Cloud computing applications are vital to the modern technological ecosystem because they utilize virtualization and distributed processing. Virtualization technology allows computers to run multiple operating systems on a single machine, simplifying management, licensing costs, and IT infrastructure. Cloud computing applications work by distributing virtualized programs across a network of interconnected machines in a process called distributed processing.
The two most popular types of cloud computing applications are Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), which is largely used for hosting websites and virtual desktops; and Platform as a Service (PaaS), which can be broken down into several categories depending on what kind of programming interface it exposes to developers. PaaS also provides more automation than IaaS—one example being automatic scaling, where servers are added to handle increased load and removed when the level of activity decreases—and costs far less for developers who do not have an operating system license.
The following applications are all considered to be a crucial part of the modern cloud computing ecosystem:
Google AppEngine is a platform as a service that lets users build and host web apps on Google’s Infrastructure. It exposes many features such as user authentication and scalable storage, which makes it easier for developers to add application programming interfaces (APIs) or back-end components onto their app.
Heroku is a platform as a service that supports several programming languages and lets developers add components to their app via an API. The major difference between Heroku and other PaaS providers is that it follows a concept called “dyno,” which acts as a virtual private server and handles web requests, application scaling, run-time stack configuration, data store setup, and logs processing.
OpenShift Cross-Platform is another example of Cross-Platform PaaS where users can develop web apps with PHP or Node.js on the Google AppEngine framework. OpenShift also offers automatic scaling based on traffic volume, so its users do not have to pay for resources they don’t need. It functions by taking advantage of Virtual Kubelet technology, which lets OpenShift manage workloads that are running in Docker containers.
Amazon Elastic Beanstalk is an IaaS platform that deploys and manages applications without users having to install any additional software. The service is free for the first 12 months, after which it charges fees based on usage. It scales automatically based on traffic volume, so developers do not pay for resources they do not use and can access features like load balancing, health monitoring, logging, scaling, security configurations, auto-scaling configuration files (ASCFs), and Auto Scaling Groups (ASGs).
These are some of the cloud computing applications that play a major role in the modern technological ecosystem.
