This article uses the traditional four-model classification from NIST-style cloud terminology:
Current note: community cloud is less commonly discussed in modern cloud architecture practice. Many real-world designs are described more precisely by their ownership, tenancy, network connectivity, and service model.
Let's Understand it by Example
Imagine you're traveling to work you've got four options to choose from:
Trains or Buses which represent public clouds in this case the cloud services offered by cloud service providers which are available to anyone who wants to use free or paid. Trains or Buses, we have special compartments dedicated to women, especially-abled, etc which represent community clouds which is a mutually shared model between organizations that belong to a particular community such as banks, government organizations, or commercial enterprises. Community members generally share similar issues of privacy, performance, and security. You have the option of using your own car this represents the private cloud, in which cloud infrastructure is exclusively operated by a single organization ( can be managed by the organization or a third party). And finally, you have the option to hail a cab this represents the hybrid cloud, a hybrid cloud is a combination of the functionalities of both public and private clouds.
I hope the above example helps you to understand the deployment models of the cloud.
Public Cloud
The public cloud allows systems and services to be easily accessible to the general public. From the technical point of view, there is the least difference between private clouds and public clouds along with the structural design. Only the security level depends based on the service providers and the type of cloud clients use. When it comes to popular public cloud deployment models, examples are Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2 — the top service provider according to ZDNet), Microsoft Azure, Google App Engine, IBM Cloud, Salesforce Heroku, and others.
Advantages of public cloud :
No CapEx (No initial investment) High Availability Agility Hassle-free infrastructure management High Scalable Place independence Pay as you Go (PAYG) pricing No hardware maintenance No deep technical skills required Disadvantages, such as: Security and compliance depend on the service, configuration, provider controls, and workload requirements; public cloud is not inherently less secure. Less infrastructure-level customization than a privately operated environment in some scenarios The lack of a bespoke service No ownership over the physical infrastructure
Community Cloud
The community cloud allows systems and services to be accessible by a group of organizations. It is a mutually shared model between organizations that belong to a particular community such as banks, government organizations, or commercial enterprises. Community members generally share similar issues of privacy, performance, and security. This type of deployment model of cloud computing is managed and hosted internally or by a third-party vendor. Advantages of Community cloud :
Cost reduction Improved security, privacy, and reliability Ease of data sharing and collaboration Disadvantages, such as: High cost compared to the public deployment model Sharing of fixed storage and bandwidth capacity
Private Cloud
The private cloud allows systems and services to be accessible within an organization. It offers greater control over security. Private clouds are perfect for organizations that have high-security requirements, high management demands, and availability requirements. It is also called an internal or corporate model. Multiple public cloud service providers, including Amazon, IBM, Cisco, Dell, and Red Hat, also provide private solutions. Advantages of Private cloud : Bespoke and flexible development and high scalability, which allows companies to customize their infrastructures in accordance with their requirements High security, More Privacy and reliability, as only authorized persons can access resources Disadvantages, such as: Cost, as it requires considerable expense on hardware, software, and staff training. The initial investment is required (CapEx) Limited agility constrained by server capacity and team skills Very dependent on IT skills & expertise.
Hybrid Cloud
A hybrid cloud combines private infrastructure or private cloud resources with public cloud resources, connected so that workloads or data can interoperate. It does not require all critical workloads to stay private and all non-critical workloads to be public. The right placement depends on security, compliance, latency, resilience, cost, and operational requirements. Advantages of Hybrid Cloud: Flexible Secure Cost-Effective Rich Scalable Disadvantages of Hybrid Cloud are: Complex networking problem Organization's security Compliance
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