1) Elaborate different cloud service delivery models along with list

of service providers.
There are three types of cloud service delivery models:
i) Infrastructure as a Service
ii) Platform as a Service
iii) Software as a Service

1) IaaS is a computing infrastructure managed over the internet. The main advantage of using IaaS is that it
helps users to avoid the cost and complexity of purchasing and managing the physical servers.

Characteristics of IaaS:
• Resources are available as a service
• Services are highly scalable
• Dynamic and flexible
• GUI and API-based access
• Automated administrative tasks

Example: AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Compute Engine

2) PaaS cloud computing platform is created for the programmer to develop, test, run and manage the
applications.

Characteristics of PaaS:
• Accessible to various users via the same development application
• Integrates with web services and databases
• Builds on virtualization technology
• Support multiple languages and frameworks
• Provides ability to “auto-scale”

Example: Apache Stratos, Openshift, Heroku

3) SaaS is also known as “on-demand software”. It is a software in which the applications are hosted by a
cloud service provider. Users can access these applications with the help of internet connection and web
browser.

Characteristics of SaaS:
• Managed from a central location
• Hosted on a remote server
• Accessible over the internet
• Users are not responsible for hardware and software updates, updates applied automatically
• The services are purchased on the pay-as-per-use basis

Example: BigCommerce, Dropbox, Cisco WebEx

2) Justify how virtualization helps to improve resource utilization.
Virtualization is the creation of a virtual version of something, such as a server, desktop , a storage device, an
operating system or network resources. Its a technique which allows to share a single physical instance of a
resource or an application among multiple customers and organizations. It does this by assigning a logical
name to a physical storage and providing a pointer to that physical resource when demanded.

Virtualization improves hardware resources used in your data center. For example, instead of running one
server on one computer system, you can create a virtual server pool on the same computer system by using
and returning servers to the pool as required. Having fewer underlying physical servers frees up space in
your data center and saves money on electricity, generators and cooling appliances.

3) What is VM migration and explain its need. How does VM

migration work?
VM migration is the process of moving a running virtual machine without stopping the OS and other
applications from source host to destination host. It has the capability to move workload of multiple running
virtual machines on a single physical machine.

Need for VM migration:

• It accomodates for changing workloads automatically in servers
• VM can be migrated to some other server and brought back to host server after a scheduled maintenance is
completed to reduce downtime for users
• Can be used for disaster recovery
• Easier to migrate a virtual machine from one server to another than migrating OS and applications
individually

Types of VM migration:
• Cold migration- Before migration, the VM must be powered of. After doing this task, the old should
be deleted from the source host. Moreover, the VM need not to be on shared storage.
• Warm migration- Whenever transfer OS and any application, there is no need to suspend the source host.
Basically it has high demand in public cloud.
• Live migration- It is the process of moving a running VM without stopping the OS and other applications
from source host to destination host.
4) Elaborate different cloud deployment models. Also mention
advantages and limitations of each.
There are four types of cloud deployment models:
i) Public cloud
ii) Private cloud
iii) Community cloud
iv) Hybrid cloud

1) Public Cloud:
Public deployment models in the cloud are perfect for organizations with growing and fluctuating demands.
It also makes a great choice for companies with low-security concerns. You pay a cloud service provider for
networking services, compute virtualization and storage available on the public internet. It is also a great
delivery model for the teams with development and testing. Its configuration and deployment are quick and
easy, making it an ideal choice for test environments.

Advantages:
• Minimal investment- no large upfront cost as a pay-as-per-use service
• No hardware setup- cloud service providers fully fund the entire infrastructure
• No infrastructure management- does not require in-house team to utilize the public cloud

Limitations:
• Data security and privacy concerns- does not fully protect against cyber-attacks since it is accessible to all
• Reliability issues- since the same network is open to a wide range of users, it can lead to malfunction and
outages
• Service/License limitation- usage cap

2) Private Cloud:
Private cloud offers bigger opportunities that help meet specific organizations’ requirements when it comes
to customization. These are mainly sought after by companies that look for cost efficiency and greater
control over data and resources. It will be integrated with their data center and managed by their IT team.

Advantages:
• Data privacy- ideal for storing corporate data where only authorized personnel gets access
• Security- segmentation of resources within same infrastructure can help with higher level of security
• Supports legacy systems- supports systems that cannot access the public cloud

Limitations:
• Higher cost- investment will be larger for more benefits
• Fixed scalability- hardware chosen will help accordingly to scale in a certain direction
• High maintenance- managed in-house
3) Community Cloud:
Community cloud operates in a way that is similar to the public cloud. The difference is that it allows access
to only a specific set of users who share common objectives and use cases. This type of deployment model of
cloud computing is managed and hosted internally or by a third-party vendor.

Advantages:
• Smaller investment- much cheaper than private and public cloud
• Setup benefits- protocols and configuration must align with industry standards

Limitations:
• Shared resources- community resources often pose challenges due to restricted bandwidth
• Not as popular- recently introduced model

4) Hybrid Cloud:
Hybrid cloud is a combination of two or more cloud architectures. While each model in the hybrid cloud
functions differently, it is all part of the same architecture. As part of this deployment of the cloud computing
model, the internal or external providers can offer resources.

Advantages:
• Cost-effectiveness- overall coset decreases since it majorly uses public cloud to store data
• Security- since data is segmented, chances of data theft is significantly reduced
• Flexibility- businesses can create custom solutions that fit their exact requirements

Limitations:
• Complexity- difficult setting up a hybrid cloud since it needs to integrate two or more cloud archictectures
• Specific use case- makes more sense for organizations that have multiple use cases

5) Define cloud computing.

Cloud computing is the on-demand delivery of IT resources over the Internet with pay-as-you-go pricing.
Instead of buying, owning and maintaining physical data centers and servers, you can access technology
services, such as computing power, storage and databases on an as-needed basis from a cloud provider like
Amazon Web Service. It is a virtualization based technology that allows us to create, configure and
customize applications via an Internet connection.

6) Explain five essential characteristics of cloud computing.

1) Agility:
The cloud works in a distributed computing environment. It shares resources among users and works very
fast.

2) High availability and reliability:

The availability of servers is high and more reliable because the chances of infrastructure failure are
minimum.

3) High scalability:
Cloud offers on-demand provisioning of resources on a large scale without having engineers for peak loads.

4) Multi-sharing:
With the help of cloud computing, multiple users and applications can work more efficiently with cost
reductions by sharing common infrastructure.

5) Device and location independence:

Cloud computing enables the users to access systems using a web browser regardless of their location or
what device they use.

6) Maintenance:
Maintenance is easier since they do not need to be installed on each user’s computer and can be accessed
from different places.

7) Low cost:
Cost will be reduced because to take the services of cloud computing, IT company need not to set its own
infrastrucuture and pay-as-per-usage of resources.

8) Services in the pay-per-use mode:

APIs are provided to the users so that they can access services on the cloud by using these APIs and pay the
charges as per the usage of services.
7) Illustrate hypervisor with its types.
A hypervisor, also known as a virtual machine monitor or VMM is a piece of software that allows us to
build and run virtual machines. It allows a single host computer to support multiple virtual machines by
sharing resources including memory and processing.

Hypervisors allow the use of more of a system’s available resources and provide greater IT versatility
because the guest VMs are independent of the host hardware which is one of the major benefits.

The types of hypervisors are:

1) Type 1:
It replaces the host operating system and the hypervisor schedules VM services directly to the hardware. It is
very commonly used in the enterprise data center or other server based environments.

2) Type 2:
It is a software layer of framework that runs on a traditional operating system. It operates the guest and host
operating systems. The host operating system schedules VM services, which are then executed on the
hardware. Individual who wish to operate multiple operating systems on a personal computer should use a
Type 2 hypervisor.

8) What is NIST cloud computing reference architecture?

There are five major actors in NIST cloud computing reference architecture:
• Cloud Consumer
• Cloud Provider
• Cloud Carrier
• Cloud Auditor
• Cloud Broker
Each actor is an entity, may be a person or an organization that participates in a transaction or process and/or
performs tasks in cloud computing.

1) Cloud Consumer:
Cloud consumer use the cloud services such as SaaS, PaaS and IaaS. They browse the service catalog
provided by a cloud provider and requests the appropriate service.

2) Cloud Provider:
Cloud provider is responsible for making a service available to the cloud consumer. They maintain and
manage the different cloud computing services for the consumer and makes arrangement to deliver the cloud
services toe the cloud consumers using Internet.
3) Cloud Auditor:
Cloud auditor is a dedicated team of technically skilled people that can perform an independent examination
or review of cloud service controls with the intent to express strength and weakness of the process and some
suggestion or improvement.

4) Cloud Broker:
Cloud broker manages the delivery of cloud services, their performance and use. They also negotiate
relationships between cloud providers and cloud consumers.

5) Cloud Carrier:
Cloud carrier provides connectivity and transport of cloud services between cloud consumers and cloud
providers. They provide access to consumers through network, telecommunication and other access devices.

9) Compare and contrast cloud platform among Amazon, Google

and Microsoft.
Amazon Web Service:
AWS is a cloud computing platform which was introduced in 2002. It offers a wide range of cloud services
such as IaaS, PaaS and SaaS. AWS provides the largest community with millions of active customers as well
as thousands of partners globally. Most of the organizations use AWS to expand their business by moving
their IT management to the AWS. Flexibility, security and better performance are some important features of
AWS.

Microsoft Azure:
Microsoft Azure is also called as Windows Azure. It is a worldwide cloud platform which is used for
building, deploying and managing services. It supports multiple programming languages such as Java,
NodeJs, C and C#. The advantage of using Microsoft Azure is that it allows us to a wide variety of services
without arranging and purchasing additional hardware components. Microsoft Azure provides several
computing services, including servers, storage, databases, software, networking and analytics over the
Internet.

Google Cloud Platform:

GCP is introduced by Google in 2011. It allows us to use Google’s products such as Google search engine,
Gmail, YouTube, etc. Most of the companies use this platform to easily build, move and deploy applications
on the cloud. It allows us to access these applications using a high-speed internet connection. The advantage
of GCP is that it supports various databases such as SQL, MySQL, Oracle, Sam and more. GCP provides
various cloud computing services, including computing, data analytics, data storage and machine learning.
10) Analyse the factors that benefits cloud over on-premises
infrastructure.
1) Cost Efficiency:
• Cloud services follow a pay-as-you-go model, allowing businesses to pay only for the resources they use,
minimizing upfront costs.
• Eliminates the need for capital expenditure on hardware, reducing hardware procurement, maintenance and
upgrade costs.

2) Scalability:
• Cloud platforms provide on-demand scalability, allowing businesses to quickly scale up or down based on
workload demands.
• This elasticity ensure optimal resource allocation without overprovisioning or underutilization.

3) Flexibilty and Agility:

• Enables rapid deployment of new services, applications and resources, enabling faster time-to-market.
• Developers can provision resources programmatically using APIs, automating deployment processes.

4) Global Reach:
• Cloud providers offer data centers in various regions worldwide, allowing businesses to reach a global
audience with low-latency services.
• This global presence enhances performance, reliability and compliance with data residency regulations.

5) Security and Compliance:

• Cloud providers invest heavily in security measures, including encryption, authentication and compliance
certifications.
• Many businesses find it easier to meet regulatory requirements with cloud providers’ built-in security
features.

6) Disaster Recovery and Backup:

• Cloud providers offer robust disaster recovery and backup solutions, often more cost-effective than
building redundant on-premises setups.
• Data replication and backup services ensure data integrity and availability.

7) Environmental Impact:
• Cloud infrastructure’s shared resources and optimized utilization can lead to energy savings and reduced
carbon footprint compared to running private data centers.
11) Describe the potential challenges of cloud storage as a service.
Also list down different vendors that provide storage as a service.
Potential challenges of cloud storage as a service:
1) Security and Data Privacy:
• Storing data off-premises raises concerns about data security, access control and complicance with
regulations.
• Businesses need to trust the cloud provider’s security measures and encryption practices.

2) Data Transfer Speed and Latency:

• Uploading or downloading large amounts of data to/from the cloud can be time consuming, especially for
organizations with limited bandwidth.
• Latency can impact real-time data access and application performance.

3) Downtime and Availability:

• Cloud storage services are not immune to outages or downtime. Organizations should ensure their chosen
provider offers sufficient redundancy and disaster recovery capabilities.

4) Cost Management:
• While cloud storage may seem cost-effective, improper management can result in unexpected costs due to
data retrieval fees, transfer fees and overprovisioning.

5) Data Loss and Recovery:

• Organizations should have clear backup and recovery strategies in place to ensure data integrity and
availability in case of accidental deletion or data corruption.

6) Performace Variability:
• The performance of cloud storage can vary depending on factors like network congestion and resource
sharing within the cloud provider’s infrastructure.

7) Data Ownership and Control:

• Organizations must understand the terms of service regarding data ownership, control and potential
limitations imposed by the cloud provider.

Different vendors that provide storage as a service:

1) Amazon Web Services
2) Google Cloud Platform
3) Microsoft Azure
4) IBM Cloud
5) Oracle Cloud
6) DigitalOcean
7) Wasabi
8) Backblaze
12) Compare PaaS with SaaS and IaaS.

Parameter SaaS PaaS IaaS

Stands for Software as a Platform as a service. Infrastructure as a

service. service.

Used by The end users Developers use PAAS. Network architects use
use it. it.

Access SAAS gives PAAS gives access to the It provides access to

access to the end runtime environment for the resources like
user. deployment and virtual machines and
development tools virtual storage.
Model It is a service It is a cloud computing IaaS is a service
model in cloud service model that delivers model that provides
computing that tools that are used for the virtualized computing
hosts software. development of applications. resources over the
internet.

Technical No need for Some knowledge is required It requires technical

understanding technical for basic setup. writing.
knowledge.

Control is given Nothing Data of Application OS, Runtime,

to developers Middleware, etc

Abstraction Complete Abstraction of the underlying Only for underlying

abstraction hardware and software hardware resources
resources.

Operational Cost Minimal Lower Highest

 Portability No portability Lower Best

Risk of Vendor Highest Medium Lowest

Interlock

Examples of Google Windows Azure, Force.com, AWS, Google

Cloud services Workspace, Google App Engine, Compute Engine,
Salesforce, OpenShift, Heroku, etc. Rackspace, Digital
Dropbox, CISCO, Ocean, VCloud
MS Office Web, Express, Sun, etc.
etc.

13) How SaaS architecture is classified based on factors

such as configurability, multi-tenant efficiency and
scalability?
SaaS architecture can be classified based on factors such as configurability, multi-tenant
efficiency and scalability as follows:
1) Configurability:
• Configurable SaaS- the SaaS application allows a high degree of customization and
configuration by individual users or organizations. Users can tailor the software to their specific
needs by adjusting settings, workflows and user interfaces.
• Non-configurable SaaS- the SaaS application offers limited customization options. Users have
less control over modifying the application’s features and functionalities to suit their preferences.

2) Multi-Tenant Efficiency:
• Multi-Tenant SaaS- share a single instance of the application across multiple customers.
Resources are efficiently shared and updates are applied once for all tenants. This model offers
cost savings and streamlined management.
• Single-Tenant SaaS- each customer has their own isolated instance of the application. While
this provides more customization and security, it can be less efficient in terms of resource
utilization and maintenance.

3) Scalability:
• Elastic SaaS- designed to automatically scale resources up or down based on demand. This
ensures optimal performance during peak usage periods while avoiding over-provisioning during
quieter times.
• Non-Elastic SaaS- has a fixed allocation of resources that does not dynamically adjust to
changing demands. This might lead to performance issues during traffic spikes or underutilization
during low-traffic periods.
14) How IT organizations are benefited by IaaS in cloud
computing? Explain with example. Illustrate the way
different cloud platforms deliver IaaS. Also give details
about its accounting services.
IaaS provides IT organizations with virtualized computing resources over the internet. These
resources include virtual machines, storage, networking and often other fundamental services like
load balancers and firewalls. Here’s how IT organizations benefit from IaaS:
1) Scalability- IT teams can quickly scale resources up or down to accomodate changing
workloads. This eliminates the need for overprovisioning and allows efficient resource utilization.

2) Cost savings- IaaS eliminates the upfront costs associated with purchasing and maintaining
physical hardware. Organizations pay only for the resource they use.

3) Flexibility- IT teams can choose the type and size of virtual machines, storage and networking
components that best suit their needs. This flexibility enables customization and tailoring of
infrastructure.

4) Rapid deployment- provisioning and configuring virtual machines and other resources is faster
in the cloud compared to setting up physical hardware. This speeds up development and testing
processes.

5) Global reach: cloud providers offer data centers in multiple regions, enabling IT organizations
to deploy resources close to users or customers, reducing latency.

6) Disaster recovery and backup- IaaS providers often offer built-in backup and disaster recovery
solutions, simplifying data protection and ensuring business continuity.

7) Security- cloud providers invest in robust security measures, including firewalls, encryption and
access controls. They also manage physical security of data centers.

8) Maintenance and updates- cloud providers handle hardware maintenance, security updates
and patches, allowing IT teams to focus on strategic tasks instead of routine maintenance.

9) Remote access- IT professionals can manage and monitor infrastructure remotely, enabling
efficient administration and troubleshooting.

Example- Lets consider an IT organization that needs to host a web application. With IaaS, they
can rent virtual machines, storage and networking resources from a cloud provider. The IT team
can choose the operating system, configure the software stack and deploy the application. If the
application experiences a sudden surge in traffic, the IT team can easily scale up by provisioning
additional virtual machines or resources.

IaaS Delivery by Different Cloud Platforms:

1) Amazon Web Service- offers Amazon EC2 for virtual machines, Amazon S3 for storage and
Amazong VPC for networking. Users can provision resources through the AWS Management
Console or API.
2) Google Cloud Platform- provides Google Compute Engine for virtual machines, Google Cloud
Storage for storage and Google Virtual Private Cloud for networking. Resources can be managed
using the GCP Console or APIs.
3) Microsoft Azure- offers Azure Virtual Machines for VMs, Azure Blob Storage for storage, and
Azure Virtual Network for networking. Azure resources can be managed through the Azure Portal
or APIs.

IaaS Accounting Services:

• Usage Monitoring- detailed tracking of resources used, helping organizations understand their
resource consumption patterns.
• Cost Management- tools to estimate and monitor costs, allocate expense and optimize resource
utilization.
• Billing Reports- regularly generated reports detailing resource usage and costs, aiding
budgeting and financial planning.
• Cost Allocation Tags- labels that can be attached to resources for more granular cost tracking
and allocation.
• Resource Grouping- ability to group resources based on projects, departments or other criteria
for more accurate cost attribution.

15) Security concern is a major obstacle for adoption of

cloud computing, justify. Explain security challenges
experienced with PaaS, IaaS and SaaS.
Security concerns are indeed a major obstacle for the adoption of cloud computing. While cloud
platforms offer various benefifts, organizations worry about the potential risks associated with
storing sensitive data and critical applications on external servers. These concerns can vary across
different models.

Security Challenges with PaaS:

1) Data Handling- Storing sensitive data within PaaS databases or storage services requires
robust encryption and access controls to prevent unauthorized access.
2) Application Vulnerabilities- Custom applications deployed on PaaS platforms can have
security vulnerabilities that attackers might exploit.
3) Vendor Lock-In- PaaS might limit the choice of security tools, leading to vendor lock-in and
difficulties in switching providers.
4) Isolation- Inadequate isolation between applications on shared PaaS environments can result
in data leaks or cross-application attacks.

Security Challenges with IaaS:

1) Network Security- Proper setup and management of virtual networks and firewalls in IaaS is
crucial to prevent unauthorized access.
2) Identity Management- Incorrect identity and access managament configurations can lead to
unauthorized access to resources.
3) Data Protection- IaaS users are responsible for encrypting data stored within instances to
prevent data exposure.
4) Hypervisor Vulnerabilities- Vulnerabilities in the hypervisor layer can lead to compromising
multiple virtual machines on the same physical server.

Security Challenges with SaaS:

1) Data Privacy- Entrusting sensitive data to third-party SaaS providers requires strong data
privacy measures and compliance with regulations.
2) Application Security- Vulnerabilities is SaaS applications can expose user data to attacks,
emphasizing the importance of secure software development.
3) Account Hijacking- Weak authentication mechanisms or compromised credentials can result in
unauthorized access.
4) Data Residency- Data storage in different geographical locations by SaaS providers can raise
concerns about compliance with local data protection laws.
5) Customization Risks- Customing SaaS applications might introduce vulnerabilites or disrupt
security mechanisms, necessitating careful management.

16) Write a short note on AWS S3.

• Amazon Simple Storage Service is a scalable cloud storage service provided by Amazon Web
Service. It is designed to store and retrieve large amounts of data in a highly available and
durable manner.
• Amazon S3 allows you to host static website content. You can access it either from your bucket
or through a content delivery network called AWS CloudFront.
• Amazon S3 is a highly scalable storage service with famous eleven nines(99.999999999%) data
durability and 99.99% availability. This means that the chances of losing your data inside AWS
data centers are minimal.
• Amazon S3 offers a highly available, scalable, secure, high performance, low cost and easy to
use storage service which can be used for a range of use cases, such as data leaks, websites,
mobile applications, backup and restore, archive, enterprise applications, IoT devices, big data
analytics and so on.

17) Write a short note on AWS EC2.

• EC2 stands for Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud.
• Amazon EC2 is a web service that provides resizable compute capacity in the cloud..
• Amazon EC2 reduces the time required to obtain and boot new user instances to minutes rather
than in older days, if you need a server than you had to put a purchase order, and cabling is
done to get a new server which is a very time consuming process. Now, Amazon has provided
an EC2 which is a virtual machine in the cloud that completely changes the industry.
• With EC2, users can easily provision and manage virtual servers, known as instances on
demand.
• This flexibility allows businesses to quickly adapt their computing resources to match changing
workloads, enhancing scalability and cost efficiency.
• EC2 instances can be customized based on specific requirements, making it a versatile solution
for hosting applications, websites and various workloads.
• The service also provides features like auto-scaling and multiple instance types optimized for
diverse use cases, ensuring a reliable and adaptable computing environment.

18) Explain different compute services provided by AWS.

Here are the different compute services provided by AWS:
1) Amazon EC2:
• Offers resizable virtual servers.
• Choose instances types based on workload needs.
• Easily scale up or down based on demand.

2)Amazon ECS:
• Run and manage Docker containers at scale.
• Orchestrate containerized applications.

3) Amazon EKS:
• Managed Kubernetes service.
• Simplifies deployment and scaling of containerized apps.

4) AWS Lambda:
• Run code in response to events.
• No server provisioning or management.

5) Amazon Lightsail:
• Easy-to-use virtual private servers.
• No server provisioning or management.

6) AWS Batch:
• Run batch computing workloads.
• Automates compute resource allocation.

7) AWS Fargate:
• Serverless compute engine for containers.
• Run containers without managing infrastructure.

19) Analyse S3 storage classes with respect to pricing

model, scalability, durability and reliability.
Amazon S3 has five storage classes- Standard, Intelligent-Tiering, One Zone-IA, Glacier and
Glacier Deep Archive.
1) Standard Storage:
• Pricing Model- Pay-as-you-go pricing for storage and data transfer.
• Scalability- Highly scalable for frequently accessed data and large workloads.
• Durability- 99.999999999% across multiple Availability Zones.
• Reliability- High availability, redundancy, suitable for mission-critical data.

2) Intelligent-Tiering:
• Pricing Model- Pay-as-you-go with a small monthly fee per object.
• Scalability- Scalable like Standard, optimized for cost by auto-moving objects between access
tiers.
• Durability- Same 99.999999999% durability as Standard, across multiple Availability Zones.
• Reliability- Maintains high reliability with auto-tiering based on usage patterns.

3) One Zone-IA (Infrequent Access):

• Pricing Model- Lower storage cost but data stored in a single Availability Zone.
• Scalability- Scalable, but less redundancy due to single Availability Zone storage.
• Durability- 99.999999999% within a single Availability Zone.
• Reliability- Less reliable due to single Availability Zone storage.

4) Glacier:
• Pricing Model- Lower storage cost, with retrieval fees and delays for data access.
• Scalability- Scalable for archiving large volumes of data.
• Durability- 99.999999999%, similar to other classes.
• Reliability- Reliable for long-term data archiving, with access delays.

5) Glacier Deep Archive:

• Pricing Model- Lowest storage cost, higher data retrieval fees and longer retrieval times.
• Scalability- Scalable for extremely infrequently accessed, long-term archive data.
• Durability- 99.999999999%, comparable to other S3 classes.
• Reliability- Reliable for cold data storage, but with extended retrieval time.