Infrastructure as a service (IaaS) is a cloud computing model where users pay for specific resources used, reducing costs and increasing productivity. IaaS allows for dynamic scaling of hardware as a service, providing better performance than traditional hosting. The concept dates back to the 1960s, with the first cloud computing infrastructure offered for lease in 2006.
Infrastructure as a service (IaaS) typically refers to cloud computing, where a business or individual obtains hardware services on a somewhat dynamic basis. Cloud computing differs from traditional hosting in that the service provider not only owns, manages, and maintains all the hardware, but the user pays by usage rather than by unit. With IaaS, you can typically pay for the infrastructure you need only as you use it. By hosting data and associated services in the cloud, businesses can reduce costs and potentially increase productivity.
In a traditional hosting environment, a server or part of it is typically rented out on a monthly or yearly basis. This provides a company or individual with access to the resources available for the server, virtual machine or shared host. Cloud computing provides the same type of service, but usually based on usage. Instead of paying for a server, a user pays for specific resources that are used. Bandwidth, storage, and other resources are typically billed in utility computing terms, allowing the user to easily scale based on specific requirements at any given time.
The actual infrastructures that make up most cloud computing services can be very complex. The many virtual machines that provide the required resources typically have characteristics associated with tier three and four data centers, including reliability, uptime, and available throughput. Because an individual client’s requirements can be spread across the cloud and scaled up or down as needed, it’s typically easier to achieve better performance than is available through traditional hosting. With a regular dedicated server, upgrading memory, storage, or processing power typically takes time and money, but these are all factors that can be dynamically adjusted with IaaS.
The original concept of cloud computing dates back to the 1960s, although much of the groundwork for current systems was first laid in the late 1990s. Some companies have started moving towards an IaaS model to increase efficiency. In traditional hosting, a business will often keep substantially more resources than are needed for day-to-day use in case traffic increases. The initial development of IaaS was partially in response to this inefficiency, as the model allows for dynamic scaling of hardware as a service. The first cloud computing infrastructure was offered for lease around 2006, and a variety of different companies soon moved into the field.
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