Cloud Computing and the Five Types of Clouds You Should Know About

Cloud computing has taken over the Information technology world at a high speed. Cloud computing comes in 3 major forms: private clouds, public clouds and hybrid clouds. Based on the kind of data that one works with, you can compare and use private, public or hybrid clouds with respect to the various levels of management and security needed. Let’s look into what each one is:

1. Private Cloud
A Private Cloud is implemented using a dedicated data center infrastructure of hardware and software that is used privately by an organization. The data center can be on-premises or off-premises. It is not shared with another organization. If the data center is shared, then its called a Virtual Private Cloud.

The Cloud Computing Stack in a Private Cloud is dedicated to the organization. If the data center is shared but not the Cloud Computing Stack, that is a Virtual Private Cloud. When both the Cloud Computing Stack and the data center are shared, then it becomes a Public Cloud. A Private Cloud may participate in a Hybrid Cloud.

2. Public Cloud
A Public Cloud is implemented using a shared data center infrastructure of hardware and software that is shared by multiple organizations. The data center is generally off-premises.

The Cloud Computing Stack in a Public Cloud is also shared with other organizations. The data, however, for each organization is kept separate. If the data center is shared but not the Cloud Computing Stack, that is a Virtual Private Cloud. When neither the Cloud Computing Stack nor the data center is shared, then that is known as a Private Cloud. A Public Cloud may participate in a Hybrid Cloud.

3. Hybrid Cloud
A Hybrid Cloud is any combination of Clouds. It could be a Private Cloud and one or more Public Clouds. Similarly it could be a Virtual Private Cloud and one or more Public Clouds. But this is so much more than just multiple Clouds. There has got to be resources that are shared among the Clouds. An example of this is Cloud Bursting.

4. Community Cloud
A Community Cloud can be a Private Cloud, Virtual Private Cloud, Public Cloud, or Hybrid Cloud. A Community Cloud is specifically designed to meet the defined needs of a community. Such communities involve individuals or organizations that have shared interests. This includes industrial groups, research groups, standard groups, and so on. Therefore, a Community Cloud is not so much a type of Cloud as it is a way to look at how Clouds could be used. The data center that supports the Community Cloud could be one of the member organizations or it could also be in a location away from all member organizations.

5. Personal Cloud
There is a Private Cloud implemented utilizing an organization a data center infrastructure of hardware and software that’s used by an organization. The data center can be on-premises or off-premises. It isn’t shared with another organization. In case the data center is shared, that’s a Virtual Personal Cloud.

The Cloud Computing Stack in a Personal Cloud is dedicated for the organization. In case the data center is shared but not the Cloud Computing Stack, that’s a Virtual Personal Cloud. If the data center and the Cloud Computing Stack are shared, that’s a Public Cloud. A Personal Cloud might participate in a Hybrid Cloud.