Hybrid Cloud in Cloud Computing

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Hybrid Cloud in Cloud Computing

In this article, I will discuss Hybrid Cloud in Cloud Computing. Please read our previous article discussing Private Cloud Computing. At the end of this article, you will understand what hybrid cloud computing is, the advantages and limitations of the Hybrid cloud, and when to use it.

What is a Hybrid Cloud in Cloud Computing?

As the name implies, a hybrid cloud is hybrid, i.e., it’s a combination of private and public clouds. It is not a different cloud altogether. It’s just that the private and public clouds work together to meet our organization’s requirements. I mean, it offers the best of both worlds. For example, we can use the private cloud for security-sensitive, business-critical operations like financial reporting and the public cloud for high-volume, lower-security needs such as web-based email.

A hybrid cloud in cloud computing refers to a computing environment that combines elements of public and private clouds, allowing data and applications to be shared between them. This model utilizes the benefits of both public and private clouds, enabling businesses to more flexibly manage their IT resources and optimize their infrastructure for cost, performance, and security.

What is Cloud Bursting?

In a hybrid cloud, we have a concept called cloud bursting. You have an application or a service. To start with, it’s hosted and running in your private cloud. The application continues to run in your private cloud until there is a spike in demand. When there is a spike in demand, “burst through” to the public cloud to tap into the additional computing resources provided by the public cloud. When the spike in demand subsides, you scale down to your private cloud and no longer use the public cloud resources.

If you are wondering why there will be a sudden spike in demand, well, there are a number of reasons. Maybe you are launching a new business or product line. Seasonal events like online Christmas shopping or tax filing, for example, may also increase the traffic to your application or service.

With the private cloud, you only have so much physical infrastructure. How much you can scale up depends on that physical infrastructure. Beyond a certain point, if you want to scale up, you have to buy additional hardware, which is not only expensive but also time-consuming to procure and set up. When the spike in demand subsides, we no longer use this additional infrastructure.

Benefits of Hybrid Cloud in Cloud Computing:

• Best of both worlds: The obvious benefit is that a hybrid cloud provides the best of both worlds, i.e., private and public clouds.
• Flexibility and Scalability: Businesses can scale their on-premises infrastructure up to the public cloud when needed, ideal for handling variable workloads.
• Cost Efficiency: With the hybrid cloud, you only use public cloud resources when you need them. For example, when demand spikes, you burst through to the public cloud to use the additional computing power provided by the public cloud. When the demand subsides, you scale down to your private cloud.
• Data Control and Security: Hybrid clouds offer control over data residency and security. Organizations can maintain sensitive data on-premises or in a private cloud, ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements while benefiting from public cloud resources for less critical tasks.
• Disaster Recovery: Organizations can use the public cloud for backup and disaster recovery solutions, ensuring data redundancy and minimizing downtime during outages or disasters affecting the primary data center.

Limitations of Hybrid Cloud in Cloud Computing:

• Complexity in Integration and Management: Managing and integrating multiple cloud environments (public, private, and on-premises) can be complex, requiring specialized expertise in cloud architecture, networking, and security.
• Data Transfer Costs: Moving data between public and private clouds can incur data transfer fees, depending on the volume of data and the cloud provider’s pricing structure.
• Increased Security Risks: Although hybrid clouds can enhance security, the interconnectivity between public and private components can create security gaps if not properly managed.
• Dependency on Internet Connectivity: Hybrid cloud environments rely on stable, high-speed internet connectivity for seamless integration and data synchronization between cloud environments.

When to use Hybrid Cloud in Cloud Computing:

A hybrid cloud provides the best of both worlds – i.e., private and public clouds. For example, you are an IT company and provide services to 2 different sets of clients. For one set of clients, security is not a massive concern. They want to scale up and down at will. For these clients, you can use the public cloud resources. And for the other set of clients, security is the most important thing, and they want complete and rigorous control over the cloud infrastructure. For these clients, you can use the private cloud resources. So the point that I am trying to make is, a hybrid cloud allows you to switch between different delivery models depending on your clients security and scalability requirements. So, organizations should consider using a hybrid cloud when:

• They have specific security, compliance, or regulatory requirements that necessitate control over data location and residency.
• They need to optimize costs by leveraging public cloud scalability for variable workloads while controlling fixed workloads in a private cloud.
• They want to implement a disaster recovery and business continuity strategy using public cloud resources for backup and replication.
• They require flexibility and agility to innovate and deploy new applications quickly, leveraging public cloud services for development and testing.

Hybrid Cloud Deployment Models

The Hybrid clouds can be deployed in several models:

• Integration of Public and Private Clouds: Connecting public cloud services (e.g., AWS, Azure, Google Cloud) with on-premises infrastructure or private cloud environments using hybrid networking solutions (e.g., VPN, Direct Connect).
• Cloud Bursting: Automatically scaling workloads from a private cloud to a public cloud during peak demand periods, ensuring performance and availability without over-provisioning on-premises resources.

Hybrid Cloud Service Providers

• Amazon Web Services (AWS) and VMware: AWS offers hybrid cloud solutions through its partnerships with VMware, providing seamless integration between on-premises VMware environments and AWS public cloud.
• Microsoft Azure Hybrid Cloud: Azure facilitates hybrid deployments through services like Azure Stack, allowing businesses to bring Azure public cloud capabilities to their data centers.
• Google Cloud Anthos: Google offers a modern hybrid and multi-cloud platform called Anthos, which lets users manage their applications across any Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE), on-premises, or other clouds.
• IBM Hybrid Cloud: It offers hybrid cloud solutions that integrate public and private cloud environments. These solutions are aimed at enterprises that require robust data security and processing capabilities.

A Hybrid Cloud provides the benefits of both private and public clouds, such as flexibility, scalability, cost efficiency, and enhanced security. It is ideal for organizations with dynamic workloads, sensitive data, existing infrastructure investments, and the need for robust disaster recovery solutions. However, it comes with challenges like complexity, cost management, and maintaining consistent security policies. By carefully planning and managing their hybrid cloud environment, businesses can effectively utilize the strengths of both public and private clouds.

In the next article, I will discuss the Difference between Public, Private, and Hybrid Cloud in Cloud Computing. In this article, I explain Hybrid Cloud Computing in detail. I hope you enjoy this article.