Infrastructure as a Service

IaaS offers servers on the cloud so that business can host their websites or applications without having to purchase any physical devices, such as servers or networking components. The IaaS provider allows businesses (or individuals) to select the server configuration they require, including the number of processors, the RAM, storage memory and the operating system, using a web-based server administration application.

IaaS offers server capacity on the cloud so that business can host their websites or applications without having to purchase any physical devices, such as servers or networking components. The IaaS provider provides businesses (or individuals) select the server configuration they require using a web administration application, including the number of processors, the RAM, and the operating system.

The underlying technology that enables IaaS is known as virtualization. While that has been around for a while, earlier, the creation of virtual machines, their configuration, and maintenance was a complex task managed by technically skilled staff only. Today, IaaS has added a layer to virtualization which allows even non-technical users to set up and configure their own virtual machines, thus creating a user-friendly IaaS solution.

It is achieved by using an older technology known as virtualization, which allows you to create multiple virtual computers on one physical computer. Each virtual computer works exactly like a physical computer because there is only one physical computer, making a huge saving in space, power consumption, and energy costs. The physical computer must be of a much higher configuration, and multiple smaller configuration virtual computers can be created on it. The other advantage is that each virtual computer can run different operating systems, making it possible to set up multiple environment solutions on a single physical computer. Earlier, the creation of virtual computers, their configuration, and maintenance was a complex task managed by technically skilled staff only. However, IaaS has added a layer to virtualization which allows even non-technical users to set up and configure their own virtual machines. Once a virtual machine has been created, the user can access it using Secure Shell or any other remote access technology and work on it as if it was a physical machine they owned.

On-Demand and Pay-per-Use

All cloud computing services, including IaaS, offer an on-demand and pay-per-use model. This provides immense value to a customer since if they owned physical servers they would have to pay all costs upfront and keep paying for ongoing maintenance whether they used the servers or not. IaaS providers allow customers to stop their virtual servers for any length of time and restart them when required without any loss to their data or programs, and customers are only charged for the time that they are up and running. For example, if a business used IaaS for their development servers, they could switch off the servers after working hours and not have to pay for them, resulting in huge savings.