These days common people do not understand the ever growing list of software terms. They are simply greek and latin to a common man. So here are some useful terms related to cloud explained in simple language, that are popularly used in recent days.
IaaS
IaaS is an acronym for Infrastructure as a Service. It basically means the physical basis on which everything is built. Computing relies on one or more servers, power sources, wires, and broadcasting tools.
There are several advantages to signing up for IaaS instead of purchasing on-premise servers: one is the scalability issue explained above; most of the others stem from the myriad complications and headaches associated with maintaining servers. Cloud data centers have multiple built-in redundancies, so if one machine crashes your applications will simply run on another machine. There’s effectively no down time with IaaS. Hosting in the cloud also means one predictable cost, as opposed to having to add up the costs of electricity, routine maintenance, repairs, up-scaling, and so on.
PaaS
PaaS means Platform as a Service. Though it’s often used interchangeably with IaaS, there are a few differences. The term platform refers to all the tools a developer might use to create an application. ASP.NET, for instance, is a tool box of standard software elements that makes it easy for developers to bridge the gap between code and function. Windows Azure provides access to ASP.NET, along with countless other tools, so businesses won’t just have a place to house their applications—their developers will also have help building them, launching them online, and adapting their functionality over time.
SaaS
Software as a service (or SaaS) is a way of delivering applications over the Internet—as a service. Instead of installing and maintaining software, you simply access it via the Internet, freeing yourself from complex software and hardware management.
SaaS applications are sometimes called Web-based software, on-demand software, or hosted software delivered over the internet. Whatever the name, SaaS applications run on a SaaS provider’s servers. The provider manages access to the application, including security, availability, and performance. No need of hardware or software to buy, install, maintain, or update as a customer.
Virtualization
Virtualization, in computing, refers to the act of creating a virtual (rather than actual) version of something, including but not limited to a virtual computer hardware platform, operating system (OS), storage device, or computer network resources.
Hardware virtualization or platform virtualization refers to the creation of a virtual machine that acts like a real computer with an operating system. Software executed on these virtual machines is separated from the underlying hardware resources. For example, a computer that is running Microsoft Windows may host a virtual machine that looks like a computer with the Ubuntu Linux operating system; Ubuntu-based software can be run on the virtual machine
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