Cloud Computing – Vocabulary Flashcards

A comprehensive set of vocabulary flashcards covering key terms, characteristics, service models, architectures, advantages, and challenges of cloud computing and related paradigms such as distributed, grid, cluster, and utility computing. These cards assist in mastering foundational concepts and terminology for exam preparation.

Computing (ACM 2005 definition)

Any goal-oriented activity that requires, benefits from, or creates computers, including designing hardware/software, managing information, scientific studies, intelligent systems, media, and information gathering.

Distributed Computing

The field that studies distributed systems and uses multiple autonomous computers that communicate via message passing to solve computational problems.

Distributed System

A collection of autonomous computing entities, each with local memory, that communicate through messages while appearing as a single system to users.

Fault Tolerance (Distributed Systems)

The ability of a distributed system to continue functioning when one or more nodes fail, with only performance degradation.

Resource Sharing

Property of distributed systems where users share computing power, storage, and other resources across nodes.

Load Sharing

Technique of dispatching tasks across multiple nodes to distribute workload evenly in a distributed system.

Single Point of Failure (SPOF)

A component whose failure stops the entire system from working; avoided in robust distributed and cloud setups.

Grid Computing

Virtualization of distributed computing and data resources into a single system image that provides seamless, dependable access to vast IT capabilities.

Computational Grid

A grid that supplies secure, shared processing power for high-throughput or compute-intensive applications.

Data Grid

Infrastructure that supports storage, discovery, and manipulation of large, distributed heterogeneous datasets.

Collaboration Grid

Grid environment enabling advanced collaboration among geographically dispersed participants working on joint projects.

Utility Grid

Grid form in which software, hardware, and other resources are provided as metered, on-demand utilities.

Cluster Computing

A collection of interconnected stand-alone computers working together as a single integrated resource to improve speed, reliability, and cost-effectiveness.

High-Availability Cluster

Cluster type designed to provide continuous service through redundancy and failover mechanisms.

Load-Balancing Cluster

Cluster that distributes incoming work across nodes to optimize resource use and performance.

Parallel/Distributed Processing Cluster

Cluster aimed at running parallel applications that split tasks across multiple nodes simultaneously.

Utility Computing

Service model where computing resources are provided and billed like utilities (pay-per-use), with low or no upfront capital cost.

Pay-as-You-Go

Pricing model where customers pay only for the computing resources they actually consume.

Cloud Computing (NIST)

Model for ubiquitous, convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable resources that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort.

On-Demand Self-Service

Essential cloud characteristic allowing users to provision resources automatically without human provider interaction.

Broad Network Access

Cloud resources accessible over networks via standard mechanisms supporting heterogeneous client platforms.

Resource Pooling

Multi-tenant cloud model where physical and virtual resources are dynamically assigned and reassigned according to demand.

Rapid Elasticity

Capability to scale resources quickly outward or inward; to consumers resources appear unlimited.

Measured Service

Automatic metering of cloud resource usage, enabling monitoring, control, transparency, and billing.

Massive Scale

Cloud trait of operating very large numbers of servers, storage, and networking components.

Multi-Tenancy

Architecture in which multiple independent users share the same physical resources while keeping data isolated.

Service-Oriented Infrastructure (SOI)

Infrastructure designed around service principles, enabling on-demand provisioning and management that underpins XaaS.

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)

Cloud service model offering fundamental computing resources—compute, storage, networks—so consumers can deploy and run arbitrary software.

Platform as a Service (PaaS)

Cloud model providing a platform with languages, libraries, tools, and services for consumers to develop and deploy applications without managing underlying infrastructure.

Software as a Service (SaaS)

Delivery of provider-hosted applications over the Internet, accessible via thin clients, with underlying infrastructure fully managed by the provider.

Business Process as a Service (BPaaS)

Subscription-based delivery of horizontal or vertical business processes (e.g., payroll, supply-chain) via the cloud.

Security as a Service (SECaaS)

Cloud-hosted security functions such as antivirus, authentication, or intrusion detection delivered on demand.

Database as a Service (DBaaS)

Managed cloud database offering where provisioning, scaling, and maintenance are handled by the provider.

Backup as a Service (BaaS)

Cloud service that automates remote data backup, storage, and recovery on a pay-per-use basis.

Private Cloud

Cloud infrastructure operated solely for one organization, offering greater control and data confidentiality.

Public Cloud

Cloud infrastructure open to the general public and owned by a cloud provider.

Community Cloud

Cloud infrastructure shared by several organizations supporting a specific community with common concerns.

Hybrid Cloud

Composition of two or more distinct cloud infrastructures (private, public, community) that remain unique but are bound together.

Virtual Machine (VM)

Software emulation of a physical computer that runs an operating system and applications as if on dedicated hardware.

Hypervisor/Virtual Machine Monitor

Software layer that creates and manages virtual machines by intercepting and emulating hardware instructions.

Para-Virtualization

Virtualization technique (e.g., Xen) where guest OS is modified to interact efficiently with the hypervisor, achieving near-native performance.

Stateless Design

Architectural tactic where services avoid storing client context between requests, enhancing scalability and reliability in clouds.

Scale-Out (Horizontal Scaling)

Increasing capacity by adding more nodes rather than enlarging a single system.

Scale-Up (Vertical Scaling)

Adding more resources (CPU, RAM) to an existing node to improve capacity.

Loose Coupling

Design principle that reduces dependencies between components, easing scalability and maintainability.

Caching (Cloud)

Storing frequently accessed data in faster storage layers to improve response time and reduce load on origin resources.

Service Level Agreement (SLA)

Formal contract between provider and consumer specifying performance, availability, and compensation terms.

Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)

Sum of direct and indirect costs of owning and operating IT assets over their life cycle.

Elastic Load Balancer

Cloud service that automatically distributes incoming traffic across multiple compute instances for fault tolerance and scalability.

Cloud Bursting

Hybrid strategy where an application runs in a private cloud and bursts into a public cloud when demand spikes.

Cloud-Sourcing

Outsourcing IT functions to cloud providers to leverage scalability, cost savings, and reduced local IT focus.

Cloud Economics

Study of cost structures, pricing models, and financial impacts associated with adopting cloud services.

Metered Billing Models

Utility-style charging schemes such as flat rate, tiered, subscription, metered, or pay-as-you-go applied in cloud services.

Identity and Access Management (IAM)

Policies and technologies ensuring that the right individuals access the right cloud resources at the right times.

Network Function Virtualization (NFV)

Concept of implementing network functions in software that run on standard servers and can be dynamically deployed in the network.

Virtual Private Network (VPN)

Encrypted tunnel over a public network enabling secure remote access to cloud or enterprise resources.

Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN)

Logical segmentation of networks at Layer 2 to isolate traffic within a cloud data center.

OpenSSH

Open-source suite providing encrypted secure shell (SSH) communications used for cloud server administration.

OpenVPN

Open-source software for creating secure point-to-point or site-to-site connections in cloud networking.

Measured Resource Transparency

Capability that allows both provider and consumer to monitor and verify cloud resource usage.

Homogeneity (Cloud)

Use of uniform hardware and software stacks to simplify management and improve resilience.

Geographic Distribution

Placement of cloud data centers in diverse locations to enhance latency, availability, and legal compliance.

Advanced Security (Cloud)

Comprehensive, multi-layered security controls—encryption, IAM, monitoring—designed into cloud services.

Service Orientation

Architectural paradigm where functions are delivered as interoperable services with well-defined interfaces.

Asynchronous Communication

Messaging style where sender and receiver interact without blocking, improving scalability in cloud applications.

Publish-Subscribe

Messaging pattern where senders publish messages to topics and subscribers receive relevant updates, used in cloud event systems.

Reliable Messaging

Guarantee that messages are delivered once and in order, critical for cloud workflows and integration.

Strong Encryption

Use of robust cryptographic algorithms to protect data confidentiality in transit and at rest within clouds.

Claim-Based Authentication

Identity model where security tokens containing claims about the user are exchanged to access cloud services.

Pipelining Architecture

Design that breaks processing into discrete stages executed concurrently, enhancing throughput in cloud services.

Partitioning (Database)

Dividing a large dataset across multiple nodes for scalability and performance in cloud storage.

Stateless vs Stateful Services

Distinction between services that do not retain session data (stateless) and those that do (stateful); stateless favored for cloud elasticity.

Virtualization Stack

Layered arrangement of hypervisor, guest OS, and applications representing an abstracted computing environment.

Cloud Storage

Remote, scalable, Internet-accessible data storage service, e.g., Amazon S3, Dropbox, Azure Blob.

High Scalability

Cloud’s ability to handle rapidly increasing workload by adding resources proportionally.

Resilient Computing

Cloud attribute of maintaining service continuity despite failures through redundancy and failover.

Homogeneous Infrastructure

Use of similar hardware/software across cloud data centers simplifying deployment and automation.

Evergreen IT

Continuous refresh of IT capabilities via cloud services, contrasting with static legacy IT stacks.

Vendor Lock-In

Dependence on a specific provider’s proprietary technologies, making future migration costly or difficult.

Interoperability

Capacity of cloud systems and services to work together through open standards and compatible APIs.

Open Standards

Publicly available specifications that promote portability and interoperability among cloud services and vendors.