1.4.1. Public Cloud

💡 First Principle: Public cloud involves shared, on-demand computing resources owned and managed by a third-party provider over the internet, offering high scalability and cost-effectiveness.

Public cloud is the most common and popular deployment model. In this model, cloud services are delivered over the public internet and are available to anyone who wants to purchase them. The cloud provider (like AWS) owns and operates all the hardware, software, and other supporting infrastructure.

Key Characteristics of Public Cloud:

• Shared Infrastructure: Resources are shared among many different users (tenants).
• Managed by Provider: The cloud provider is responsible for managing and maintaining the underlying infrastructure.
• On-demand & Pay-as-you-go: Users access services as needed and pay only for what they consume.
• High Scalability & Elasticity: Easy to scale resources up or down rapidly.
• Cost-effective: No upfront capital expenditure, leverages economies of scale.
• Examples: Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform (GCP).

Scenario: A startup wants to launch a new web application and expects rapid growth. They have limited budget for upfront IT infrastructure.

Reflection Question: How does the public cloud model, with its shared infrastructure, on-demand access, and pay-as-you-go pricing, fundamentally enable businesses to achieve high scalability and cost-effectiveness without large upfront investments?