Cloud Technical Glossary
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
| Term | Description |
|---|---|
| Apache HTTP Server | A web server software. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apache_HTTP_Server. |
| CALM | Cloud Account Lifecycle Management. Our process for managing the allocation of cloud resources. |
| Ceph | Distributed data storage platform, our standard storage software on the cloud. |
| CephFS | Ceph File System, or a file system with Ceph storage, which allows data sharing on multiple instances (virtual machines, VM). Currently only available in the Arbutus cloud. https://docs.ceph.com/en/latest/cephfs/ |
| compute cloud | A RAS allocation type, corresponding to a cloud quota to use compute type flavors intended for iInstances (virtual machines, VMs) which will be running for a limited time and may require more CPUs or memory (RAM) during their entire lifespan. Flavors have labels beginning with “c”. |
| CVMFS | CernVM-File System. A distributed read-only content distribution system often used for managing software. |
| ephemeral disk | Virtual disk which is created and destroyed along with an instance (virtual machine, VM). |
| flavour | The OpenStack term for a predefined specification of the compute, memory, and storage capacity of a new instance (virtual machine, VM). |
| floating IP | An IP address that can be associated with an instance (virtual machine, VM) to allow external access. |
| Horizon | The dashboard for OpenStack clouds that can be used for viewing and managing a user's cloud resources. https://docs.openstack.org/horizon/latest/ |
| host | The physical resources supporting an instance (VM, virtual machine). |
| image | Short for "Virtual disk image". The cloud platform provides a set of prepared base operating system images. An image is used to create a new boot volume or ephemeral disk when launching a new instance. |
| instance | A virtual server in the cloud infrastructure. Also known as a Virtual Machine (VM). |
| IPV6 | Internet Protocol version 6, a communications protocol and successor to IPv4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPv6 |
| object storage | Persistent storage space for large amounts of data. Typically read access only, e.g. images and data sets. |
| OpenStack | The software suite used on our clouds to control hardware resources such as computers, storage and networking. |
| persistent cloud | A RAS allocation type for persistent instances (virtual machines, VMs) that are expected to run indefinitely and have low or bursty CPU requirements. Flavors have labels beginning with p* |
| RAC | Resource Allocation Competitions. Program via which PIs can request storage and compute resources beyond what can be obtained via the Rapid Access Service (RAS). |
| RAS | Rapid Access Service. Service by which Principal Investigators can request a modest amount of storage and cloud resources without having to apply to the Resource Allocation Competitions (RAC). |
| S3 | Simple Storage Service. A type of object storage. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_S3. |
| security group | A group of rules controlling network traffic to and from an instance (virtual machine, VM). A security rule can be applied as a whole to one or more instances. |
| snapshot | A copy of a volume that can be used as a backup or to launch another instance (virtual machine, VM). |
| SSL | Secure Sockets Layer. A protocol to allow encrypted communications over networks. SSL is now deprecated, and should be replaced by TLS (Transport Layer Security) wherever possible. |
| SWIFT | Another type of object storage. https://wiki.openstack.org/wiki/Swift |
| tenant | A group or user's allocation of cloud resources (now called a Project). |
| TSL | Transport Layer Security. The successor of SSL (Secure Sockets Layer). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transport_Layer_Security |
| VCPU | Virtual central processing unit. An instance (virtual machine, VM) can have one or more CPUs assigned to it, each of which is seen as a single physical CPU core by the operating system. |
| VGPU | Virtual graphics processing unit. An instance (virtual machine, VM) can have one or more VGPUs assigned to it. |
| virtual machine | See "instance." |
| volume | An allocation of storage resources that can be attached or detached to/from an instance/VM, exposed as a block device (a virtual disk) |