Glossary of terms

Platform as a Service (PaaS)

Platform as a Service (PaaS) is a cloud service model that provides users with access to an application development and execution platform without the need to manage and maintain infrastructure. It is provided through a cloud service provider’s hosted infrastructure. Users most often access the offerings through a web browser.

PaaS can be delivered through public, private and hybrid clouds to deliver services such as application hosting and Java development. Under PaaS, the cloud provider provides the basic infrastructure and services, such as the operating system, web servers, databases, and other development tools, allowing developers to concentrate on creating software and applications.

Despite the fact that PaaS is essentially similar to SaaS, there is a fundamental difference between them. A PaaS offering typically provides access to an array of related applications or tools intended to help businesses perform complex interrelated tasks; the most common example is software development and testing. PaaS components are also hosted on the provider’s own infrastructure, and users can access the platform’s components for a recurring fee.

PaaS can eliminate an entire tool set from the local data center, further easing the organization’s IT burden. The key difference is that SaaS offers a finished workload, while PaaS offers the tools needed to help a business create and manage its own workload. The core suite of PaaS features typically includes infrastructure, development tools, middleware, OSes, database management tools and analytics: Infrastructure. PaaS includes everything that IaaS includes. This means PaaS providers will manage the servers, storage, data centers and networking resources. This can also include the UI or portal that users employ to interact with the PaaS infrastructure and services. Application design, testing and development tools.

PaaS provides customers with everything they need to build and manage applications. These tools can be accessed over the internet through a browser, regardless of physical location. The specific software development tools often include but are not limited to a debugger, source code editor and a compiler. Middleware. PaaS also usually includes middleware, the software that bridges the gap between OSes and end-user applications. Therefore, PaaS subscribers do not have to commit their in-house developers and resources to building middleware. Databases.

PaaS providers often will maintain databases, as well as providing the customer organization’s developers with database management tools. Monitoring and management tools. PaaS providers will frequently include business intelligence services, such as monitoring and analytics, to help business users understand how the PaaS is being used and help explain per-use costs and utilization characteristics.

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