Defining cloud computing

To review the definition of cloud computing, choose each of the following four numbered markers.

Cloud deployment types

You can deploy cloud resources in multiple ways: cloud, on-premises, and hybrid. Each type offers unique benefits and considerations, and exploring these options can help you make informed decisions about your cloud strategy. To learn more about cloud deployment types, choose each of the following flashcards.

Cloud
In a cloud-based deployment model, you have the flexibility to migrate your existing resources to the cloud, design and build new applications within the cloud environment, or use a combination of both.

For instance, a company might migrate data resources to the cloud, then develop an application comprised of virtual servers, databases, and networking components entirely hosted in the cloud.

On-premises
Deploying resources on premises using virtualization and resource management tools does not provide many of the benefits of cloud computing. However, it is sometimes sought for its ability to provide dedicated resources and low latency.

In most cases this deployment model is the same as legacy IT infrastructure while using application management and virtualization technologies to try increasing resource utilization.

Hybrid
In a hybrid deployment, cloud-based resources and on-premises infrastructure work together. This approach is ideal for situations where legacy applications must remain on premises due to maintenance preferences or regulatory requirements.

For instance, a company might choose to retain certain regulated legacy applications on-premises while using cloud services for advanced data processing and analytics.

Multi-cloud deployments can also be considered hybrid deployments.

Test your skills

You work for a local charity organization. Your organization has sensitive data that must remain within your country for compliance reasons. However, you also need a solution that can scale quickly to handle seasonal spikes in demand. You decide to keep on-premises resources for compliance and use cloud-based resources for dynamic scaling.

Which type of cloud deployment does this situation describe?

On-premises deployment

Public cloud deployment

Hybrid deployment

Data-compliance deployment

Benefits of the AWS Cloud

In this lesson, you will learn how to do the following:

• Describe the six key benefits of cloud computing.

Now that you understand how the cloud operates at a fundamental level, you will explore some advantages of using the cloud for your business. In this lesson, you will learn about six key benefits of cloud computing.

Key benefits of the AWS Cloud

The six key benefits of the AWS Cloud are as follows.

Trade fixed expense for variable expense

By using the AWS Cloud, businesses can transition from fixed investments to variable costs. With variable costs, customer expenses are better aligned with actual usage, thus creating more financial flexibility.

Benefit from massive economies of scale

Like buying a product in bulk can result in lower prices per unit, the vast global infrastructure of AWS can result in lower costs for customers. This means that AWS can be used by many organizations, from small startups to major corporations. Businesses big and small can access advanced technologies that were previously only accessible to large enterprises.

Stop guessing capacity

Customers can dynamically scale AWS Cloud resources up or down based on real-time demand. This means businesses can achieve optimal performance without provisioning more or less infrastructure than they need.

Increase speed and agility

With the cloud, businesses can rapidly deploy applications and services, accelerating time to market and facilitating quicker responses to changing business needs and market conditions.

Stop spending money to run and maintain data centers

The AWS Cloud eliminates the need for businesses to invest in physical data centers. This means customers aren't required to spend time and money on utilities and ongoing maintenance. With AWS taking care of the physical infrastructure of the cloud, customer resources can be reallocated to more strategic initiatives.

Go global in minutes

Businesses don't need to set up their own infrastructure to expand internationally. AWS provides a robust global infrastructure that customers can use to deploy applications and services across multiple areas in minutes.

Introduction to AWS Global Infrastructure

In this lesson, you will learn how to do the following:

• Define AWS Regions and Availability Zones.

• Explain the benefits of high availability and fault tolerance.

In this lesson, you learn about the basics of the AWS Global Infrastructure. You learn about the unique physical setup of AWS resources, and you explore some benefits of AWS infrastructure, such as high availability and fault tolerance. You will learn about more advanced components of AWS infrastructure in a later lesson of this training. For now, it's helpful to have a fundamental understanding of basic AWS infrastructure elements, such as data centers, Availability Zones, and AWS Regions.

AWS Regions and Availability Zones

AWS Global Infrastructure consists of physical locations around the world that contain groups of data centers. To learn more about the design of AWS Regions and Availability Zones, choose each of the following two numbered markers.

Achieving high availability with AWS Global Infrastructure

AWS infrastructure is designed with high availability and fault tolerance in mind. Availability Zones (AZs) are configured as isolated resources, and they are each equipped with independent power, networking, and connectivity.

It's recommended to distribute your resources across multiple AZs. That way, if one AZ encounters an outage, your business applications will continue to operate without interruption. With this approach of redundancy and resource isolation, AWS customers can achieve the benefits of high availability and fault tolerance.

Test your skills

You just joined a tech start-up, and the business is growing rapidly. Your new company decides that they need to design a resilient and scalable infrastructure on AWS to handle increased traffic and help ensure high availability.

Which statement BEST describes the AWS Global Infrastructure benefit of high availability?

• AWS stores all of your website’s data in a single AWS storage bucket to centralize data management.

• AWS has many customer support options to ensure the answers to your questions are highly available on its website.

• AWS provides multiple data centers across different geographic regions so your website can remain operational even if one location faces issues.

• AWS offers a single, highly secure data center that can handle all your traffic, ensuring that your website is available.

The AWS Shared Responsibility Model

In this lesson, you will learn how to do the following:

• Describe and differentiate between customer responsibilities, AWS responsibilities, and shared responsibilities in the AWS Cloud.

• Describe the components of the AWS Shared Responsibility Model.

The AWS Shared Responsibility Model is a concept designed to help AWS and customers work together to create a secure, functional cloud environment. In this lesson, you learn about the components of the AWS Shared Responsibility Model. With a clear understanding of cloud computing responsibilities, organizations can better navigate the complexities of cloud security.

Components of the AWS Shared Responsibility Model

To review the components of the AWS Shared Responsibility model, choose each of the following three numbered markers.

Test your skills

You work for a startup company that is developing an application in the cloud. A new security update is available for your operating system (OS), and you are tasked with verifying that the OS is patched accordingly.

Which statement BEST describes which party is responsible for applying security patches to the OS that is running in the cloud?

• AWS is responsible for applying security patches to the OS.

• Your company is responsible for applying security patches to the OS.

• Both AWS and the customer apply separate patches.

• The OS vendor applies the patches.

Applying Cloud Concepts to Real Life Use Cases

In this lesson, you will learn how to do the following:

• Explain how fundamental cloud concepts, such as the AWS Global Infrastructure and AWS Shared Responsibility Model, work together to form real-world business solutions.

You've learned about some fundamental cloud concepts, like how cloud computing works, the basics of AWS Global Infrastructure, and the AWS Shared Responsibility Model. It's important to build your knowledge of cloud computing piece by piece. However, in reality, the concepts you learn about in this training work together, not separately. In this lesson, you explore your first example of the Cloud in Real Life, piecing together how abstract cloud concepts work together to drive innovation and efficiency for your business.

Cloud in real life: Infrastructure and shared responsibility

In the preceding video, you examined how AWS Global Infrastructure and the AWS Shared Responsibility Model work together for your business solution. For this use case, the global ecommerce company deployed resources to multiple AWS Regions and Availability Zones. To learn more about the benefits this infrastructure design achieves and how AWS and the company share responsibility, choose each of the following three numbered markers.