Cloud hosting involves virtual servers that pull computing resources from networks of physical servers. This allows clients to access hosting resources as needed, paying only for what they use. Public clouds use shared resources across data centers while private clouds isolate dedicated resources for security and privacy. Cloud hosting provides alternatives to single-server hosting and can be classified as Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) or Platform as a Service (PaaS) depending on the level of service and management provided.

1. Cloud Hosting Arvin Loripour

2. WHAT IS CLOUD
HOSTING?
Cloud hosting services provide hosting on
virtual servers which pull their computing
resource from extensive underlying
networks of physical web servers.
Generally, clients can tap into their service
as much as they need to, depending on
their requirements at any stage. This can
result in cost savings as they only have to
pay for what they use, and because they
can access it at any time, they don’t need
to pay for additional capacity.

4. Public Cloud
Most examples of cloud hosting involve the use of public
cloud models; hosting on virtual servers that pull resource
from a pool of other publicly available virtual servers.
The same public networks are used to transmit their data;
data which is physically stored on the underlying shared
servers which form the cloud resource.
These public clouds will include some security measure to
ensure that data is kept private, and would suffice for
most installations.

5. Private Cloud
Private clouds are more suitable where security and
privacy is more of a concern.
Private clouds use ring-fenced resources, such as servers
and networks, whether located on site or with the cloud
provider.
ex : Dropbox, iCloude, Google Drive, One Drive, etc.

6. Comparison with hosting on single servers
Cloud hosting is an alternative to hosting websites on
single servers (either dedicated or shared servers) and
can be considered as an extension of the concept of
clustered hosting where websites are hosted on multiple
servers. With cloud hosting, however, the network of
servers that are used is vast and often pulled from
different data centres in different locations.
Practical examples of cloud hosting can fall under both
the Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) and Platform as a
Service (PaaS) classifications.

8. As-a-Service
The first thing that strikes you is that each one of these
terms ends with “aaS”, which stands for “as a Service”.
This implies that, as a customer, you can expect a certain
level of service.
The key difference is in the extent of this service, but also
in the budget you (or your company) need to allocate,
yourself or via a business partner, in order to come to an
efficient solution to your IT problem. This problem may be
the simple need for an e-mail solution, but you may also
want to make telecommuting easier or no longer want to
manage an environment on your own.

9. IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service)
If your organisation has its own environment, but for whatever reason, you do not want to provide
the physical layer (servers, data centre, environmental control, power supply, server room)
yourself, then we are talking about IaaS. With Infrastructure as a service, you keep taking care
(partly or fully) of management and are responsible for the implementation of the applicative side
of your environment.
The service provider that provides you with the IaaS platform offers you uptime guarantees, in
most cases via a service level agreement (SLA).
Moreover, you do not need to worry about replacing or adding hard disks, renewing hardware,
configuring servers, etc. IaaS is usually regarded as an “unmanaged” environment, because the
service provider ensures the availability of the equipment but provides no managed services in
addition to the hardware.

10. PaaS (Platform as a Service)
With PaaS, the service provider will take on more responsibilities. Not only will it provide
the IaaS layer, but it will also provide the operating system (Windows, Linux), as well as
possible middleware (e.g. IIS, .NET, Apache, MySQL...) and backup services in a service
model. Database servers, web servers, domain controllers (for user management within
Windows domains) and other components are prepared professionally, configured in
accordance with the best practices and kept up to date. Constant support is also provided
to ensure smooth operation.
A PaaS configuration is e.g. very useful if you are a (web) developer, because it allows you
to have an environment at your disposal in no time for you to develop, test & deploy. This
configuration is usually also a perfect solution for SMEs that run their own traditional
client/server applications (ERP, accounting software, etc.).

11. SaaS (Software as a Service)
The most commonly used form of Cloud is SaaS, which consists in
providing a comprehensive software package in the Cloud. SaaS is a
software-based solution that usually meets the needs of end users, who no
longer need to worry about any form of technical knowledge and get a
complete software package that make their daily tasks easier or at least
helps perform these tasks.
The provider is responsible for the operation of the product and includes
IaaS, PaaS and the development and provision of an application in the
Cloud.

12. Saas examples are:
• Office365, which as you all know, includes Word, Excel,
PowerPoint, etc.
• A CRM system such as Teamleader
• Docusign, that allows you to sign documents electronically
• Slack, designed to share information at work
We at Combell are usually a IaaS or PaaS provider and help you
develop your SaaS solution. Please check out the following
customer cases, which may give you an idea of what you can find on
our platforms:
• ScriptBook predicts if a Hollywood screenplay is going to be a
hit
• Quality Guard monitors cooling and other systems for bakeries,
butcher’s shops or restaurants in order to ensure food safety
• Sportslink was born as a thesis: an online platform where
people can find the sports club that best suits them.