Cloud Computing For Dummies, Second Edition

Get your head—and your business—into the Cloud 

Cloud computing is no longer just a clever new toy in the world of IT infrastructure. Despite the nebulous name, it’s become a real and important part of our information architecture—and tech professionals who ignore it or try to skim their way through risk falling behind rapidly. The new edition of Cloud Computing For Dummies gets you up to speed fast, clarifying your Cloud options, showing you where can save you time and money, giving you ways to frame your decisions, and helping you avoid weeks of research. 

In a friendly, easy-to-follow style, Cloud Computing For Dummies, 2nd Edition demystifies the Cloud’s virtual landscape, breaking up a complex and multi-layered topic into simple explanations that will make the various benefits clear and ultimately guide you toward making the most appropriate choices for your organization.  

• Know the business case for the Cloud 
• Understand hybrid and multi-cloud options 
• Develop your Cloud strategy 
• Get tips on best practices 

The Cloud is everywhere, and it can deliver amazing benefits to our lives and businesses. Get a much clearer vision of exactly how with Cloud Computing For Dummies—and you’ll begin to see that the sky really is the limit!  

Introduction 1

About This Book 1

Foolish Assumptions 2

Icons Used in This Book 2

Beyond the Book 3

Where to Go from Here 3

Part 1: Understanding Cloud Concepts 5

Chapter 1: Understanding the Cloud 7

Looking at the Ecosystem of Cloud Computing 8

Understanding Cloud Concepts 8

The public cloud 9

The private cloud 10

The hybrid and multicloud model 10

Cloud Computing Elements: Resource Pools/Cloud Models

and Services 11

Cloud delivery models 13

The computing resources life cycle 14

Understanding Self-Service Provisioning and Elasticity 15

Establishing a Dynamic Life Cycle across Workloads and Data 16

Management Services 17

The Changing Role of the Data Center 17

Evolution of the data center into a private cloud 18

Seeing how the public cloud fits 19

Knowing when the private cloud shines 20

Chapter 2: Embracing the Business Imperative 21

Understanding IT Transformation 22

Escaping the IT Legacy Trap 22

Preparing for the Cloud 23

Building for Innovation 24

The Business Imperatives 25

Optimizing Your Existing Business 26

Modern Development and Deployment Strategies 27

Revisiting Your Business Model 28

Transforming the Business Model 29

Part 2: Examining Architectural Considerations 31

Chapter 3: Architectural Considerations for the Cloud Environment 33

Rethinking the Type of Constituents Your Cloud Serves 34

Putting the Pieces Together 35

Planning for Deployment 36

Latency: Performance matters 37

Security: Planning in context 39

Governance: Getting the right balance 39

Managing colocation 39

Creating flexibility in the model 40

Setting the Right Policies and Business Rules 40

Navigating the Choices in a Hybrid World 41

Optimizing for Workloads 41

Supporting a Dynamic Life Cycle 42

Chapter 4: Managing a Hybrid and Multicloud Environment 43

What Are You Managing? 44

Managing SaaS Applications 44

Optimizing SaaS Management 46

Managing External Cloud Resources 47

Visibility and control of external resources 47

The importance of self-service 49

Service level agreements (SLAs) 49

Addressing Poor Cloud and Computing Behaviors 50

Managing Intern