HCIA-Cloud Computing V5.

0 Learning Guide Page 9

1 Cloud Computing Basics

1.1 IT Basics
1.1.1 What Is IT?
1.1.1.1 IT Around Us
"IT" is the common term for an entire spectrum of technologies for information
processing, including software, hardware, communications, and related services.
IT technologies around us are changing the way we live, for example, taxi hailing
software that places and receives orders via apps, communications software that enables
real-time voice calls over the Internet, and e-malls that provide online shopping
experience via apps. These various IT software and hardware are disrupting and changing
the way we live and work.

Figure 1-1 IT around us

Let's take the ride-hailing software as an example. Yidao Yongche is the first app that
allows users to book professional car reservation services online. It was founded in 2010
in Beijing. Later, a series of ride-hailing software such as Uber, DiDi, and Gaode emerged.
Companies that launch these ride-hailing software do not have a taxi. Instead, they build
a service platform to bring ride-hailing resources together. Ride-hailing platforms connect
vehicle drivers with users who need a ride via IT technology. Drivers who own a vehicle
can register as ride-hailing service providers on the platform. As the number of the
registered drivers increases, users on the platform who need a ride can get a quick
response after they initiate a travel order.
Over the past decade, ride-hailing software has greatly changed the way we travel. In the
past, we had to stop a taxi along the roadside. Now, we only need to initiate a travel
order on our mobile phone and wait for the vehicle driver to pick us up at the designated
place.
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In summary, new technologies are changing our lives.

1.1.1.2 Core of IT

Figure 1-2 Data center–based IT architecture

Traditional IT infrastructure consists of common hardware and software components,
including facilities, data centers, servers, network hardware, desktop computers, and
enterprise application software solutions. In the new era, the IT architecture has changed.
As shown in Figure 1-2, the cloud emerges based on IT infrastructure hardware, allowing
you to develop application and deploy software on the cloud infrastructure. The cloud
greatly changes the IT infrastructure of the Internet and addresses critical challenges to
traditional IT.

1.1.2 Challenges to Traditional IT

1.1.2.1 Information Explosion Is Coming

Figure 1-3 Development history of the Internet

With the proliferation of mobile Internet and the fully connected era, more terminal
devices are being used every day, and data is exploding, posing unprecedented challenges
to traditional ICT infrastructure. The Internet has gone through PCs, mobile Internet, and
the Internet of Everything (IoE).
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In the PC era, people are connected to each other through computers. In the mobile era,
people are connected through mobile devices, such as phones and tablets. In the 5G era,
all computers, mobile phones, and smart terminals are connected to each other, and we
are ushering in the era of IoE.
In the IoE era, the entire industry will compete for ecosystem. From the PC era to the
mobile era, and then to the IoE era, the ecosystem changes fast at the beginning, then
tends to be relatively stable, and rarely changes when it is stable. In the PC era, a large
number of applications run on Windows, Intel chips, and x86 architecture. In the mobile
era, applications run on iOS and Android systems that use the ARM architecture.
The Internet has gone through two generations and is now ushering in the third
generation, the Internet of Everything. Compared with the previous generation, the
number of devices and the market scale of each generation increase greatly, presenting
future opportunities. As the Intel and Microsoft in the PC era and the ARM and Google in
the mobile era, each Internet generation has its leading enterprises who master the
industry chain. In the future, those who have a good command of core chips and
operating systems will dominate the industry.

1.1.2.2 Challenges to Traditional IT

As the Internet has grown, massive traffic, users, and data have been generated. The
traditional IT architecture has been unable to meet the demands of fast developing
enterprises. To keep up with the rapidly developing businesses, enterprises need to
continuously purchase traditional IT devices. Therefore, the disadvantages of traditional
IT devices gradually emerge:
⚫ Long procurement period slows rollout of new business systems.
⚫ The traditional centralized architecture of traditional IT has poor scalability. Scale-up
expansion can only improve the processing performance of a single server.
⚫ Traditional hardware devices are isolated from each other, and reliability mainly
depends on software.
⚫ Devices and vendors are heterogeneous and hard to manage.
⚫ The performance of a single device is limited.
⚫ Low device utilization leads to high total cost of ownership (TCO).
As we can see, traditional IT infrastructure cannot meet enterprises' requirements for
rapid development. A new IT architecture is required to address the challenge. As a result,
the IT infrastructure begins to change.
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1.1.3 IT Development Trend

1.1.3.1 Enterprises Are Migrating To the Cloud Architecture

Figure 1-4 Evolution of the enterprise IT architecture

As shown in Figure 1-4, the enterprise IT architecture evolves from the traditional IT
architecture to the virtualized architecture and then to the cloud architecture. Traditional
IT infrastructure consists of common hardware and software components, including
facilities, data centers, servers, network hardware, and enterprise application software
solutions. This architecture requires more power, physical space, and money and is often
installed locally for enterprise or private use only.
The virtualized architecture is based on virtualized underlying physical hardware.
Enterprise service systems and other basic IT applications are deployed on the virtual
environment. With the virtualization technology, computer components can run on the
virtual environment rather than the physical environment. Virtualization enables
maximum utilization of the physical hardware and simplifies software reconfiguration.
With a further developed architecture based on virtualization, the cloud architecture uses
cloud technologies, including virtualization technology, distributed technology, and
automatic O&M technology. It integrates an enterprise's IT resources, improves resource
usage and scheduling efficiency, automates IT O&M, and provides self-service IT
offerings.
Key features of cloud migration of enterprise data centers are as follows:
⚫ From resource silos to resource pooling;
⚫ From centralized to distributed architecture;
⚫ From dedicated hardware to software-defined storage (SDS) mode;
⚫ From manual handling to self-service and automatic service;
⚫ And from distributed statistics to unified metering.
According to a report from an international authoritative statistics organization, from
2015, the computing industry accounts for one-third of the global IT revenue and 100%
of IT growth. The traditional IT architecture development has almost stalled, and even
declined in recent years.
In this case, it is easy to see that the IT architecture of an enterprise (an Internet
enterprise or a traditional enterprise) will be gradually replaced by the cloud architecture.
Moreover, an increasing number of enterprises are using cloud architecture worldwide.
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Currently, about 70% of enterprises use cloud architecture in the US and 40% of
enterprises use cloud architecture in China. Statistics show that this number is likewise
rising with time.

1.2 Cloud Computing

As mentioned in the previous chapter, the industry built on cloud computing, computers,
and virtualization has become the mainstream of the IT industry. Before we get into
cloud computing, let's take a quick look at the evolution of computers and virtualization.

1.2.1 Computer Basics

1.2.1.1 What Is Computer?
A computer is a high-speed electronic device capable of performing numerical and logical
calculations. It automatically stores and processes data according to a set of
programming instructions given to it.
This is an official and formal definition. When it comes to computers, maybe the first
thing comes to our mind is desktops, laptops, and servers. In fact, the devices such as
storage, network, and security in the data center are all computer devices.

1.2.1.2 Timeline of Computer History

Figure 1-5 Timeline of computer history

Computing tools have progressed from simple to complex and from low to high level,
such as knotting to abacus and calipers, and then mechanical computers. They have
played historical roles in different periods and have also inspired the development of
modern electronic computers.
As shown in Figure 1-5, the following events are the milestones of computer history:
⚫ In 1889, American scientist Herman Hollerith developed an electromechanical
tabulating machine for storing accounting data.
⚫ In 1930, American scientist Vannevar Bush built the world's first analog computer
with some digital components.
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⚫ In 1946, the U.S. military customized the world's first electronic computer, the
Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer.
⚫ In 1950, the first parallel computer was invented, using von Neumann architecture:
binary format and stored programs.
⚫ In 1954, IBM made the first transistorized computer, using floating-point arithmetic
for improved computing capabilities.
⚫ In 1970, IBM System/370 was announced by IBM. It replaces magnetic core storage
with large-scale integrated circuits, uses small-scale integrated circuits as logical
components, and applies virtual memory technology to separate hardware from
software, thereby defining the value of software.
⚫ In 1975, MITS developed the world's first microcomputer.
⚫ 1977, the first personal computer with color graphics was invented.
⚫ In 1998, Celeron processors with 128K L2 cache became popular among installers,
and 64 MB of memory and 15-inch displays became standard configurations.
⚫ In 1999, Pentium III CPUs became a selling point for some computer manufacturers.
The 64 MB of memory and 6.4 GB hard disk became standard configurations.
⚫ Since 2001, Pentium 4 CPUs and Pentium 4 Celeron CPUs have been the standard
configurations for computers. DDR has gradually replaced SDRAM as the common
type of memory. In addition, 17-inch CRT or 15-inch LCD displays have been the
preferred choice for customers. The capacity of hard disks has gradually expanded to
40 GB or more.

1.2.2 Virtualization Basics

1.2.2.1 What Is Virtualization?

Figure 1-6 Virtualization structure

Virtualization has a wide range of meanings. Virtualization is the act of creating a virtual
version of something, a logical representation of resources. Virtualization allows multiple
virtual machines (VMs) to run on a physical server. The VMs share the CPU, memory, and
I/O hardware resources on the physical server, but they are logically isolated from each
other. Virtualization is the fundamental technology that powers cloud computing.
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In Figure 1-6, the left picture shows the architecture before virtualization. After
purchasing servers, enterprises install operating systems (OS), and deploy system
applications and required basic environments on the servers.
The traditional enterprise IT architecture has two features: 1. The resources on each
server are independent from each other. For example, the resources on the server 1 are
standing idle while the resources on the server 2 are insufficient. As a result, the
resources cannot be fully used. 2. The OS is tightly coupled to the physical hardware. The
OS hardware drivers must adjust to the underlying physical servers because the OS is
directly deployed on the hardware. This will make it difficult for enterprises to migrate
their system applications to the physical servers of other vendors.
In terms of the virtualization architecture, after purchasing a physical server, enterprises
deploy a virtualization layer on the server, turning hardware resources of the server into
virtualized resources and putting them in a resource pool. Then, VMs are created based
on the virtual resource pool to run enterprise service applications. Resources in this
architecture are abstracted into a shared resource pool, greatly improving resource
utilization and making resources no longer isolated. The virtualization layer decouples
the physical hardware from the upper-layer OS, allowing you to flexibly migrate your
applications as long as the virtual hardware structure of VMs is consistent.

1.2.2.2 Timeline of Virtualization History

Figure 1-7 Timeline of virtualization history

Figure 1-7 shows the milestones in virtualization history:
⚫ In 1993, IBM launched an upgradeable POWER parallel system, the first
microprocessor-based supercomputer using RS/6000 technology.
⚫ In 1998, Bochs released x86 PC emulator.
⚫ In 1998, VMware was founded. In 1999, the company launched its first product,
VMware Workstation, the commercial virtualization software that allows to run
multiple operating systems on a single physical server. Since then, virtualization
technology has been widely applied.
⚫ In 1999, IBM first proposed the logical partitioning (LPAR) virtualization for the
AS/400 system.
⚫ In 2000, Citrix released XenDesktop, a desktop virtualization product.
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⚫ In 2004, IBM released the virtualization solution Advanced Power Virtualization

(APV), which supports resource sharing. This solution was later renamed PowerVM in
2008.
⚫ In 2005, Xen 3.0.0 was released as the first hypervisor with Intel® VT-x support. Xen
3.0.0 can run on 32-bit servers.
⚫ In 2006, Qumranet, an Israeli startup, officially announced Kernel-based Virtual
Machine (KVM).
⚫ 2006–present defines cloud computing and big data era.
⚫ In 2007, InnoTek, a German company, developed VirtualBox.
⚫ In 2008, Linux Container (LXC) 0.1.0 was released to provide lightweight
virtualization.
⚫ In 2010, Red Hat released RHEL 6.0, removing Xen and leaving KVM as the only
bundled virtualization option.
⚫ In 2015, Kubernetes v1.0 was released, opening the cloud native era.

1.2.3 Cloud Computing Basics

In the first two chapters, we have learned about the development of computers and
virtualization technology. Now, let's see what the cloud computing is.

1.2.3.1 What's Cloud Computing?

Since the emergence of cloud computing, it has been defined in a variety of ways. The
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) defines cloud computing as a
model for enabling ubiquitous, convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool
of configurable computing resources (such as networks, servers, storage, applications,
and services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management
effort or service provider interaction. This definition is widely accepted.
Key points:
1. Cloud computing is a model rather than a piece of technology.
2. With cloud computing, users can access IT resources such as networks, servers,
storage, applications, and services easily.
3. Cloud computing enables ubiquitous access to resources connected to a network.
4. Resources can be quickly provisioned and released for elastic scaling. On-demand
self-service enables minimal service provider interaction.
We can also take a look at cloud computing from another perspective. Let's split cloud
computing into cloud and computing. Cloud is a metaphor for networks and the Internet.
It is an abstract entity of the Internet and the underlying infrastructure required for
establishing the Internet. Computing refers to a combined range of compute services
(functions and resources). Cloud computing uses powerful computers to deliver resource
services over the Internet.
Whatever you may know about cloud computing, it is now everywhere around us. Next, I
will introduce cloud computing around us.

1.2.3.2 Cloud Services and Applications Around Us (Personal)

Now our daily life benefits from applications of cloud computing.
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Baidu Wangpan is a cloud storage service provided by Baidu, which allows you to easily
back up, synchronize, and share photos, videos, and documents. It is now widely used in
China. Without cloud computing, we need to manually copy files to other hard disks to
back up, synchronize, and share files. With cloud computing, you can easily back up,
synchronize, and share files using a client connected to the Internet and installed either
on a mobile phone or a PC. Resources are shared by using cloud computing technology.
Therefore, the shared data can be downloaded easily by other people. In addition, data
can be automatically synchronized if required.
There are various cloud applications, such as cloud albums (Baidu Cloud and iCloud
Shared Album) and cloud music (NetEase Cloud Music, Kugou Music, Kuwo Music, and
Xiami Music). From the applications we use in our life, we can see that cloud computing
makes our life more convenient. Enterprises also use cloud computing to provide better
products for better user experience.

1.2.3.3 Cloud Services and Applications Around Us (Enterprises)

Figure 1-8 Cloud services and applications around us (enterprises)

Cloud Meeting provides an all-scenario, device-cloud synergy videoconferencing solution
for intelligent communication and collaboration on different terminals, in different
regions, and with collaborators in other companies. Livestreaming allows us to play
games, learn technology, and make friends online with more fun.
Videoconferencing also changes rapidly as technology develops. The videoconferencing
market in China is growing steadily, with an average annual growth rate of more than
20%, driven by the requirements of enterprises in sectors such as government,
transportation, electric power, medical care, education, finance, and military. Currently,
less than 5% of Chinese enterprises have video conference rooms, but more and more
enterprises are realizing the value of efficient collaboration. The videoconferencing
system has gradually become the common practice for higher work efficiency.
Cloud meeting is usually used for enterprise office, telemedicine, smart education, and
enterprise organization building.
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1.2.3.4 History of Cloud Computing

Figure 1-9 History of cloud computing

As shown in Figure 1-9, since the inception of the cloud computing, the IT architecture
has evolved from the traditional non-cloud architecture to the cloud architecture. The IT
architecture has experienced the following three milestones:
1. Cloud 1.0 features IT infrastructure resource virtualization for data center
administrators. In this phase, virtualization technology is introduced to decouple IT
applications from the underlying infrastructure, allowing multiple enterprise IT
applications and operating systems to run or be deployed on the same physical
server. More IT applications can run on fewer servers by using virtualization cluster
scheduling software for higher resource utilization. HCIA Cloud Computing course
focuses on this phase and describes the implementation and advantages of cloud
computing in this phase.
2. Cloud computing 2.0 features resource servitization and management automation
for infrastructure cloud tenants and cloud users. This phase features standard
infrastructure services and resource scheduling automation software on the
management plane, and software-defined storage and software-defined networking
technologies on the data plane. By using these software and technologies, data
center administrators do not need to manually handle resource application, release,
and configuration. Resources will be distributed under necessary conditions (such as
resource quota and permissions) with one-click automatic operation. This speeds up
the distribution of infrastructure resources to enterprises for application deployment,
reduces the time needed to prepare resources for IT application rollouts, and turns
the static distribution mode of enterprise infrastructure into an elastic on-demand
provisioning mode. This also supports enterprise IT department in shifting its core
services towards agility and better responding to the ever-changing competitive
development environment. Infrastructure resources in Cloud 2.0 phase for cloud
tenants can be VMs, or containers (lightweight VMs), or physical machines. The
cloud migration of enterprises in this phase does not involve changes in enterprise IT
applications, middleware, and database software architecture above the
infrastructure layer.
3. Cloud 3.0 features distributed microservice-based enterprise application architecture
and Internet-based, reconstructed, and big data powered intelligent enterprise data
architecture for enterprise IT application developers and Q&M personnel. Enterprise
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IT architecture gradually expands from vertically layered architecture (siloed, highly

complex, stateful, and large-scale architecture designed for each service application
based on traditional commercial databases and middleware business suites) to the
database (based on open source and highly shared resources across different service
applications), middleware platform service, and distributed stateless architecture
(more lightweight and decoupled, and the data and application logic completely
separated). This helps enterprises take a step forward service agility, intelligence, and
improved resource utilization for quick rollout of new services.
Looking back on the history of cloud computing, Cloud 1.0 is out of date, but it is still the
cornerstone of cloud computing. Some enterprises adopt Cloud 2.0 for commercial use
and are considering expanding the scale and evolving to Cloud 3.0. The other enterprises
are evolving from Cloud 1.0 to 2.0, and are even evaluating and implementing the
evolution from Cloud 2.0 to 3.0.

1.2.4 Benefits of Cloud Computing

1.2.4.1 On-Demand Self-Service
What's the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear on-demand self-service?
You may think of shopping in a supermarket. In a supermarket, you can select products
based on your requirements. You can compare product descriptions, prices, and brands,
and determine which one to purchase based on price-performance ratio or other factors.
This is called on-demand self-service. Similarly, you can download different Apps or
purchase required services on Huawei Cloud on your own.

Figure 1-10 Featured cloud services

One of the prerequisites for on-demand self-service is to know your requirements and
know which product can meet your requirements. A supermarket offers an enormous
variety of products. Similarly, a cloud computing provider may provide many types of
cloud products, as shown in Figure 1-10. You need to know which product can suit your
needs before placing an order.

1.2.4.2 Widespread Network Access

We can think of cloud computing as a combination of the Internet and computing.
Therefore, network access is a built-in attribute of cloud computing.
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Now, almost everyone has access to the Internet. We can access the Internet via such
electronic devices as PCs, tablets, and cell phones. This means you can use cloud
computing with much ease and convenience.
In a word, as long as you can access the resource pools offered by cloud service providers
through the network, you can use cloud services anytime and anywhere.

1.2.4.3 Resource Pooling

Resource pooling is also one of the prerequisites for on-demand self-service. Through
resource pooling, we cannot only put commodities of the same type together, but also
provide commodities in units of finer granularity. In a supermarket, different types of
commodities are placed in different areas. In this way, customers can quickly find the
commodities they need. However, this can only be considered as resource classification,
not resource pooling. What is resource pooling?
Resource pooling not only places resources of the same type into a resource pool, but
also breaks up all resources into the smallest possible unit.
We can take instant noodles as an example. You may encounter the situation that one
pack is not enough but two packs are too many for you. But the smallest unit for instant
noodles is the pack. Resource pooling can solve the problem. It puts all the noodles in
one pool and you can buy as many as you need. The cafeteria is a good example of
resource pooling. In a cafeteria, juices may be separated by flavors, and you can take as
much as you need.
Another function of resource pooling is to shield the differences between different
resources. If pooled cola is provided in a restaurant, customers cannot see whether Pepsi,
Coca-Cola, or both are in the pool. In cloud computing, resources that can be pooled
include compute, storage, and network resources. Compute resources include CPUs and
memory. If CPUs are pooled, their smallest unit is core, and CPU vendors such as AMD
and Intel are not displayed.

1.2.4.4 Rapid Deployment and Elastic Scaling

Enterprise business may fluctuate. To ensure stable service running during peak traffic
hours, enterprises purchase more servers to scale out. When the access traffic decreases,
enterprises release the servers to scale in. This is called rapid elastic scaling.
In cloud computing, you can choose to manually or automatically (using preset policies)
scale resources. You can scale in or out servers, or scale up or down a server.
This feature enables you to ensure stable running of services and applications while
reducing costs. When an enterprise is in its infancy, it can purchase a small amount of
resources. It can purchase more as its business grows. In special periods, all resources can
be used for key services as needed. In non-special periods, idle resources can be used for
other purposes. If the resources cannot meet your requirements in special periods, you
can purchase more resources. After entering non-special periods, you can release the
additional resources. In a word, you can enjoy the great convenience with cloud
computing.

1.2.4.5 Metered Services

Services in cloud computing are measured by duration, resource quota, or traffic.
Measured services enable auto scaling based on business scale and much better resource
allocation.
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Users can clearly see the usage of their purchased services, and can purchase the
required number of services.
It should be noted that measuring is not billing. A measured service facilitates billing.
Most cloud computing services are chargeable while some services are free of charge. For
example, you can use Auto Scaling (AS) for free, except the resources that are scaled out.

1.2.5 Cloud Computing Services and Deployment

1.2.5.1 Service Models for Cloud Computing

Figure 1-11 Service models for cloud computing

As shown in Figure 1-11, all models have the same hierarchical architecture. Users only
need to focus on their applications. Data is generated during your use of the applications.
An application program can run only after the lowest-layer hardware resource, the OS
running on the hardware resource, middleware running on the OS, and running
environment of the application are all ready. The architecture of cloud computing can be
divided into three layers. Applications and data belong to the software layer. Hardware
resources (servers, storage, and networking resources) and virtualization belong to the
infrastructure layer. OSs, middleware, and runtime belong to the platform layer.
In IaaS model, cloud service providers are responsible for infrastructure layer, and users
are responsible for other layers. In PaaS model, cloud service providers are responsible for
infrastructure and platform layers, and users are responsible for software layer. In SaaS
model, cloud service providers are responsible for all three layers.
We can use an example to illustrate these models. Figure 1-11 shows the configuration
requirements of a standalone game Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. The content was
obtained from a Chinese game portal GamerSky.
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Figure 1-12 Configuration requirements of Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

In this figure, we can see the hardware requirements of the game. You purchase a
computer, install an OS, and install the game software, this is a traditional IT architecture
model. You purchase a cloud server from a cloud service provider, install an OS using the
image, and download and install the game software, this is IaaS model. When installing
such a large-scale game, the following error may occur:

Figure 1-13 .NET Framework initialization error

The error occurs because the running environment .NET Framework is not installed. You
purchase a cloud server with OS and .NET Framework installed, this is PaaS model.
You purchase a cloud server with OS, .NET Framework, and game software installed, and
all you need to do is to enter your username and password to play the game, this is SaaS
model.
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1.2.5.2 Deployment Models for Cloud Computing

Figure 1-14 Deployment models for cloud computing

⚫ Public cloud
Public cloud is the first deployment model and is well known to the public. Currently,
public cloud can provide users with many services. Users can access IT services
through the Internet easily.
Public clouds are usually built by cloud service providers. Service providers are
responsible for the hardware and management of cloud computing. End users only
need to purchase cloud computing resources or services. Public cloud resources are
open to the public, and you need to connect to the Internet to use public cloud
resources.
⚫ Private cloud
Private cloud is cloud infrastructure operated solely for a single organization. All data
of the private cloud is kept within the organization's data center. Attempts to access
such data will be controlled by ingress firewalls deployed for the data center,
offering maximum data protection. The private cloud can be deployed based on the
existing architecture of an organization. Therefore, the hardware devices that had
been purchased at a high price can be used in the private cloud, avoiding waste of
money. Everything has two sides. If an enterprise adopts the private cloud, data
security can be ensured and existing devices can be used. However, as time goes by,
the devices become increasingly old, and replacing these devices costs a lot. In
addition, data cannot be shared among users or enterprises.
A new form of private cloud has emerged in recent years. You can purchase
dedicated cloud services on the public cloud and migrate your key services to the
public cloud. In this way, you can enjoy dedicated, isolated compute and storage
resources with high reliability, high performance, and high security.
⚫ Hybrid cloud
Hybrid cloud is a flexible cloud computing model. It consists of at least two of the
public cloud, private cloud, and industry cloud. User services can be switched
between these clouds as required. For security and ease of control, not all the
enterprise information is placed on the public cloud. In this case, most enterprise
users of cloud computing will adopt the hybrid cloud model. Many enterprises
choose to use a combination of public and private clouds. Public clouds only charge
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users for the resources they use, greatly reducing the cost of enterprises with
demand spikes. To give just one example, some retailers face demand spikes during
holidays, or seasonal fluctuation in their business. The hybrid cloud can also meet
your disaster recovery requirements. In this case, if a disaster occurs on the services
deployed in the private cloud, the services can be transferred to the public cloud. This
is a highly cost-effective approach. Another approach is to deploy part of your
services on one public cloud, and use another public cloud for disaster recovery.
A hybrid cloud allows you to take advantage of both public and private clouds. It
enables flexible transfer of applications among multiple clouds. In addition, it is cost-
effective.
Of course, the hybrid cloud model has its disadvantages. You will face maintenance
and security challenges due to complex settings in this model. In addition, because a
hybrid cloud is a combination of different cloud platforms, data, and applications,
integration can be a challenge. When developing a hybrid cloud, you may face issues
of compatibility between infrastructures.

1.3 Mainstream Cloud Computing Vendors and

Technologies
1.3.1 AWS
Amazon Web Services (AWS) is a cloud computing platform provided by Amazon. AWS
provides users with a set of cloud computing services, including scalable computing,
storage services, databases, and applications, helping enterprises reduce IT investment
and maintenance costs. AWS provides a complete set of infrastructure and application
services, enabling users to run almost all applications on the cloud, including enterprise
applications, big data projects, social games, and mobile applications.
In addition, AWS has established an extensive partner ecosystem. AWS partners can gain
support in the AWS-based businesses through a set of programs, including VMware
Cloud on AWS, Distribution Program for Resellers, Managed Service Provider (MSP)
Program, SaaS Factory Program, Competency Program, Public Sector Program,
Marketplace Channel Programs.
AWS brings consulting partners and technology partners together to its platform.
Consulting partners include system integrators, strategic and consulting vendors,
agencies, managed service providers, and value-added distributors. AWS Partner Network
(APN) is a community of independent software vendors (ISVs), and vendors distributing
SaaS and PaaS, developer tools, as well as management and security solutions. AWS
Cloud Control API gives developers a set of standardized APIs to build and run open
source software in the cloud.
Main customers include enterprises that run e-commerce and media platforms, websites,
and social applications.
AWS service value:
⚫ Low price
⚫ More usage
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⚫ Infrastructure expansion
⚫ Economies of scale
⚫ Technological innovation and ecosystem construction

1.3.2 VMware
1.3.2.1 VMware Overview
In 1998, VMware was founded. One year later, the company launched the commercial
virtualization software VMware Workstation that can run smoothly on the x86 platform,
marking its first step forward towards virtualization. In 2009, VMware launched VMware
vSphere, the industry's first cloud operating system, and then launched the vCloud plan
to build new cloud services.
VMware delivers private, public, and hybrid cloud solutions designed for specified service
requirements.
VMware offers hybrid cloud products and services built based on the software-defined
data center that brings together virtualized compute, storage, and networking.
VMware Cloud Foundation provides integrated cloud native infrastructure, making it easy
to run enterprise applications in private environment.
VMware is a leading provider of multi-cloud services for all apps, enabling digital
innovation through enterprise control. VMware vSphere helps you run, manage, connect
and secure your applications in a common operating environment across its hybrid clouds
and cloud native public clouds.

1.3.2.2 VMware Services

Figure 1-15 VMware services

Since its inception in 1998, VMware has been dedicated to providing customers with the
flexibility and diversity required for building the future through disruptive technologies
such as edge computing, artificial intelligence, blockchain, machine learning, and
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Kubernetes. Currently, VMware provides services in four areas: digital workspace, cloud
environment, application modernization, and Telco cloud.
⚫ Digital workspace: Enable any employees to work from anywhere, anytime with
seamless employee experiences.
⚫ Cloud environment: Build, run, manage, connect, and secure all applications on any
cloud.
⚫ Application modernization: Modernize applications to accelerate digital innovation.
⚫ Telco cloud: Build, run, manage, connect, and secure all applications on any cloud.

1.3.3 Huawei Cloud Overview

1.3.3.1 Huawei Cloud
Huawei Cloud is a public cloud service brand that leverages Huawei's more than 30 years
of expertise in the ICT field to provide innovative, secure, and cost-effective cloud
services.

Figure 1-16 Huawei Cloud

In the previous chapter, we mentioned that public clouds are available for all users. You
purchase any service you want on a public cloud portal simply with an official website
account. All cloud service providers aim to minimize access latency when choosing their
regions. In China, a place with mild winters and cool summers is ideal for a data center
site to save on electricity. Guizhou, a province in southwestern China, is one such place.
However, when a data center is deployed in Guizhou, the use of public cloud services in
more distant regions would be prone to high latency due to the distance. As a result,
public cloud vendors build data centers in regions that can ensure fast access from major
cities. In addition to fast and stable access regardless of geographic location, diverse
cloud services are essential for vendors to stay relevant. As one of the leading cloud
service providers in the world, Huawei Cloud boasts a wide range of cloud services.
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Figure 1-17 Huawei Cloud Services

Huawei Cloud has continuously upgraded its full-stack cloud native technologies. So far,
they have launched 200+ cloud services and 200+ solutions.

1.3.3.2 Huawei Cloud Stack

Huawei Cloud Stack is cloud infrastructure deployed at the on-premises data centers of
government and enterprise customers. It combines the advantages of private cloud and
public cloud, allowing you to quickly launch innovative services like you always do on the
public cloud and to manage your resources like you always do on the private cloud.
Huawei Cloud Stack can adjust to your organizational structure and business processes,
serving you as a single cloud. Huawei Cloud Stack can be used for medium and large
enterprises that require local data storage or that require physical isolation of devices.

Figure 1-18 Huawei Cloud Stack

Huawei Cloud Stack can be used for cloud migration, cloud native transformation, big
data analysis, AI applications, industry clouds, and city clouds.
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Huawei Cloud Stack has the following advantages:

⚫ AI enablement, data enablement, and application enablement: on-premises
deployment of public cloud services;
⚫ Multi-level cloud management: matching the enterprise governance architecture,
featuring cloud federation, multi-level architecture, and intelligent O&M;
⚫ Cloud-edge collaboration: extending intelligence to the edge, featuring unified
framework, out-of-the-box edges, and video AI/IoT access;
⚫ Secure and reliable: leading functions and performance, featuring full-stack security,
one cloud with two pools, and strong ecosystem.

1.3.3.3 Huawei Cloud Data Centers: Innovative Chips

Figure 1-19 Overview of Huawei chip series

Chips are the core and most difficult part of R&D in the IT industry, which requires long-
term investment.
Huawei has over 20 years of experience in chip R&D and is constantly innovating chips
for the Cloud 2.0 era. We have launched a full series of chips for next-generation cloud
data centers.
The full series of chips are:
⚫ Compute chips: full series of AI processors;
⚫ Network chips: Huawei's next-generation network chips Hi1822 use the NP-like
programmable architecture and support offloading of multiple protocols;
⚫ Storage chips: The fourth generation of storage chips improves the performance by
over 75% and bandwidth by over 60%. Thanks to the intelligent multi-stream
technology, the latency was decreased by about 15%;
⚫ Security chips: Huawei has built security and trustworthiness into chips. They provide
comprehensive protection for firmware, identities, software systems, and data
management.
AWS, VMware, and Huawei Cloud supply cloud solutions featuring resource pooling,
unified management, and on-demand self-service. They leverage virtualized computing,
storage, and networking technologies to provide users with ultimate experience.
In the subsequent courses, let's take a closer look at these technologies and dig deeper
into the principles of cloud computing.

1.4 Quiz
An engineer has purchased several cloud servers and other cloud resources on Huawei
Cloud and wants to set up a simple forum website. He went on a business trip with the
website unfinished. But he can also access the cloud servers to continue with his website
at the hotel far away from his home. What value of cloud computing does this case
reflect?
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2 Server Basics

Servers are the foundation of all service platforms, including cloud computing platforms.
But what is a server? What are the key technologies for servers? Let's find the answers in
this chapter, and start our learning journey into cloud computing.

2.1 Introduction to Servers

2.1.1 What Is a Server?
2.1.1.1 Server Definition and Features
A server is a type of computer. It runs faster, carries more loads, and costs more than
ordinary computers. A server provides services to users. There are file servers, database
servers, and application servers.
A server is a mainstream computing product developed in 1990s. It can provide network
users with centralized computing, information release, and data management services. In
addition, a server can share drives, printers, and modems to which the server is
connected, and dedicated communication devices with network users. So far, general-
purpose servers are still the most widely used basic IT devices in enterprises, accounting
for 90% or even higher of enterprise IT computing devices.
Servers are similar to PCs, but with features PCs do not have.
A server has the following features:
⚫ R: Reliability – the duration that the server operates consecutively
⚫ A: Availability – percentage of normal system uptime and use time
⚫ S: Scalability – including hardware expansion and operating system (OS) support
capabilities
⚫ U: Usability – easy to maintain and restore server hardware and software
⚫ M: Manageability – monitoring and alarm reporting of server running status, and
automatically intelligent fault processing
The preceding features are necessary for a qualified server.