-to-use, cloud-hosted application software. The customers can use the software via a web browser or a mobile app without installing or maintaining anything on their own devices. The customers pay for the software usage based on the number of features they want and the number of users that will access the software. The provider is responsible for managing the software’s functionality, performance, availability, security, and updates. Examples of SaaS providers include Salesforce, Office 365, Gmail, Zoom, and Netflix.

Watch more: What Are the Benefits of Using the Public Cloud?

The delivery methods of public cloud computing

Public cloud solutions can deliver services and resources through different methods depending on the deployment model and the network connectivity that the customers prefer. The two main delivery methods are:

• Public cloud: In this method, the public cloud provider hosts the services and resources on its own data centers that are accessible to anyone over the public internet. The customers can access the services and resources through a web browser or an API without requiring any special network configuration or hardware installation. This method offers high scalability, availability, and cost-effectiveness but may have lower performance or security than other methods.
• Hybrid cloud: In this method, the public cloud provider integrates its services and resources with the customer’s own on-premises or private cloud infrastructure. The customers can access some services and resources over the public internet while others through a private network connection. This method offers more flexibility, control, and customization but may have higher complexity or cost than other methods.

How does public cloud computing ensure security and privacy?

The security measures of public cloud computing

Public cloud services have several security measures in place to protect its own infrastructure and services as well as its customers’ data and applications from cyberattacks and unauthorized access. Some of these measures include:

• Encryption: Public cloud providers use encryption techniques to secure data in transit (when it moves between different locations) and at rest (when it is stored on disks or databases). Encryption ensures that only authorized parties can read or modify the data.
• Firewalls: Public cloud providers use firewalls to control network traffic between different zones or segments of their infrastructure. Firewalls prevent unwanted or malicious traffic from reaching sensitive areas or services.
• Identity and access management: Public cloud providers use identity and access management systems to authenticate users and authorize their access to specific services or resources based on predefined policies or roles. Identity and access management systems also enable auditing and logging of user activities for compliance or monitoring purposes.
• DDoS mitigation: Public cloud providers use distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) mitigation technologies to detect and block DDoS attacks that aim to overwhelm or disrupt their services or resources by sending large volumes of traffic or requests.
• Security monitoring: Public cloud providers use security monitoring tools to collect and analyze data from various sources such as logs, events, alerts, metrics, etc., to identify potential threats or vulnerabilities in their infrastructure or services. Security monitoring tools also provide alerts or recommendations for remediation or response actions.

The shared responsibility model of public cloud computing

Public cloud platforms follow a shared responsibility model that defines the division of security tasks between the public cloud provider and the customer.

The provider is responsible for securing the cloud infrastructure and services, while the customer is responsible for securing their own data and applications within the cloud environment. The amount of responsibility that each party has depends on the service model that the customer uses. For example:

• In IaaS, the provider is responsible for securing the physical servers, networks, and storage, while the customer is responsible for securing the operating systems, applications, data, and network configurations.
• In PaaS, the provider is responsible for securing the physical servers, networks, storage, operating systems, and platform tools, while the customer is responsible for securing the applications, data, and platform settings.
• In SaaS, the provider is responsible for securing the physical servers, networks, storage, operating systems, platform tools, and application software, while the customer is responsible for securing the data and application settings.

The shared responsibility model implies that both parties need to work together to ensure the overall security and privacy of public cloud computing.

The customer needs to understand their role and obligations in the model and follow the best practices and guidelines provided by the provider. The provider needs to communicate clearly their role and capabilities in the model and offer adequate security features and options to their customers.

Conclusion

Public cloud computing is a powerful and popular way of delivering IT services and resources over the internet. It offers many benefits such as scalability, flexibility, cost-efficiency, security, and innovation.

However, it also requires a clear understanding of how it works and how it ensures security and privacy. By following the shared responsibility model and choosing the right service and delivery methods, customers can leverage public cloud services to achieve their business goals and objectives.

If you want to learn more about public cloud platforms or need help with choosing or implementing cloud solutions for your organization, contact us today. SmartOSC is a leading digital transformation agency that specializes in cloud computing services. We can help you design, develop, deploy, and manage cloud services solutions that suit your needs and budget. Contact us now at SmartOSC.