Hybrid Cloud For Dummies

Glossary

abstraction: The idea of minimizing the complexity of something by hiding the details and just providing the relevant information. It’s about providing a high-level specification rather than going into lots of detail about how something works. In the cloud, for instance, in an IaaS delivery model, the infrastructure is abstracted from the user.

access control: Determining who or what can go where, when, and how.

ACID: An acronym for atomicity, consistency, isolation, and durability, which are the main requirements for proper transaction processing.

API (application programming interface): A collection of subroutine calls that allows computer programs to use a software system.

application lifecycle: The process of maintaining a piece of code so that it’s consistent and predictable as it’s changed to support business requirements.

architecture: In information processing, the design approach taken in developing a program or system.

archiving: The process by which database or file data that’s seldom used or outdated but that’s required for historical or audit reasons is copied to a cheaper form of storage. The storage medium may be online, tape, or optical disc.

asset management: Software that allows organizations to record all information about their hardware and software. Most such applications capture cost information, license information, and so on. Such information belongs in the configuration management database. See also CMDB.

audit: A check on the effectiveness ...