AiVibeInfrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
Infrastructure as a service (IaaS) is a cloud service model that provides virtualised compute, storage and networking on demand, with the customer managing operating systems and applications and the provider managing the physical infrastructure.
Infrastructure as a service (IaaS) is the cloud service model in which a provider delivers virtualised compute, storage and networking on demand. The customer provisions virtual machines, disks and virtual networks through a console or API and controls the operating system, middleware and applications, while the provider operates the physical data centres, hardware and virtualisation layer. NIST SP 800-145 defines IaaS as one of three service models, alongside PaaS and SaaS.
Organisations use IaaS to move existing workloads out of their own data centres, to add capacity quickly for testing or seasonal peaks and to run software that needs full operating-system control. Examples include Amazon EC2, Azure Virtual Machines and Google Compute Engine. Lift-and-shift migrations of legacy applications usually land on IaaS first because little code needs to change.
Because the customer manages the guest operating system, patching, hardening, backup and identity configuration remain customer responsibilities under the shared responsibility model. Costs depend on instance size, storage, data transfer and purchasing model, such as on-demand, reserved or spot capacity, so rightsizing and switching off idle resources are routine tasks.
Key points
- One of the three service models in the NIST SP 800-145 definition of cloud computing
- The customer controls the operating system, middleware, data and applications
- Examples include Amazon EC2, Azure Virtual Machines and Google Compute Engine
- Often the first landing point for lift-and-shift migrations of legacy workloads
Where AiVibe comes in
AiVibe Software Services delivers cloud solutions on AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud or on-premise, together with cloud security, legacy modernisation, data analytics and AI and machine learning services.
Related terms
- Platform as a Service (PaaS)Cloud & AI Infrastructure
- Software as a Service (SaaS)Cloud & AI Infrastructure
- Virtual Machine (VM)Cloud & AI Infrastructure
- Shared Responsibility ModelCloud & AI Infrastructure
- FinOps (Cloud Financial Operations)Cloud & AI Infrastructure
- Virtual Private Cloud (VPC)Cloud & AI Infrastructure