Summary
This module presented several key concepts, including:
The cloud software stack enables the provisioning, managing, monitoring, and metering of resources allocated in a cloud service provider's infrastructure.
Cloud middleware is the overarching platform that coordinates all the different cloud services and allows them to be offered as services to users.
Cloud service providers offer many different types of services that can be combined to create rich end-to-end solutions.
Provisioning in the cloud refers to the creation of different resources on top of the provider's physical infrastructure. A provisioning system deals with identity, cost management, and scheduling.
Cloud resources can be organized in various ways to achieve specific outcomes. CSPs offer different mechanisms for organizing the resources that you deploy for purposes of billing, access control, and lifetime management.
Metering resource usage is an important but challenging task for cloud service providers. It requires tracking network utilization, storage operations, disk and compute capacity, and more for millions of concurrent users.