The Cloud is an easy way to preserve your personal data and download it from almost anywhere. However, cloud hosting isn’t well known. Many users have doubts about the protection of their personal and business data. Yet, few people really know what are Cloud, Cloud Hosting and Cloud Computing.
What is a Cloud?
Many providers offer their customers the possibility to store (and more broadly to host) their data, both private and professional. This data is then stored not on a hard drive or on a physical server on site, but on a server farm provided by the cloud provider. This gives the user the impression that this digital infrastructure is far away, as if it were covered by a “cloud”.
Access to the Cloud is via a network, e.g. the Internet. The advantage is that the user can download his or her stored data from anywhere. This requires an Internet connection. Streaming music services such as Spotify or Deezer are based on these cloud technologies. They allow the user to listen to music from anywhere at any time. For companies, there is also the option of a private cloud, accessible only on their intranet.
What is the Cloud for?
There are basically two different kinds of clouds. When using online storage or streaming services, the customer only acquires storage space and access to cloud content. The situation is different when users want to use cloud technology directly to host their data. In this case, a provider will provide a cloud server that the customer can customize for their IT project. It doesn’t matter if it’s a website or an online store. The resources of the server can also be used for the management and the common use of applications.
Cloud hosting: flexible and cheap:
Even though the resources are immaterial, cloud hosting is not secure from any problems. Above all, it allows customers to define the performance they need at any given time, without the need for complete server replacement. The user can increase or decrease the performance of his processors, memory capacity or disk space as he wishes. The user only has to pay for what he has used, measured in seconds or even hours.
It is this “Pay-as-you-use” principle that makes the Cloud so flexible and cheap, unlike other server solutions. Instead of having to pay the price for a large server, the capacity of a Cloud can simply be increased during traffic peaks.
Is there a difference between Cloud Hosting and Cloud Computing?
It is while learning about Cloud hosting that we come across the notion of Cloud Computing. To simplify, we can say that the first is only one part of the second. The possibilities of Cloud Computing go far beyond setting up a server. However, what is Cloud Computing and what are its benefits?
Here are definitions of three different Cloud Computing services that highlight how a Cloud server works:
SaaS (Software as a Service): the user receives through the Cloud access to a hardware resource such as a computer, a network or even a backup space. He is free to use the software and is responsible for installation and monitoring.
PaaS (Platform as a Service): the provider provides the user with a software environment in the form of “frameworks” (software structure) and takes care of its maintenance. The user can develop and manage his own applications on this platform.
IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service): This model of Cloud Computing is considered the most important. The user can have access to the software provided, and does not have to manage the updates or the functionality.
Why is cloud hosting so interesting?
Of course, hosting involves risks of data theft, but this also applies to other servers.
Cloud computing has many advantages, for example an Internet connection that makes the cloud accessible from anywhere. Whether on the train or in an airport waiting room, users can work on their projects, load music and even movies. With a simple Internet connection, the data is continuously updated. One contact with a provider is enough to add applications or to increase storage and memory capacity.
The cloud server, due to its immateriality, ensures a high level of operational security. It is therefore an excellent choice for hosting a website or an online store whose essential needs are memory capacity and traffic.
The most important advantage of Cloud hosting is its economic model: unlike conventional server solutions, the user does not pay a fixed price every month but a sum that varies according to his usage, counted in seconds or even hours.
