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Cloud Benefits: Understanding Terms
May 18, 2015
For carriers just getting started with cloud computing, terms like “lift and shift,” “cloud native” and “cloud bursting” may be unfamiliar. Below, we define some common terms.
- Lift and shift is the practice of seamlessly taking a “real” server and transferring it over to the cloud. The application remains the same, while the infrastructure becomes cloud-based. The lifting is an analogy for lifting the server (the “box”) and shifting it to the cloud.
- Cloud native.A native cloud application (NCA) is a software application that is specifically built for cloud computing and virtualization environments. Native cloud applications are designed, developed and deployed in such a way that they reap the maximum functionality and services of a cloud computing and virtualization infrastructure.
- Self-service provisioning allows end users to set up and use computing infrastructure, applications and services in a cloud computing environment without the direct intervention of an IT organization or a service provider.
- Reprovisioning is a term used to demonstrate the extreme agility of cloud computing—the ability to cope with large “bursts” of a need for computing power by (re)provisioning a resource such as a CPU, for example.
- Cloud provisioning refers to the processes for the deployment and integration of cloud computing services within an enterprise IT infrastructure. This is a broad term that incorporates the policies, procedures and objectives of an enterprise in sourcing cloud services and solutions from a cloud service provider.
- Cloud bursting refers to the solution a cloud would provide whenever there is a need to cope with large demand of power. If the application runs in a private cloud or data center, it can burst into a public cloud when the demand for computing capacity spikes. Cloud bursting provides a seamless, easy and rapid way to deal with unexpected demand of any sort.