How to Speed Up Development with Cloud Technologies
From the point of view of a software-development company, the computing infrastructure needed for developing and supporting software can be of two types:
Servers owned by the development company
The application developer physically hosts the server equipment directly in their office or data center, maintains it themselves, and ensures data security.
This approach has become less popular over the years. Developers prefer using a provider that offers computing power on its own equipment on a paid basis.
Advantages:
- Full physical control over the servers
- High data security and confidentiality
Disadvantages:
- Financial costs for server hardware
- Financial costs for maintenance (specialists, equipment)
- Need for experience and expertise to support data centers
Servers managed by another organization
The application developer chooses a provider from whom they remotely rent computing resources. Today, this is the most optimal option for most companies.
Advantages:
- No need for own equipment
- The amount of computing resources used is flexibly adjustable
- No need for experience or expertise in network communications
Disadvantages:
- The provider is responsible for data security and confidentiality
- No physical control over the servers
What Are Cloud Technologies? Copy link
Cloud technologies are technical solutions that provide users with computing power through a flexibly configurable online service.
The cloud belongs to the provider of cloud resources, who owns the physical servers.
Although clouds from different providers have their own unique features, they generally include the following basic components:
- servers
- storage
- databases
- network infrastructure
- software
- testing and analytics tools
Physical and Logical Layers Copy link
The main feature of the cloud is that, unlike the traditional server-rental model, it separates the physical and logical layers.
This means that data processing and network interactions exist on top of the physical base—the server machines located in data centers (DCs).
This is why cloud allows the flexible configuration of the resources a specific application requires.
This architecture can be represented hierarchically:
- Logical layer: operating systems, virtualization systems, containers, server applications, application-level network protocols, business logic, client applications
- Physical layer: server machines, motherboards, ASIC controllers, low-level network protocols
Cloud Models Copy link
There are several types of clouds that differ in the degree of abstraction of the software (logical) level.
IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) Copy link
Only computing power is provided, with just the operating system and sometimes additional software.
Examples:
- Amazon Web Services
- Microsoft Azure
- Google Cloud
- Hostman Cloud Servers
PaaS (Platform as a Service) Copy link
Along with computing power, a set of tools for development and administration is provided.
Examples:
- Red Hat OpenShift
- AWS Elastic Beanstalk
- Google App Engine
- Hostman App Platform
SaaS (Software as a Service) Copy link
A client application with ready-to-use functionality that does not require specialized knowledge.
Examples:
- Google Drive
- Salesforce
- Dropbox
Types of Clouds Copy link
Clouds differ in their degree of isolation, from fully public to fully private. There are also mixed implementations.
Public Copy link
Computing resources are located in the provider’s data center. All cloud provider resources are distributed among users depending on the chosen pricing plans.
Private Copy link
The cloud is completely isolated (sometimes even disconnected from the global Internet) and is physically located on the user's server equipment.
There are also cases when the cloud provider offers isolated server resources for a specific client, while other users use the public part of the cloud.
Hybrid Copy link
A combination of a private cloud and a public one. Usually, business logic containing sensitive data is placed in the private cloud, while “peripheral” computing is performed in the provider’s public cloud.
Advantages of Cloud Technologies Copy link
Simplified Development Copy link
Using any of the existing cloud models clearly simplifies the development process.
The closer a chosen model is to SaaS, the easier it is to interact with the cloud, but the more standardized and typical the solution becomes.
The closer a chosen model is to IaaS, the more precisely the cloud can be configured, but the more complex it becomes to maintain.
Therefore, the cloud model is selected individually for every case. A standardized solution may not fit someone if the product being developed requires a more unique technical implementation.
For example, using cloud databases (DBaaS) provided by Hostman removes many responsibilities from the developer regarding managing their own storage.
While deploying a database cluster can be done fairly quickly and easily, using it properly “in the long run” requires certain expertise.
Thus, to stay focused on development, it makes sense to entrust this function to an experienced provider with established methodologies, expertise, and the necessary technical solutions.
Cost Optimization Copy link
In the cloud, user expenses match the amount of resources used in their work tasks.
This payment model, "pay-as-you-go", is fundamental to cloud computing: you pay only for the resources you use.
If, at some point, more resources are needed, they are allocated quickly and increase costs. Conversely, extra resources can be “returned” to the provider, reducing expenses.
In other words, the user’s financial expenses correlate with the number of resources consumed. Allocation and release of resources happen instantly.
Additionally, delegating cloud-infrastructure management to the provider eliminates the developer’s costs associated with maintaining their own data center:
- Hiring specialists and administrators
- Purchasing server equipment
- Renting premises
Faster Deployment Copy link
Instant access to cloud resources and the ability to configure them flexibly significantly reduces the time:
- From the start of MVP development of a new product to its deployment in a production environment
- From the start of developing new features to adding them to the finished product
For example, the development process of a new service might look like this:
- Managers formalize requirements for the future product.
- Developers determine the technology stack.
- The development company rents the necessary computing resources from a cloud provider, including cloud servers, Kubernetes clusters, and object storage.
- Developers write code, which is automatically deployed in the provider’s cloud environment.
- The new product is tested, and user feedback is collected.
- Based on the collected data, managers decide whether further support is justified. If the product does not meet expectations, the allocated resources are returned to the provider. If successful, the computing resources can be expanded.
In some cases, a developer may use multiple clouds from completely different providers, forming what is called a multi-cloud.
1. Cloud Server Copy link
Cloud servers differ from dedicated servers in that the “physical” configuration is adjusted within a certain range.
For example, Hostman cloud servers can be parameterized using a configurator. In this case, the rental cost corresponds to the capacities selected in the account panel.
Accordingly, when workloads change, a cloud server can be scaled: CPU cores, RAM, disk space, or connection speed can be increased.
2. Cloud Databases Copy link
In addition to the computing power provided by the cloud server, most projects require a specialized database.
Hostman provides most popular database engines as a separate cloud service:
- MySQL
- PostgreSQL
- Redis
- and others
As with servers, computing resources for a database can be configured based on several parameters:
- Number of cores
- RAM
- NVMe disk size
- Rental period
When ordering a database, you don’t need to configure hardware, track software updates, or administer the database: the infrastructure is managed by Hostman.
3. Kubernetes Copy link
A crucial component of cloud development is automation of building, deploying, and testing using CI/CD pipelines.
CI/CD is the basis of the DevOps methodology, whose goal is to automate changes to software.
Cloud services provide the needed capabilities for this. For example, GitHub CI/CD and GitLab CI/CD infrastructures have special cloud tools that simplify creating CI/CD pipelines, including test environments, storage, notification functions, and databases.
Modern applications consist of microservices placed in containers. Kubernetes, the standard for container orchestration, is used for management and monitoring.
Kubernetes clusters from Hostman can be a suitable solution.
In this case, the developer avoids the costs associated with maintaining their own infrastructure as the execution of Kubernetes applications is handled by the provider.
Conclusion Copy link
In this article, we reviewed what efficient development using cloud services looks like, and also mentioned the most popular developer tools:
- Cloud servers
- Databases
- Monitoring tools (CI/CD, Kubernetes)
While creating your own data centers requires time, expertise, and significant financial investment, the cloud is provided by a provider in a refined and secure form.
A ready-made cloud helps developers immediately focus on the business logic of the application, thus speeding up development and integration of innovations.
Today, public cloud services are available even in areas that were previously predominantly non-cloud. Clouds are being implemented even in enterprises unrelated to IT.
Many developers choose VPS hosting for rent when they need reliable performance without unnecessary complexity. By opting to rent a VPS, you gain control over your server setup while keeping costs predictable and scaling only when it actually makes sense.
Therefore, cloud technologies not only accelerate development but also accelerate digital transformation as a whole.