Cloud computing is no longer simply a technology disruptor but increasingly a business necessity, with worldwide spending projected to exceed $1 trillion in 2027, according to Gartner. With this growth in cloud computing, three key players—AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud—have emerged, each with its own cloud terminology to describe the features, functionality, and tools of cloud infrastructure.
And that terminology becomes even more complicated when you’re dealing with more than one cloud provider. For example, AWS terminology refers to a data warehouse as “Redshift,” Google Cloud uses the term “BigQuery,” and Azure terminology calls it “SQL data warehouse.”
Confusing, right? We know. That’s why we’ve created an interactive cloud terminology glossary. Now it’s easy to find and use the correct cloud terms whether you are using AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud.
This resource includes:
- An interactive cloud infrastructure diagram. Just click the icons under each shape to see the appropriate term for AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud.
- Annotated diagrams for each of the major cloud providers. Compare AWS vs. Azure terminology and Google Cloud terminology in context.
- A table with generic, AWS, Google Cloud, and Azure terms, along with their descriptions.
How this cloud terminology glossary helps you
No matter the situation you encounter when it comes to cloud computing, all of your bases are covered with this easy-to-use reference. You can:
- Onboard and train new employees who have experience using a different provider.
- Keep your hybrid cloud system running smoothly. Be able to speak to the specifics of each provider to solve problems quickly and knowledgeably.
- Audit organizations’ cloud infrastructures accurately regardless of the provider and offer informed suggestions.
- Transition your cloud infrastructure from one provider to another with ease.
Cloud terminology from A to Z
Use the following cloud computing glossary to brush up on your cloud terminology.
API endpoints
Single entryway that allows multiple APIs or microservices to act cohesively
- AWS: API Gateway
- Azure: API Management
- Google Cloud: Cloud Endpoints
Autoscaling
Scales resources (of a group) up or down based on usage and rules
- AWS: Auto-scaling group
- Azure: VM Scale Sets
- Google Cloud: Compute Engine Autoscaler
Availability Zone (AZ)
Distinct locations (within regions) where resources are housed - designed to be isolated from failures in other AZs
- AWS: Availability Zone
- Azure: Availability Zone
- Google Cloud: Availability Zone
Compute Instances
Scalable compute instances (servers)
- AWS: Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2)
- Azure: Azure VM
- Google Cloud: Compute Engine
Content Delivery Network (CDN)
Global network that delivers content based on the geographic locations of the user
- AWS: Cloudfront
- Azure: Azure CDN
- Google Cloud: Cloud CDN or CDN Interconnect
Data Warehouse
Central repositories of integrated data from one or more disparate sources
- AWS: Redshift
- Azure: SQL Data Warehouse
- Google Cloud: BigQuery
Domain Name System (DNS)
Naming database in which internet domain names are located and translated into IP addresses
- AWS: Route 53
- Azure: Azure DNS or Traffic Manager
- Google Cloud: Cloud DNS
Identity and Access Management (IAM)
Manage access to cloud services and resources securely
- AWS: Identity Access Management (IAM)
- Azure: Azure Role-Based ACL (RBAC) or Azure AD
- Google Cloud: Cloud IAM
Internet Gateway
VPC component that allows communication between instances in VPCs and the internet
Load Balancing
Pushes traffic (in a balanced way) across multiple targets in multiple AZs
- AWS: ELB
- Azure: Load Balancer or Application Gateway
- Google Cloud: Cloud Load Balancing
Managed Data Stream Processing Service
- AWS: Kinesis
- Azure: Stream or Data Lake Analytics
- Google Cloud: Dataflow (processing) or Pub/Sub (ingest)
Managed Kubernetes (K8s) Service
Allows you to run K8s without needing to install and operate your own K8s cluster
- AWS: Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS)
- Azure: Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS)
- Google Cloud: Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE)
Managed NoSQL Database Service
Distributed non-relational database service
- AWS: DynamoDB
- Azure: Cosmos DB
- Google Cloud: Cloud Firestone, Cloud Bigtable or Cloud Database
Managed SQL Database Engine
High performance managed SQL engine that runs on a cloud's managed SQL service
- AWS: Aurora
- Google Cloud: Cloud Spanner
Managed SQL Database Service
Distributed relational database service capable of running multiple SQL engines
- AWS: Relational Database Service
- Azure: SQL Database or Azure Database for MySQL
- Google Cloud: Cloud SQL
Messaging Queue Service
Fully managed message queuing service that enables you to decouple and scale microservices, distributed systems, and serverless applications
- AWS: SQS Queues
- Azure: Azure Queue Storage or Service Bus
- Google Cloud: Cloud Pub/Sub
Network Address Translation (NAT)
Enable outbound internet traffic from instances in a private subnet
- AWS: NAT Gateways
- Azure: NAT Gateways
- Google Cloud: Cloud NAT
Network Peering
A networking connection between two VPCs that enables the routing traffic between them using private IP addresses
- AWS: VPC Peering Connections
- Azure: Virtual Network Peering
- Google Cloud: VPC Network Peering
Network Routes/Routing
A set of rules that are used to determine where network traffic from subnets and/or gateways are directed
- AWS: Route Tables
- Azure: Azure Virtual Network Routing
- Google Cloud: Routes
Object Storage
Scalable, highly available storage for objects
- AWS: S3 Buckets
- Azure: Blob Storage
- Google Cloud: Cloud Storage
Pub/Sub Messaging
Fully managed pub/sub messaging service that enables you to decouple microservices, distributed systems, and serverless applications
- AWS: SNS Topics
- Azure: Event Grid
- Google Cloud: Cloud Pub/Sub
Region
Worldwide locations where resources are hosted
- AWS: Region
- Azure: Region
- Google Cloud: Region
Security Groups
Contains a list of security rules that allow or deny network traffic to resources
- AWS: Security Group
- Azure: Network Security Group
- Google Cloud: Compute Engine Firewall Rules
Serverless Container Service
Run containers without managing servers
- AWS: Fargate
- Azure: Azure Container Instances (ACI)
- Google Cloud: Cloud Run (+GKE)
Serverless Functions
Event-driven, serverless computing service that runs code in response to events and automatically manages the computing resources required by that code
- AWS: Lambda Functions
- Azure: Azure Functions
- Google Cloud: Cloud Functions
Serverless Orchestration
Task, processes, and workflow orchestration
- AWS: Step Functions
- Azure: Logic Apps
Subnet
Logical subdivision of an IP network. Can be private or public
- AWS: Subnet
- Azure: Subnet
- Google Cloud: Subnet
Third Party or Guest Access
Grant access to resources in your cloud account, another cloud account you own, or a third-party account
- AWS: Cross-account Roles
- Azure: RBAC - Guests
- Google Cloud: Cloud IAM - Service Account
Virtual Private Cloud (VPC)
A logically isolated section of the cloud where you can launch resources
- AWS: Virtual Private Cloud (VPC)
- Azure: Virtual Network (VNet)
- Google Cloud: Virtual Private Cloud (VPC)
VPC Endpoints
Privately connects VPC to other cloud and endpoint services
- AWS: VPC Endpoints
- Azure: Virtual Network Service Endpoint
- Google Cloud: Private Services, Private Google Access and/or Shared VPC
VPN Gateway
Private connection to VPCs
- AWS: Virtual Private Gateway
- Azure: Azure VPN Gateway
- Google Cloud: Cloud VPN
Stay up to date on the cloud
So there you have it. Know at a glance the correct cloud term you should use, whether it’s for AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud. Use this cloud computing glossary to understand and make more informed decisions when it comes to your cloud infrastructure.
