Explain the purpose of a range of cloud services
Assessment
Report
Cloud Services
Software as a Service (SaaS)
Platform as a Service (PaaS)
Think of the P in platform as a Programmer
Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
What Is It?: SaaS provides software over the internet. Instead of buying a CD or downloading software to your computer, you access it online.
Examples: Google Docs, Microsoft 365, Zoom
Purpose:
Easy to Access: You can use it from any device that has internet. You don't need to be at your personal computer.
Automatic Updates: The service provider takes care of updates, so you always have the latest version without needing to do anything.
Cost-Effective: Usually you pay a monthly fee, so you don't have to spend a lot of money upfront.
What Is It?: PaaS provides a platform that lets developers build, test, and deploy apps without worrying about the underlying hardware and software.
Examples: Google App Engine, Heroku, Creating apps for the SaaS
Purpose:
Saves Time: Developers don't have to set up or maintain servers, databases, or other tools. They can focus on coding.
Scalable: If your app becomes popular and you need more resources, you can easily get them without buying more hardware.
Multiple Languages: Often supports various programming languages, so developers can choose the best one for their project.
What Is It?: IaaS gives you the building blocks to build your own cloud services. This is like renting a computer and storage on the internet.
Examples: Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud Platform (GCP), Microsoft Azure
Purpose:
Flexibility: You can choose your own operating system, software, and applications.
Control: You manage the virtual machines, storage, and networking, giving you a lot of control over the resources.
Scale Easily: If you need more resources, you can rent more. If you need less, you can scale down.
Think of these services like a pizza:
SaaS is like ordering a pizza: It's ready to eat, and you didn’t have to cook it.
PaaS is like a pizza kit: You get the crust, sauce, and toppings, but you put it together and cook it yourself.
IaaS is like making a pizza from scratch: You get the ingredients but have to do everything yourself, from kneading the dough to baking it.
Each of these cloud services serves different needs and is suitable for different types of projects.
Using Amazon's cloud services as an example to explain these cloud service categories, in a way that high school students would understand:
Amazon Example: Amazon Workspaces, Amazon Chime
What Is It?: SaaS offers ready-to-use software that you can access through the internet. Imagine it like a video game you play online; you don't need to install anything on your computer.
Purpose:
Ease of Use: Just like playing an online game, all you need is a login and you're good to go. No need for any installations.
Updates: The game—or in this case, the software—is updated automatically. You don’t have to download patches or new versions.
Accessible Anywhere: You can use it from any computer, like going to a friend's house and still being able to play the game online.
Amazon Example: AWS Elastic Beanstalk
What Is It?: Think of PaaS like a fully stocked kitchen where a chef—here, a developer—can create meals without worrying about growing the vegetables or raising the chickens.
Purpose:
Developer Focus: Chefs can focus on cooking, and developers can focus on coding.
Tools Provided: Just like the kitchen has ovens, pans, and knives, PaaS provides databases, development tools, and more.
Easy to Scale: If you suddenly need to serve meals to 100 more people, the kitchen can handle it. Likewise, PaaS can easily scale to handle more users.
Amazon Example: Amazon EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud), Amazon S3 (Simple Storage Service)
What Is It?: This is like renting an empty kitchen space and bringing in all your own equipment and ingredients. You're in control but also responsible for everything.
Purpose:
Complete Control: You decide everything from the brand of ovens to the type of salt you use.
Customizable: If you have specific needs or want to experiment, you can. It's your kitchen, after all.
Resource Management: Need another oven or fridge? You can get it quickly, just like you can allocate more resources in IaaS when you need them.
So, each of these Amazon services fits into a larger category: Amazon Workspaces and Chime are like SaaS products; Elastic Beanstalk is a PaaS offering; and EC2 and S3 are examples of IaaS. Each has its own benefits, depending on what you need for your project or business.