What is cloud computing?

　　Cloud computing is a model that provides computing services through the Internet. It is based on shared computing resource pools. These resources can include servers, storage, networks, databases, etc., and users can obtain these resources flexibly as needed. The goal of cloud computing is to provide computing services that can be scalable, flexible, high -performance and economical.

　　In cloud computing, there are three main service models:

　　Infrastructure is service (IaaS):

　　Provide computing infrastructure, including virtual machines, storage and networks. Users can run and manage their own operating systems, applications and services on these infrastructure.

　　The platform is service (PaaS):

　　On the basis of IaaS, PaaS provides higher levels of abstraction, including runtime environment, development framework and databases. Users no longer need to care about the underlying operating system and infrastructure, but focus on the development and deployment of applications.

　　Software is service (SaaS):

　　Provide complete applications, and users do not need to manage the bottom hardware, software and networks. Common examples include email services, online office kits, etc.

　　Cloud Server vs cloud host vs VPS

　　In the context of cloud computing, the term "cloud server", "cloud host" and "VPS" are often used to describe the same service, that is, virtual computing resources. However, there may be some subtle differences in some contexts.

　　Cloud Server

　　"Cloud Server" is a common term that can refer to any virtualized server instance that runs in a cloud computing environment. This includes virtual machines, storage and network resources under the IaaS model. Cloud server can be virtual or physical, but in most cases, we are more inclined to use virtual servers, because this provides higher flexibility and resource utilization.

　　Cloud host

　　"Cloud Host" and "Cloud Server" are usually used as the same meaning. However, sometimes the "cloud host" may be more inclined to emphasize the virtual server of service providers. This term emphasizes that the virtual server rented by the user is actually custody and maintenance in the data center of the cloud service provider.

　　VPS (virtual special server)

　　"VPS" is a narrower term, which is more specifically referring to the virtual server created by virtualized technology on a physical server. VPS is usually regarded as an implementation in the IaaS model. Each VPS has its own operating system, disk space, CPU resources and memory. They share hardware resources on physical servers, but areolate each other.

　　When using these terms, there are usually some mixing, because they all refer to similar services provided in the cloud computing environment.

　　Is VPS a cloud server or a cloud host?

　　Technically, VPS can be called the cloud server or cloud host at the same time. The difference between these two terms usually depends more on the words of industry, context, and individual service providers.

　　If we emphasize virtualization technology, users have their own virtual instances and provide these services in the cloud environment, then "VPS" can be regarded as "cloud server".