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What is IaaS?
While cloud providers are known for providing the platform for storing incredible amounts of data, their biggest impact has been the three fundamental service models they have brought to millions of small-and-medium business (SMBs). No longer do SMBs have to burn through capital expenses to get build and configure complex server networks - now, third-party providers offer Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), allowing for simplified rollout of network infrastructure that would have been internally designed and built before the advent of cloud services.
Defining IaaS
Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) is one of the three fundamental service models of cloud computing along with:
- Platform as a Service (PaaS)
- Software as a Service (SaaS)
IaaS provides virtualized computer resources online to clients without them having to pay for physical resources like servers, workstations, and data centers. A cloud provider offers those resources to a business “as a service” - that is to say, as a contractual relationship where access to the virtual environment and resources is opened to the client, while the cloud provider is responsible for its maintenance and security. The uses of IaaS are broad, but several core functions commonly used by businesses include:.
- Big data analysis: The processing power to collect and run through large data sets is often well beyond the physical hardware budgets of many companies. IaaS allows for firms to scale to the exact size of memory and computational power they need to search for patterns and trends.
- Website hosting: Rather than rely on a traditional third party to host business front-end or back-end websites, firms can employ IaaS to run their sites. This often eliminates both cost and reduces acceptable downtime.
- Backup and recovery: Natural disasters, fires, theft, or other crises can be mitigated by storing backup files or disaster relief plans online through IaaS, so they can be accessed remotely and keep an organization up and running even if everything else is down.
- Testing and development: The cloud offers a perfect experimental environment to try out new apps, models, environments and more. Developers can create at will with virtually unlimited scalable server capacity. Within IaaS, a staging environment can be created such that nothing goes live until the client says it does.
- Web apps: Every app a company uses for itself or deploys to its customers can be housed in IaaS. When demand for said apps grows exponentially, the processing power behind them can be scaled up accordingly and last as long as necessary.
Difference Between IaaS and PaaS
VPS Hosting is an amazing technology that has evolved to include a wide variety of solutions. These segments include software as a service (SaaS), platform as a service (PaaS), infrastructure as a service (IaaS), and network as a service (NaaS), among others.
IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service)
Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), sometimes known as hardware-as-a-service, refers to the leasing of computer hardware instead of purchasing and installing it in-house. The hardware you rent may include servers, storage, networking technology, cables, firewalls, etc. With IaaS, the cloud hosting provider provides the infrastructure required to build custom hosting solutions, the hardware is configured remotely, and then your hosting solution is installed on it.
When utilizing the IaaS model, clients will have access to anything and everything they need to run their cloud servers, including operating systems, firewalls, virtualized local area networks, and software bundles. The client is responsible for setting up and maintaining the infrastructure. This means that they will likely need to employ an in-house team of developers to design the software and operational framework. However, this total control leads to more flexibility—ideal for the cloud environment.
If you want to maintain control of your software environment but don’t want to maintain servers, go to an IaaS provider and request a virtual machine. You can put whatever software you’d like on the server, and the IaaS provider gives you the storage and other resources as you need them. The great thing about IaaS is that it offers companies more flexibility and adaptability. If businesses need to scale up, they can do so easily by requesting more cloud servers and reconfiguring the load balancer. If they need to scale down, they can rent less infrastructure from the cloud service provider.
Infrastructure as a Service is just one of the three approaches to VPS Hosting, the others being Software as a Service (SaaS) and Platform as a Service (PaaS). The difference between these three approaches is primarily the separation of responsibilities between the business entity and the hosting provider. PaaS is where you provide the applications and data while the rest of the platform is managed by the hosting provider. SaaS is where you buy the service, and the provider figures out the servers, the virtual machines, the network equipment, etc. You just point your browser at it.
PaaS (Platform as a Service)
With the PaaS model, the service provider is responsible for setting up everything, including virtualization, setting up the operating system, and running applications. Additionally, the service provider takes responsibility for the automation, testing, deployment, and continued maintenance of the system. This allows the client to focus less attention on their cloud servers and spend more time running their business.
The PaaS model is more practical for small- and medium-sized businesses in terms of labor spent and cost-effectiveness. The majority of business owners do not have the available resources to allocate towards an IaaS model. However, for those who desire more control over their cloud hosting solutions, the IaaS model is perfect. In both instances, users pay only for what they use.
Advantages of IaaS
While many larger companies prefer the security of housing all of their infrastructure components in a private server farm, the benefits of IaaS are difficult to look past. Here are a few ways that IaaS deployment has far outstripped its physical component first cousin.
- Cost savings: Migration to IaaS can often mean substanial cost savings. It’s not just the price of maintaining and running server infrastructure, but the reduction of downtime that often results from moving to IaaS, along with a drop in the cost of replacing old equipment or savings from eliminating internal IT services from a business.
- Scalability: Nearly every business works towards exponential growth in demand for their product or service. But when that moment comes, many are caught flat-footed because they don’t have the processing power or budget to scale their business up to match demand. A similar situation can occur when business is doing a special promotion or sale. Employing IaaS allows a business to add just as much infrastructure as is necessary to keep up with demand without having to invest in new local hardware.
- Backup and Disaster Recovery: Whether a website crashes due to high demand or a hurricane knocks out electrical services for days, IaaS gives businesses the ability to overcome a worst-case scenario. With a company’s data, processes and disaster recovery protocol stored safely in the cloud, returning to normal operations can be a much simpler proposition.
- Incorporating SaaS and PaaS: When a company thoroughly incorporates IaaS into its internal processes, its management typically becomes aware of the convenience and cost-saving ability of other ‘as a service’ offerings. SaaS (software as a service) is the great equalizer of small companies that no longer have to buy another copy of the same software every time a new employee comes aboard. Both IaaS and SaaS are good opening steps to moving an organization’s whole operation online with PaaS (platform as a service). With PaaS, Employees can login from anywhere in the world and use the exact same system that office workers are seeing. That sort of collaborative power increases efficiency and can mean long-term improvements in profitability.
IaaS Hosting from Atlantic.Net
Setting-up and managing a traditional data center can be complicate and costly for most organizations. IaaS hosts can deploy and manage hardware, software, servers, storage, and other infrastructure components quickly, enabling them to focus on building a product instead of infrastructure maintenance. Atlantic.Net provides Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) Hosting plans, backed by a network of six world-class data centers and business essential managed services.
Why Use Atlantic.Net’s IaaS Hosting Solution?
IaaS Customization
We provide fully scalable and customized IaaS hosting, backed by our strategically expanded and enhanced Cloud and Dedicated hosting platforms supporting multiple operating systems. We also support HIPAA and HITECH compliant hosting arrangements.
Hosting Experience
Leverage our expertise in networking, cloud and managed services, backed by over 24 years of industry experience.
Trust
Your “peace of mind” is our utmost priority. We are proud to be your tested and trusted service provider since 1994.
Atlantic.Net is on the forefront in providing top-notch infrastructure hosting to various industries across the globe. By choosing to work with us on an IaaS plan, you are choosing time-tested skill and leadership that has positively impacted the bottom line of many multinational corporations.
Get started with our world-class Services. With our IaaS Hosting, you will:
Save
Avoid paying for and managing hardware while still reaping the benefits of its use. You won’t have to purchase or lease hardware and avoid equipment shipping and storage costs, maintenance, and management.
Produce
With reduced logistical and financial barriers to any given market, you can roll out products and services on a more practical timeline.
Innovate
Take advantage of narrow windows of opportunity by utilizing the flexibility of virtual infrastructures for testing and faster deployment.
Scale
Startups pay as they grow without incurring initial outlay of capital for equipment and full-time management.
Be flexible
Manage your IaaS system from anywhere, increasing or decreasing computing power and infrastructure, as needed.
Be location independent
Moving a business becomes easier when IaaS — rather than traditional hardware infrastructure — provides the computing backbone.
Which Service to Choose?
Whether choosing an infrastructure or platform as a service model, cloud servers are practical solutions in today’s world of constantly evolving technology. Since 1994, Atlantic.Net has been providing businesses with the best hosting solutions like our super-fast VPS Hosting. To learn more about our cloud server hosting solutions, including HIPAA compliant hosting, give us a call today at 800-521-5881.
