Cloud Deployment Models

This post is about the four primary deployment models in Cloud Computing. The below mentioned models have been recommended by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

Private Cloud

This cloud operates only for a particular organization. This can be managed by the organization or a third party. This has less cost efficiency compared to other deployment models. In terms of security this has a great value because the hosting is build and maintained for a specific client. In addition to the security reason, many organizations adopt this model where they require the data to be confirmed to regulatory standards which may require data to be managed for privacy. For an example healthcare and pharmaceutical industries can be listed. Amazon also provides the option of a virtual private cloud.

Public Cloud

This cloud is available to the general public or large industry groups. This owns by an organization which sells cloud services. Google is an example of a public cloud. The service can be provided by a vendor free of charge or on the basis of pay-per-user policy. This model is best suited for the businesses which use host SAAS applications, utilize interim infrastructure for developing and testing applications and for the organization who are managing applications which are consumed by many users. Basically this model helps to reduce expenditure and this lowers the operational IT costs as well.

Hybrid Cloud

This is a combination of two or more clouds. This model helps businesses to take the advantage of secured applications and data hosting on a private cloud while enjoying cost benefits. User can still have the cost effectiveness because they can keep shared data and applications on the public cloud. This model is also used to handle cloud bursting which refers to a situation where private cloud is not able to handle load spikes and requires an option to support the load then the cloud migrate the workload between public and private hosting. This doesn’t provide inconvenience to the users. Microsoft Azure and Force.com are two examples of this model.

Community Cloud

This infrastructure is shared by several organizations and supports a specific community that has shared concerns like mission, security, policy etc. This can be managed by the organizations or a third party. This helps to reduce the cost compared to private cloud since it shares by a larger group. Government departments which require data relating to the local population or information related to infrastructure such as hospitals, roads, electricity boards, etc can use a community cloud.