Enterprise & Cloud Computing: Cloud Enabling Technologies

This flashcard set covers the primary cloud-enabling technologies including internetworking, data centers, storage types, server virtualization, web technology tiers, multi-tenancy, and containerization.

Broadband Networks and Internet Architecture

The internetworking technologies that allow for the remote provisioning of IT resources and are directly supportive of ubiquitous network access.

Data Center

A specialized IT infrastructure that houses centralized IT resources, such as servers, databases, and software systems.

Direct-attached storage (DAS)

A storage system that is directly connected to the computing IT resource using a host bus adapter (HBA).

Storage Area Network (SAN)

A dedicated network connecting physical data storage media that provides block-level data storage access using industry standard protocols, such as the Small Computer System Interface (SCSI).

Network-Attached Storage (NAS)

A dedicated device containing hard drive arrays that facilitates access to data using file-centric data access protocols like the Network File System (NFS) or Server Message Block (SMB).

Virtualization

The process of converting a physical IT resource into a virtual IT resource.

Hypervisor

Also known as a virtual machine manager or virtual machine monitor (VMM), this virtualization software manages virtual machines and provides system services not found on standard operating systems.

Hardware Independence

A feature of server virtualization that translates unique IT hardware into emulated, standardized software-based copies, allowing virtual servers to move between hosts without reconfiguration.

Server Consolidation

A process enabled by virtualization technology that allows different virtual servers to share one physical server to increase hardware utilization.

Virtual Disk Image

A binary file copy of hard disk content that allows virtual servers to be replicated, migrated, and backed up through simple file operations.

VM Snapshot

The instantaneous creation of a record of a virtual server's state by saving its memory and hard disk image to a host-based file.

Operating System-Based Virtualization

A type of server virtualization in which the VMM is installed into a full host operating system, which is then used to generate virtual machines.

Hardware-Based Virtualization

A type of server virtualization where virtualization software is installed directly on the physical host hardware, bypassing the need for a host operating system.

Virtualization Infrastructure Management (VIM)

The collective name for tools that manage virtual IT resources, typically relying on a centralized management module known as a controller.

Three-Tier Model

A common architectural abstraction for Web applications comprised of the presentation layer (user-interface), the application layer (application logic), and the data layer (persistent data stores).

Multi-tenant Technology

An application design that allows multiple users (tenants) to access the same application logic simultaneously while ensuring they cannot access other tenants' data or configuration information.

Containerization

An operating system-level virtualization technology that allows multiple isolated cloud services to run on a single physical or virtual server while sharing the same operating system kernel.

Container Engine

Specialized software deployed in an operating system to abstract required resources and enable the definition and deployment of containers.

Pod

A group of one or more containers that share storage and/or network resources and the same configuration, typically running under a single IP address.