What is Cloud Networking and How Does It Work?
Cloud networking refers to networking capabilities and connectivity between resources in a cloud computing environment. As more applications and workloads move to the cloud, networking must evolve to enable flexible and scalable cloud deployments.
Table of Contents
 |
| How Does Cloud Networking Work? |
Understanding Cloud Computing
Before examining cloud networking specifically, it helps to understand cloud computing in general:
Cloud computing delivers on-demand computing services over the Internet on a pay-as-you-go basis
Resources are shared in a multi-tenant environment
Capabilities can scale up and down elastically to meet changing needs
Common deployment models:
Public cloud - Shared resources owned by a cloud provider
Private cloud - Dedicated environment operated solely for one organization
Hybrid cloud - A mix of public and private clouds
Service models:
IaaS - Infrastructure as a Service
PaaS - Platform as a Service
SaaS - Software as a Service
What is Cloud Networking?
Enables networking capabilities for servers, applications, data, and services hosted in the cloud
- Connects resources within and across cloud data centres
- Provides network connectivity between cloud and on-premises environments
- Delivers similar network functionality to traditional data centres
Cloud networking provides the same fundamental network capabilities that organizations rely on in their own data centres, but with added benefits enabled by the cloud computing model:
Cloud Networking Services
- Scalable network capacity that can expand and contract on demand
- Virtualized network infrastructure like routers and load balancers
- Automated configuration of subnets, IP addresses, and security rules
- Distributed network services for traffic routing, firewalls, monitoring
- Connectivity to the organization's on-premises locations
How Does Cloud Networking Work?
 |
| How Does Cloud Networking Work? |
Delivering networking in the cloud requires some different approaches to support the cloud computing model:
Cloud Networking Architecture
- Highly virtualized infrastructure using software-defined networking
- Virtual private clouds (VPCs) create isolated network segments
- Multi-tenant environments share an underlying physical network fabric
- APIs automate the configuration of network components
- The cloud provider manages physical network components
The cloud utilizes a highly virtualized infrastructure for networking, enabled by software-defined networking (SDN). SDN allows the network to be programmed and decoupled from physical infrastructure. This allows networks in the cloud to be set up and configured quickly through software rather than needing physical devices and cabling to be provisioned.
Cloud providers establish virtual private clouds (VPCs) which create logically isolated network segments on top of the shared physical network fabric. VPCs allow customers to have their own private network space to run their cloud workloads, segmented off from other cloud tenants. Customers have control over their VPC policies, IP address ranges, subnets etc. though the underlying infrastructure is fully managed by the cloud provider.
The multi-tenant nature of the cloud means many customers share the same physical data centres and networking equipment. The separation is logical using VPCs rather than physical segmentation. Sophisticated security policies, user permissions and network monitoring protect data and regulate access across tenants.
Automation through APIs is deeply integrated into cloud networking. Tasks like provisioning networks, subnets, network ACLs, route tables and internet gateways can be programmed and automated through APIs rather than needing manual processes. This enables network resources to be spun up and down on demand.
While customers control the logical network components, the physical networking infrastructure of cables, routers, switches, firewalls etc. is entirely managed by the cloud provider. This massively reduces the networking burden for customers. Combined with automation through APIs, it facilitates agile changes to network configurations supporting dynamic application needs. The cloud provider is responsible for ensuring high performance, reliability and security of the underlying infrastructure.
This architecture provides agile, resilient, and efficient networking. Organizations define and administer logical network components aligned to their changing application needs.
Cloud Networking Providers
Leading cloud providers offer robust networking capabilities:
AWS Virtual Private Cloud (VPC)
Microsoft Azure Virtual Network
Google Cloud Virtual Private Cloud
These give organizations control to define virtual networks in the cloud similar to traditional on-premises environments.
Challenges and Best Practices
While powerful, cloud networking introduces some new challenges:
- Maintaining strong security with cloud-friendly approaches
- Ensuring reliable connectivity with on-premises locations
- Managing complexity across cloud networks
- Avoiding vendor lock-in by using open standards
Best practices involve taking advantage of cloud automation, following provider guidelines, and monitoring closely.
Use Cases and Examples
Cloud networking enables several common use cases:
Hybrid cloud connectivity to integrate public cloud with private cloud or data centres
- Web application hosting with the public cloud provides an elastic scale
- Backup and disaster recovery sites located in the cloud
- Development and testing environments that mirror production
For example, cloud networking allows a web application to handle a sudden spike in traffic by automatically provisioning more cloud servers and network capacity to meet demand.
Conclusion
Cloud networking delivers essential connectivity and capabilities to support cloud computing environments. By utilizing virtualized, software-driven models, cloud networking provides automation, agility and scalability to meet modern application and workload requirements. As cloud adoption continues accelerating, cloud networking will play an increasingly important role.