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Cloud Journal

Cloud Journal

Practical, provider-accurate writing on cloud infrastructure, developer workflows, security fundamentals and the decisions behind choosing a cloud.

Layered stack diagram showing which layers the customer and the provider manage under IaaS, PaaS and SaaS
Cloud Fundamentals

IaaS vs PaaS vs SaaS: Where Each Cloud Provider Fits

The three cloud service models are defined by how much of the stack you control. This article uses the NIST…

5 min read
Diagram showing cloud regions, the availability zones inside them and separate edge cache locations
Cloud Fundamentals

Cloud Regions and Availability Zones: How to Pick a Location

Regions, availability zones and edge locations are three different things, and mixing them up leads to fragile deployments. This guide…

6 min read
Illustration of a cloud billing invoice with promotional credit applied against eligible line items
Cloud Fundamentals

Understanding Cloud Credits: How Promotional Balances Actually Work

Cloud credit reduces an invoice; it does not stop a meter. This guide explains where AWS, Azure, Google Cloud and…

6 min read
Illustration of a cloud account dashboard showing vCPU quota usage against regional ceilings
Cloud Fundamentals

vCPU Limits and Service Quotas: Why Cloud Accounts Have Ceilings

Every cloud account launches with ceilings on vCPUs, API calls and resource counts. This guide explains why they exist, how…

6 min read
Comparison illustration of a cloud free trial account and a pay-as-you-go account billing timeline
Cloud Fundamentals

Free Trial vs Pay-As-You-Go: Understanding Cloud Billing Tiers

A cloud signup places your account into one of two billing modes, and the restrictions are invisible until something fails.…

6 min read
Chart comparing on-demand, reserved and spot cloud pricing models for the same virtual machine
Cloud Fundamentals

On-Demand, Reserved and Spot: Cloud Pricing Models Explained

The same virtual machine can be bought four different ways, and the contract around it decides the invoice. This guide…

6 min read
Layered diagram showing which cloud stack layers the provider secures and which the customer secures
Cloud Fundamentals

The Shared Responsibility Model in Plain English

Cloud security is a lease, not a purchase. This guide shows exactly where the dividing line sits for virtual machines,…

5 min read
Side by side illustration contrasting a hyperscaler service catalog with a compact developer cloud product line
Cloud Fundamentals

Hyperscalers vs Developer Clouds: Two Kinds of Cloud Provider

AWS and DigitalOcean are not competing versions of the same product. This guide draws the line between hyperscalers and developer…

6 min read
Diagram showing charged and uncharged data transfer directions in and out of a cloud region
Cloud Fundamentals

Egress Costs: The Cloud Bill Line Nobody Plans For

Data transfer out is the invoice line that no capacity estimate predicts. This guide maps which directions are charged, the…

6 min read