20-10-2016, 09:30 AM
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. ABSTRACT
Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) is a form of cloud computing that provides virtualized computing resources over the Internet. IaaS clouds often offer additional resources such as a virtual-machine disk-image library, raw block storage, file or object storage, firewalls, load balancers, IP addresses, virtual local area networks (VLANs), and software bundles.IaaS platforms offer highly scalable resources that can be adjusted on-demand. This makes IaaS well-suited for workloads that are temporary, experimental or change unexpectedly. In this paper we have classified three vendors of Iaas, Azure,IBM Cloud and Rackspace based on characteristics such as certification, protection, pricing, bonus, VM upload etc.
Other characteristics of IaaS environments include the automation of administrative tasks, dynamic scaling, desktop virtualization and policy-based services.
2. INTRODUCTION
Cloud computing, also on-demand computing, is a kind of Internet-based computing that provides shared processing resources and data to computers and other devices on demand. It is a model for enabling ubiquitous, on-demand access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources which can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort. Cloud services can be broadly classified as three: Infrastructure as a service (IaaS), Platform as a service(PaaS) and Storage as a service(SaaS).providers of IaaS offer computers—physical or (more often) virtual machines—and other resources.PaaS vendors offer a development environment to application developers. The provider typically develops toolkit and standards for development and channels for distribution and payment.In the software as a service (SaaS) model, users gain access to application software and databases.IaaS refers to online services that abstract the user from the details of infrastructure like physical computing resources, location, data partitioning, scaling, security, backup etc. A hypervisor, such as Xen, Oracle VirtualBox, KVM, VMware ESX/ESXi, or Hyper-V runs the virtual machines as guests. Pools of hypervisors within the cloud operational system can support large numbers of virtual machines and the ability to scale services up and down according to customers' varying requirements. IaaS vendors have been studied further.
3. SERVICE DESCRIPTION
Certifications - If the vendor has compliance- and security-related certifications, such as PCI or SAS 70.
Protection - If the vendor offers the possibility of protecting servers with firewalls and other
Security functionality- A 3-level subjective scale: Poor - Companies that only offer the most basic security features, or no features at all Average - Companies that offer a more advanced mix of security features. Extensive - Companies that offer several security features and some security automation. Open Standards - If vendor employs or supports open standards in cloud infrastructure. VM Upload - If vendor supports uploading own machine images to the cloud.
Service Level Agreement (SLA) - The uptime SLA offered (regardless of past performance), in percentage points.
Key Features – Describe the unique and important features of that vendor’s cloud.
Pricing – Cost of the services.
Limitations – Short comings of the service.
Rackspace Open Cloud
Rackspace offers core cloud computing services with a strong focus on customer service. Rackspace is one of the co-founders of OpenStack, which it uses for its cloud infrastructure, so you can run the same platform in-house if you decide to move to a private or hybrid cloud down the road. You can choose from a variety of operating systems, including Linux and Windows Server. And for an extra fee, you can easily create basic monitoring checks, like ping or HTTP checks.
Key Features :Easy to use control panel, especially for non-system administrators, and strong customer service.
Limitations : No messaging or specialized services (like Amazon Simple Queue Service and DynamoDB), although there are alternatives (like RabbitMQ and MongoDB or CouchDB) that you can run, you'll just need to manage them yourself.
Pricing : Instances start at $0.04/hour and go up to $5.44/hour. File storage starts at $0.10/GB/month and block storage is $0.12/GB/month.
Bonus : Rackspace is currently offering a $100 credit on your first month bill.
Certifications:Has compliance- and security-related certifications.
Protection : Offers the most basic security features (such as a basic firewall).
Open Standards : Supports open standards in cloud infrastructure that is open stack.
VM Upload : Does not support uploading your own machine images (made locally) to the cloud.
Service Level Agreement (SLA) : The uptime SLA offered is 100%
The compute and storage services offered are typical of what you'll find in other IaaS providers, and administrators used to Microsoft platforms will find working with Windows Azure much easier. The IaaS offers ready access to virtual networks, service buses, message queues, and non-relational storage platforms as well.
Key Features : Easy-to-use administration tool, especially for Windows admins. Windows Azure can also be used as a PaaS.
Limitations : Minimal, easy-to-use portal interface may not be so appealing to command line gurus.
Pricing : $0.02 to $1.60 per hour. Storage prices range from $0.07/GB/month to $0.12/GB/month, depending on level of redundancy.
Bonus: Free 30-day trial with a limit of up to $200 is available for new users.
Certifications: Has compliance- and security-related certifications.
Protection : Offers the most basic security features (such as a basic firewall).
Open Standards : Does not employ or supports open standards in cloud infrastructure.
VM Upload : Does not support uploading your own machine images (made locally) to the cloud.
Service Level Agreement (SLA) : The uptime SLA offered is 99.95%
5. RESULT
Rackspace provides the best services for IaaS among the three vendors compared. But Rackspace is also the most expensive amongst them. In terms of security however, IBM cloud is the most secure amongst the three. We can say that, Rackspace and IBM cloud are for experienced users whereas Azure is for novice users.
6. CONCLUSION
The comparisons done were on select few features. That is why it is not ideal to generalize or categorize the vendors as good or bad. Also each vendor has its pros and cons making it a unique combination for different kinds and levels of users. Thus the classification helps not only in realize the pros and flaws of the services but also the users it can cater to.