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Ixia’s Guide toCloud ComputingTERMS AND ACRONYMS

Cloud Terms & AcronymsSpending on cloud computing is growing faster than ever before and virtually allorganizations have workloads running in one or more clouds. The agility and cost savingsof cloud technology has helped our digital economy grow and thrive. Adopting cloudtechnology is mainstream, but also still a work in progress for many organizations.Even those who are well versed in cloud migration are still learning new practices forsecuring and optimizing workloads in the cloud. This guide to Cloud Computing Terms &Acronyms is designed to clarify concepts you will encounter as you move forward in yourjourney to the cloud.Automation and OrchestrationBlind SpotsAutomation refers to a task or function that isAreas in the network where there is not access toperformed without requiring human intervention.data packets flowing between network devices.Orchestration refers to the coordination orsequencing of automated tasks and/or functionsto accomplish a defined process or workflow. Bothautomation and orchestration are critical technologiesin the cloud, enabling day-to-day tasks, such asprovisioning, patching, and resource management tobe performed at a massive scale—across hundreds ofthousands (even millions) of servers and other cloudcomponents.BackhaulIn cloud computing, backhaul refers to the transferof data and transactions in the cloud back to anon-premises data center for further processing,typically security inspection and performancemonitoring. Most cloud providers charge a substantialfee for moving data out of their physical domain,which discourages customers from readily switchingcloud providers. If there is a large volume of datato transfer, the network pipe needed to bring thedata back in-house may also need to be upgraded,resulting in additional backhaul costs. Read moreabout backhaul in the white paper: Security andPerformance Monitoring in the Cloud.Find us at www.ixiacom.com915-8274-01-5081 Rev AThe two best examples of this are: data that flowsbetween virtual machines on a single server (commonin private cloud environments) and data that flowsbetween two public cloud instances. Packet-leveldata is required for many types of threat detectionand security analysis, as well as for performancemonitoring and application optimization.Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB)A software tool or service that sits between anorganization’s on-premise infrastructure and a cloudprovider’s infrastructure; allowing the organizationto extend the reach of their security policies beyondtheir owned infrastructure.Cloud-based Security ToolsSome vendors of popular security solutions suchas next generation firewalls and intrusion detectionsystems are migrating their technology to cloudplatforms to offer their customers more flexibility,faster scalability, and easier maintenance. Cloudbased security services can be purchased on a payas-you-go basis and fewer trained staff are generallyrequired. Vendors of solutions that have been in themarket for many years have little incentive to migratePage 2

their solutions to cloud, since new development is Containerized: Each part (applications, processes,etc.) is packaged in its own container. Thisfacilitates reproducibility, transparency, andresource isolation. Dynamically orchestrated: Containers are activelyscheduled and managed to optimize resourceutilization. Microservices oriented: Applications aresegmented into microservices. This significantlyincreases the overall agility and maintainability ofapplications.required and overall revenues may end up being lower.This is one of the reasons that some companies stillfind it necessary to backhaul data from the cloud tothe data center for processing.Cloud BurstingCloud bursting relates to hybrid clouds. The idea isthat a given application normally runs in a privatecloud or a local computing environment. If a situationarises where the application needs additionalresources (computing power, storage, etc.), it can“burst” into the public cloud and use cloud computingCloud Computingfor those additional resources.National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)defines the following five essential characteristics ofCloud Maturity ModelModel used to segment organizations according totheir adoption and use of cloud computing. Cloud Beginners: Organizations ( 22%) that havestarted working on initial cloud projects, but arestill gaining comfort and experience in the cloud. Cloud Explorers: Organizations ( 25%) thathave deployed multiple applications to the cloudand are exploring opportunities to improve andexpand their cloud strategies. Cloud Focused: Organizations ( 33%) that haveadopted a “cloud first” strategy, and are lookingfor opportunities to further optimize their cloudenvironments while reducing costs. Cloud Watchers: Organizations ( 14%) that aredeveloping their cloud strategies and evaluatingcloud options, but currently do not have anyapplications deployed to the cloud.Cloud-Nativecloud computing: On-demand self-service: Services can beunilaterally and automatically provisioned. Broad network access: Services are available overthe network through various platforms and devices. Resource pooling: Compute, storage, andnetworking resources are pooled to serve varioustenants and demand levels, and are dynamicallyassigned and reassigned, as needed. Rapid elasticity: Services can be provisioned andreleased, in some cases automatically, to scale(up/down and in/out) with demand. Measured service: Resource usage can betransparently monitored, controlled, optimized,and reported.Cloud SecuritySecurity of data and applications is often cited as areason organizations are hesitant to migrate to publiccloud platforms. However, most security analystsTo take advantage of the cloud, organizations mustbelieve public cloud is not inherently less securedesign their applications and services so they arethan the data center, rather both environments aredecoupled from physical resources and capable ofvulnerable to cyberattacks in our highly-connectedmoving easily between virtual machines or clouddigital world. Visibility to all the data flowing throughinstances. This is referred to as being cloud-nativecloud platforms is the first step, combined with the use(Read more at Cloud-Native Visibility for Publicof proven security solutions that can isolate suspiciousCloud). Cloud-native computing uses an open sourcetraffic and quickly contain any attacks that get pastsoftware stack to be:perimeter defenses. Read more in the white paper:What You Can Do to Strengthen Cloud Security.Find us at www.ixiacom.com915-8274-01-5081 Rev APage 3

Cloud SandboxContainersIn general, sandboxes provide an environment toA software technology that allows applicationvalidate untested or unknown code. Sandboxescomponents to be paired with the operating systemprotect production systems and their data from codecomponents necessary to run them in a singlethat is yet unproven or coming from unknown sources.package (known as a container). Containers, such asCloud sandboxes differ from traditional sandboxesDocker, allow applications to be deployed in secondsin that they do not sit on-premise in the data center,and booted up in fractions of a second. The desire forbut on the internet between users and applications,hybrid cloud or cross-cloud integration is a key driveranalyzing unknown code for threats and malware.for container adoption.A cloud sandbox can be operated offline or inline,without backhauling traffic to the data center. ThisContinuous Security Testingreduces the cost of operation.A fast-growing approach to validating security inenvironments with a high degree of change andCloud Service Providers (CSP)variability. Continuous security testing relies on threatA cloud provider is a company that offers somesimulations to expose gaps in security architecturecomponent of cloud computing—Infrastructure asand gives organizations a chance to strengthen theira Service (IaaS), Software as a Service (SaaS), ordefenses before an intruder causes damage. ReadPlatform as a Service (PaaS)—to other businessesmore in the brief: Validate Security Resilience in Cloudor individuals.Environments.Cloud VisibilityDevOpsWhile using network taps and packet brokers toDevOps and cloud computing work together to helpaccess network traffic is well-established, it isorganizations bring new services and applicationsnot as straight-forward to access traffic in cloudto market more quickly, at less cost. DevOps isenvironments. Users do not have control over, orabout streamlining development, while cloud offersaccess to, the underlying physical infrastructure.on-demand resources, automated provisioning, andEnsuring strong security and efficient performance,easy scaling, to accommodate application changes.therefore, requires the ability to access to packet-Many DevOps tools can be acquired on-demand in thelevel data on the traffic flowing from, to, or betweencloud or as part of a larger cloud platform. To supportan organization’s clouds. Sensor and containerhybrid cloud deployment (workloads with an abilitytechnology have made it possible to make copies ofto move between clouds), enterprises should selectcloud traffic to perform traffic inspection and analysis.DevOps platforms with an interface to the cloudThis is referred to as cloud visibility. Read more in theproviders they will use.brief: Get Visibility into Your Clouds.DockerComplianceDocker is the technology responsible for driving theStandards and regulations, such as PCI-DSS, SOX andcontainer movement and is still the market leader.HIPAA, require organizations to take specific action toDocker is open source with several vendors offeringprotect sensitive customer data. In the cloud, however,enhancements and support. Depending on the specificproviders do not generally track or disclose exactlyuse case, alternatives to Docker are CoreOS rkt,where data is stored and workloads are processed,LXD (for Ubuntu Linux), Kubernetes, Cloud Foundrythus impacting the ability to prove and documentGarden, and other container services offered by thecompliance. This means IT teams must proactivelymajor cloud providers (e.g. Azure Container Service).identify processes and solutions to ensure compliancewhen using public cloud.Find us at www.ixiacom.com915-8274-01-5081 Rev APage 4