12 Questions To Consider When Hiring Cloud Computing Experts

When it’s time to hire an in-house IT cloud computing expert it is important to ask the right questions. This may be a difficult proposition for those managers who aren’t cloud experts themselves. Here are the top twelve questions to ask as well as the answers for each.

Explain each of the three types of data used in cloud computing?

As cloud computing has grown, the data types have changed. There are particular data types needed to save and store various data files. 

• Unstructured data that has an unknown or unclassified structure is called unstructured data. Diverse data sources containing a combination of file types like images, videos, and text such as search engine results can be considered unstructured data.
• Structured data is processed, accessed, and stored in a fixed format. Data from relational database management systems is structured data.
• Semi-structured data this is a combination of structured and unstructured data. An example of this type of data is found in XML format.

What are some of the open source cloud platform databases?

Open source software is pervasive today. As the world moves to the cloud, speed, scalability, and efficiency are critical. Because of this, open source software is an important part of the cloud.

MongoDB: This database system is schema free, document-oriented database. Written in C++, it provides table and high storage capabilities.

CouchDB: This database is based on Apache server and is known to store data very efficiently

LucidDB: This database, written in Java/C++ is used for data warehousing.

How can our company benefit from cloud computing?

You want to know that your prospect has a clear understanding of the advantages of cloud computing

• More secure data backup and data storage
• Take advantage of powerful server capabilities without hardware investment
• Platform and OS agnostic
• Software as a service (SaaS)
• Sandboxing and virtualization capabilities
• Increased productivity
• Cost effectiveness
• Better positioning for growth and scale

Mention platforms which are used for large scale cloud computing?

Apache Hadoop – Apache Hadoop is an open source software platform for distributed storage and distributed processing of very large data sets on computer clusters built from commodity hardware.  Hadoop services provide for data storage, data processing, data access, data governance, security, and operations.

MapReduce – Google revolutionized analysis of large-scale data with this platform. It enables the processing of massive numbers of datasets using cloud sources and commodity hardware. It provides fault tolerance and transparent scalability at the software level.

Describe the different service models for cloud computing?

• Infrastructure as a Service or IaaS: The infrastructure or hardware is provided by a third-party and managed by them.
• Platform as a Service or PaaS: in addition to infrastructure, the operating system layer is also provided by a third-party and managed by them.
• Software as a Service or SaaS: All applications and programs are cloud-based and managed by a third-party.

What are the various deployment options for cloud computing?

As you know, each deployment model will fit some business models better than will others. Larger organizations most often benefit from a private cloud, where small businesses will likely utilize the public cloud.

Private cloud infrastructure is exclusive to a single organization comprised of multiple business units. It can be managed and operated by the company, a third-party, or a combination. It may reside either on premises or in a remote data center.

Community cloud infrastructure is exclusively used by a specific community of users from businesses that have a shared concern. It can be managed and operated by the company, a third-party, or a combination. It may reside either on premises or in a remote data center.

Public cloud infrastructure is open for use by the public. It can be managed or operated by a business or organization: alone or in combination. It exists in the data center of the cloud provider.

Hybrid cloud infrastructure is a combination of two (or more) distinct cloud infrastructures, but which remain unique entities. They are, however, bound by standard or proprietary tech which enables data and app portability.

How can a company benefit from utility computing?

Utility computing will allow the end user to pay for the service on a per use basis. This is great for businesses using the model for scale and growth. Utility computing will allow the user to implement services according to their needs. Many organizations utilize a hybrid strategy combining internal delivery services: hosted or outsourced.

For transporting data in the cloud, how you can you best secure data?

First, make certain that your data cannot be intercepted as it moves into the cloud, making sure that there are no data leaks —malicious or not, from its cloud storage. This can be accomplished by utilizing a secure key.

What are some security measures regarding the cloud?

Companies have to remain concerned with security in the cloud. There are several levels of security which must be provided within the cloud environment:

• Identity management authorizes the application, service, and hardware component to be used only by authorized users.
• Access control provides permissions to the user so that they can control access of others who are accessing the cloud data.
• Authorization and authentication allocate access to certain individuals and change apps and data.

What are the five different layers of cloud architecture used in AWS?
Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud architecture consists of many layers that help with organization and management from a remote location. These layers are:

1. CLC or Cloud Controller is the top level in the hierarchy. It is used to manage the virtualized environment and the resources such as servers, network, and the storage containing APIs.
2. Walrus acts as a storage controller, managing the demands of users. Using a scalable approach, it controls the virtual machine’s images and its user data.
3. CC or Cluster Controller controls all of the virtual machines (VM) for executions. Each VM is stored on nodes and they manage the networking between VMs and the external users.
4. SC or Storage Controller is a storage area in block form that is attached by VMs.
5. NC or Node Controller is the lowest level of the architecture and provides functionality as a hypervisor which controls the VMs activity. It includes execution, termination, and management of processes.
6. What does “EUCALYPTUS” stand for and what does it mean in cloud computing?

EUCALYPTUS stands for E-elastic U-utility C-computing A-architecture L-linking Y-your P-programs T-to U-useful S-systems“Eucalyptus” is an open source software infrastructure used in AWS.

Eucalyptus, in cloud computing, is an open source software used to implement clusters in computing platforms. It’s used to create public, community, hybrid, and private clouds. With it, users can transform their own data centers into the private cloud and use its functionality with many other applications.

Before migration to a cloud computing platform what are the essential considerations?

• Compliance issues
• Protection from loss of data
• Data storage types
• Business continuity
• Uptime – reduction of downtime
• Maintaining data integrity in the cloud
• Ensuring availability and access

 What are some features implemented to ensure data security in the cloud?

• Processing control – make sure that the data is being processed correctly in an application
• File access – manage and control data manipulation in any of the files
• Output reconciliation to control the data that has to be reconciled from the form of input to output
• Input validation to control the values of input data
• Security and backup to provide security and backup. This also involves the controls for logs of security breaches.

 These are just a few of the interview questions a cloud computing expert should be able to answer to your satisfaction.