Cloud Computing terms

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• 7 Rs of Cloud MigrationSeven migration strategies: retire, retain, rehost, relocate, repurchase, replatform and refactor.Foundational
• AlloyDB for PostgreSQLGoogle Cloud fully managed PostgreSQL-compatible database built for high performance transactional and analytical workloads.Advanced
• Amazon API GatewayAWS fully managed service to create, publish, secure and monitor REST, HTTP and WebSocket APIs.Intermediate
• Amazon AthenaServerless interactive query service that runs SQL directly on data in Amazon S3, billed per data scanned.Foundational
• Amazon AuroraAWS cloud-native relational database compatible with MySQL and PostgreSQL, with distributed, self-healing storage.Intermediate
• Amazon CloudFrontAWS content delivery network that caches and delivers content from edge locations worldwide with low latency.Foundational
• Amazon CloudWatchAWS monitoring and observability service for metrics, logs, alarms, dashboards and events.Foundational
• Amazon CognitoAWS service providing customer identity: user sign-up/sign-in (user pools) and temporary AWS credentials for app users (identity pools).Intermediate
• Amazon DetectiveAWS service that builds behavior graphs from logs to help investigate the root cause of security findings.Advanced
• Amazon DocumentDBAWS managed document database with MongoDB API compatibility.Intermediate
• Amazon DynamoDBAWS fully managed serverless NoSQL key-value and document database delivering single-digit millisecond performance at any scale.Foundational
• Amazon EC2 Auto ScalingAWS service that automatically adjusts the number of EC2 instances in an Auto Scaling group to maintain availability and match demand.Foundational
• Amazon Elastic Block Store (EBS)AWS block storage volumes that attach to EC2 instances and persist independently of instance life.Foundational
• Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2)AWS IaaS service providing resizable virtual servers (instances) billed per second or hour.Foundational
• Amazon Elastic File System (EFS)AWS fully managed, elastic NFS file system for Linux workloads that can be mounted by many instances across AZs.Foundational
• Amazon ElastiCacheAWS managed in-memory caching service compatible with Valkey, Redis OSS and Memcached.Intermediate
• Amazon EventBridgeAWS serverless event bus that routes events from AWS services, SaaS apps and custom sources to targets using rules.Intermediate
• Amazon FSxAWS family of managed file systems: FSx for Windows File Server, Lustre, NetApp ONTAP and OpenZFS.Intermediate
• Amazon GuardDutyAWS intelligent threat detection service analyzing CloudTrail, VPC Flow Logs and DNS logs to find malicious activity.Intermediate
• Amazon InspectorAWS automated vulnerability management service that scans EC2 instances, container images and Lambda functions.Intermediate
• Amazon LightsailSimplified AWS service offering virtual private servers, databases and load balancers at a predictable monthly price.Foundational
• Amazon Machine Image (AMI)Template containing the OS, software and configuration used to launch EC2 instances.Foundational
• Amazon MacieAWS data security service that uses machine learning and pattern matching to discover sensitive data such as PII in Amazon S3.Intermediate
• Amazon NeptuneAWS fully managed graph database supporting property graph (Gremlin, openCypher) and RDF (SPARQL) models.Intermediate
• Amazon RDS ProxyManaged database proxy that pools and shares connections to RDS and Aurora, improving scalability and failover resilience.Advanced
• Amazon RedshiftAWS fully managed, petabyte-scale columnar data warehouse for analytics using SQL.Foundational
• Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS)AWS managed relational database service for MySQL, PostgreSQL, MariaDB, Oracle, SQL Server and Db2.Foundational
• Amazon Route 53AWS highly available DNS service providing domain registration, DNS routing and health checking.Foundational
• Amazon S3 GlacierFamily of low-cost S3 archive storage classes: Glacier Instant Retrieval, Glacier Flexible Retrieval and Glacier Deep Archive.Foundational
• Amazon Simple Notification Service (SNS)AWS managed pub/sub messaging service that pushes messages from topics to many subscribers.Foundational
• Amazon Simple Queue Service (SQS)AWS fully managed message queue for decoupling application components; offered as Standard and FIFO queues.Foundational
• Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3)AWS object storage service offering virtually unlimited capacity with 99.999999999 percent (11 nines) durability.Foundational
• Amazon WorkSpacesAWS managed Desktop as a Service providing persistent Windows or Linux virtual desktops.Foundational
• App Service PlanSet of compute resources and pricing tier on which Azure App Service apps run.Intermediate
• Application InsightsAzure Monitor feature for application performance monitoring (APM), including requests, dependencies, exceptions and availability tests.Intermediate
• Application Load Balancer (ALB)AWS layer 7 load balancer that routes HTTP/HTTPS/gRPC traffic based on host, path, headers and query strings.Intermediate
• Application Security Group (ASG)Azure construct that groups VM network interfaces by role so NSG rules can reference workloads instead of IP addresses.Intermediate
• Aurora Global DatabaseAurora feature replicating a database across AWS regions with typical lag under one second for DR and global reads.Advanced
• Aurora ServerlessOn-demand autoscaling configuration of Amazon Aurora that adjusts database capacity in fine-grained increments.Intermediate
• Availability Domain (AD)One or more isolated, fault-independent data centers within an OCI region.Foundational
• Availability SetAzure logical grouping that spreads VMs across fault domains and update domains within a data center.Intermediate
• Availability Zone (AZ)One or more physically separate data centers within a region with independent power, cooling and networking.Foundational
• AWS Application Migration Service (AWS MGN)AWS's primary rehost (lift-and-shift) service that continuously replicates servers to AWS and launches them with minimal cutover downtime.Intermediate
• AWS ArtifactAWS self-service portal for on-demand access to compliance reports and agreements such as SOC, PCI and ISO reports and the BAA.Foundational
• AWS Audit ManagerAWS service that continuously collects evidence from your AWS usage to simplify audit preparation against frameworks.Advanced
• AWS BackupCentralized AWS service for policy-based backup of EC2, EBS, RDS, DynamoDB, EFS, FSx, S3 and more.Intermediate
• AWS BatchFully managed AWS service for running batch computing jobs at any scale on EC2, Spot or Fargate.Intermediate
• AWS BudgetsAWS service that sets custom cost, usage, reservation or Savings Plans budgets and alerts or acts when thresholds are exceeded.Foundational
• AWS Certificate Manager (ACM)AWS service that provisions, manages and automatically renews SSL/TLS certificates for AWS integrated services.Intermediate
• AWS Cloud Adoption Framework (AWS CAF)AWS guidance that helps organizations plan and execute cloud transformation through six perspectives and four phases.Foundational
• AWS CloudHSMAWS service providing dedicated, single-tenant hardware security modules in your VPC under your exclusive control.Advanced
• AWS CloudShellBrowser-based shell in the AWS console, pre-authenticated with the signed-in user's credentials and preloaded with the AWS CLI.Foundational
• AWS CloudTrailAWS service that records API activity and account events for governance, auditing and security investigation.Foundational
• AWS Command Line Interface (AWS CLI)Unified command-line tool for managing AWS services from a terminal or scripts.Foundational
• AWS Compute OptimizerAWS service that uses machine learning on utilization metrics to recommend optimal resource configurations.Intermediate
• AWS ConfigAWS service that records resource configurations and changes over time and evaluates them against rules for compliance.Intermediate
• AWS Control TowerAWS service that sets up and governs a secure multi-account landing zone using AWS Organizations and best-practice controls.Intermediate
• AWS Cost and Usage Report (CUR)The most comprehensive AWS billing dataset, delivered to S3 with line-item detail of usage, pricing and resource IDs.Intermediate
• AWS Cost Anomaly DetectionAWS Cost Management feature that uses machine learning to detect unusual spend and alert owners.Intermediate
• AWS Cost ExplorerAWS tool for visualizing, analyzing and forecasting cost and usage over time.Foundational
• AWS Database Migration Service (AWS DMS)AWS service that migrates databases to AWS with minimal downtime using full load and ongoing change data capture.Intermediate
• AWS DataSyncOnline data transfer service that automates copying between on-premises storage, other clouds and AWS storage services.Intermediate
• AWS Direct Connect (DX)AWS service providing a dedicated private network connection from on-premises to AWS that bypasses the public internet.Intermediate
• AWS Directory ServiceAWS service offering managed Microsoft Active Directory, AD Connector and Simple AD.Intermediate
• AWS Elastic BeanstalkAWS PaaS that deploys and manages web applications on EC2, load balancers and Auto Scaling from uploaded code.Intermediate
• AWS Elastic Disaster Recovery (DRS)AWS service that continuously replicates servers into a low-cost staging area for fast recovery in AWS.Intermediate
• AWS Firewall ManagerAWS service for centrally configuring and enforcing firewall rules across accounts in an organization.Advanced
• AWS Free TierAWS program giving new and existing customers limited free usage of services and, for new accounts, promotional credits.Foundational
• AWS Global AcceleratorAWS networking service providing two static anycast IPs that route users over the AWS backbone to optimal regional endpoints.Intermediate
• AWS Health DashboardAWS view of service health and account-specific events, such as outages and scheduled maintenance affecting your resources.Foundational
• AWS IAM Identity CenterAWS service (formerly AWS Single Sign-On) that centrally manages workforce access to multiple AWS accounts and applications.Intermediate
• AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM)Global AWS service for controlling authentication and authorization to AWS resources through users, groups, roles and policies.Foundational
• AWS Key Management Service (AWS KMS)AWS managed service for creating and controlling cryptographic keys used to encrypt data across AWS services.Intermediate
• AWS LambdaAWS serverless compute service that runs code in response to events without provisioning servers, billed per request and duration.Foundational
• AWS Local ZonesAWS infrastructure extension placing compute, storage and database services in metro areas close to large user populations.Intermediate
• AWS Management ConsoleWeb-based graphical interface for accessing and managing AWS services.Foundational
• AWS MarketplaceCurated digital catalog for finding, buying and deploying third-party software, data and services that run on AWS.Foundational
• AWS Migration EvaluatorAWS service that analyzes on-premises inventory and utilization to build a data-driven migration business case and TCO.Intermediate
• AWS Network FirewallManaged, stateful, highly available network firewall and intrusion prevention service for VPCs.Advanced
• AWS OrganizationsAWS service for centrally managing multiple AWS accounts with organizational units, consolidated billing and policies.Foundational
• AWS OutpostsFully managed AWS hardware racks or servers installed in a customer's data center to run AWS services on premises.Intermediate
• AWS Pricing CalculatorFree AWS web tool for estimating the monthly cost of planned AWS architectures.Foundational
• AWS PrivateLinkAWS technology providing private connectivity to services across VPCs and accounts through interface endpoints, without exposing traffic to the internet.Advanced
• AWS Resource Access Manager (AWS RAM)AWS service for securely sharing resources such as subnets, Transit Gateways and Route 53 Resolver rules across accounts.Advanced
• AWS Schema Conversion Tool (AWS SCT)Tool that converts database schemas and code between engines for heterogeneous migrations.Intermediate
• AWS SDKLanguage-specific software development kits for calling AWS service APIs from application code.Foundational
• AWS Secrets ManagerAWS service for storing, retrieving and automatically rotating secrets such as database credentials and API keys.Intermediate
• AWS Security HubAWS service that aggregates and prioritizes security findings and checks posture against standards across accounts.Intermediate
• AWS Security Token Service (AWS STS)AWS web service that issues temporary, limited-privilege credentials for IAM roles and federated users.Intermediate
• AWS ShieldAWS managed DDoS protection: Shield Standard is automatic and free; Shield Advanced adds enhanced protection and response.Foundational
• AWS Snow FamilyRugged AWS physical devices used to transfer data offline to AWS and to run edge compute in disconnected locations.Foundational
• AWS Step FunctionsAWS serverless workflow service that orchestrates Lambda functions and AWS services as visual state machines.Intermediate
• AWS Storage GatewayHybrid storage service connecting on-premises applications to AWS storage through file, volume and tape interfaces.Intermediate
• AWS Support PlansTiered AWS support offerings ranging from free Basic support to Enterprise levels with designated technical account managers.Foundational
• AWS Systems Manager (SSM)AWS operations hub for managing EC2 and on-premises servers: patching, remote commands, sessions, inventory, parameters and automation.Intermediate
• AWS Systems Manager Parameter StoreSystems Manager capability for hierarchical storage of configuration data and secrets as plaintext or KMS-encrypted SecureString values.Intermediate
• AWS Transfer FamilyManaged service providing SFTP, FTPS, FTP and AS2 endpoints that store files directly in Amazon S3 or EFS.Intermediate
• AWS Transit Gateway (TGW)Regional AWS network transit hub that interconnects VPCs and on-premises networks through a single gateway with transitive routing.Intermediate
• AWS Trusted AdvisorAWS service that checks your account against best practices for cost, performance, security, fault tolerance, service limits and operations.Foundational
• AWS WAFAWS web application firewall that filters HTTP(S) requests to CloudFront, ALB, API Gateway and other services using rules.Intermediate
• AWS WavelengthAWS infrastructure embedded in telecommunications providers' 5G networks for ultra-low-latency mobile applications.Intermediate
• AWS Well-Architected FrameworkAWS guidance for designing and operating reliable, secure, efficient, cost-effective and sustainable cloud workloads across six pillars.Foundational
• AWS Well-Architected ToolFree AWS console tool for reviewing workloads against the Well-Architected Framework pillars and tracking improvement plans.Foundational
• AzCopyCommand-line utility for copying data to, from and between Azure Storage accounts.Foundational
• Azure Activity LogSubscription-level Azure log of control plane operations, such as who created, modified or deleted resources.Foundational
• Azure AdvisorFree Azure service that analyzes configuration and usage telemetry and recommends improvements across five categories.Foundational
• Azure API Management (APIM)Azure service for publishing, securing, transforming, monitoring and monetizing APIs through a gateway and developer portal.Intermediate
• Azure App ServiceAzure PaaS for hosting web apps, REST APIs and mobile back ends on Windows or Linux with built-in scaling and deployment.Foundational
• Azure Application GatewayAzure regional layer 7 load balancer with URL path routing, TLS termination and an optional web application firewall.Intermediate
• Azure ArcAzure service that projects on-premises, edge and multicloud servers, Kubernetes clusters and databases into Azure Resource Manager.Intermediate
• Azure BackupAzure service for backing up and restoring Azure VMs, files, databases and on-premises workloads to vaults.Foundational
• Azure BastionAzure PaaS service providing secure RDP and SSH access to VMs over TLS from the portal without public IPs on the VMs.Intermediate
• Azure Blob StorageAzure object storage for massive amounts of unstructured data such as images, video, backups and data lakes.Foundational
• Azure CLICross-platform command-line tool (az) for creating and managing Azure resources.Foundational
• Azure Cloud ShellBrowser-accessible authenticated shell in Azure with Bash or PowerShell and Azure tools preinstalled.Foundational
• Azure Cosmos DBAzure fully managed, globally distributed NoSQL and relational database with multiple APIs and single-digit millisecond latency.Intermediate
• Azure DDoS ProtectionAzure service that mitigates distributed denial-of-service attacks against public IP resources in virtual networks.Intermediate
• Azure Event GridAzure fully managed event routing service using publish-subscribe for reactive, event-driven applications.Intermediate
• Azure Event HubsAzure big data streaming platform and event ingestion service capable of receiving millions of events per second.Intermediate
• Azure ExpressRouteAzure service providing private, dedicated connectivity from on-premises networks to Microsoft cloud via a connectivity provider.Intermediate
• Azure FilesAzure fully managed file shares accessible via SMB, NFS and REST, mountable from cloud or on-premises systems.Foundational
• Azure FirewallAzure managed, stateful firewall-as-a-service for filtering network and application traffic across virtual networks.Intermediate
• Azure Front DoorMicrosoft global layer 7 entry point combining CDN, global HTTP load balancing, TLS offload and WAF at the edge.Intermediate
• Azure FunctionsAzure serverless compute service that runs event-triggered code with automatic scaling.Foundational
• Azure Hybrid BenefitLicensing benefit letting customers use on-premises Windows Server and SQL Server licenses with Software Assurance on Azure.Foundational
• Azure Key VaultAzure service for securely storing and controlling access to secrets, encryption keys and certificates.Intermediate
• Azure Landing ZoneMicrosoft's reference architecture for a scalable, governed multi-subscription Azure environment, part of the Cloud Adoption Framework.Advanced
• Azure Load BalancerAzure layer 4 load balancer distributing TCP and UDP traffic across VMs, available as public or internal.Foundational
• Azure LocalMicrosoft hybrid infrastructure solution (formerly Azure Stack HCI) running VMs and Azure services on validated on-premises hardware.Advanced
• Azure Logic AppsAzure low-code service for building automated workflows that integrate apps, data and services using hundreds of connectors.Intermediate
• Azure Managed DisksBlock-level storage volumes for Azure VMs managed by Azure, offered as Ultra, Premium SSD v2, Premium SSD, Standard SSD and Standard HDD.Intermediate
• Azure MigrateAzure hub for discovering, assessing and migrating on-premises servers, databases, web apps and VDI to Azure.Intermediate
• Azure MonitorAzure's comprehensive monitoring platform collecting metrics and logs from Azure, hybrid and multicloud resources.Foundational
• Azure NAT GatewayFully managed Azure service providing outbound-only internet connectivity for subnets using static public IPs.Intermediate
• Azure PolicyAzure service that creates, assigns and evaluates rules to enforce organizational standards and assess compliance at scale.Foundational
• Azure PortalWeb-based unified console for building, managing and monitoring Azure resources.Foundational
• Azure Private LinkAzure service that exposes PaaS services or your own services through private endpoints with private IPs in your VNet.Intermediate
• Azure Region PairPairing of two Azure regions in the same geography used for prioritized recovery, sequential updates and geo-redundant replication.Intermediate
• Azure ReservationsAzure commitment of 1 or 3 years to specific resources such as VMs or SQL compute in a region in exchange for large discounts.Foundational
• Azure Resource Manager (ARM)Azure's deployment and management service; every request from portal, CLI, PowerShell or SDK passes through it.Foundational
• Azure Role-Based Access Control (Azure RBAC)Authorization system for Azure resources that assigns role definitions to security principals at a scope.Foundational
• Azure Savings Plan for ComputeAzure pricing model committing to a fixed hourly spend on compute for 1 or 3 years to get discounts across services and regions.Intermediate
• Azure Service BusAzure fully managed enterprise message broker with queues and publish-subscribe topics.Intermediate
• Azure Service HealthPersonalized view of Azure service issues, planned maintenance and health advisories affecting your subscriptions and regions.Foundational
• Azure Site Recovery (ASR)Azure disaster recovery service that replicates VMs and physical servers and orchestrates failover and failback.Intermediate
• Azure Spot Virtual MachinesAzure VMs using unused capacity at deep discounts that can be evicted when Azure needs the capacity.Intermediate
• Azure SQL DatabaseAzure fully managed PaaS relational database engine based on the latest stable SQL Server.Foundational
• Azure SQL Managed InstanceAzure PaaS offering with near-100 percent compatibility with the SQL Server database engine, deployed into a virtual network.Intermediate
• Azure Storage AccountAzure resource providing a unique namespace for Blob, Files, Queue and Table data with shared settings for redundancy and access.Foundational
• Azure Storage RedundancyAzure Storage replication options: LRS, ZRS, GRS, GZRS and read-access variants RA-GRS and RA-GZRS.Intermediate
• Azure SubscriptionLogical container for Azure resources that serves as a billing boundary and an access control boundary.Foundational
• Azure Traffic ManagerAzure DNS-based traffic load balancer that directs clients to endpoints across regions using routing methods.Intermediate
• Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD)Azure Desktop as a Service that delivers Windows desktops and remote apps, including multi-session Windows 11.Intermediate
• Azure Virtual MachinesAzure IaaS compute service providing on-demand Windows and Linux virtual machines.Foundational
• Azure Virtual Network (VNet)Azure's fundamental private network that isolates resources and enables communication with each other, the internet and on-premises networks.Foundational
• Azure Virtual WANMicrosoft-managed networking service that unifies VPN, ExpressRoute, VNet connectivity and security in hub-and-spoke hubs.Advanced
• Azure VPN GatewayAzure virtual network gateway that sends encrypted IPsec/IKE traffic for site-to-site, point-to-site and VNet-to-VNet connections.Intermediate
• Azure Well-Architected Framework (WAF)Microsoft guidance for improving the quality of Azure workloads across five pillars.Foundational
• Backup as a Service (BaaS)Cloud service that stores and manages backups offsite on provider infrastructure, often with policy-based retention.Foundational
• Bare Metal InstanceCloud server that gives the customer direct access to physical hardware without a provider hypervisor layer.Intermediate
• Bastion HostHardened server in a public subnet used as a controlled entry point for administrative access to private instances.Foundational
• BigQueryGoogle Cloud's serverless, highly scalable enterprise data warehouse for SQL analytics.Foundational
• BigtableGoogle Cloud fully managed wide-column NoSQL database for large-scale, low-latency analytical and operational workloads.Intermediate
• Blob Access TiersAzure Blob Storage tiers (Hot, Cool, Cold and Archive) that trade storage cost against access cost and latency.Intermediate
• Block StorageStorage that presents raw volumes divided into fixed-size blocks to an operating system, which formats them with a file system.Foundational
• Bring Your Own Key (BYOK)Practice of generating encryption keys on premises (often in an HSM) and importing them into a cloud key management service.Advanced
• Broad Network AccessNIST cloud characteristic: capabilities are available over the network and accessed through standard mechanisms from diverse client devices.Foundational
• Capital Expenditure (CapEx)Up-front spending on physical assets such as servers and data centers, depreciated over their useful life.Foundational
• ChargebackAllocating and internally billing cloud costs to the business units or teams that consumed the resources.Foundational
• Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB)Security policy enforcement point between users and cloud services that provides visibility, compliance, data security and threat protection.Intermediate
• Cloud ArmorGoogle Cloud network security service providing WAF and DDoS protection for applications behind Google load balancers.Intermediate
• Cloud Audit LogsGoogle Cloud logs recording administrative actions and data access for each project, folder and organization.Intermediate
• Cloud AuditorIndependent party that assesses cloud services for security controls, privacy impact, performance and compliance.Intermediate
• Cloud Billing AccountGoogle Cloud account that pays for usage of linked projects and holds budgets, alerts and billing exports.Foundational
• Cloud BurstingHybrid pattern where an application runs on premises and overflows to public cloud capacity when demand spikes.Intermediate
• Cloud ComputingDelivery of on-demand computing resources such as servers, storage, databases and software over a network with pay-as-you-go pricing.Foundational
• Cloud Controls Matrix (CCM)Cloud Security Alliance cybersecurity control framework for cloud computing, mapped to major standards and regulations.Intermediate
• Cloud Infrastructure Entitlement Management (CIEM)Discipline and tools that manage identities and permissions in cloud environments to enforce least privilege.Advanced
• Cloud InterconnectGoogle Cloud private connectivity from on-premises networks through Dedicated Interconnect, Partner Interconnect or Cross-Cloud Interconnect.Intermediate
• Cloud Key Management Service (Cloud KMS)Google Cloud service for managing symmetric and asymmetric encryption keys, including HSM-backed and external keys.Intermediate
• Cloud Load BalancingGoogle Cloud's fully distributed load balancing family, including global and regional Application and Network Load Balancers.Intermediate
• Cloud MisconfigurationIncorrect or insecure setting of a cloud resource, such as public storage or overly permissive access, that creates security risk.Foundational
• Cloud NATGoogle Cloud managed, software-defined network address translation for outbound connectivity from resources without external IPs.Intermediate
• Cloud PortabilityAbility to move applications and data between cloud providers or between cloud and on premises with minimal rework.Intermediate
• Cloud Route TableSet of rules in a virtual network that determines where traffic from subnets or gateways is directed.Intermediate
• Cloud RunGoogle Cloud fully managed serverless platform that runs stateless containers and scales automatically, including to zero.Foundational
• Cloud Run FunctionsGoogle Cloud's event-driven FaaS offering, formerly called Cloud Functions, now running on Cloud Run infrastructure.Foundational
• Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM)Tools that continuously assess cloud configurations against best practices and compliance frameworks to detect and fix misconfigurations.Intermediate
• Cloud Service Broker (CSB)Intermediary that aggregates, integrates or customizes cloud services from multiple providers on behalf of customers.Intermediate
• Cloud Service Customer (CSC)Party that has a business relationship with a cloud provider to use its cloud services.Foundational
• Cloud Service Provider (CSP)Organization that offers cloud computing services such as IaaS, PaaS or SaaS to customers.Foundational
• Cloud SQLGoogle Cloud fully managed relational database service for MySQL, PostgreSQL and SQL Server.Foundational
• Cloud Storage (GCS)Google Cloud's unified object storage service with strong consistency and region, dual-region or multi-region bucket locations.Foundational
• Cloud Storage ClassesGoogle Cloud Storage classes: Standard, Nearline, Coldline and Archive, priced by access frequency.Foundational
• Cloud VPNGoogle Cloud service connecting on-premises or other cloud networks to a VPC through IPsec tunnels over the internet.Intermediate
• Cloud Workload Protection Platform (CWPP)Security solution protecting workloads such as VMs, containers and serverless functions across hybrid and multicloud environments.Intermediate
• Cloud-NativeApproach to building applications that fully exploit cloud capabilities through microservices, managed services, automation and elasticity.Foundational
• Cloud-Native Application Protection Platform (CNAPP)Unified platform combining CSPM, CWPP, CIEM and code-to-cloud security to protect cloud-native applications across their lifecycle.Advanced
• CloudFront Origin Access Control (OAC)CloudFront feature that restricts access to an S3 origin so content is served only through the distribution.Advanced
• CloudWatch AlarmCloudWatch feature that watches a metric or expression and changes state (OK, ALARM, INSUFFICIENT_DATA) to trigger actions.Intermediate
• CloudWatch LogsCloudWatch capability for collecting, storing, searching and analyzing log data from AWS services, applications and hosts.Intermediate
• Cold StartExtra latency when a serverless platform must initialize a new execution environment before handling a request.Intermediate
• Commitment-Based DiscountLower cloud pricing in exchange for committing to a level of usage or spend over a term, typically 1 or 3 years.Intermediate
• Committed Use Discounts (CUD)Google Cloud discounts for committing to resource quantities or spend for 1 or 3 years.Intermediate
• Community CloudDeployment model where infrastructure is shared by several organizations with common concerns such as mission or compliance.Foundational
• CompartmentOCI logical container for organizing and isolating cloud resources for access control, quotas and cost tracking.Foundational
• Composite SLAOverall availability of a solution calculated by multiplying the SLAs of the dependent services it uses.Intermediate
• Compute Engine (GCE)Google Cloud IaaS service for creating and running virtual machines on Google's infrastructure.Foundational
• Conditional AccessMicrosoft Entra ID policy engine that grants, blocks or restricts access based on signals such as user, device, location and risk.Intermediate
• Confidential ComputingProtection of data in use by performing computation in hardware-based, attested trusted execution environments.Advanced
• Consolidated BillingAWS Organizations feature that combines all member accounts' charges into one bill paid by the management account.Foundational
• Consumption-Based PricingPricing model where customers pay only for the cloud resources they actually use, also called pay-as-you-go.Foundational
• Cosmos DB Consistency LevelsFive Azure Cosmos DB consistency models: strong, bounded staleness, session, consistent prefix and eventual.Advanced
• Cost Optimization PillarWell-architected pillar focused on delivering business value at the lowest price point by avoiding unnecessary costs.Foundational
• Cross-Account RoleIAM role in one AWS account that principals in another account are trusted to assume, enabling access without sharing credentials.Intermediate
• Customer-Managed Key (CMK)Encryption key created and controlled by the customer in a cloud key management service, rather than by the provider.Intermediate
• Data PerimeterSet of preventive guardrails ensuring only trusted identities access trusted resources from expected networks.Advanced
• Data ResidencyRequirement or choice that data be stored and processed in a specific geographic location.Foundational
• Data Security Posture Management (DSPM)Tools that discover, classify and monitor sensitive data across cloud data stores and assess its exposure and access risk.Advanced
• Data SovereigntyPrinciple that data is subject to the laws and governance of the country in which it is collected or stored.Foundational
• Database as a Service (DBaaS)Managed cloud database offering where the provider handles provisioning, patching, backups and high availability.Foundational
• Dedicated HostPhysical server fully allocated to one customer, giving visibility of sockets and cores for license compliance.Intermediate
• Dedicated InstanceAWS EC2 instance that runs on hardware dedicated to a single customer but without host-level placement control.Intermediate
• Deployment SlotLive App Service environment with its own hostname used to stage a new version and swap it into production with no downtime.Intermediate
• Desktop as a Service (DaaS)Cloud-hosted virtual desktops delivered to users over the network, managed by a provider on a subscription basis.Foundational
• Detective GuardrailGovernance control that identifies noncompliant resources after creation and reports or remediates them.Intermediate
• Disaster Recovery (DR)Policies, tools and procedures for restoring IT systems and data after a disruptive event such as a regional outage or ransomware.Foundational
• Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS)Cloud service that replicates servers and data to a provider and orchestrates failover so workloads can recover after a disaster.Intermediate
• Durable FunctionsAzure Functions extension for writing stateful, long-running orchestrations in code.Advanced
• Dynamic Routing Gateway (DRG)OCI virtual router that connects VCNs to on-premises networks, other VCNs and other regions.Intermediate
• DynamoDB Accelerator (DAX)Fully managed in-memory cache for DynamoDB that delivers microsecond read latency with API compatibility.Intermediate
• DynamoDB Capacity ModesDynamoDB billing options: on-demand (pay per request) or provisioned (set read and write capacity units, optionally auto scaled).Advanced
• DynamoDB Global TablesDynamoDB feature that replicates tables across multiple AWS regions as a multi-active (multi-writer) database.Advanced
• DynamoDB StreamsTime-ordered log of item-level changes in a DynamoDB table, retained for 24 hours and consumable by Lambda.Advanced
• EBS SnapshotPoint-in-time, incremental backup of an EBS volume stored durably by AWS and usable to create new volumes in any AZ.Intermediate
• EBS Volume TypesEBS options: SSD-backed gp3/gp2 and io2/io1, and HDD-backed st1 and sc1, each with different performance and price.Intermediate
• EC2 Instance TypesNamed EC2 configurations of vCPU, memory, storage and networking grouped into families such as general purpose, compute and memory optimized.Intermediate
• EC2 Placement GroupsEC2 feature controlling how instances are placed on underlying hardware: cluster, spread or partition.Advanced
• EC2 User DataScript or cloud-init data passed to an EC2 instance that runs at first boot to bootstrap configuration.Intermediate
• Economies of ScaleCost advantage cloud providers gain from enormous purchasing and operating scale, passed to customers as lower prices.Foundational
• Edge ComputingProcessing data near where it is generated, such as on devices or local sites, instead of in a centralized cloud region.Foundational
• Edge LocationProvider point of presence near end users used to cache content and terminate connections for CDN and DNS services.Foundational
• Egress ChargesFees cloud providers charge for data transferred out of their network to the internet or across regions and zones.Foundational
• Elastic IP Address (EIP)Static public IPv4 address allocated to an AWS account that can be remapped between instances or network interfaces.Foundational
• Elastic Load Balancing (ELB)AWS managed service that distributes incoming traffic across targets in multiple AZs, including ALB, NLB and GWLB.Foundational
• Elastic Network Interface (ENI)Virtual network card in a VPC that can have private and public IPs, security groups and a MAC address, and can move between instances.Intermediate
• ElasticityAbility of a system to automatically add and remove resources in near real time to match fluctuating demand.Foundational
• Envelope EncryptionEncrypting data with a data key and then encrypting that data key with a separate master key (key encryption key).Advanced
• Event-Driven Architecture (EDA)Architecture in which components communicate by producing and reacting to events, typically through brokers, enabling loose coupling.Intermediate
• Fan-Out PatternMessaging pattern where one published message is delivered in parallel to multiple independent consumers.Intermediate
• Fault Domain (FD)Grouping of hardware and infrastructure within an OCI availability domain; each AD has three fault domains.Foundational
• Fault ToleranceAbility of a system to continue operating without interruption when one or more components fail.Intermediate
• Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP)U.S. government program that standardizes security assessment and authorization of cloud products used by federal agencies.Intermediate
• FinOpsOperational framework and cultural practice that maximizes the business value of cloud through collaboration between engineering, finance and business teams.Foundational
• FinOps Open Cost and Usage Specification (FOCUS)Open specification from the FinOps Foundation that normalizes cloud and SaaS billing data into a common schema.Intermediate
• FirestoreGoogle Cloud serverless NoSQL document database with real-time synchronization and offline support for web and mobile apps.Intermediate
• Function as a Service (FaaS)Serverless compute model that runs individual functions in response to events, billed per invocation and execution time.Foundational
• Gateway Load Balancer (GWLB)AWS load balancer that transparently inserts fleets of third-party virtual network appliances, such as firewalls, into traffic paths.Advanced
• Google App Engine (GAE)Google Cloud's fully managed PaaS for web apps, offered in standard (sandboxed, scale to zero) and flexible (container-based) environments.Foundational
• Google Cloud CLI (gcloud)Command-line tool set (gcloud, gsutil, bq) for managing Google Cloud resources.Foundational
• Google Cloud ConsoleWeb-based interface for managing Google Cloud projects, resources, IAM and billing.Foundational
• Google Cloud IAMGoogle Cloud's identity and access management system that grants roles to principals on resources through allow policies.Foundational
• Google Cloud ObservabilityGoogle Cloud's suite of Cloud Monitoring, Cloud Logging, Cloud Trace, Cloud Profiler and Error Reporting (formerly Stackdriver).Foundational
• Google Cloud ProjectBasic Google Cloud container for resources, APIs, IAM settings and billing, identified by a globally unique project ID.Foundational
• Google Cloud Resource HierarchyGoogle Cloud's structure of organization, folders, projects and resources used for ownership, policy inheritance and billing.Foundational
• Google Cloud VPCGlobal virtual network in Google Cloud whose regional subnets span zones, with distributed firewall rules and routes.Foundational
• Google Cloud Well-Architected FrameworkGoogle Cloud's recommendations for designing secure, reliable, efficient, cost-effective workloads, formerly the Google Cloud Architecture Framework.Intermediate
• Google Distributed Cloud (GDC)Google Cloud portfolio that runs Google infrastructure and services at the edge or in customer data centers, including air-gapped options.Advanced
• Government Cloud (GovCloud)Isolated cloud regions built for government agencies and contractors with stringent compliance such as FedRAMP High and ITAR.Intermediate
• Health CheckPeriodic probe a load balancer, DNS service or orchestrator uses to determine whether a target is healthy and should receive traffic.Foundational
• High Availability (HA)Design goal of keeping a system operational and accessible for a high percentage of time by eliminating single points of failure.Foundational
• Horizontal ScalingIncreasing or decreasing capacity by adding or removing instances or nodes; also called scaling out/in.Foundational
• Hub-and-Spoke Network TopologyNetwork design where a central hub network hosts shared services and connectivity, and spoke networks connect only to the hub.Intermediate
• Hybrid CloudDeployment model combining two or more distinct clouds, typically private and public, connected to allow data and app portability.Foundational
• IAM Access AnalyzerAWS feature that identifies resources shared externally, unused access and policy issues using automated reasoning.Advanced
• IAM GroupCollection of IAM users that share attached permission policies.Foundational
• IAM PolicyJSON document defining permissions with Effect, Action, Resource and optional Condition elements.Foundational
• IAM Policy Evaluation LogicRules AWS uses to decide a request: explicit deny wins, then an allow is required from all applicable policy types; otherwise implicit deny.Advanced
• IAM RoleAWS identity with permission policies that trusted principals assume to obtain temporary security credentials.Foundational
• IAM UserAWS identity representing a person or application with long-term credentials such as a password or access keys.Foundational
• Identity-Aware Proxy (IAP)Google Cloud service that enforces identity- and context-based access to applications and VMs without a VPN.Intermediate
• Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)Cloud service model providing virtualized compute, storage and networking; the customer manages the OS, runtime, apps and data.Foundational
• Instance Metadata Service (IMDS)Link-local endpoint (169.254.169.254) from which an EC2 instance reads its metadata, user data and role credentials.Advanced
• Instance StoreTemporary block storage physically attached to the EC2 host, offering very high I/O but losing data when the instance stops or terminates.Intermediate
• Internet Gateway (IGW)Horizontally scaled, highly available VPC component that enables communication between a VPC and the internet.Foundational
• InteroperabilityAbility of cloud services, systems and components from different providers to exchange and use information.Intermediate
• Lambda@EdgeCloudFront feature that runs Lambda functions at regional edge caches in response to viewer and origin request/response events.Advanced
• Landing ZonePre-configured, secure, scalable multi-account or multi-subscription cloud environment that serves as the foundation for workloads.Intermediate
• Launch TemplateVersioned AWS configuration specifying AMI, instance type, key pair, security groups and other settings used to launch EC2 instances.Intermediate
• Log Analytics WorkspaceAzure Monitor data store where log data is collected and queried with Kusto Query Language (KQL).Intermediate
• Loose CouplingDesign principle where components interact through well-defined interfaces or queues so failure or change in one does not break others.Foundational
• Managed IdentityAutomatically managed Entra ID identity for Azure resources, letting code authenticate to services without stored credentials.Intermediate
• Managed Instance Group (MIG)Google Cloud group of identical VMs created from an instance template with autoscaling, autohealing and rolling updates.Intermediate
• Management GroupAzure container above subscriptions used to apply governance such as Azure Policy and RBAC across many subscriptions.Foundational
• Measured ServiceNIST cloud characteristic: resource usage is metered, monitored and reported, enabling pay-per-use billing and transparency.Foundational
• Microsoft Cloud Adoption Framework for Azure (CAF)Microsoft's guidance, best practices and tools for cloud adoption organized into methodologies from strategy through management.Intermediate
• Microsoft Cost ManagementAzure-native tooling for analyzing costs, creating budgets and alerts, allocating costs and exporting billing data.Foundational
• Microsoft Defender for CloudMicrosoft CNAPP providing cloud security posture management and workload protection for Azure, AWS, Google Cloud and on-premises.Intermediate
• Microsoft Entra B2B CollaborationEntra ID capability for inviting external partner users as guests to access an organization's apps and resources.Intermediate
• Microsoft Entra ConnectMicrosoft tool (formerly Azure AD Connect) that synchronizes on-premises Active Directory identities to Microsoft Entra ID.Intermediate
• Microsoft Entra External IDMicrosoft's customer identity and access management (CIAM) solution for consumer- and business-customer-facing apps.Intermediate
• Microsoft Entra IDMicrosoft's cloud identity and access management service, formerly Azure Active Directory (Azure AD).Foundational
• Microsoft Entra ID ProtectionEntra ID feature that detects identity risks such as leaked credentials and risky sign-ins and enforces risk-based policies.Advanced
• Microsoft Entra Privileged Identity Management (PIM)Entra ID feature providing just-in-time, time-bound and approval-based activation of privileged Entra and Azure roles.Advanced
• Microsoft Entra TenantA dedicated, isolated instance of Microsoft Entra ID representing an organization, identified by a tenant ID and domain.Foundational
• Microsoft Service Trust PortalMicrosoft portal providing audit reports, compliance certifications and trust documents for Microsoft cloud services.Foundational
• Multi-Region ArchitectureDesign that deploys an application across two or more cloud regions for resilience to regional failure, lower global latency or data residency.Advanced
• Multi-Site Active-ActiveDR and availability strategy where full production capacity runs simultaneously in multiple regions, all serving traffic.Advanced
• MulticloudStrategy of using services from two or more public cloud providers within one organization or architecture.Foundational
• MultitenancyArchitecture where multiple customers (tenants) share the same physical infrastructure or application instance with logical isolation.Foundational
• NAT GatewayManaged network address translation service that lets private-subnet resources initiate outbound internet connections while blocking inbound ones.Foundational
• Network ACL (NACL)Stateless, subnet-level firewall in AWS VPCs with numbered allow and deny rules evaluated in order.Intermediate
• Network Load Balancer (NLB)AWS layer 4 load balancer for TCP, UDP and TLS traffic offering ultra-low latency and static IP addresses per AZ.Intermediate
• Network Security Group (NSG)Azure set of stateful allow/deny rules filtering traffic to and from resources by source, destination, port and protocol.Foundational
• NIST Definition of Cloud Computing (NIST SP 800-145)The NIST special publication that defines cloud computing via 5 essential characteristics, 3 service models and 4 deployment models.Foundational
• Object StorageStorage architecture that manages data as objects with metadata and unique keys in a flat namespace, accessed via HTTP APIs.Foundational
• OCI Always FreeOCI resources available indefinitely at no cost, such as limited Ampere compute, Autonomous Databases and storage.Foundational
• OCI Cloud GuardOCI service that detects misconfigurations and risky activity across tenancies and can automatically remediate them.Intermediate
• OCI FastConnectOCI dedicated private connection between on-premises networks and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure that bypasses the internet.Intermediate
• OCI IAM PolicyHuman-readable OCI statement granting a group or dynamic group permissions on resource types in a compartment or tenancy.Intermediate
• OCI Identity DomainContainer in OCI IAM that holds users, groups, applications and identity settings for a user population.Intermediate
• OCI TenancyThe root container in Oracle Cloud Infrastructure that holds all of an organization's cloud resources, created at sign-up.Foundational
• OCI VaultOCI managed service for encryption keys and secrets, backed by HSMs or software protection.Intermediate
• On-Demand Capacity Reservation (ODCR)AWS feature that reserves EC2 capacity in a specific AZ for any duration, without a term commitment.Advanced
• On-Demand InstancesEC2 pricing model paying per second or hour for compute with no long-term commitment.Foundational
• On-Demand Self-ServiceNIST cloud characteristic: consumers provision compute, storage or network resources automatically without human interaction with the provider.Foundational
• Operational Excellence PillarWell-architected pillar focused on running and monitoring systems and continually improving processes and procedures.Foundational
• Operational Expenditure (OpEx)Ongoing spending on services and operations, such as monthly cloud bills, expensed in the period incurred.Foundational
• Oracle Autonomous DatabaseOracle's self-driving, self-securing, self-repairing cloud database that automates tuning, patching, scaling and backups.Foundational
• Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI)Oracle's public cloud platform offering compute, storage, networking, database and Oracle-optimized services.Foundational
• Organization Policy ServiceGoogle Cloud service that applies constraints across the resource hierarchy to restrict how resources can be configured.Intermediate
• Organizational Unit (OU)Container for AWS accounts within AWS Organizations used to group accounts and apply policies hierarchically.Intermediate
• Performance Efficiency PillarWell-architected pillar focused on using computing resources efficiently to meet requirements as demand and technology evolve.Foundational
• Permissions BoundaryAdvanced IAM feature setting the maximum permissions an identity-based policy can grant to a user or role.Advanced
• Pilot LightDR strategy keeping a minimal core of critical systems, such as replicated databases, running in the recovery region, scaled up during disaster.Intermediate
• Platform as a Service (PaaS)Cloud service model where the provider manages infrastructure and runtime; the customer deploys and manages applications and data.Foundational
• Preventive GuardrailGovernance control that blocks noncompliant actions before they happen, typically implemented with policies.Intermediate
• Private CloudDeployment model where cloud infrastructure is provisioned for exclusive use by a single organization, on or off premises.Foundational
• Private Google AccessSubnet setting letting VMs without external IP addresses reach Google APIs and services using internal routing.Intermediate
• Private Service Connect (PSC)Google Cloud feature that provides private endpoints with internal IPs for Google APIs and for services published across VPCs and organizations.Advanced
• Provisioned ConcurrencyAWS Lambda feature that keeps a set number of execution environments initialized to respond with consistent low latency.Advanced
• Provisioned IOPS (PIOPS)Storage performance option where a specific number of I/O operations per second is purchased and guaranteed for a volume.Intermediate
• Pub/SubGoogle Cloud's global, asynchronous messaging service that decouples senders and receivers with topics and subscriptions.Foundational
• Public CloudDeployment model where infrastructure is owned by a provider and shared among the general public on a pay-per-use basis.Foundational
• Queue-Based Load LevelingCloud design pattern that places a queue between a task and a service to smooth intermittent heavy loads.Intermediate
• Rapid ElasticityNIST cloud characteristic: capabilities can be provisioned and released quickly, often automatically, to scale with demand.Foundational
• RDS Multi-AZRDS deployment option that maintains a synchronously replicated standby in another AZ with automatic failover.Intermediate
• Read ReplicaAsynchronously replicated, read-only copy of a database used to offload read traffic and support disaster recovery.Intermediate
• Recovery Point Objective (RPO)Maximum acceptable amount of data loss measured in time before a disruption.Foundational
• Recovery Time Objective (RTO)Maximum acceptable time to restore a service after a disruption.Foundational
• RefactorMigration strategy that re-architects an application to use cloud-native features, also called re-architect.Foundational
• RegionSeparate geographic area where a cloud provider operates one or more data centers, usually grouped into availability zones.Foundational
• RehostMigration strategy that moves applications to the cloud without modification, commonly called lift and shift.Foundational
• Reliability PillarWell-architected pillar focused on workloads performing their intended function correctly and recovering quickly from failure.Foundational
• RelocateMigration strategy that moves workloads to the cloud at the hypervisor level without purchasing new hardware, rewriting or converting VMs.Intermediate
• ReplatformMigration strategy that makes a few cloud optimizations without changing core architecture, sometimes called lift, tinker and shift.Foundational
• RepurchaseMigration strategy that replaces an existing application with a different product, typically a SaaS offering; also called drop and shop.Foundational
• Reserved Instances (RI)AWS billing discount (up to about 72 percent) for committing to a specific instance configuration for 1 or 3 years.Foundational
• Resource Control Policy (RCP)AWS Organizations policy type that sets the maximum permissions on resources in member accounts, regardless of who requests access.Advanced
• Resource GroupAzure logical container that holds related resources sharing a lifecycle, permissions and policies.Foundational
• Resource LockAzure setting that prevents accidental deletion (CanNotDelete) or modification (ReadOnly) of subscriptions, resource groups or resources.Foundational
• Resource PoolingNIST cloud characteristic: provider resources are pooled to serve multiple consumers in a multi-tenant model with location independence.Foundational
• Resource TaggingAttaching key-value metadata labels to cloud resources for cost allocation, automation, access control and organization.Foundational
• Resource-Based PolicyPolicy attached directly to a resource, such as an S3 bucket or KMS key, specifying which principals can access it.Intermediate
• RetainMigration strategy of keeping an application in its current environment for now, also called revisit.Foundational
• RetireMigration strategy of decommissioning applications that are no longer needed rather than moving them.Foundational
• RightsizingMatching resource types and sizes to actual workload requirements to eliminate waste while maintaining performance.Foundational
• Root UserThe AWS account's original identity, created with the sign-up email, that has unrestricted access to all resources and billing.Foundational
• Route 53 ResolverDNS resolver built into every VPC, with inbound and outbound endpoints for hybrid DNS resolution and DNS Firewall.Advanced
• Route 53 Routing PoliciesRoute 53 options determining how DNS queries are answered: simple, weighted, latency, failover, geolocation, geoproximity, multivalue and IP-based.Intermediate
• S3 Block Public AccessAccount- and bucket-level S3 settings that override policies and ACLs to prevent public access to buckets and objects.Foundational
• S3 Bucket PolicyResource-based JSON policy attached to an S3 bucket controlling which principals can perform which actions on it.Intermediate
• S3 Event NotificationsS3 feature that sends events such as object created or deleted to Lambda, SQS, SNS or EventBridge.Intermediate
• S3 Intelligent-TieringS3 storage class that automatically moves objects between access tiers based on usage, with no retrieval fees.Intermediate
• S3 Lifecycle ConfigurationRules that automatically transition S3 objects to cheaper storage classes or expire them after set periods.Intermediate
• S3 Object LockS3 feature providing write-once-read-many (WORM) protection with retention periods and legal holds.Intermediate
• S3 Presigned URLTime-limited URL signed with a principal's credentials that grants temporary access to a specific S3 object.Intermediate
• S3 ReplicationAutomatic asynchronous copying of S3 objects to another bucket in the same region (SRR) or a different region (CRR).Intermediate
• S3 Storage ClassesAmazon S3 tiers priced by access frequency and availability, from S3 Standard to Glacier Deep Archive.Foundational
• S3 Transfer AccelerationS3 feature that speeds long-distance uploads by routing data through CloudFront edge locations over the AWS backbone.Intermediate
• S3 VersioningBucket setting that keeps multiple versions of each object to protect against accidental overwrites and deletions.Foundational
• Savings PlansAWS flexible pricing model offering discounts in exchange for a commitment to a consistent dollar amount of compute usage per hour for 1 or 3 years.Foundational
• ScalabilityAbility of a system to handle increased load by adding resources, either vertically or horizontally.Foundational
• Secret Manager (Google Cloud)Google Cloud service for storing, versioning and accessing secrets such as API keys and passwords with IAM control and audit logging.Intermediate
• Secure Access Service Edge (SASE)Cloud-delivered architecture converging SD-WAN networking with security services such as SWG, CASB, ZTNA and FWaaS.Intermediate
• Security as a Service (SECaaS)Delivery of security capabilities, such as email filtering, web gateways or SIEM, as cloud-hosted subscription services.Intermediate
• Security Command Center (SCC)Google Cloud's security and risk management platform providing asset inventory, misconfiguration detection and threat detection.Intermediate
• Security Group (SG)Stateful virtual firewall attached to instances or network interfaces that allows specified inbound and outbound traffic.Foundational
• Security ListOCI virtual firewall rules applied at the subnet level, specifying allowed ingress and egress traffic.Intermediate
• Security PillarWell-architected pillar focused on protecting data, systems and assets through identity, detection, infrastructure and data protection, and incident response.Foundational
• Security Service Edge (SSE)Cloud-delivered security stack combining secure web gateway, CASB and zero trust network access, often with firewall as a service.Intermediate
• Serverless ComputingCloud execution model where the provider manages servers and scaling, and customers pay only for actual usage.Foundational
• Service Account (Google Cloud)Google Cloud identity used by applications and workloads rather than people, authenticated with short-lived tokens or keys.Intermediate
• Service Control Policy (SCP)AWS Organizations policy that sets the maximum available permissions for IAM principals in member accounts.Intermediate
• Service EndpointAzure VNet feature that extends a subnet's identity to Azure PaaS services over the Azure backbone so services can restrict access to that subnet.Intermediate
• Service GatewayOCI gateway that lets resources in a VCN access Oracle services such as Object Storage privately without the internet.Intermediate
• Service Level Agreement (SLA)Contractual commitment from a provider defining service availability or performance targets and remedies if they are missed.Foundational
• Service PrincipalSecurity identity in an Entra tenant representing an application or automation tool that needs access to resources.Intermediate
• Session ManagerAWS Systems Manager capability providing browser or CLI shell access to instances without open inbound ports, bastions or SSH keys.Intermediate
• Shared Access Signature (SAS)Signed URI token granting restricted, time-limited delegated access to Azure Storage resources.Intermediate
• Shared FateGoogle Cloud's extension of shared responsibility in which the provider actively helps customers deploy securely.Intermediate
• Shared Responsibility ModelFramework dividing security and operational duties between the cloud provider (of the cloud) and customer (in the cloud).Foundational
• Shared VPCGoogle Cloud feature letting a host project share its VPC networks with service projects in the same organization.Intermediate
• ShowbackReporting cloud costs to the teams or business units that incurred them without actually billing them.Foundational
• Single Point of Failure (SPOF)Component whose failure stops the entire system because no redundant alternative exists.Foundational
• Site-to-Site VPNEncrypted IPsec tunnel over the internet connecting an on-premises network to a cloud virtual network.Foundational
• Software as a Service (SaaS)Cloud service model delivering complete applications over the internet; the provider manages everything except user data and access.Foundational
• Sovereign CloudCloud offering designed so data, operations and control remain within a specific jurisdiction to satisfy sovereignty laws.Intermediate
• SpannerGoogle Cloud's fully managed, globally distributed relational database with strong consistency and horizontal scalability.Intermediate
• Spot InstancesSpare EC2 capacity offered at up to 90 percent discount that AWS can reclaim with a two-minute interruption notice.Foundational
• Spot VMs (Google Cloud)Google Cloud VMs using excess capacity at large discounts that can be preempted at any time with a short notice.Intermediate
• Stateless ApplicationApplication that keeps no client session data on the server, so any instance can handle any request.Intermediate
• Sustainability PillarAWS Well-Architected pillar, added in 2021, focused on minimizing the environmental impact of cloud workloads.Foundational
• Sustained Use Discounts (SUD)Automatic Google Cloud discounts applied to eligible Compute Engine resources that run for a significant portion of the billing month.Intermediate
• Tenant IsolationControls that keep one cloud customer's compute, network and data separate and inaccessible to other tenants.Advanced
• Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)Full cost of owning and operating an IT system over its life, including hardware, facilities, power, staff and licensing.Foundational
• User-Defined Route (UDR)Custom route in an Azure route table that overrides system routes to control where subnet traffic is sent.Intermediate
• Vendor Lock-InDependence on a provider's proprietary services or formats that makes switching providers costly or difficult.Foundational
• Vertical ScalingIncreasing or decreasing capacity by changing the size of an existing resource, such as more CPU or RAM; also called scaling up/down.Foundational
• Virtual Cloud Network (VCN)OCI software-defined private network in a region, with subnets, route tables, security lists and gateways.Foundational
• Virtual Machine Scale Sets (VMSS)Azure compute resource for deploying and automatically scaling a group of load-balanced VMs.Intermediate
• Virtual Network PeeringAzure feature that connects two VNets, in the same or different regions, over the Microsoft backbone with private IPs.Intermediate
• Virtual Private Cloud (VPC)Logically isolated virtual network in a public cloud where customers define IP ranges, subnets, routing and security controls.Foundational
• VPC EndpointAWS construct for privately connecting a VPC to supported services without an internet gateway, NAT or public IPs.Intermediate
• VPC Flow LogsFeature that captures metadata about IP traffic going to and from network interfaces in a virtual network.Intermediate
• VPC PeeringPrivate networking connection between two virtual networks that routes traffic using private IP addresses.Intermediate
• VPC Service Controls (VPC SC)Google Cloud feature creating service perimeters around Google-managed services to mitigate data exfiltration.Advanced
• Warm StandbyDR strategy running a scaled-down but fully functional copy of production in another site, scaled up on failover.Intermediate
• Workload Identity FederationGoogle Cloud feature letting external workloads (AWS, Azure, OIDC/SAML, CI/CD) access Google Cloud without service account keys.Advanced