DDMA Level III
Cloud Data Solutions cheat sheet
Every chapter's key points, formulas and definitions on one page, for the last week before the exam. Each heading links to the chapter that explains it.
Cloud computing concepts
- Cloud computing is the on-demand delivery of computing resources, servers, storage, databases, networking and software, over the internet, paid for as used rather than bought and maintained as physical infrastructure.
- The service models differ in how much the customer manages: IaaS the most (everything from the operating system up), PaaS less (only their own applications on a managed runtime), SaaS the least (just using a ready-made application).
- The deployment models are private (dedicated to one organisation), public (shared and run by a third-party provider), hybrid (private and public combined) and community (shared by a group of organisations with common concerns).
- Five characteristics mark a cloud service: on-demand self-service, broad network access, resource pooling, rapid elasticity and measured, pay-for-use service.
- Virtualization is the core enabling technology of the cloud, alongside service-oriented architecture, grid computing and utility computing; Azure, AWS and GCP are the three dominant public cloud providers.
Key terms
- Software as a Service (SaaS)
- The provider delivers a complete, ready-to-use application, e.g. an email or office suite, the customer manages nothing underneath it.
- Platform as a Service (PaaS)
- The provider manages the underlying infrastructure and runtime, the customer deploys and manages their own applications on top.
- Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
- The provider delivers raw computing resources, virtual machines, storage, networking, the customer manages everything from the operating system up.
- Private cloud
- Infrastructure dedicated to a single organisation, for greater control and security.
- Public cloud
- Infrastructure shared across many customers, owned and run by a third-party provider.
- Hybrid cloud
- Combines private and public cloud, workloads can move between them as needed.
- Community cloud
- Shared infrastructure serving a specific group of organisations with common concerns, e.g. a shared regulatory requirement.
- Virtualization
- Running multiple isolated virtual machines on one physical machine, the core enabling technology of the cloud.
- Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA)
- Structures software as a collection of independent, interoperable services.
- Grid computing
- Pools computing resources across multiple locations to work on a shared task.
- Utility computing
- Delivers computing resources as a metered service, the same pay-as-you-go model electricity or water uses.
The rest of the sheet covers
- Database solutions on Azure
- Cloud database security and privacy
- Troubleshooting Azure databases
- Exam technique and revision
- Glossary