NIST reference architecture of Cloud Computing

                          Cloud Consumer:

The cloud consumer is the ultimate stakeholder that the cloud computing service is designed to support. Cloud consumer represents an individual or organization that has a business relationship and the cloud consumer receives a service catalog from the cloud provider, requests the appropriate service, sets up a service contract with the cloud provider and uses the service. Is. The cloud subscriber may be billed for the provisioned services and payment needs to be arranged accordingly. Depending on the services requested, activities and usage scenarios may differ among cloud consumers.

                              Cloud Provider:

A cloud provider may be an individual, an organization, or an entity responsible for providing a service to cloud consumers. The cloud provider builds the requested software platform infrastructure services, manages the technology infrastructure required to provide the services, provisions the services at the service level, and protects the security and privacy of the services. Major Activities, Cloud providers perform various functions for the provision of different service models. The cloud provider for SaaS deploys, configures, maintains, and updates the operation of software applications on the cloud infrastructure so that services can be provisioned at the service levels required by cloud consumers. The provider of SaaS assumes most of the responsibilities in managing and controlling the applications and infrastructure, while cloud consumers have limited administrative control of the applications. For PaaS, the cloud provider manages the cloud infrastructure for the platform and provisions the tools and execution resources for application development and deployment to platform consumers. Consumers have control over applications and possibly hosting environment settings but cannot access the underlying infrastructure on the platform, including networks, servers, operating systems, or storage. For LaaS, the cloud provider provisions the physical processing, storage, networking, and other core computing resources, as well as manages the hosting environment and cloud infrastructure for JaaS consumers. Cloud consumers deploy and run applications, have greater control over, but do not manage or control, the hosting environment and operating system.

                           Cloud Auditor:

A cloud auditor is a party that can independently evaluate cloud services, information system operations, performance, and security of a cloud computing implementation. The cloud auditor may evaluate the services provided by the cloud provider for security controls, privacy impact, performance, and compliance with the parameters of the service contract agreement. Security controls are the management, operational, and technical safeguards or safeguards employed within an organizational information system to protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the system and its information. For security auditing, a cloud auditor may assess security controls in an information system to determine whether the controls are properly implemented, operated as intended and in relation to the security requirements for the system. produce results. Security auditing should include verification of compliance with regulation and security policy.

                          Cloud Broker:

The NIST reference architecture defines a cloud broker as an entity that manages the use, performance, and delivery of cloud services and negotiates relationships between cloud providers and cloud consumers. As cloud computing evolves, the integration of cloud services may become too complex for cloud consumers to manage. In such cases, the cloud consumer can request cloud services from the cloud broker instead of contacting the cloud provider directly. Cloud brokers provide a single point of entry for managing multiple cloud services. The key defining feature that differentiates a cloud broker from a cloud service provider is the ability to provide a single consistent interface to many different providers, whether that interface is for business or technical purposes. In general, cloud brokers provide services in three categories-

1. Intermediation The cloud broker provides a benefit by improving some specific capability and providing value-added services to cloud consumers. Suchar can manage access to cloud services, identity management, performance reporting, enhanced security and more.

2. Aggregation-Cloud broker combines and integrates multiple services into one or more new services. The broker provides data and service integration and ensures secure data movement between cloud consumers.

3. Arbitrage  Arbitrage is similar to service aggregation except that the services to be aggregated are not fixed. Service intermediation means that the broker has the facility to choose services from multiple service providers.

 One Cloud broker services can provide-

1. Trade and Relationship Support Services (Trade Intermediation)

2. Technical assistance services (aggregation, arbitration and technical mediation), with a significant focus on handling interoperability cases between multiple providers.

                            Cloud Carrier:

A cloud carrier acts as an intermediary that provides connectivity and transport of cloud services between cloud consumers and cloud providers. Cloud carriers provide consumers with access through networks, telecommunications, and other access devices. For example, cloud consumers can receive cloud services through network express devices, such as computers, laptops, mobile phones, mobile Internet devices (MIDs), etc. Delivery of cloud services is normally provided by networks and communications carriers or transport agents, where a transport agent refers to a commercial organization that provides physical transportation of storage media such as high-capacity hard drives. Note that the cloud provider will establish a tiered service (SLA) with the cloud carrier to provide services consistent with the two outgoing SLAs for cloud consumers and the cloud provider.

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