The cloud architecture defines how the technologies are adapted when creating the clouds. Those clouds are IT environments in which resources to be deployed are distributed and pooled and generalised in the network. The cloud architecture also defines how the functions and components required to create a cloud are linked together to form an online platform.
What is a cloud architecture?
The cloud architecture consists of components as well as various sub-components, which are Cloud are located. The NIST SP 500-292 architecture focuses on the entities. These are the cloud user, the provider and the auditor. Without the entities, there is no technology.
The cloud architecture can be divided into a taxonomy of four levels. These are the activity, the role, the component and the sub-component. When looking at the architecture, it must be explained who executes something and with which tools.
Activities
- The activities in a cloud architecture define the accesses to PaaS, SaaS and IaaS and the respective use. They also include audit, orchestration and security.
- Orchestration is the coordinated management in the cloud environment to achieve the business objectives, which is the Cloud computing used.
- The audit includes the examination of the performance, security and compliance of the cloud provider. Here, the audits are carried out by external providers.
- Security must always be examined and ranges from openness to integrity to disposability.
- Confidentiality prevents sensitive data from being exposed. It must be guaranteed that only authorised users have access to the data.
- Integrity establishes confidence that the system and data have not been altered, that the system and data can be trusted. Availability ensures that the systems and data can be used and accessed when needed.
- The components of the architecture are selected with a defined goal in mind. In the cloud, it must first be defined whether a private cloud, a public cloud or a combination of both is the optimal choice for the respective company.
