A startup is building a new machine learning platform. They need to provision virtual machines, storage, and networking components quickly and programmatically. Their developers require root access to the operating system to install custom libraries and configure specialized software. However, they want to avoid the capital expenditure of purchasing and maintaining physical hardware. Which cloud service model is most suitable for this scenario?
- AServerless Computing (FaaS)
- BInfrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
- CSoftware as a Service (SaaS)
- DPlatform as a Service (PaaS)
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: B. Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) provides virtualized computing resources where the customer has control over the operating system, applications, and middleware, including root access to install custom software. The cloud provider manages the underlying physical infrastructure, eliminating CapEx. This perfectly aligns with the need for programmatic provisioning of VMs/storage/networking, root access for custom software, and avoiding hardware CapEx.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. Serverless Computing abstracts the operating system and servers entirely, providing no root access or control over the OS.
- C. SaaS offers fully managed applications with no OS access, conflicting with the need for root access and custom libraries.
- D. PaaS manages the OS and runtime environment, restricting root access and the ability to install custom system-level libraries.
Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
A cloud computing service model that provides virtualized computing resources over the internet, giving customers control over operating systems, applications, and middleware, while the provider manages the physical infrastructure.
- Customer manages OS, runtime, applications, data
- Provider manages hardware, virtualization, networking
- Offers high flexibility and control, reduces CapEx
Memory trick: IaaS is like building your own PC on a rented server rack.