CC&G Week 4 Posting - Cloud Stack Theoretical Model

Cloud Stack Theoretical Model

    When working in any IT field, it is important to have an understanding of how networks functions. The OSI and TCP/IP models have been help professionals with that for sometime. Cloud implementation has taken the modern tech world by storm. Cloud offers many benefits for users and organizations, but it also can present unique challenges or issues that would not be present in a "standard" network. That's where the Cloud Stack Theoretical Model Steps in. One important note is that while cloud is in heavy use today, it is still rather new in the scheme of the tech world. Because of that, many of the standards that exist in other areas of IT have not been implemented with cloud yet.

    The Cloud Stack Theoretical Model is depicted with five to seven layers. For the purposes of this post, I will covering the five layers discusses in my course text. The layers in the Cloud Stack Model are based around what configuration a user might have access to. The five layers are Physical, Virtualization, Network/Management Layer, Image/OS Layer, and Application.

1. Physical Layer

    Like traditional models, the physical layer is made up of the hardware, servers, cables and other resources that are physically required. In cloud, the responsibility of this layer varies depending on the cloud type. Private cloud physical layers are maintained by the client, and public clouds are handled by the cloud service provider (CSP). 

2. Virtualization Layer

    This layer is where virtualization takes place. Hypervisors and other tools are used to run hardware virtually on the physical hardware. Like Layer 1, the responsibility varies as CSPs handle Layer 2 in public clouds.

3. Network/Management Layer

    The is the layer that most cloud clients will interact with. Everything a client would need in the cloud in managed in Layer 3, like cost, access controls, etc. AWS and Azure are examples of what a client would interact with. 

4. Image/OS Layer

    This layer is where operating systems and other resources operate for applications and services to function in the Application Layer. Resources like data storage and processing are located in Layer 4.

5. Application Layer

    This layer is similar to the application layer of other models. This is where a user will interact with applications and other resources. 

Source:

West, J. (2023). Comptia Cloud+ Guide to Cloud Computing. Cengage.