Cloud Academy KC: Cloud Concepts (CLF-C01)

In what way is a private cloud model similar to a public cloud model?

Both private and public cloud models use virtualization to differentiate themselves from traditional on-premise servers. Ex: The only correct statement is that both private and public cloud models use virtualization to differentiate themselves from traditional on-premise servers.

Which of the following cloud computing concepts refers to increasing or decreasing compute resources based on demand?

Elasticity Ex: Elasticity is the degree to which a system is able to adapt to workload changes by provisioning and de-provisioning resources in an automated manner, such that at each point in time the available resources match the current demand as closely as possible. Fault tolerance refers to the ability of an application to keep running even if some of its components fail. Load balancing is a core networking solution used to distribute traffic across multiple servers in a server farm. Load balancers improve application availability and responsiveness and prevent server overload. High availability is similar to fault tolerance. It refers to the ability of an application to keep running for an agreed-upon percentage of time, such as 99.99% of the time.

You have deployed a small web app to your cloud service provider's server. You place a load balancer in front of the application and deploy a second version of the app into a second availability zone. What are you hoping to accomplish with this design?

High availability Ex: The hypothetical scenario above is an example of high availability. The load balancer will evenly distribute traffic between the two instances in each availability zone to ensure all traffic is handled appropriately.

What is a key benefit of Virtualization?

Reduced capital expenditure Ex: As Virtualization allows for multiple VMs to be installed on the same physical host, it maximizes the optimization potential and reduces the requirement to purchase additional servers, resulting in a reduced capital expenditure

What is the most accurate definition of cloud computing?

Cloud computing is a remote virtual pool of on-demand shared resources offering compute, storage, and network services that can be rapidly deployed at scale. Ex: Cloud Computing is based on Virtualization technology and therefore provides virtual pools of compute, storage and network resources that can be accessed over the internet to shared tenants which can be quickly deployed into new and existing environments. The incorrect answers here either refer to physical pools or resources, or individual tenants, which isn't accurate when describing Cloud Computing.

Public cloud vendors have a common definition of what aspects of security are the vendor's responsibility and what aspects of security are the end user's responsibility. This is referred to as the Shared Responsibility Model. Under the Shared Responsibility Model, which of the following would be the end user's responsibility?

Creating authentication and authorization mechanisms for a cloud storage service Ex: The vendor will operate to an exceptionally high standard of security for the underlying infrastructure of the cloud, but it's up to you as the end-user to then architect security in the cloud by using the tools, services, and applications available.

What cloud resource type stores structured data used by cloud applications?

Database Ex: Cloud database resources store structured data used by applications, and in the classic resource model, it is comparable to MySQL, Oracle and database servers.

As an example of an important cloud characteristic, let's say you deploy a small website today. Next week, you add complex artificial intelligence services to it that are provided by a public cloud vendor. The following week, you deploy your website to multiple regions around the globe. What concept or characteristic of cloud computing does this represent?

Growth Ex: The hypothetical scenario above is an example of growth which the cloud makes possible. You start with something simple, then innovate with advanced, easy to provision services hosted by the cloud vendor, and expand to a global market.

You have been hired as an IT summer intern for a small, but quickly expanding, restaurant chain. The restaurant chain owner wants to expand her online presence by creating a website that will add more online features such as downloadable menus, real-time reservations, online ordering, web-based email, and a possible interactive chat during restaurant hours. The website will have high access demands from the 4:00 pm to 11:00 pm peak hours, and slower access demands during off-peak hours. The owner does not have any IT experience, and does not want to become involved in the extra work of maintaining IT equipment. What do you recommend she do?

Implement a public cloud-computing environment. Ex: Public clouds utilize cloud resources (like servers and storage) that are owned and operated by a third-party cloud service provider and delivered over the Internet. With a public cloud, all hardware, software, and other supporting infrastructure are owned and managed by the cloud provider. The public cloud model provides several advantages for the restaurant chain owner. First, there are lower costs because there is no need to purchase hardware or software, and you pay only for the service you use. Second, there are no maintenance issues as your service provider provides the maintenance. Third, there is near-unlimited scalability because on-demand resources are available to meet the business's needs. Fourth, there is high reliability because a vast network of servers ensures against failure.

Migration to the cloud presents numerous potential benefits, but it will not solve all of a business's challenges. Which of the following is not an immediate benefit provided by the cloud?

Improved application performance Ex: Economy of scale, on-demand resourcing, and utility-based metering are each available in the public cloud, but improved application performance is not guaranteed by hosting one's services in the cloud. Optimization, experimentation, and innovation may be easier to implement, depending on your application's requirements, but this still requires a dedicated team to review and redesign an application to gain the true benefits of the cloud.

Which service model allows you to configure and customize your environment from the base up?

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) Ex: IaaS provides the greatest level of customization as you can configure the environment from the ground up, starting from which operating system to install and up. Other service models have fixed components which you are unable to change or manage.

The ___________________ cloud service model offers the greatest amount of user customization and control, but requires the greatest amount of user administration including the operating system, but not physical hardware.

Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) Ex: The IaaS cloud service model allows the highest level of customization and management, where users can architect their own portion of the cloud within a virtual network, and then deploy virtual machines which they configure from the operating sytem layer and above.

What are some of the benefits that the public cloud provides when compared to on-premises data centers? (Choose 3 answers)

Minimizing issues caused by outdated technology Potential for exponential growth Simplify experimentation with new technology Ex: Moving to the cloud allows users to take advantage of the latest wave of technology, such as serverless designs or container orchestration through Kubernetes services. It also gives customers the ability to scale up almost instantly, without as much set up time as would be required for an on-premises data center. The cloud also helps customers avoid losses related to outdated technology because the public cloud providers are always competing with one another to provide the most up-to-date technology, leaving the customers to innovate on how to use that technology. However, it is possible that business applications are not compatible with the cloud. This is a constraint that leads many businesses to adopt a hybrid cloud approach or to redesign applications for the cloud.

The ___________________ cloud service model offers a balance between customization and user control, allowing developers to focus on designing at the application layer while the service handles the administration of the virtual architecture, including the network and operating system.

Platform-as-a-Service Ex: A PaaS cloud service model allows access to the framework above the operating system level, which is ideal for developers who want to focus on their application design while the service itself manages a large portion of the day-to-day service administration.

Moving to the cloud will present many new issues for businesses to consider and anticipate as they migrate from an on-premises environment. Which of the following below is not an issue specific to cloud computing?

Restoring service in the event of a server failure Ex: Maintaining service in the event of server failure is not specific to cloud computing, although the cloud does offer quick remedies for this eventuality. Rather than accessing services and applications through a local network, many cloud services must be accessed through the public internet or a private network provided by the public cloud platform. This raises additional questions about how to maintain access best for customers and employees. Cloud providers also have their own service level agreements, which should be reviewed closely because they impact not only the availability and quality of service, but also how quickly you can respond when and if you need customer support. And yes, as your infrastructure is all accessible via the internet this opens up the possibility for an increased attack rate by anyone out there wanting to cause harm and damage. Therefore it's crucial that you have a Cloud security expert when architecting your infrastructure. Failure to apply the correct level of security at all levels of your deployments could open holes that malicious users out on the internet will be keen to exploit. As your infrastructure is all accessible via the internet this opens up the possibility for an increased attack rate by anyone out there wanting to cause harm and damage. Therefore it's crucial that you have a Cloud security expert when architecting your infrastructure. Failure to apply the correct level of security at all levels of your deployments could open holes that malicious users out on the internet will be keen to exploit.

What benefit of cloud computing allows you to increase or decrease the power or quantity of resources at any time, without extensive installation or physical processes of provisioning?

Scalability Ex: Scalability means you can increase or decrease the power of provisioned resource, such as adding or removing more CPU or memory to a virtual machine. This is an example of scaling vertically. Scalability also means you can increase the sheer number of resources in your environment, such as adding more virtual machines or terminating some that you have deployed. This is an example of scaling horizontally.

The ___________________ model requires no software installation and focuses on design simplicity and ease of use. It offers a minimal level of service customization.

Software-as-a-Service Ex: The SaaS cloud service model focuses on the delivery of an application to a large audience and requires the smallest amount of user administration. As a trade-off, it offers very few customization options.

There are numerous questions a business should consider before it starts planning a migration to the cloud. Which of the following is not a fundamental business question to consider?

What technologies will my business utilize in the cloud? Ex: Before you consider the technical nuts and bolts of migrating a business to the cloud, it is important to have a clear understanding of how the migration as a whole will benefit a business. Will migration strengthen weak areas of a business, will it improve the overall experience for the customer in some tangible ways, and will it help a business reach key objectives. These are much more important, in the big picture, than the technical aspects of the migration - which will be of paramount importance in later stages of migration.

The public cloud allows you to pay only for the time that you use cloud resources, not for the cost of ownership. This concept is known as ________________.

consumption-based metering Ex: Consumption-based metering simply means you pay for what you use. Public cloud vendors offer different services at different units of time, some reserved for multiple years, and others charged based on milliseconds.

A business uses a combination of vendor-managed hardware, such as AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud, and its own hardware on premises to host virtualized resources. This is an example of the ___________ cloud deployment model.

hybrid Ex: In the hybrid cloud deployment model involves using private and public cloud services models. This can be done for disaster recovery, or to manage seasonal burst traffic. This approach provides the costs and benefits of both models at the same time, and is usually a short-term configuration as a business transitions to the public cloud.