Understanding Cloud Service Models Using a Simple Analogy
One thing I noticed while learning cloud computing is this Most people don’t struggle because cloud services are hard. They struggle because they don’t know which service model they’re using.
Cloud services are a core foundation. Once you understand them, everything else becomes easier. Even AWS certification questions start to feel clearer.
The truth is, you don’t always need full control in the cloud. Sometimes you want to manage everything yourself. Sometimes you just want to deploy and move on. Other times, you only need code to run for a few seconds.
That’s why cloud service models exist.
IaaS: You manage the server and OS. Examples in AWS: EC2, EBS, VPC
PaaS: You focus on your app; AWS manages the platform. Examples in AWS: Elastic Beanstalk, RDS
SaaS: You just use the software; there is no infrastructure to manage. Examples: Gmail, Google Drive, Slack. In AWS: Amazon WorkMail
FaaS: Your code runs only when triggered, with no servers to manage. Example in AWS: AWS Lambda
In this month’s edition, I’m using a very simple real-life analogy to explain when each cloud service model makes sense.
Related article: What is Cloud Computing? A Guide for Beginners
Now I’m curious. Which cloud service model confused you the most when you started IaaS, PaaS, SaaS, or FaaS?
Drop your answer in the comments.
For me, IaaS was tricky because missing one small configuration setting caused me unexpected issues.
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