IaaS Report: Analysis of Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)

This report provides an overview of Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), a cloud computing model that allows users to store data in a virtualized system. It highlights the benefits of IaaS, such as remote data storage, data backup, and security services. The report discusses the cost-effectiveness of IaaS, comparing it to physical storage and pointing out the additional costs associated with cloud services. It explores the services of IaaS, including data extensibility and value creation, as well as the impact of these features on the overall cost. The report also references sources that provide detailed information about IaaS, cloud computing, and their implications.

INFRASTRUCTURE AS A SERVICE 1
Infrastructure as a Service
Name
Institution

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Infrastructure as a Service
Introduction
Infrastructure as a service (IaaS) refers to a cloud computing system which gives its users
the ability to store data in a virtualized computer system. In this model, infrastructure
components that used to be stored in data centers within premises such as servers and hardware
can now be stored remotely and accessed any time at any place. Besides the storage benefit, IaaS
also provides additional services to the data it stores. The services include monitoring, log
access, security services to the data stored, data backup, and information replication and
recovery. Use of the IaaS services enables policy-driven functions such that a user is able to
exercise some level of automation or orchestration on some data.
One of the advantages that cloud service providers say when marketing is the cost-
effective nature of IaaS. They say that instead of using funds to buy physical storage devices
such as servers, hard disks, and flash, it is possible to create a storage system in the IaaS website,
store your data and secure it (Fernando, Loke and Rahayu 89). This process is more economical
for temporary data because after serving its purpose, the storage system can be deleted. It is also
possible for one business to rent the IaaS services of another firm. Therefore, cloud storage
proves to be more efficient than physical storage.
Even though cost-effectiveness has been listed as a characteristic of cloud computing,
using the service can also be costly. Using the IaaS services require subscription fees which
depend on storage duration and amount of data stored. According to the new developments by
EMC ViPR sources, additional services such as extensibility of data and value creation have
been added (Ferris et al 4). These increased services mean that additional bills will be added. At
the end using cloud storage services might become more expensive than the physical storage

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facilities. Charges on cloud storage depend on size and stability that a user requires (Rodríguez
3090). Although cloud data storage provides more benefits than traditional physical storage, cost
of using it depends on the number of services offered.

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Bibliography
Fernando, N., Loke, S.W. and Rahayu, W013., 2. Mobile cloud computing: A survey. Future
generation computer systems, 29(1), pp.84-106.
Ferris, S., Robbins, P., Best, R., Seville, D., Buxton, A., Shriver, A. and Wei, E., 2014. Linking
smallholder farmers to markets and the implications for extension and advisory services.
[Online] Available at: https://agrilinks. org/sites/default/files/resource/files/MEAS% 20
Discussion% 20Paper% 204% 20-% 20Linking% 20Farmers% 20To% 20Markets% 20-
% 20 May% 202014. pdf.
Rodríguez-Mazahua, L., Rodríguez-Enríquez, C.A., Sánchez-Cervantes, J.L., Cervantes, J.,
García-Alcaraz, J.L. and Alor-Hernández, G., 2016. A general perspective of Big Data:
applications, tools, challenges and trends. The Journal of Supercomputing, 72(8),
pp.3073-3113.