What is IaaS?

Cloud Computing
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Infrastructure as a Service

Infrastructure as a service (IaaS) is a type of cloud computing service that offers compute (servers), storage and networking resources on demand, on a pay-as-you-go or on a reservation basis.

IaaS allows businesses to purchase resources on-demand as per their need, instead of having to buy hardware outright and setting up in their on premise servers and networking infrastructure.

IaaS delivers cloud computing infrastructure, including servers, network, operating systems, and storage, through virtualization technology.

IaaS provides the same technologies and capabilities as a traditional data center without having to physically maintain or manage all of it, thus removing the need to hire engineers to setup and maintain the infrastructure. IaaS clients can still access their servers and storage directly, but it is all outsourced through a “virtual data center” in the cloud.

As opposed to SaaS or PaaS, IaaS clients are responsible for managing aspects such as applications, runtime environments, Operating Systems, and data stored in the servers. However, providers of the IaaS manage the servers, hard drives, networking, virtualization, and storage.

Advantages of IaaS

  • The most flexible cloud computing model
  • Easy to automate deployment of storage, networking, servers, and processing power
  • Hardware purchases can be based on consumption
  • Clients retain complete control of their infrastructure
  • Resources can be purchased as-needed
  • Highly scalable

IaaS Providers

  • DigitalOcean
  • Linode
  • AWS
  • GCE
  • Microsoft Azure
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