Software Architect's Handbook

Cloud models

The services that are provided for cloud computing can be categorized into different cloud models. They are as follows:

• Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
• Containers as a Service (CaaS)
• Platform as a Service (PaaS)
• Serverless/Function as a Service (FaaS)
• Software as a Service (SaaS)

The models differ in their level of abstraction and the amount of control and responsibility that you have:

As you move to the right in the diagram, the level of abstraction is higher, and you have less control and fewer responsibilities in regards to the infrastructure. Having fewer responsibilities in terms of the infrastructure means that you ...