This book begins with Chapters 1 and 2 providing introductory content and case study background information respectively. Provided here is a brief overview of subsequent chapters.
– Part I: Fundamental Cloud Computing
– Part II: Cloud Computing Mechanisms
– Part III: Cloud Computing Architecture
– Part IV: Working with Clouds
– Part V: Appendices
Below are descriptions of individual parts and chapters:
Chapter 1: Introduction
This chapter establishes the scope and structure of the book by providing an overview of the primary topic areas along with chapter descriptions and information regarding conventions and supplemental resources.
Chapter 2: Case Study Background
The chapters in this book contain numerous case study examples, all of which relate back to the case study background information established in this chapter. Appendix A concludes the case study storylines with a brief summary.
Part I: Fundamental Cloud Computing
The five chapters in this part cover introductory topics in preparation for all subsequent chapters. Note that Chapters 3 and 4 do not contain case study content.
Chapter 3: Understanding Cloud Computing
Following a brief history of cloud computing and a discussion of business drivers and technology innovations, basic terminology and concepts are introduced, along with descriptions of common benefits and challenges of cloud computing adoption.
Chapter 4: Fundamental Concepts and Models
Cloud delivery and cloud deployment models are discussed in detail, followed by sections that establish common cloud characteristics and roles and boundaries.
Chapter 5: Cloud-Enabling Technology
Contemporary technologies that realize modern-day cloud computing platforms and innovations are discussed, including data centers, virtualization, containerization, and web-based technologies.
Chapter 6: Understanding Containerization
A comparison of virtualization and containerization is provided, along with in-depth coverage of containerization environments and components.
Chapter 7: Understanding Cloud Security and Cybersecurity
Cloud security and cybersecurity topics and concepts relevant and distinct to cloud computing are introduced, including descriptions of common cloud security threats and attacks.
Part II: Cloud Computing Mechanisms
Technology mechanisms represent well-defined IT artifacts that are established within an IT industry and commonly distinct to a certain computing model or platform. The technology-centric nature of cloud computing requires the establishment of a formal level of mechanisms to be able to explore how solutions can be assembled via different combinations of mechanism implementations.
This part formally documents 48 technology mechanisms that are used within cloud environments to enable generic and specialized forms of functionality. Each mechanism description is accompanied by a case study example that demonstrates its usage. The utilization of select mechanisms is further explored throughout the technology architectures covered in Part III.
Chapter 8: Cloud Infrastructure Mechanisms
Technology mechanisms foundational to cloud platforms are covered, including logical network perimeter, virtual server, cloud storage device, cloud usage monitor, resource replication, hypervisor, ready-made environment, and container.
Chapter 9: Specialized Cloud Mechanisms
A range of specialized technology mechanisms is described, including automated scaling listener, load balancer, SLA monitor, pay-per-use monitor, audit monitor, failover system, resource cluster, multi-device broker, and state management database.
Chapter 10: Cloud and Cybersecurity Access-Oriented Mechanisms
Access-related security mechanisms that can be used to counter and prevent some of the threats described in Chapter 7 are covered, including encryption, hashing, digital signature, cloud-based security groups, public key infrastructure (PKI) system, single sign-on (SSO) system, hardened virtual server image, firewall, virtual private network (VPN), biometric scanner, multi-factor authentication (MFA) system, identity and access management (IAM) system, intrusion detection system (IDS), penetration testing tool, user behavior analytics (UBA) system, third-party software update utility, network intrusion monitor, authentication log monitor, and VPN monitor.
Chapter 11: Cloud and Cybersecurity Data-Oriented Mechanisms
Data-related security mechanisms that can be used to counter and prevent some of the threats described in Chapter 7 are covered, including digital virus scanning and decryption system, malicious code analysis system, data loss prevention (DLP) system, trusted platform module (TPM), data backup and recovery system, activity log monitor, traffic monitor, and data loss protection monitor.
Chapter 12: Cloud Management Mechanisms
Mechanisms that enable the hands-on administration and management of cloud-based IT resources are explained, including remote administration system, resource management system, SLA management system, and billing management system.
Part III: Cloud Computing Architecture
Technology architecture within the realm of cloud computing introduces requirements and considerations that manifest themselves in broadly scoped architectural layers and numerous distinct architectural models.
This set of chapters builds upon the coverage of cloud computing mechanisms from Part II by formally documenting 38 cloud-based technology architectures and scenarios in which different combinations of the mechanisms are documented in relation to fundamental, advanced, and specialized cloud architectures.
Chapter 13: Fundamental Cloud Architectures
Fundamental cloud architectural models establish baseline functions and capabilities. The architectures covered in this chapter are Workload Distribution, Resource Pooling, Dynamic Scalability, Elastic Resource Capacity, Service Load Balancing, Cloud Bursting, Elastic Disk Provisioning, Redundant Storage, and Multicloud.
Chapter 14: Advanced Cloud Architectures
Advanced cloud architectural models establish sophisticated and complex environments, several of which directly build upon fundamental models. The architectures covered in this chapter are Hypervisor Clustering, Virtual Server Clustering, Load-Balanced Virtual Server Instances, Nondisruptive Service Relocation, Zero Downtime, Cloud Balancing, Resilient Disaster Recovery, Distributed Data Sovereignty, Resource Reservation, Dynamic Failure Detection and Recovery, Rapid Provisioning, Storage Workload Management, and Virtual Private Cloud.
Chapter 15: Specialized Cloud Architectures
Specialized cloud architectural models address distinct functional areas. The architectures covered in this chapter are Direct I/O Access, Direct LUN Access, Dynamic Data Normalization, Elastic Network Capacity, Cross-Storage Device Vertical Tiering, Intra-Storage Device Vertical Data Tiering, Load-Balanced Virtual Switches, Multipath Resource Access, Persistent Virtual Network Configuration, Redundant Physical Connection for Virtual Servers, Storage Maintenance Window, Edge Computing, Fog Computing, Virtual Data Abstraction, Metacloud, and Federated Cloud Application.
Part IV: Working with Clouds
Cloud computing technologies and environments can be adopted to varying extents. An organization can migrate select IT resources to a cloud, while keeping all other IT resources on premises—or it can form significant dependencies on a cloud platform by migrating larger amounts of IT resources or even using the cloud environment to create them.
For any organization, it is important to assess a potential adoption from a practical and business-centric perspective to pinpoint the most common factors that pertain to financial investments, business impact, and various legal considerations. This set of chapters explores these and other topics related to the real-world considerations of working with cloud-based environments.
Chapter 16: Cloud Delivery Model Considerations
Cloud environments need to be built and evolved by cloud providers in response to cloud consumer requirements. Cloud consumers can use clouds to create or migrate IT resources to, subsequent to their assuming administrative responsibilities. This chapter provides a technical understanding of cloud delivery models from both the provider and consumer perspectives, each of which offers revealing insights into the inner workings and architectural layers of cloud environments.
Chapter 17: Cost Metrics and Pricing Models
Cost metrics for network, server, storage, and software usage are described, along with various formulas for calculating integration and ownership costs related to cloud environments. The chapter concludes with a discussion of cost management topics as they relate to common business terms used by cloud provider vendors.
Chapter 18: Service Quality Metrics and SLAs
Service-level agreements (SLAs) establish the guarantees and usage terms for cloud services and are often determined by the business terms agreed upon by cloud consumers and cloud providers. This chapter provides detailed insight into how cloud provider guarantees are expressed and structured via SLAs, along with metrics and formulas for calculating common SLA values, such as availability, reliability, performance, scalability, and resiliency.
Part V: Appendices
Appendix A: Case Study Conclusions
The individual storylines of the case studies are concluded and the results of each organization’s cloud computing adoption efforts are summarized.
Appendix B: Common Containerization Technologies
This appendix acts as a supplement to Chapter 6 by providing a breakdown of the Docker and Kubernetes environments and relating those environments to the terms and components established in Chapter 6.