Top 14 Example (s) for IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service)

In this blog, we are going to learn about the abilities of Iaas and what are the top example(s) for IaaS in the world of cloud computing.

Getting started with cloud computing can be quite confusing, especially when you’re not sure what the different acronyms stand for.

Many people get stuck trying to understand IaaS and PaaS, so we’ve decided to put together this comprehensive guide that gives some of the top examples of IaaS as well as more information about each one.

What is IaaS?

IaaS stands for Infrastructure as a Service. It is Intelligent, scalable, and flexible; IaaS delivers cloud computing infrastructure, including servers, networks, operating systems, and storage, through virtualization technology.

The flexibility and scalability of IaaS allow you to create and deploy applications in the cloud by delivering only what you need while paying only for what you use (like electricity).

Related Article: IaaS, PaaS, SaaS in Cloud Computing: Complete Guide

Top 14 Example(s) of Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)

Here are 10 of the best example(s) of IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) technologies you can explore right now below:

Related Article: Top 17 Best Cloud Migration Tools

1) Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud

AWS is a very popular example of an IaaS offering. From 2009 to 2011, AWS was one of Amazon’s fastest-growing businesses and it’s not difficult to see why.

Most startups won’t need all AWS has to offer but for those that do, it makes a lot of sense, EC2  (Elastic Compute Cloud) gives you access to virtual servers on demand.

These servers can be customized as much or as little as you want to have root access so you can install whatever software you like.

The best part? You only pay for what you use, which means your costs are only determined by how much computing power your application requires at any given time.

AWS EC2 is the best example of IaaS because it’s really easy to get started with, reliable, and scalable enough for even some of today’s largest applications.

It’s also fairly inexpensive: standard instances cost between $0.10-$0.40 per hour depending on size/type/region.

Related Article: How to Setup AWS Account?

2) Microsoft Azure

Launched in 2010, Microsoft Azure is a cloud platform developed by Microsoft that provides services to help developers build, deploy, and manage applications through a global network of Microsoft-managed datacenters.

It includes both PaaS and IaaS layers. One unique feature of Azure is that it supports serverless computing for application workloads by running containers based on Docker and its functions-as-a-service (FaaS) framework.

Another is its integration with other Microsoft services such as Office 365 and Dynamics CRM Online.

The company has also released many open source technologies, including PowerShell, .NET Core, TypeScript, Python Tools for Visual Studio (PTVS), Node.js Tools for Visual Studio (NTVS), SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS), Visual Studio Code, Git for Windows, ChakraCore and Apache Cordova.

Related Article: IaaS versus PaaS: What are the Differences?

3) Rackspace Hosting

Rackspace is a service provider for business, government, and non-profit customers.

It specializes in creating cloud hosting solutions based on open source technology such as OpenStack, Fedora Cloud Compute, Red Hat Enterprise Linux OpenStack Platform, and several other software platforms.

The company was founded in 1998 by Graham Weston and Fan Nguyn. In February 2011, it was acquired by Apollo Global Management (NYSE: APO) for USD 4.3 billion.

Rackspace’s headquarters are located in Windcrest, Texas near San Antonio with additional offices throughout North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Latin America.

4) vCloud Hybrid Service by VMware

VMware’s vCloud Hybrid Service (vCHS) allows users to provide both private and public cloud instances from a single management console.

vCHS integrates VMware’s internal VMware vSphere-based platform with multiple hosted public clouds, including Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform.

Users can choose to deploy traditional on-premises applications using VMware software or fully migrate existing systems to cloud-based infrastructure.

In addition, vCHS offers disaster recovery services that replicate workloads to remote data centers to protect against natural disasters and other threats.

In 2016, Gartner rated vCHS as a Leader in its Magic Quadrant for Disaster Recovery as a Service. Gartner also ranked vCHS as a Strong Performer in its 2017 Magic Quadrant for Public Cloud Infrastructure Managed Hosting.

5) SoftLayer

SoftLayer Technologies, LLC, is an IBM company. SoftLayer offers Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) through data centers and offices in Europe, Asia Pacific (Tokyo), and North America.

Customers deploy virtual servers running Linux, Microsoft Windows Server and VMware to run their business-critical applications from public, private and hybrid clouds.

In July 2013, IBM announced it would acquire SoftLayer for $2 billion. The acquisition was completed on August 20, 2013. In October 2014, IBM rebranded its cloud computing services to SoftLayer.

Softlayer currently has 12 data center locations: Dallas, Seattle, San Jose, Washington D.C., Amsterdam, Frankfurt, London, Hong Kong SAR China (Rackspace), Singapore (Rackspace), and Sydney Australia (Rackspace), Tokyo Japan, and Toronto Canada.

6) OpenStack by Red Hat

OpenStack is an open-source cloud operating system for managing large groups of virtual machines and controlling networks.

It offers an extensible architecture, intuitive APIs, and command-line tools for deployment, configuration, and management.

It supports multiple hypervisors including KVM, XenServer, Hyper-V, VMware vSphere (ESXi), and Oracle VM Server (OVM).

Red Hat’s OpenStack platform includes Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) as its base operating system.

RHEL is a stable and secure enterprise-class operating system that has been hardened over many years to resist attacks.

This makes it ideal for running in production environments where security must be taken seriously.

In addition to RHEL, there are also community versions of OpenStack that use Ubuntu or CentOS instead of RHEL as their base OS. These are known as Rocky and Icehouse respectively.

7) HP Cloud Services

HP Cloud Services is a collection of service offerings from HP that enable users to rent IT infrastructure, software, and applications, with varying degrees of control and customization.

These services include Hybrid IT, Software as a Service (SaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), Big Data-as-Service (BDaaS), Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), and Managed Services.

The goal of these services is to provide customers with an alternative to buying hardware or software licenses outright. Instead, customers can pay for only what they use on a subscription basis.

HP Cloud Services was announced in 2012 as part of HP’s initiative to transition into a cloud computing company.

The initiative includes both public and private cloud solutions based on HP’s technology portfolio including servers, storage, networking equipment, and enterprise software such as OpenView and Autonomy products.

8) CloudStack

CloudStack is an open-source cloud computing software for deploying and managing private and hybrid clouds.

CloudStack deploys infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) and platform-as-a-service (PaaS) systems across multiple public and private data centers, enabling enterprise companies to offer cloud services to multiple business units, branch offices, and external customers through a single or multi-datacenter configuration.

It supports Amazon Web Services APIs as well as OpenStack APIs. It has been downloaded over 3 million times since its inception in 2010.

9) Telstra SmartCloud

Telstra, one of Australia’s largest telecommunications companies, operates its cloud service that offers infrastructure as a service (IaaS) and platform as a service (PaaS).

Telstra SmartCloud includes a development environment for DevOps teams. It can be accessed via a command-line interface or its Web console.

The company also offers carrier-grade storage and disaster recovery capabilities as part of its cloud computing solution. Telstra has been recognized as a leader in delivering hybrid cloud solutions.

In 2014, Gartner named it a Cool Vendor in Cloud Infrastructure and Services due to its innovative use of private clouds.

10) Oracle Public Cloud Computing

Oracle’s Public Cloud Computing product provides an open and extensible cloud platform for deploying, managing, and running enterprise applications.

This is one of Oracle’s three types of cloud computing products. The others are SaaS (software as a service) and PaaS (platform as a service).

Oracle Public Cloud supports Java EE. It includes Oracle Enterprise Manager, which helps IT managers monitor and manage their cloud-based systems.

It also includes Elastic Cloud Compute (EC2), which enables users to provision virtual machines on demand.

Finally, it includes Elastic Block Store (EBS), which lets users create persistent storage volumes that can be attached to EC2 instances.

11) Cloud Server from IBM Bluemix

IBM Bluemix is a platform as a service that makes it easy to develop, deploy, and manage enterprise cloud applications.

With Bluemix you get native integration with industry-leading technologies such as MongoDB and Node.js, a comprehensive security framework, automation capabilities, and hybrid access to on-premises resources through VPN connectivity or IBM Cloud Private for Data.

12) IBM public cloud services

Companies seeking a private cloud or hybrid cloud architecture may use IBM public cloud services as a starting point.

Cloud services include infrastructure as a service (IaaS), platform as a service (PaaS), and software as a service (SaaS), Companies can also use public clouds to ensure redundancy in data centers.

For example, if one data center goes down for maintenance, companies with backup services running on IBM public cloud are not affected.

13) VPS Hosting by TeraGrid

Virtual private server (VPS) hosting allows you to rent dedicated servers with their operating system, processor, and memory.

VPS hosting provides some added security benefits over shared web hosting; although both allow users to create a web presence.

Shared web hosts divide up a single physical server among several users, whereas VPS services place each user on his or her virtual server.

Some popular example(s) of VPS hosting include Amazon Web Services (AWS), Rackspace, and Linode.

14) DigitalOcean

DigitalOcean was founded in 2011 and is a popular Virtual Private Servers (VPS) provider.

They claim that their systems are designed to handle any workload, so their servers scale accordingly, They provide an intuitive control panel with an easy-to-use interface for their users.

Their plans start at $5 per month for up to 512MB RAM, 1 core CPU, 20GB SSD storage, 1TB bandwidth, and a 30-day money-back guarantee.

In addition, there’s no setup fee or hidden costs. You can also try out DigitalOcean free for one month.

If you’re new to cloud hosting, it’s worth taking advantage of their free tutorials on how to set up WordPress or Joomla!.

Conclusion

To fully understand what IaaS is, it’s important to explore some of its top offerings.

You will learn in greater detail how these popular options differ and how they stack up against one another.

All the example(s) given above are the most popular or most valuable IaaS platforms for their users.

We hope these resources will be a helpful guide if you’re ready to begin your cloud computing journey.

The very top-level example(s) of IaaS include Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Compute Engine (GCE), Microsoft Azure, and VMware vCloud.

The following are the additional IaaS cloud computing providers, followed by additional example(s) of IaaS providers that include Rackspace, DigitalOcean, and Linode, along with Cisco Metacloud and IBM SmartCloud Enterprise (SoftLayer).