3.13: Key Terms

Key Terms and Definitions

• Virtualization — The technology of creating virtual versions of computing resources (servers, storage, networks) from physical hardware.
• Hypervisor — Software that creates and manages virtual machines by abstracting physical hardware.
• Container — A lightweight, portable unit that packages an application with its dependencies to run consistently across environments.
• Kubernetes — An open-source container orchestration platform that automates deployment, scaling, and management of containerized applications.
• Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) — A logically isolated virtual network within a cloud provider where users can launch resources with custom IP ranges and subnets.
• Availability Zone (AZ) — An isolated physical data center facility within a cloud region, with independent power and networking.
• Load Balancer — A device or service that distributes incoming network traffic across multiple servers to optimize performance and availability.
• Auto-scaling — Automatically adjusting the number of compute resources based on current demand.
• Serverless Computing — A cloud execution model where the provider dynamically manages server allocation; users deploy code without managing infrastructure.
• Object Storage — A storage service that manages data as objects (files with metadata) accessed via APIs, ideal for unstructured data.
• Block Storage — A storage type that presents raw storage volumes (like virtual hard drives) to be attached to virtual machines.
• Content Delivery Network (CDN) — A distributed network of servers that caches and delivers content from locations geographically close to users.
• API Gateway — A managed service that acts as a single entry point for API calls, handling routing, authentication, and rate limiting.
• Security Group — A virtual firewall that controls inbound and outbound traffic rules for cloud resources.
• Region — A geographically distinct cluster of data centers within a cloud provider's global infrastructure.