Understanding Cloud Platforms: From IaaS to FaaS

Explores various cloud platforms to help readers choose the most suitable one, emphasizing the balance between flexibility and simplicity.

Highlights two key criteria most users seek: faster development speed and automated best‑practice operations.

Describes the evolution of software platforms from SaaS (software‑as‑a‑service) to IaaS (infrastructure‑as‑a‑service), mentioning early examples such as VMware GSX, Amazon EC2, OpenStack, and the shift toward more abstract services.

Discusses application platforms (aPaaS) like Heroku, Google App Engine, CloudFoundry, and how they accelerated development and reduced operational overhead, leading to the rise of DevOps.

Introduces container platforms, noting Docker’s impact in 2013, and explains how containers enable lightweight, isolated micro‑services, improving deployment speed and resource utilization.

Covers container orchestration (e.g., Mesos, Marathon, Borg, Aurora) and the need for declarative scheduling and support for diverse workloads.

Explains function‑as‑a‑service (FaaS) platforms such as AWS Lambda, Iron.io, OpenWhisk, and how they allow developers to focus on event‑driven code without managing servers.

Analyzes trade‑offs between higher‑level abstractions (speed) and lower‑level platforms (flexibility), advising readers to consider workload requirements when selecting a cloud platform.

Concludes with a brief mention of DC/OS as a comprehensive solution that combines container, application, and function services, aiming to serve both developers and operators.