What is cloud infrastructure?

Nazar Kvartalnyi
Written by
COO at Inoxoft, former .Net Software Engineer
Pub: Oct 22, 2021Upd: Sep 22, 2022
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Cloud infrastructure consists of:

  • hardware
  • abstracted resources
  • storage
  • network resources

Mainly, this is the list of the tools needed to build a cloud. And the cloud infrastructure will be able to host services and apps within the cloud.

Cloud infrastructure includes integrated components that compose a single architecture. This architecture relies on business needs and supports business operations. To compare, software consists of such components as hardware, virtualization, storage, and networking. Based on these two definitions, a cloud infrastructure can be both the first and the second. It can put all pieces in the system together and it can be an individual technology.

Read more about cloud infrastructure management

Components of cloud infrastructure

Hardware

Physical hardware is one of the main parts of cloud infrastructure. It includes

  • switches
  • routers
  • firewalls
  • load balancers
  • storage arrays
  • backup devices
  • servers

Virtualization

Virtualization is the technology needed to separate physical hardware from software services and functions. These are separated with the help of a hypervisor. It abstracts

  • memory
  • computing power
  • storage

making the virtual resources into clouds.

Storage

Storage is a place where all data is stored. And it can be across many diskі in a single storage section. Therefore, it is vital to store your data correctly and back up it. The data should be indexed for retrieval and be up-to-date.

Network

A typical network includes:

  • physical wires
  • switches
  • routers
  • additional stuff

Virtual networks include multiple subnetworks. It is possible to even create virtual local area networks (VLANs) within the cloud. Also, you can give static and/or dynamic addresses for your networks.

What is cloud infrastructure?

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