The use of the cloud has gained a very important weight in recent years. We have more and more computers connected to the network and in many cases it is necessary to access them remotely. For example, remote work needs to have certain resources and devices accessible from anywhere. However, when it comes to using the cloud, different types of terms, features, and services come into play. In this article we are going to talk about some of them. We are going to explain what IaaS, PaaS, CaaS and SaaS consist of .
Big increase in cloud services
As we have mentioned, we have more and more tools that allow us to use the cloud on our devices. There are many services that we can use, both free and paid. They allow us to host content and have it available anywhere, create backup copies on any computer, free up space, share with other users …
Without a doubt, the range of possibilities of the cloud is very wide. In recent times it has increased especially due to teleworking. More users are performing their functions remotely from their homes or anywhere. For this to be possible, it is sometimes essential to connect remotely to the workplace or use different equipment.
Advances in technology mean that we have many more options at our disposal. This also translates into certain terms that we must know to use the cloud correctly. We talk about functions, features, services … There are a lot of words related to this technology.
Cloud Core Terms
We are going to show a series of terms that we can call the main ones when using the cloud. We are going to focus on IaaS, PaaS, CaaS, and SaaS. We will see what are the main elements that make up each of them, their use and specifications.
IaaS
One of the terms we want to show is IaaS. It comes from Infrastructure as a Service or Infrastructure as a Service, in English. In this case, it is a service that offers customers a series of resources, both physical and virtual. For example we can name a firewall, a virtual machine, storage, etc.
We can say that it is a fundamental part for cloud computing. They are used for example to virtualize computers in the cloud. In this way, we do not need to have multiple physical computers, with their respective physical resources, but simply use the cloud and services with which to work virtually.
Among the services that are based on IaaS we can name Google Compute Engine, OpenStack, Amazon EC2 or Azure Virtual Machine .
PaaS
Another term that we are going to talk about is PaaS. In this case, it is the acronym for Platform as a Service. In Spanish we can translate it as Platform as a Service . It is an environment that is part of the cloud and allows the delivery of a large number of services, such as applications in the cloud.
It also has a series of essential infrastructure . For example we can name servers, storage and networks for its operation. Through these services, a user can develop a certain application, run it and manage it. Basically it is a platform that allows to develop applications.
Thanks to PaaS, a company will not need to create and develop its own applications, or have space on its own server, specific software to create a programming and security environment. All this is going to be at your fingertips, in a simpler way.
Here we can also name some services as an example. We can mention OpenShift, Cloud Foundry, The Heroku Platform, Deis or the Google App Engine service.
CaaS
The word CaaS comes from Container as a Service . If we translate it into Spanish we would say Container as a Service. In this case we can say that it is something intermediate between the previous two that we explain. It is a virtualization method that is container-based, as the name suggests.
These on-demand containers are offered to users through a cloud service. In these containers the final product can be implanted. We can name some services that have this possibility, such as OpenStack Magnum or Docker Universal Control Plane .
SaaS
In this case, SaaS is the acronym for Software as a Service or Software as a Service. We can also find it as Software on demand. It is a service that basically offers the user a specific application without having to install anything or carry out any kind of deployment.
This is very useful and makes work much easier at certain times. Users only have to enter the service and be able to use the application once they have hired it. It can be both free and paid.
We can name some very day-to-day examples such as social networks such as Facebook or Twitter, as well as streaming video playback platforms such as Netflix. We are using cloud services for this.
FaaS
On the other hand, another term we want to show is FaaS. This acronym comes from Functions as a Service . We can translate it as Functions as a Service. Again use the advantages of cloud computing. It allows you to run applications through containers that are created in a moment and the developer does not have to worry about it.
In this way, a user will also reduce the infrastructure and investment that is needed. Another important point is that costs are only generated if it is used. As long as it is not running, it would have no cost.
Ultimately, these are some terms of services that are part of cloud computing . We have mentioned that it is something that is increasingly present in our day to day life and as time progresses we will have more and more possibilities. We will use more and more devices that connect to the network wirelessly, but also remotely. We will not have to be physically in a certain place to work or to use a program. We have seen some terms such as IaaS, PaaS, CaaS, SaaS or FaaS and how they can help in our day to day.
