Find papers

ITM 452

Cloud Computing

TU BITM · Semester 8 · BITM curriculum and programme regulation

Requirement
required
Credits
3
Study Guide
7 units available

Chapter notes

Authoritative study guide across 7 syllabus units

Open a unit to read its study notes.

Unit 1: Introduction to Cloud Computing· 5 LHs· ~6 marks

Suggest correction

Part 1: Core Concepts (2 Marks)

  • Cloud Computing (NIST SP 800-145 Definition): A model for enabling ubiquitous, convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (networks, servers, storage, applications) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction.
  • NIST 5 Essential Characteristics:
    1. On-demand self-service
    2. Broad network access
    3. Resource pooling (Multi-tenancy)
    4. Rapid elasticity
    5. Measured service (Pay-as-you-go)
  • Deployment Models: Public Cloud (AWS, Azure), Private Cloud (On-premise OpenStack), Community Cloud, Hybrid Cloud.

Part 2: Structural Frameworks (10 Marks)

Cloud Service Delivery Models (SPI Model)

Software as a Service (SaaS): Gmail, Office 365, Salesforce

  • User manages: ONLY user application data & configurations
  • v
  • Platform as a Service (PaaS): Heroku, AWS Elastic Beanstalk
  • User manages: Applications and Code Logic
  • v
  • Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): AWS EC2, Azure VMs, S3
  • User manages: OS, Middleware, Runtime, Apps, Networking
  • v
  • Cloud Provider manages: Physical Servers, Hypervisor, SAN

Part 3: Distinction Tables

Basis of Comparison IaaS PaaS SaaS
Control Level Highest; full control over OS and network stack. Medium; control over application code and dependencies. Lowest; user interacts only with pre-built application.
Vendor Responsibility Physical hardware and hypervisor only. Hardware, OS, runtime, and server patching. Entire software lifecycle end-to-end.
Target User Systems engineers, DevOps architects. Software application developers. End users, enterprise staff.

Part 4: Worked Problems & Exam Traps

Evaluating Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) in Cloud Migration

CapEx vs OpEx:

  • Traditional On-Premise: High Capital Expenditure (CapEx - buying physical server racks, SAN storage, backup generators).
  • Cloud Computing: Zero CapEx; pure Operating Expenditure (OpEx - monthly utility billing matching actual server usage).

Multi-tenancy means physical hardware is shared with other customers. Improper hypervisor isolation can theoretically expose virtual machines to side-channel cache attacks (e.g. Spectre/Meltdown).