VMCloud Documentation

Note

This documentation is under development, therefore it may not be complete or have incorrect information and it will be regularly updated.

VMCloud is a cloud computing service hosted by Instituto Superior Tecnico but what can you do with it?

What is Cloud Computing?

Cloud computing offers computing services, such as servers, networking, storage and applications over the Internet. When you backup your files online, you are essentially using a cloud computing service, specifically a cloud storage one.

Some of the Benefits

  • Cost - You only pay for what you use and you don’t need to pay for hardware that you’re not using.
  • Availability - You can quickly create resources and scale up or down your infrastructure in seconds.
  • Efficiency - You may choose resources according with what you want, effectively using what you are paying for.

Categories

There are three types of cloud computing deployment:

  • Public Cloud - Where a third-party provider will give you resources in its cloud infrastructure shared with other users and organizations.
  • Private Cloud - Where the cloud infrastructure is exclusively used by your organization.
  • Hybrid Cloud - Where you merge your private cloud infrastructure with third-party cloud providers for better optimization, compliance and security.

Each cloud provider may offer these types of services:

  • Infrastructure as a service (IaaS) - You are essentially renting IT infrastructure in the form of virtual machines, network and storage.
  • Platform as a service (PaaS) - You are running your own app online without worrying about the infrastructure supporting it.
  • Software as a service (SaaS) - You are using a web-based application of your choice and you are just paying for it.

What is VMCloud?

VMCloud is a private cloud service hosted on the Técnico Lisboa data centers which is entirely maintained by the Tecnico IT team using the open source OpenStack software. You can create your infrastructure on demand via web interface or API and have your resources ready in seconds. The platform is implemented across the Taguspark and Alameda campi, known as RegionT and RegionA respectively, therefore you can choose where you want your resources to be.

How can I use it?

The End User Documentation contains guides on how to get started on the VMCloud IaaS platform and also advanced documentation to take the most out of the service.

How do you do it?

The Administration Documentation showcases how the Tecnico IT team develops, deploys and maintains the VMCloud service.

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