Lecture: Platform as a Service (PaaS)

Introduction

• Speaker: Tessa Rodes, Designer on IBM Cloud
• Topic: Platform as a Service (PaaS), and its relation to Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) and Software as a Service (SaaS)

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)

• Definition: Set of compute, networking, and storage resources virtualized by a vendor
• User Persona: System Admin or IT Admin

Software as a Service (SaaS)

• Definition: Software you don’t have to install or manually update
• User Persona: Anyone (Example: YouTube)
• Payment Model: Subscription-based

Platform as a Service (PaaS)

• Definition: Uses virtualized resources from IaaS and abstracts them away
• User Persona: Developers (Example persona: "Jane")
• Ease of Use: Increased compared to IaaS, but less control over resources

Metaphors for Understanding

• IaaS: Leasing a car (Care about specs, performance, color; you’re driving and paying for gas/tolls/maintenance)
• PaaS: Renting a car (Don’t care about specs/color; you’re driving, but paying for gas/tolls)
• SaaS: Getting a taxi/Uber (Don’t care about specs/color; not driving or paying for gas/tolls)

Cloud Computing Breakdown

• Vendor Provides: Servers, storage, networking, virtualization, middleware, operating system, runtime
• Developer Provides: Data, applications

Pros of PaaS

• Fast and Easy Deployment: Quick app setup
• Resource Management: Easy to create and delete resources
• Cost Benefits:
  • No need for a full-time system or IT admin
  • Usage-based costing
• Tool Availability: DevOps tools, collaboration tools, API marketplaces

Cons of PaaS

• Lack of Control: Less control over fine-tuning infrastructure
• Vendor Lock-in: Difficulty in migrating apps between providers
• Performance at Scale: Issues with scaling performance compared to dedicated servers

Conclusion

• Summary: Overview of PaaS benefits and considerations for choosing a cloud provider
• Call to Action: Questions, like and subscribe, try IBM Cloud for free