Comparing PaaS, IaaS, and SaaS
There are many ways to classify cloud services. In this section, we will cover a common classification. Cloud services can be categorized as follows:
- Iaas
- PaaS
- Saas
As the names indicate, each model provides a service at a different level of the stack.
Each of these solutions has its advantages and disadvantages. It is essential to fully understand these tradeoffs in order to select the best option for your organization:
Figure 4.1 – Cloud service classification
As you can see in the preceding figure, the amount of services managed by yourself or AWS is what determines how the stack will be classified. On one extreme we have an on-premises environment, where all the infrastructure is located in your own data center. On the other extreme, we have a SaaS architecture, where all the infrastructure is located on the cloud and off your premises. In the following sections, we will explore the advantages...
