What are the components of IaaS? Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) is a type of cloud computing service that provides essential computing, storage, and networking resources on demand, with a pay-as-you-go model [2].
IaaS is capable of supporting various use cases, including dev and test environments, customer-facing websites and web applications, data storage, analytics and data warehousing workloads, and backup and recovery, particularly for on-premises workloads [1].
Key Takeaways
- Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) is a type of cloud computing service that provides computing, storage, and networking resources on demand, with a pay-as-you-go model.
- IaaS is capable of supporting various use cases, including dev and test environments, customer-facing websites and web applications, data storage, analytics and data warehousing workloads, and backup and recovery, particularly for on-premises workloads.
- The components of IaaS include virtualization technology, virtual disks, virtual machines, storage and network resources that can be scaled up or down to meet changing needs.
- Virtual disks are virtual storage media created using virtualization technology, while virtual machines are computer files that behave like actual computers and can run different operating systems.
- IaaS providers manage and maintain the underlying physical infrastructure while allowing customers to deploy and manage their own virtualized computing resources.
The Components of IaaS
Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) refers to the delivery of computer infrastructure—typically, servers, storage, and network—as an on-demand service. The components of IaaS include virtualization technology, which enables multiple virtual servers to run on a single physical server, as well as storage and network resources that can be scaled up or down to meet changing needs.
IaaS providers typically manage and maintain the underlying physical infrastructure while allowing customers to deploy and manage their own virtualized computing resources.
Virtual disks
A virtual disk is a virtual storage medium that appears to an operating system as a physical disk. It is created using virtualization technology and can be used to store data just like a physical disk.
Virtual disks can be created as “thick provision lazy zeroed” or “thick provision eager zeroed.”[2]. They can be stored in a new virtual disk, an existing virtual disk, or a mapped SAN LUN, and can be composed of one or more files on the host file system.[3].
Virtual machines (VMs)
A virtual machine (VM) is a computer file that behaves like an actual computer and can run a different operating system.[1]. It can be run in a window as a separate computing environment, often to run a different operating system or even to function as the user’s entire computer experience.[1].
Virtual machines are made possible through virtualization technology, which uses software to simulate virtual hardware that allows multiple VMs to run on a single physical machine.[3]. The physical machine is known as the host while the VMs running on it are called guests, and the process is managed by software known as a hypervisor.[3].
Archival storage
Archival storage refers to the preservation and storage of data or information for long-term retention. The purpose of archival storage is to keep the data intact and accessible for future use, even after many years have passed.
The data is stored on various media such as magnetic tapes, hard disks, or optical discs and is often stored in a secure off-site location. Archival storage systems must be able to maintain the integrity of the data and protect against environmental factors such as temperature, humidity, and natural disasters.
Failure-insulated zone
A Failure-Insulated Zone is a concept in Information Technology (IT) that refers to a smaller scale method of isolating a system from potential failures. It is used in Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) systems and shields the system from machine or power supply failure.
The Failure-Insulated Zone acts as a further division of geographical regions, which separate large scale disasters and failures from spreading across large areas. [1, 2]. In the context of Kubernetes, Failure-Insulated Zones are also known as availability zones and are part of a logical grouping called a region. These zones provide a consistent set of features within a single Kubernetes cluster that runs across multiple failure zones. [3].
Conclusion
In conclusion, the components of Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) include virtualized computing resources such as virtual machines, storage, network, and operating systems, along with management and automation tools.
These components provide customers with scalable and flexible access to computing resources, making it easier for organizations to focus on their core businesses without having to worry about maintaining and managing the underlying infrastructure.
Leave a Reply