Availability Zone

Container

A lightweight, portable software package that bundles application code with all its dependencies for consistent execution.

Docker

A platform for developing, shipping, and running applications in isolated containers with consistent environments.

Kubernetes

An open-source container orchestration platform for automating deployment, scaling, and management of containerised applications.

Load Balancer

A device or software that distributes network traffic across multiple servers to ensure no single server is overwhelmed.

Auto-Scaling

Automatically adjusting compute resources based on current demand to maintain performance and optimise costs.

Virtual Machine

A software emulation of a physical computer that runs an operating system and applications independently.

Hypervisor

Software that creates and manages virtual machines, allowing multiple operating systems to share a single hardware host.

Object Storage

A data storage architecture managing data as objects rather than file hierarchies or block addresses.

Block Storage

A data storage technology that manages data as individual blocks, each acting as an independent hard drive.

Region

A geographic area containing one or more data centres where cloud services are hosted.

Container Orchestration

The automated management of containerised application deployment, scaling, networking, and availability across clusters of machines, with Kubernetes as the dominant platform.

An architectural style structuring an application as a collection of loosely coupled, independently deployable services.

A cloud execution model where the provider dynamically allocates resources, charging only for actual compute time used.

A query language for APIs that lets clients request exactly the data they need in a single request.

A cloud pricing model where users commit to a specific resource configuration for a term in exchange for discounted rates.

A centralised web interface that provides developers with self-service access to infrastructure, services, documentation, and templates within their organisation.

A database designed from the ground up to operate in cloud environments with automatic scaling and high availability.

The delivery of computing services — servers, storage, databases, networking, software — over the internet on demand.

An open-source infrastructure as code tool for building, changing, and versioning infrastructure safely and efficiently.

High Availability

A system design approach that ensures a certain degree of operational continuity during a given measurement period.