Cloud Computing Beginner

What is Cloud Computing?

The delivery of computing services over the internet, including servers, storage, databases, and software on demand.

Cloud computing provides on-demand access to shared computing resources without owning physical hardware. The three main service models are IaaS (Infrastructure — virtual machines), PaaS (Platform — managed runtime), and SaaS (Software — applications).

Major providers include AWS (Amazon), Azure (Microsoft), and GCP (Google). Benefits include scalability, pay-per-use pricing, global reach, and reduced operational overhead. Deployment models include public, private, hybrid, and multi-cloud.

Learn More About This Topic

Cloud Computing Basics

Directly covers this topic

AWS EC2 & VPC for Linux Administrator

Related reading

AWS Lambda & Serverless for Beginners

Related reading

Related Terms

VPC (Virtual Private Cloud)

An isolated virtual network within a cloud provider where you can launch resources with full control over IP addressing, routing, and security.

AWS (Amazon Web Services)

The world's largest cloud computing platform, offering hundreds of services for compute, storage, networking, and more.

Google Cloud Platform (GCP)

Google's suite of cloud computing services running on the same infrastructure that Google uses for its consumer products.

Automatically adjusting the number of computing resources based on current demand to maintain performance and optimize costs.

Discounted cloud compute instances that use spare capacity at significantly lower prices but can be interrupted with short notice.

A computing environment that combines on-premises infrastructure with public cloud services, allowing data and applications to move between them.

View All Cloud Computing Terms →