Benefits of using cloud services

Question 1

Describe benefits of high availability in cloud services…

Answer 1

When deploying an app/service/IT resource, it is important the resources are available when needed. High availability focuses on ensuring max availability, regardless of disruptions or events that may occur.

When architecting your solution, you need to account for service availability guarantees.

Azure is a highly available cloud environment with uptime guarantees depending on the service. These guarantees are part of the service level agreements (SLAs)
SLA is the formal agreement between the provider and the customer.
Represented as a percentage related to the applications availability (up time)

Question 2

Describe the benefits of scalability in the cloud

Answer 2

> refers to the ability to adjust resources to meet demand.
ability to scale means you can increase/decrease resources to better handle the increased demand.
+ you are not overpaying for services.
cloud consumption-based model = you pay for what you use. -> if demand drops off, you can reduce your resources and reduce your costs.

Question 3

What is vertical scaling?

Answer 3

Focused on increasing/decreasing the capabilities of resources.
ex. you need more processing power, scale up vertically and add more CPUs or RAM to the VM. (also lowering CPU or RAM)

Question 4

What is horizontal scaling?

Answer 4

Adding or subtracting the number of resources.
t.ex. you have a sudden steep jump in demand.
you could add additional VM or containers, scaling out. Or if drop in demand, deployed resources could be scaled in.

Question 5

Describe the benefits of reliability in the cloud

Answer 5

The ability of a system to recover from failures and continue to function.
+ also one of the pillars of the Microsoft Azure Well-Architected Framework.
+ because of the clouds decentralized design, naturally supports a reliable and resilient infrastrucutre.
+ Decentralized design -> the cloud enables you to have resources deployed in regions around the world.
+ If one region has a catastrophic event, the other regions are still up and running.

Question 6

Define the benefits of predictability in the cloud (performance/cost)

Answer 6

Performance
Focuses on predicting the resources needed to deliver a positive experience for your customers.
> Auto scaling, load balancing, and high availability are some concepts that support performance predictability.
Cost
is focused on predicting or forecasting the cost of the cloud spend. You can use tools like Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) or Pricing Calculator to get an estimate of potential cloud spend.

Question 7

Describe the benefits of security in the cloud

Answer 7

if you want maximum control of security, IaaS provides with physical resources but lets you manage the operating systems and installed software. Including patches and maintenance.

If you want patches and maintenance taken care of automatically, PaaS or SaaS deployments may be the best cloud strategies for u.

Question 8

Describe the benefits of manageability in the cloud.

Answer 8

Two types of manageability for cloud computing.

Management OF the cloud:
in the cloud, you can:
> automatically scale resource deployment based on need.
> deploy resources based on a preconfigured template, removing the need for manual configuration
> monitor the health of resources and auto replace failing resources
> receive auto alerts based on configured metrics, so you’re aware of performance in real time

Management IN the cloud:
You can manage your cloud environment and resources. You can manage these:
>Through a web portal
> Using CLI
>Using APIs
> Using powershell