Cloud computing has ushered in an era of technology and applications catering specifically to the on-demand nature of online businesses of the 21st century. On-demand computing is the delivery strategy in which users can get computing resources as and when needed. Being hosted on public-facing server architecture as opposed to inhouse segregated hosting like most traditional client-server-based applications, cloud infrastructures need to be scalable and elastic.
One of the benefits of the cloud applications being available online is that third-party vendors can provide specialist monitoring and management services for the cloud-native applications. These specialists can monitor cloud-native applications and platforms, providing analytics, guidance, and reporting to organizations whose applications are hosted in the cloud in real-time.
If you are new to cloud-native technologies, plowing through so many technical concepts might be daunting and frightening, to say the least. We have compiled a list of eight commonly used terms that will shed some light on this exciting technology.
8 Key Terms Used When Describing the Cloud-native Application Environment
Application Programming Interface (API)
An application programming interface (API) is a user interface that allows them to obtain data from another service and incorporate it into their software. The asking application is granted limited access to the called upon application’s capabilities via a set of defined requests. APIs are used to allow programs to share restricted functionality. The Facebook share button on this page is an example of an API, as is Yelp’s usage of Google Maps to display nearby restaurants.
Cloud Resiliency
The ability of a server, storage system, data server, or complete network to recover and continue operations without systems connected to the network shutting down, or losing their operational capabilities is referred to as cloud resiliency. A cloud environment would cluster multiple disparate virtual and physical servers, to provide a high level of availability to users and services.
Composability
Composability is a characteristic that distinguishes cloud computing from traditional client-server computing. This refers to the capacity to create apps using reusable code segments. Typically, cloud-native applications are created by combining proprietary code development with libraries of reusable code.
Continuous Integration/Continuous Delivery (CI/CD)
CI/CD is a means of delivering apps to clients more frequently by incorporating automation into the app development process. CI/CD, in particular, adds continuous automation and monitoring across the app lifecycle, from integration and testing through delivery and deployment.
Content Delivery Network (CDN)
A content delivery network (CDN) is a collection of geographically spread computers that speeds up web content delivery by bringing it closer to users. Caching, a practice that temporarily saves copies of files in data centers across the world, allows you to access online material from a web-enabled device or browser more quickly through a server near you. Web pages, pictures, and videos are cached by CDNs in proxy servers near your physical location. This eliminates the need to wait for content to load before watching a movie, downloading software, checking your bank balance, posting on social media, or making purchases.
Elasticity
Elasticity is a term used in cloud computing to describe a system’s capacity to react to changing workload demand by providing and de-provisioning pooled resources to match the current demand as closely as feasible.
Microservices
It is a method for developing systems based on a collection of small, independent services. Every microservice manages its processes and communicates with each other through lightweight mechanisms such as language-independent APIs. Microservices can be deployed, scaled, and developed in any language.
XaaS (Something as a Service)
XaaS is a broad phrase that refers to the delivery of any service as a service. It acknowledges the large number of products, tools, and technology that manufacturers now give to users as a service across a network — often the internet — rather than locally or on-site within a business. There are numerous examples of XaaS, but the three most prominent cloud computing models are Software as a Service (SaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS).
When organizations partner with specialists in the field of cloud-native application monitoring, it greatly simplifies both the transition to and the management of cloud environments and the cloud-native applications hosted through it.