21CS3287R

21CS3287R
CLOUD SECURITY

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Chapter 3-SECURITY MANAGEMENT IN THE CLOUD
Session 6

IMPORTANCE in PAAS, IAAS AND SAAS

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AIM:
The main aim of this topic is to familiarise students with the basic concept of
Importance in PaaS, IaaS and SaaS. At the end of this session, they should be able to
know the Importance of PaaS, IaaS and SaaS.

Session description:

PaaS, IaaS, and SaaS are three fundamental models in cloud Security offering users
different service levels and capabilities. Each model plays a unique role and holds its
importance in cloud security. Here’s I will give brief overview of the significance of
PaaS, IaaS, and SaaS:

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Platform as a Service (PaaS)
Platform as a Service (PaaS) provides a runtime environment. It allows programmers
to easily create, test, run, and deploy web applications. We can purchase these
applications from a cloud service provider on a pay-as-per use basis and access them
using the Internet connection. In PaaS, back end scalability is managed by the cloud
service provider, so end- users do not need to worry about managing the infrastructure.
PaaS includes infrastructure (servers, storage, and networking) and platform
(middleware, development tools, database management systems, business intelligence,
and more) to support the web application life cycle.

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Key activities of PaaS include

Application development: PaaS offers a range of development tools and frameworks to

create web and mobile applications.

Deployment and scaling: PaaS platforms handle the deployment and scaling of
applications automatically, providing an efficient and scalable infrastructure.

Database management: PaaS often includes managed database services, allowing

developers to store and retrieve data easily.

Collaboration: PaaS facilitates collaboration among development teams by providing

shared development environments and version control systems.
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Examples of PaaS providers

Google App Engine: A fully managed serverless platform for developing and hosting web
applications.

Microsoft Azure App Service: A PaaS offering that enables developers to build and
deploy web, mobile, and API applications

Heroku: A cloud platform that allows developers to build, deploy, and manage
applications easily.

Salesforce App Cloud: A platform that provides tools for building and deploying
enterprise cloud applications.
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Examples of PaaS providers

IBM Cloud Foundry: An open-source PaaS that allows developers to deploy and scale
applications across multiple cloud providers.

Oracle Cloud Platform: It provides a set of services for developing, deploying, and
managing applications in the cloud. It includes Oracle Cloud Application Container
Service and Oracle Cloud Developer Services, offering tools for building, testing, and
deploying applications.

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PaaS providers provide the Programming languages, Application frameworks, Databases,
and Other tools

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Programming languages
PaaS providers provide various programming languages for the developers to develop
the applications. Some popular programming languages provided by PaaS providers are
Java, PHP, Ruby, Perl, and Go.
Application frameworks
PaaS providers provide application frameworks to easily understand the application
development. Some popular application frameworks provided by PaaS providers are
Node.js, Drupal, Joomla, WordPress, Spring, Play, Rack, and Zend.
Databases
PaaS providers provide various databases such as ClearDB, PostgreSQL, MongoDB,
and Redis to communicate with the applications.
Other tools
PaaS providers provide various other tools that are required to develop, test, and deploy
the applications.

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Advantages of Paas

 Simplified Development

 Lower risk

 Prebuilt business functionality

 Instant community

 Scalability

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Disadvantages of PaaS

a) Vendor lock-in

One has to write the applications according to the platform provided by the PaaS
vendor, so the migration of an application to another PaaS vendor would be a problem.

b)Integration with the rest of the systems applications

It may happen that some applications are local, and some are in the cloud. So there will
be chances of increased complexity when we want to use data which in the cloud with
the local data.

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Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)

Iaas is also known as Hardware as a Service (HaaS). It is one of the layers of the
cloud computing platform. It allows customers to outsource their IT infrastructures such
as servers, networking, processing, storage, virtual machines, and other resources.
Customers access these resources on the Internet using a pay-as-per use model.

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Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS):

IaaS offers virtualised computing resources over the internet, including virtual
machines, storage, and networking capabilities. It provides users with the flexibility to
create and manage their own virtualised infrastructure without the need to invest in
physical hardware.

The significance of IaaS lies in its scalability, cost-efficiency, and resource management
capabilities. Users can rapidly provision and scale resources based on their
requirements, paying only for their consumed resources. IaaS enables businesses to
avoid upfront infrastructure costs, easily handle spikes in demand, and have greater
control over their infrastructure configuration.
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Key activities of IaaS

Virtual machine management: IaaS allows users to create, manage,

and control virtual machines as needed, providing flexibility and
scalability.

Storage and backup: IaaS provides scalable storage solutions, allowing

users to store and retrieve data efficiently. It may also include backup
and disaster recovery options.

Network management: IaaS offers networking capabilities, such as load

balancing, firewalls, and virtual private networks (VPNs).
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Key activities of IaaS

Server management: Users have control over the operating systems,

applications, and configurations of virtual machines.

Billing and Cost Management: IaaS services are typically billed on a

pay-as-you-go basis, allowing users to pay only for the resources they
use. Some providers offer flexible pricing models and reserved instances
for cost optimization.

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Examples of IaaS providers

Amazon Web Services (AWS): A comprehensive cloud platform offering a

wide range of computing, storage, and networking services.

Microsoft Azure: A cloud computing platform that provides virtual

machines, storage, and networking capabilities.

Google Cloud Platform: A suite of cloud computing services, including

virtual machines, storage, and data analytics.

Digital Ocean: A cloud infrastructure provider that offers scalable virtual

machines and storage options.

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Examples of IaaS providers

Oracle Cloud Infrastructure: A cloud platform that provides

infrastructure services such as computing, storage, and networking.

VMware Cloud on AWS: Combines the capabilities of VMware's Software-

Defined Data Center (SDDC) with AWS's cloud infrastructure.

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Advantages of IaaS

 Shared infrastructure

 Web access to the resources

 Pay-as-per use model

 Focus on the core business

 On-demand Scalability

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Disadvantages of IaaS

Security

Security is one of the biggest issues in IaaS. Most of the IaaS providers are not able to
provide 100% security.

Maintenance & Upgrade

Although IaaS service providers maintain the software, but they do not upgrade the
software for some organizations.
Interoperability issues
It is difficult to migrate VM from one IaaS provider to the other, so the customers might
face problem related to vendor lock-in.
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Software as a Service (SaaS)

SaaS is also known as "On-Demand Software". It is a software distribution model in

which services are hosted by a cloud service provider. These services are available to
end-users over the internet so, the end-users do not need to install any software on their
devices to access these services.

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Software as a Service (SaaS)

SaaS delivers software applications over the internet on a subscription basis,

eliminating the need for users to install, maintain, and update the software locally. SaaS
applications are centrally hosted and managed by the service provider.

The importance of SaaS lies in its accessibility, ease of use, and cost-effectiveness.
Using various devices, users can access SaaS applications from anywhere with an
internet connection. SaaS eliminates the need for software installation and maintenance,
reducing upfront costs and IT overhead. It also ensures that users always have access to
the latest version of the software, as the provider applies updates and patches centrally.

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Key activities of SaaS

Application access: SaaS allows users to access and use software

applications hosted in the cloud from any device with an internet
connection.

Application management: The provider handles application

maintenance, updates, and security, relieving users of the responsibility
for software management.

User management: SaaS platforms typically include user authentication,

access control, and user administration features.

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Key activities of SaaS

Data storage and retrieval: SaaS providers manage the storage and
retrieval of user data, often offering data backup and recovery options

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Examples of SaaS Providers

Salesforce: A cloud-based CRM (Customer Relationship Management)

platform that helps businesses manage customer interactions and sales
processes.

Google Workspace (formerly G Suite): A suite of productivity and

collaboration tools, including Gmail, Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, and
more.

Microsoft Office 365: A suite of productivity applications, including

Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook, delivered as a cloud-based service.
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Examples of SaaS Providers

Dropbox: A cloud storage and file synchronisation service that allows

users to store and share files.

Slack: A team collaboration and communication platform that provides

channels, messaging, and integrations with other tools.

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Advantages of SaaS

Less hardware required

The software is hosted remotely, so organizations do not need to invest in additional

hardware.
Low maintenance required for SaaS
Software as a service removes the need for installation, set-up, and daily maintenance for
the organizations. The initial set-up cost for SaaS is typically less than the enterprise
software.

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Advantages of SaaS

SaaS is easy to buy

SaaS pricing is based on a monthly fee or annual fee subscription, so it allows

organizations to access business functionality at a low cost, which is less than licensed
applications.

One to many

SaaS services are offered as a one-to-many model means a single instance of the
application is shared by multiple users.

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Disadvantages of SaaS

Security
Actually, data is stored in the cloud, so security may be an issue for some users. However,
cloud computing is not more secure than in-house deployment.
Latency issue
Since data and applications are stored in the cloud at a variable distance from the end-user,
there is a possibility that there may be greater latency when interacting with the application
compared to local deployment. Therefore, the SaaS model is not suitable for applications
whose demand response time is in milliseconds
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Disadvantages of SaaS

Total Dependency on Internet

Without an internet connection, most SaaS applications are not usable.
Switching between SaaS vendors is difficult
Switching SaaS vendors involves the difficult and slow task of transferring the very large
data files over the internet and then converting and importing them into another SaaS also.

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