Cloud Glossary: Letter I

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I

IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service)

A cloud computing model that provides virtualized computing resources over the internet, including servers, storage, and networking.

IAM (Identity and Access Management)

A framework of policies and technologies for ensuring that only authorized users have access to technology resources.

ICMP (Internet Control Message Protocol)

A network protocol used for sending error messages and operational information about network conditions.

Identity

The representation of a user, service, or device that can be authenticated and authorized to access resources.

Identity Federation

A system that allows users to access multiple applications and services using a single set of credentials.

Identity Provider (IdP)

A service that creates, maintains, and manages identity information while providing authentication services.

Idle Time

Periods when computing resources are not actively processing tasks, representing potential cost optimization opportunities.

Image

A template or snapshot used to create new instances, containing the operating system and pre-installed software.

Immutable Infrastructure

An approach where servers are never modified after deployment; instead, new servers are built and deployed for changes.

Import

The process of bringing data, configurations, or resources from external sources into a cloud environment.

In-Memory Computing

Processing data in system memory (RAM) rather than on disk storage for faster access and computation.

Incremental Backup

A backup method that only saves data that has changed since the last backup, reducing storage requirements.

Index

A data structure that improves the speed of data retrieval operations on a database table or search system.

Infrastructure

The underlying foundation of hardware, software, networking, and facilities required to support IT services.

Infrastructure as Code (IaC)

Managing and provisioning computing infrastructure through machine-readable definition files rather than manual processes.

Ingress

Inbound network traffic coming into a system, service, or network from external sources.

Injection Attack

A security vulnerability where malicious code is inserted into a program through user input to execute unintended commands.

Instance

A single occurrence of a virtual machine, container, or service running in a cloud environment.

Instance Store

Temporary storage that provides high-performance local storage directly attached to an instance.

Instance Type

A configuration template that defines the compute, memory, storage, and networking capacity of virtual machines.

Integration

The process of connecting different systems, applications, or services to work together and share data.

Internet Gateway

A horizontally scaled, redundant component that allows communication between instances and the internet.

Internet of Things (IoT)

A network of physical devices embedded with sensors, software, and connectivity to collect and exchange data.

Intrusion Detection System (IDS)

A security tool that monitors network traffic and system activities for malicious activities or policy violations.

IOPS (Input/Output Operations Per Second)

A performance measurement used to characterize storage devices and their ability to handle read/write operations.

IP Address

A unique numerical identifier assigned to each device connected to a network that uses the Internet Protocol.

IPv4 (Internet Protocol version 4)

The fourth version of the Internet Protocol, using 32-bit addresses to identify devices on a network.

IPv6 (Internet Protocol version 6)

The sixth version of the Internet Protocol, using 128-bit addresses to provide a much larger address space.

Isolation

The separation of computing resources to prevent interference between different users, applications, or processes.

ITSM (IT Service Management)

The activities and processes involved in planning, delivering, operating, and controlling IT services.

IDE (Integrated Development Environment)

A software application providing comprehensive facilities for software development including code editing and debugging.

Idempotent

An operation that produces the same result regardless of how many times it is executed.

Image Registry

A centralized repository for storing, managing, and distributing container images and virtual machine images.

Immutable

Data or infrastructure that cannot be changed after creation, requiring replacement rather than modification.

Impact Analysis

The process of evaluating potential effects of changes, failures, or incidents on business operations and systems.

Implementation

The process of putting a plan, decision, or system into effect through actual deployment and configuration.

Incident

An unplanned interruption to a service or reduction in the quality of a service that requires response and resolution.

Incident Management

The process of managing the lifecycle of incidents to restore service operation as quickly as possible.

Incident Response

The approach taken by an organization to address and manage the aftermath of a security breach or cyberattack.

Ingress Controller

A Kubernetes component that manages external access to services in a cluster, typically HTTP and HTTPS.

Infrastructure Monitoring

The practice of tracking the performance, availability, and health of IT infrastructure components.

Initialization

The process of setting up and configuring a system, application, or service before it begins normal operation.

Inline Policy

A policy that is directly embedded in a single user, group, or role rather than being managed separately.

Input Validation

The process of checking and sanitizing data input to ensure it meets expected criteria and security requirements.

Instance Family

A grouping of instance types that share similar characteristics and are optimized for specific use cases.

Instance Metadata

Data about an instance that applications running on the instance can use to configure or manage themselves.

Integration Platform

A middleware solution that enables different applications and systems to communicate and share data.

Intent-Based Networking

A network management approach that uses artificial intelligence to automatically configure and manage networks.

Interactive

Systems or applications that require user input and provide immediate responses to user actions.

Interface

A shared boundary across which different software components communicate and exchange information.

Internal Load Balancer

A load balancer that distributes traffic between internal resources without exposing them to the internet.

Internet Service Provider (ISP)

A company that provides internet access and related services to individuals and organizations.

Intrusion Prevention System (IPS)

A security appliance that monitors network traffic and actively blocks or prevents detected threats.

Inventory Management

The process of tracking and managing IT assets, resources, and configurations across an organization.

IoT Core

A managed service that provides secure communication between IoT devices and cloud applications.

IoT Device

A physical object embedded with sensors, software, and network connectivity to collect and exchange data.

IoT Gateway

A device that connects IoT sensors and devices to the cloud, often providing local processing capabilities.

IP Range

A continuous block of IP addresses used to define network segments or address allocation schemes.

IPS (Intrusion Prevention System)

A network security technology that examines network traffic flows to detect and prevent vulnerability exploits.

IPSec (Internet Protocol Security)

A secure network protocol suite that authenticates and encrypts packets of data to provide secure communication.

ISO 27001

An international standard for information security management systems that provides requirements for establishing security controls.

Iteration

A single cycle in the development process, typically involving planning, development, testing, and review phases.