IT Infrastructure Assignment: Amazon Web Service vs. Microsoft Azure

Question

Prepare a detailed report on IT infrastructure assignment differentiating the Amazon web service (AWS) and Microsoft Azure in terms of security, VMs, functions, storages, and service provided.

Answer

Task A of IT infrastructure assignment

Network Diagram

Configuration table

Verification

Task B

Introduction

ABC is an American institute of technology company that’s IT department wants to adapt cloud computing and virtualization for hosting some of the application servers of the organization. The report on IT infrastructure assignment will discuss the difference between Amazon web service (AWS) and Microsoft Azure in terms of security, VMs, functions, storages, and service provided. Finally, after analyzing the difference within AWS and Azure, the report will recommend a cloud service provider for ABC company.

Discussion

Difference between AWS and Azure

Amazon web service (AWS)
AWS is the cloud service platform provided by the amazon that offers inexpensive, scalable, reliable cloud computing services [8]. It also provides database storage, content delivery, computing power other functionality to help the organizations grow. It was launched in 2006 and contains a 31% share of the worldwide computing market.

Microsoft Azure
Azure is the flexible and open source cloud platform provided by Microsoft that helps in data storage, service management, service hosting, and development. It was launched in 2010 and currently available in 140 zones.

What is the difference between AWS and Azure in terms of security, VMs, functions, storages, and service discussed within this IT infrastructure assignment?

Services provided
The computing services or computation is the main services in cloud computing. Amazon provides various computational services like ECS, AWS Lambda, Elastic Beanstalk, EC2, Amazon KMS, and Amazon SNS. The services provided by the azure is container service, Azure functions, App service, and Azure virtual machine [9]. In terms of service, AWS provides better depth with 140 services across developer tools, mobile, storage, analytics, database, and computing.

Functions
Aws provided the following functions presented in the next section of IT infrastructure assignment:

• The cloud service provided by amazon permits the organizations to decrease or increase the storage according to their need.
• AWS enables an organization to select the database, programming language, and operating system as per the organization's choices.
• It offers deep and broad service
• Aws is trusted by high-profile clients [10].
• Transfer stability is high in AWS cloud services.
• The partner ecosystem in the AWS is robust.
• In the cloud platform, very minimal data is lost during the transfer of storage and server.
• The licensing method is simple in this system.
• AWS provides more data centers for low latency and availability.
• AWS supports stronger for analytics and BI

Microsoft Azure provides the following functions:

• Azure provides the capability for users and developers to deploy, maintain, and create applications.
• In most of the cases, Azure provides simple one-click migrations.
• It supports the legacy apps of Microsoft.
• The cloud platform of Microsoft is fully scalable
• Azure provides open source across various tools, frameworks, and multiple languages.
• It supports the environments of mixed Windows/Linux.
• Azure provides a various inbuilt tools such as Azure stuck that assist the organization to deliver the services of azure from the data center.

Storage
Both Microsoft Azure and AWS provide reliable and long-running storage services. Azure has storage services like standard archive, disk storage, and Blob storage whereas AWS has storage services like Glacier, EBS, and AWS S3.

The storage of AWS depends on the instance of the machine; the machines are the virtual machines that are hosted on the infrastructure of the AWS. The storage of the AWS is knotted to a single instance- the temporary storage is assigned once for a single instance and further, it is destroyed when an instance is completed [11]. On termination, it offers block storage similar to a hard drive and can be kept separate or attached to any EC2 instance. AWS S3 is used to object storage and it ensures the automatic replication and availability across regions while Glacier is utilized for data archiving.

Microsoft Azure provides temporary storage by using the D drive and Page Blobs for VMs along with file doubling and Block Blobs as object storage it utilized to block storage. Like] amazon web service it also supports NoSQL, Big Data, and rational databases through HDInsight and Azure Table. It offers two categories of storage: cool and hot. Hot storage is much expensive than the cool storage but it does not require any additional write and read costs.

Moreover, both the Azure and AWS provides unlimited allowed storages, but Azure has a storage size limit of 4.75 TB while AWS has a storage size limit of 5 TB.

Virtual Machines
Microsoft Azure offers Virtual Network (VNET) that helps users' ability to develop isolated networks as well as the network gateways, Private IP address ranges, route tables, and subnets. The virtual machines of Azure are one type of on-demand, scalable resource of computing that provides the flexibility of virtualization [12]. The virtual machines of Azure are not required to buy it only maintenance that can be done by performing some tasks such as installing, patching, and configuring the software that runs on Azure.

As mentioned in this IT infrastructure assignment, Amazon offers Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) that enables the construction of insolated networks under the environment of the cloud. VPC also helps the user to create network gateways, private IP address ranges, route tables, and subnets. Both the cloud service provider has provided a way to extend the on-premise data center into the firewall and cloud option.

Security
The service provider of cloud provides the organization great services of cloud but unfortunately, the security of the cloud is the main vulnerability of the service providers. Data safety is an important part of cloud security. The storage services of the Amazon web service are S3 while the storage services of the Microsoft Azure are Blob [7]. Both the AWS and Azure support the encryption of data using keys. However, only Amazon web service provides an option to manage the keys but in the case of Azure cloud service, it does not provide a way for users to manage the keys. Therefore, AWS provides better security than the Azure.

Various security service provided by the AWS and Azure are shown in below table:

Recommendation and Justification on the case scenario of IT infrastructure assignment

Amazon Web Services (AWS) has become one of the leading cloud platforms that is offered by Amazon Inc. and it has become the giant component of its business portfolio. To carry out the virtualization of ABC Company and hosting of various application servers, AWS will be the suitable cloud platform for the company [1]. AWS is comprised of various cloud computing services and products. Amazon provides a range cloud server, networking, storage, email, remote computing, security, and mobile development. Therefore, it is recommended to subscribe to AWS by ABC Company in order to host their application servers and virtualization. AWS can be categorized into three key products, which are EC2- Virtual Machine Service, Glacier- cloud storage service, and S3- internal storage service [2]. Moreover, AWS has approximately seventy-six availability zones where the servers are located. The service regions can be divided into different users for setting different geographical limits depending on the selected services by its clients. Through this method, AWS can provide proper security by diversifying all the physical locations in which the data will be held.

With this service of AWS, the ABC company has the option for paying for what they will use. Moreover, there will be no up-front cost for developing a storage system and does not require the estimation of the usage [2]. ABC company can use what they require to run their business and meet their organizational objectives and the associated costs will be automatically scaled. AWS is also recommended for ABC company, as the costs of AWS can be modified depending on the usage of the company and can see the potential benefits of using Amazon Web Services for their computing needs. AWS will be the best for developing or upgrading a business like ABC company, as it provides all the necessary tools that are required for the company to carry out virtualization and hosting of servers with a cloud platform. It will be beneficial for ABC company to select AWS over Azure, as AWS provides low-cost migration services for any existing infrastructure that could be effortlessly moved to AWS.

Moreover, with the growth of ABC Company, AWS also provides various resources for helping in expansion, as the business model supports flexible usage. Thus, the clients will not have to spend time to think regarding their computing usage [3]. Furthermore, AWS is more secure as compared to other cloud computing services like Microsoft Azure and the companies hosting its storage or websites. With the increase of the popularity and demand of AWS, the company has installed dozens of data centres globally, which are currently providing seamless services to its global clients. These data centres are being monitored and maintained strictly by the company.

The diversification of AWS data centres across the globe ensures proper disaster recovery strategy. If a disaster hits any of the regions, then it cannot cause permanent data loss for global customers. Localizing the data within an easily identifiable location in which several hundreds of people could genuinely obtain access will be unwise. On the other hand, AWS has tried to keep its data centres hidden and had allowed access only for essential purposes. Therefore, all the data stored in the data centres are safe from any intrusions, and with the experience of Amazon, the potential attackers could be easily identified and mitigated quickly [4].

Some of the other reasons to recommend AWS are discussed below within this IT infrastructure assignment:

Automated Back-ups on multiple regions
AWS is incorporated with different kinds of backup methodologies comprising of EBS snapshots and AMIs. The decentralized nature of AWS along with its global reach has made it very affordable for storing critical information within their multiple data centres located at different geographic locations [6]. The company have also their third-party services like CloudRanger that simplifies the process and enables the business to schedule backups automatically without any in-house scripting.

Reliability and Consistency
As AWS has an extremely suitable platform for disaster recovery and backups, it is also very reliable for its global clients. Researchers found that AWS is far better at keeping the cloud services running as compared to Google or Microsoft.

Scalability and Flexibility
The engineers of AWS have developed a flexible computing infrastructure, which can be easily scaled down or up for swiftly meets the requirements of an existing business. The flexibility of AWS has become the hallmark of the company and it is one of the reasons for selecting AWS over Azure [5]. The company holds a huge cloud platform and thus, the businesses like ABC company does not have to deal with any limits of physical infrastructure that provides assured access to its storage and servers on demand.

Automated Scheduling
It is another reason mentioned in the IT infrastructure assignment to recommend AWS that is associated with the ability to initiate and end different instances at scheduled times. The task gets easier for AWS with the help of their third-party tool known as CloudRanger in which there is no requirement of scripts.

Customization
The cloud platform of AWS offers high-level customization for meeting the requirements of the individual businesses like ABC company. For example, the feature of customer-defined tagging enables the users to manage and monitor the resources easily. Starting from the cost tracking to automation, AWS provides no limits on why and how the customizable tags could be utilized.

Security
Whether an organization is a start-up or a big enterprise, AWS offers similar kind of robust security to their computing infrastructure. The data centres of the company are maintained with the highest standards that save the clients of securing their facilities. The company also manages several compliance programs for its cloud infrastructure [6]. It also offers robust security support, which offers real-time insight on various malicious activities or vulnerabilities.

Therefore, after the analysis of the features and services, storage, security, and functions, it is justified that AWS will be the best-suited cloud platform for ABC company that can meet the business objectives efficiently.

Conclusion
The report on IT infrastructure assignment has provided an insight into the comparison of two cloud provider giants. The comparison has been carried out comprehensively in to order to understand individual services, security, functions, VMs, and storage. After analysing the comparison, it is recommended to select AWS over Azure, which will help to meet the requirements of ABC company effectively.

Reference List
[1]"Cloud Products", Amazon Web Services, Inc., 2020. [Online]. IT infrastructure assignment Available: https://aws.amazon.com/products/.

[2]"Web Hosting - Amazon Web Services (AWS)", Amazon Web Services, Inc., 2020. [Online]. Available: https://aws.amazon.com/websites/.

[3]"Six Advantages of Cloud Computing - Overview of Amazon Web Services", Docs.aws.amazon.com, 2020.

[4]R. Singh, "Cloud Computing and Data Security AWS and Google Case Study", International Journal of Computer Sciences and Engineering, vol. 7, no. 2, pp. 164-171, 2019. Available: 10.26438/ijcse/v7i2.164171.

[5]A. Ansari, N. Khan, Z. Rais and P. Taware, "Reinforcing Security of DNS Using AWS Cloud", SSRN Electronic Journal, 2020. Available: 10.2139/ssrn.3568602.

[6]A. Rath, B. Spasic, N. Boucart and P. Thiran, "Security Pattern for Cloud SaaS: From System and Data Security to Privacy Case Study in AWS and Azure", Computers, vol. 8, no. 2, p. 34, 2019. Available: 10.3390/computers8020034.

[7]"AWS Security vs Azure Security: - InfoSecTrain", InfoSecTrain, 2020. [Online]. Available: https://www.infosectrain.com/blog/aws-security-vs-azure-security/.

[8]"What is AWS: Understanding AWS and Its Services", Simplilearn.com, 2020. [Online]. Available: https://www.simplilearn.com/tutorials/aws-tutorial/what-is-aws.

[9]V. Padghan, "AWS vs Azure: What Is The Difference? Edureka", Edureka, 2020. [Online]. Available: https://www.edureka.co/blog/aws-vs-azure/.

[10]"Azure vs. AWS: Key Differences", Guru99.com, 2020. [Online]. Available: https://www.guru99.com/azure-vs-aws.html.

[11]R. Sturt, "What is the Difference Between Microsoft Azure vs Amazon AWS?", Netify.co.uk, 2020. [Online]. IT infrastructure assignment Available: https://www.netify.co.uk/learning/what-is-the-difference-between-microsoft-azure-vs-amazon-aws-1.

[12]"AWS vs Azure: Key differences | OTAVA", OTAVA, 2020. [Online]. Available: https://www.otava.com/reference/awazdifferences/#:~:text=Network,isolated%20networks%20within%20the%20cloud.&text=
Azure%3A%20Microsoft%20offers%20Virtual%20Network,address%20ranges%20and%20network%20gateways.