Difference Between Private Public and Hybrid Cloud

The main difference between private public and hybrid cloud is that the private cloud offers services to an organization while the public cloud offers services to the general public and the hybrid cloud offers services to both private and public cloud as it is a combination of both.

Cloud computing is a popular technology that helps to access hardware, software resources via the internet. Cloud computing provides multiple advantages. The uses can access resources such as virtual machines and virtual storage.  It provides runtime environments, and deployment tools for application development. Overall, cloud computing allows sharing resources easily. It is cost effective and provides scalability according to the business requirements. Private, Public and Hybrid cloud are three deployment models in cloud computing. These models define the type of access to the cloud.

Key Areas Covered

1. What is Private Cloud
      – Definition, Usage
2. What is Public Cloud
     – Definition, Usage
3. What is Hybrid Cloud
     – Definition, Usage
4. Difference Between Private Public and Hybrid Cloud
     – Comparison of Key Differences

Key Terms

Cloud Computing, Hybrid Cloud, Private Cloud, Public Cloud

What is Private Cloud

A private cloud belongs to an organization. Therefore, the organization operates that cloud and the services are only available within the organization. A private cloud provides multiple advantages. Since accessibility is limited to the organization and the general public cannot have access to the resources, a private cloud provides more security to data and resources.

Figure 1: Cloud Computing Deployment Models

Overall, private cloud has more control on hardware and other resources. It is also more efficient than other clouds. However, the organization should have skilful and knowledgeable employees to manage the cloud. Moreover, it can be costly to purchase new hardware and other resources.

What is Public Cloud

The services of a private cloud are available to the general public. It provides compute, message, application, platform and storage services to the users. The general public can easily access a public cloud. It is cost effective and provides scalability. Usually, a public cloud contains many resources from different locations. So, if one fails, it can provide some other resource. Therefore, a public cloud is more reliable. It can offer services over the internet to any location. Hence, it is location independent. However, one major drawback is the security because this cloud is shared publicly.

What is Hybrid Cloud

Hybrid cloud is a combination of public and private cloud. It provides features of both. Private cloud performs critical activities while public cloud performs non-critical activities. It requires minimum cost than a private cloud. Moreover, the private cloud of a hybrid cloud provides security to data and resources.

On the other hand, as this cloud consist of a collection of clouds, it is more complex. Furthermore, it should ensure that the cloud services are according to the organization’s security policies.

Difference Between Private Public and Hybrid Cloud

Definition

A private cloud is a deployment model that operates solely for a single organization. A public cloud is a deployment model that renders services over a network for public use. Hybrid cloud is a composition of private and public clouds that offer benefits of multiple deployment models. 

Security

Private cloud offers most security. Public cloud is less secure. The private cloud in the hybrid cloud provide security, so it is more secure than the public cloud.

Usage

Private cloud offers services to an organization. Public cloud offers services to the general public. Hybrid cloud offers services of both private and public cloud as it is a combination of both.

Scalability

Private cloud is not very scalable because it can be scaled only with the capacity of internal hosted resources. Public cloud is highly scalable. They can be scaled up or down depending on the requirements. Hybrid cloud provides scalability according to the public cloud scalability and private cloud scalability in it.

Cost

Private cloud is more expensive. Public cloud requires a minimum cost. Hybrid Cloud is cost-effective than private cloud.

Conclusion

Private, Public and Hybrid clouds are three deployment models in cloud computing. They define the access type to the cloud.  The difference between private public and hybrid cloud is that the private cloud offers services to an organization and the public cloud offers services to the general public while the hybrid cloud offers services of both private and public cloud as it is a combination of both.

Reference:

1. “Cloud Computing Private Cloud Model.” Www.tutorialspoint.com, Tutorials Point, 8 Jan. 2018, Available here.
2.  “Cloud Computing Public Cloud Model.” Www.tutorialspoint.com, Tutorials Point, 8 Jan. 2018, Available here.
3. “Cloud Computing Hybrid Cloud Model.” Www.tutorialspoint.com, Tutorials Point, 8 Jan. 2018, Available here.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Cloud computing types” By Sam Johnston – Created by Sam Johnston using OminGroup’s OmniGraffle and Inkscape (includes Building icon.svg by Kenny sh) (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia