IaaS Cloud Instance Pros & Cons!

In part 1, I've explained the difference between IaaS, PaaS and SaaS Cloud environments, but what about the advantages and disadvantages of each of those environments? So, in this article, I'll be going over the pros and cons of such environments.

So, we will start with the IaaS, in which I like to call it the Bare metal of the Cloud environments.

Advantages of IaaS:

It's critical to understand that in the instance of an IaaS Cloud environment, such environment can be deployed in three different services models:

"as defined by the National Institute of Standards Technology (NIST)"

1. Private Cloud: Infrastructure services are provisioned for exclusive use by a single organization. The physical infrastructure may be owned, managed and operated by the organization, a third party or some combination, and it may exist on or off premises.
2. Public Cloud: Infrastructure services are provisioned for use by multiple organizations (also known as a multi-tenant model). The physical infrastructure may be owned, managed and operated by a business, academic or government organization, or some combination. It exists on the premises of the cloud provider.
3. Hybrid Cloud: A company chooses to leverage both public cloud and private cloud for applications or overall architecture. The two cloud models remain unique entities but are bound together by standardized or proprietary technology that enables data and application portability.

Reference: comptia.org - Jan. 23, 2023

Other advantages of the IaaS Cloud environment are:

• Pay as you go, or explicitly: Pay for What You Use:?In this case, the fees are calculated and computed based on the usage metrices.
• Some may claim that using IaaS Reduces Capital Expenditures, or what we call Operational expenses. Well, this could be true if the cost of your support team, equipment, utilities and licenses outweighs the overall cost of the IaaS Cloud instance.
• Elastic computer of what others call; "Dynamically Scaling":?This feature is a great feature to enhance the overall performance of the systems underload. Thus, in the case of peak load on the system/s, the IaaS will scale up the resources to accommodate the overall usage. Once the load subsides, then the IaaS will scale down on the resource's usage.
• Increase Security:?IaaS providers invest heavily in security technology and expertise
• Future-Proof:?Access to state-of-the-art data center, hardware and operating systems
• Self-Service Provisioning:?Access via simple internet connection. Thus, the provisioning and deployment of resources is very simple.
• Free and Reallocate IT Resources:?The IaaS instance will not need many of your onsite infrastructure employees, thus it will simplify the management of the environment/s with only a small number of administrative personnel as opposed to the on-premises infrastructure. This will free up IT staff for higher value projects
• Reduction of systems downtime:?IaaS enables instant recovery from outages
• Boost Speed:?Developers can begin projects once IaaS machines are provisioned
• Enable Innovation:?Add new capabilities and leverage APIs
• Level the Playing Field:?SMBs can compete with much larger firms
• Sub-continent or Global infrastructure.
• Your SLA "service-level agreement" for your uptime is way better than what you can have on premise.

Disadvantages of IaaS:

• Unexpected costs could occur! :?It's critical to keep an active eye on your daily / monthly usage, and control it to suite your budget.
• Left behind or Forgotten instances:?In many cases, the administrators forget to cease some unused instances, which will occur in extra monthly cost.
• Security Risks:?While IaaS providers secure the infrastructure, businesses are responsible for anything they host
• Complex Integration:?Challenges with interaction with existing systems
• Security Risks:?New vulnerabilities may emerge around the loss of direct control
• Providers Not Created Equally:?Vendor vetting?and selection can be challenging
• Managing Availability:?Even the largest service providers experience downtime
• Confusing SLAs:?Service level agreements (SLAs) can be difficult to understand
• Regulatory Uncertainty:?Evolving federal and state laws can impact some industries’ use of IaaS, especially across country borders
• Vendor Consolidation:?Providers may be acquired or go out of business
• Third-Party Expertise:?Lack of mature service providers, guidance or ecosystem support

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References:

eginnovations.com Jan 23, 2023

Comptia.org Jan 23, 2023