Cloud Computing
Why cloud not on the sky?
Building blocks for real projects. Each block page starts with a decision chart that says which service to use, then shows how to set it up on AWS with the console, the CLI or Terraform. Foundations comes first (accounts, regions, pricing, the AWS CLI), then Identity, Compute, Storage, Databases, Networking, Messaging and Monitoring.
Architecture map
A typical web project on AWS. Select a service to jump to its setup steps.
- ClientUser
- Edge
- App
- Data
Around everything
Service mapping
| Category | AWS | Azure | Google Cloud |
|---|---|---|---|
| VMs | EC2 | Virtual Machines | Compute Engine |
| Managed Kubernetes | EKS | AKS | GKE |
| Containers, no cluster | ECS on Fargate, App Runner | Container Apps, Container Instances | Cloud Run |
| PaaS web apps | Elastic Beanstalk | App Service | App Engine |
| Functions | Lambda | Azure Functions | Cloud Run functions |
| Object storage | S3 | Blob Storage | Cloud Storage |
| Block / file storage | EBS / EFS | Managed Disks / Azure Files | Persistent Disk, Hyperdisk / Filestore |
| Relational DB | RDS, Aurora | Azure SQL, Database for PostgreSQL/MySQL | Cloud SQL, AlloyDB, Spanner |
| NoSQL | DynamoDB | Cosmos DB | Firestore, Bigtable |
| Cache | ElastiCache | Azure Managed Redis | Memorystore |
| Data warehouse | Redshift | Synapse / Fabric | BigQuery |
| Messaging / queue | SQS, SNS | Service Bus, Queue Storage | Pub/Sub |
| Event bus | EventBridge | Event Grid | Eventarc |
| Streaming | Kinesis, MSK | Event Hubs | Pub/Sub, Managed Kafka |
| Private network | VPC | Virtual Network (VNet) | VPC (global) |
| Load balancer | ELB (ALB / NLB) | Load Balancer, Application Gateway, Front Door | Cloud Load Balancing |
| DNS / CDN | Route 53 / CloudFront | Azure DNS / Front Door | Cloud DNS / Cloud CDN |
| Secrets / keys | Secrets Manager / KMS | Key Vault | Secret Manager / Cloud KMS |
| Monitoring / logs | CloudWatch, X-Ray | Azure Monitor, App Insights | Cloud Monitoring, Cloud Logging, Trace |
| Container registry | ECR | ACR | Artifact Registry |
| CI/CD | CodePipeline / CodeBuild | Azure DevOps Pipelines | Cloud Build / Cloud Deploy |
| Generative AI | Bedrock | Microsoft Foundry (Azure OpenAI) | Vertex AI (Gemini) |
App Runner is closed to new AWS customers; for a container with no cluster to manage, AWS recommends Amazon ECS Express Mode (see Compute).
Platform comparison
| Cloud Platform | Pricing (Per Month) | Free Tier | Key Services | Unique Features | Ideal For |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon Web Services (AWS) | Pay-as-you-go (Starts at $0.0125 per hour for EC2 instances) | Credit-based for new accounts since 2025-07 (up to $200 credits, 6 months) + always-free services | Compute (EC2, Lambda), Storage (S3), Databases (RDS, DynamoDB), AI/ML | Largest range of services, global reach, highly scalable | Enterprises, large-scale applications |
| Microsoft Azure | Pay-as-you-go (Starts at $0.004/hr for B1s VMs) | $200 credit for 30 days + 12 months of popular free services (B1s VMs, Blob storage) | Virtual Machines, AI, Kubernetes, DevOps | Tight integration with Microsoft products (Office 365, Active Directory), AI tools | Enterprises using Microsoft tech stack |
| Google Cloud Platform (GCP) | Pay-as-you-go (Starts at $0.0106/hour for N1 standard VMs) | $300 credit for 90 days + always-free products (e2-micro, 5 GB storage) | Compute (GCE), Big Data (BigQuery), AI/ML | Strong in analytics and AI/ML, Kubernetes origins, eco-friendly | AI/ML and big data-focused apps |
| IBM Cloud | Pay-as-you-go (Starts at $0.014/hr for virtual servers) | Lite plan (limited free tier for select services) | Compute, AI (Watson), Blockchain, Containers | Strong in AI (Watson), Blockchain offerings, hybrid cloud support | AI/ML apps, enterprises with hybrid cloud |
| Oracle Cloud | Pay-as-you-go (Starts at $0.0125/hour for Compute VMs) | Always free tier (2 VMs, 2 Autonomous Databases, etc.) | Compute, Databases (Autonomous DB), Storage | Best for databases, autonomous services, Oracle integration | Database-heavy apps, Oracle environments |
| DigitalOcean | Starts at $5/month (Basic Droplet) | 60 days free trial (up to $100 credit) | Simple VMs (Droplets), Kubernetes, Object Storage | Simplicity, cost-effective, developer-friendly | Startups, small apps, developers |
| Linode (Akamai Cloud) | Starts at $5/month (Nanode plan) | 60-day free trial ($100 credit) | Simple VMs, Block/Object Storage, Kubernetes | Affordable, excellent support, easy setup | Small to medium-scale apps, developers |
| Heroku | Starts at ~$5/month (Eco dynos) | No free tier since Nov 2022 | Managed containers, Databases (Postgres), Add-ons | Best for deploying apps quickly, managed containers | Startups, hobby projects, web apps |
Notes
- Pricing is generally pay-as-you-go, meaning it depends on usage. AWS, Azure, and GCP offer different pricing based on specific instance types, services, and regions.
- Free Tier: Most platforms offer trial credits and/or always-free limits; terms change often, so check the provider's page before relying on them.
- Unique Features: Each platform has strengths, like AWS's broad service range, GCP's AI and analytics, and Oracle's focus on databases.