What Is AWS Cloud Computing?

Introduction 

Everyone must have heard about AWS Cloud Computing directly or indirectly. Amazon Web Services (AWS) is Amazon’s comprehensive Cloud Computing marketplace. Today, organizations are mainstreaming Cloud Computing as all firms of diverse sizes and industries use it for various use cases, including data backup, email, software development, disaster recovery, virtual desktops, testing, and big data analytics. It is also used in customer-facing web applications. Many healthcare organizations are utilizing the cloud to provide more patient-specific treatments. Companies that provide financial services utilize the cloud to support real-time fraud prevention and detection. Additionally, video game developers distribute online games to millions of players worldwide via the cloud.

Now, let’s answer the main question: what is AWS Cloud Computing? 

What Is AWS? 

In 2006, Amazon Web Services (AWS) started providing organizations with web services for IT infrastructure, now called Cloud Computing. One of the main advantages of Cloud Computing is the ability to replace upfront capital infrastructure costs with low variable costs that grow with your organization.

Amazon’s Cloud Computing platform, AWS (Amazon Web Services), is extensive and constantly expanding. It combines infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS), platform-as-a-service (PaaS), and packaged software-as-a-service (SaaS) products. An enterprise may benefit from AWS services by receiving tools like computing power, database storage, and content delivery services. 

The internal infrastructure that Amazon.com constructed to conduct its online retail activities served as the foundation for the initial web services that Amazon.com Web Services offered in 2002. It started providing its distinguishing IaaS services in 2006. One of the first businesses to offer a pay-as-you-go Cloud Computing model that scales to meet users’ demands for computation, storage, or throughput was Amazon Web Services (AWS). 

For businesses and software developers, AWS provides a wide range of tools and solutions that may be used in data centers in as many as 190 nations. AWS services are available to organizations like governmental bodies, academic institutions, non-profits, and for-profit businesses.

How AWS Became What It Is Now? 

It all started in the early 2000s when the business sought to introduce Merchant.com, an e-commerce service, to assist independent retailers like Target or Marks & Spencer in creating online shopping portals based on Amazon’s e-commerce platform. Because it didn’t really plan properly for future requirements when it began in 1994, like many companies, it turned out to be far more expensive than they had anticipated to create an external development platform. They had unintentionally produced a disorganized environment for development rather than a well-organized one. The separation of the numerous services to create a centralized development platform that would be helpful to third parties took a lot of work. 

The business was rapidly expanding and they were hiring new software engineers simultaneously. Additionally, they had improved significantly at managing infrastructure services like computing, storage, and databases (due to those previously articulated internal requirements). Additionally, out of necessity, they had developed strong skills in managing dependable, scalable economic data centers. They had to be as lean and as effective as they could be as a low-margin company like Amazon. At that point, they began to construct the concept of what AWS would be and wondered if they had a second business offering infrastructure services to developers. That sparked a new conversation about the elements of this operating system and how Amazon could contribute to its development. By the fall of 2003, after further investigation, they concluded that the necessary building blocks for the internet OS were still to be constructed. 

When Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud was introduced in August 2006, AWS became the first to offer a contemporary cloud infrastructure solution. Surprisingly, it took a while for the rivals to respond, and as a result, they currently hold a significant portion of the market. 

How Does AWS Cloud Computing Work? 

Businesses can scale up using the Amazon cloud service without making astronomical initial capital investments. It offers rapid, low-cost access to 69 availability zones (AZ) spread across the globe that offers outstanding IT services. There are connected availability zones with multiple data centers in each of the 22 regions. Users can utilize virtual machines like Amazon AWS EC2 to access a dependable IT infrastructure. 

Businesses can select business-appropriate Cloud Computing models, including Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service, and Software as a Service, thanks to Amazon Cloud Computing. The ability to modify the infrastructure capacity of Cloud Computing models to the appropriate size allows the client to adapt to changing market needs.

Types of Service Models in Cloud  

With Cloud Computing, IT departments and developers can concentrate on what matters most while avoiding undifferentiated tasks like purchasing, upkeep, and capacity planning. As Cloud Computing has become increasingly popular, various models and deployment techniques have arisen to fulfill the various needs of users. Depending on your cloud service and deployment strategy, you have varying degrees of control, flexibility, and management.  

Here are some types of service models in Cloud Computing.

• Infrastructure as a Service – IaaS: Users can instantly deploy processing, storage, and network connectivity. Customers can create their own apps on these resources using this service model. 
• Platform as a Service – PaaS: It is an acronym. Here, the service provider offers their clients various services, including databases, queues, workflow engines, emails, etc. The consumer can then construct their own applications using these components. The service provider manages the services, resource availability, and data backup, allowing the clients to concentrate more on the functionality of their application. 
• Software as a Service – SaaS: According to what the name implies, in this scenario, third-party providers offer their clients end-user apps that include certain administrative functionality at the application level, such as the ability to create and manage users. Additionally, customization is feasible, allowing customers to utilize their corporate colors, logos, etc. 

Advantages of AWS Cloud Computing 

The benefits of utilizing AWS Cloud Computing services are as follows: 

• Thanks to AWS, organizations can use well-known programming languages, operating systems, databases, and architectural frameworks. 
• With no upfront costs or long-term obligations, it is a cost-effective service that enables you to pay only for the services you really need. 
• You won’t need to pay for the upkeep and operation of centers. 
• AWS provides quick deployments. 
• It’s simple to increase or decrease capacity. 
• You have instant, unrestricted access to the cloud. 
• The TCO is relatively low compared to any private or dedicated servers.  
• Hybrid capabilities are available. 
• It enables you to quickly and easily deploy your application across multiple world locations.  

Disadvantages of AWS Cloud Computing

• You must choose paid help packages if you require more immediate or extensive assistance. 
• When you switch to the cloud, Amazon Web Services can have some typical Cloud Computing problems. For instance, unavailability, restricted control, and backup security. 
• Resources have default caps imposed by AWS, which vary by region. These resources are made up of snapshots, volumes, and photographs. 
• Due to hardware modifications, your application may operate or function better than it is. 

AWS Services  

Amazon in Cloud Computing offers the following services.  

Compute service 

• Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2): Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud makes it possible to deploy apps in the AWS Cloud using scalable computing. Customers without a need for on-premise equipment can rent out virtual computers to host applications and run this cloud server whenever they want. 
• LightSail: It is Amazon’s best cloud platform for quick application deployment. Customers can use it to operate business software and build websites. It also functions as a testing set. 
• Elastic Beanstalk from AWS: Elastic Beanstalk assists in scalability by using elastic load balancing and autoscaling. It is a cloud-based solution for tracking application performance. Additionally, it offers a complete framework for deploying cloud apps. 
• Elastic Container Service for Kubernetes (EKS): It makes it simple to migrate Kubernetes applications to EKS. 
• AWS Lamda: Customers who use AWS Lamda only pay for compute time. Additionally, Lamda is a serverless platform that manages resources and executes code as needed. 

Storage 

• Amazon Glacier: For a monthly fee, Amazon Glacier provides a safe, enduring, and continuous data storage and archiving service. It offers practical cold-cloud storage at various availability zones. 
• Amazon Elastic Block Store: It resembles a hard drive more than anything else. Customers can set up operating systems, store any data, and utilize it as their primary storage device. 
• AWS Storage Gateway: A hybrid storage service, Storage Gateway. It connects locally installed programs to the cloud. It provides quick and inexpensive cloud storage data transfer services.

Networking Services 

• An administrator can utilize an Amazon Virtual Private Cloud (Amazon VPC) to take control of a virtual network and access a secluded area of the AWS cloud. For further security, AWS automatically creates new resources within a VPC. 
• The Elastic Load Balancing service, which consists of the Network Load Balancer and Application Load Balancer, allows administrators to balance network traffic. Amazon Route 53 is a domain name system that AWS offers and directs customers to apps. 
• AWS Direct Connect enables an IT expert to create a dedicated connection between an on-premises data center and the AWS cloud. 

Some prestigious companies using Amazon Cloud Computing services are Instagram, Netflix, Twitch, LinkedIn, Facebook, Zoopla, Pinterest, and Dropbox. 

Conclusion 

Every developer should be familiar with Amazon Web Services Cloud Computing. With AWS, you can enjoy control, flexibility, and management, which each cloud service and deployment technique offers. Deciding on the best cloud model only depends on the cloud capabilities that your company requires. Depending on the size and complexity of your company, you may need to start with only one Cloud Computing service type. Amazon Cloud Computing offers a wide range of capabilities that can revolutionize your company, no matter what type of Cloud Computing architecture it needs.  

Building a successful and fulfilling career in Cloud Computing is not complicated or difficult as it was when AWS was new to the market. The Postgraduate Certificate Program in Cloud Computing by MIT is the ideal program for you to kickstart your Cloud Computing career if you are a working professional. Designed and delivered by the best and brightest minds in the industry this, this program takes you through the nuances of Cloud Computing, providing you with an opportunity to stay ahead of the competition.