Preparation for CISA can be done through any local coaching centres or online resources. One can get a lot of practical knowledge by using exam dumps as they have helped many aspirants qualify for the exam on the first attempt. Exam-Labs is a very good source used and recommended by those who have qualified for the exam on the first attempt. The assessments and practice tests can help you get familiar with the course structure ahead; it will help you get acquainted with the terminologies, which will arise later during the training course.
Preparation Needed in Today’s World and IT Industry
These days, IT organizations are going through a paradigm change. They depart from the traditional running computing centres equipped with specialized and expensive computer hardware and software, which require regular costly maintenance and upgrades. The new paradigm ideal organizations are looking at is cloud computing.
Cloud computing refers to creating and using remote virtual servers or other devices over the Internet instead of using local servers or devices. Here is the National Institute of Standards and Technology definition, which you may remember from another class.
Cloud computing is a model for enabling ubiquitous, convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources: networks, servers, storage applications, and services that can be rapidly provisioned and released with a minimal management effort or our service provider interaction. The two technologies, advances in which, in the last few decades, made the paradigm change possible are virtualization and Internet networking.
Virtualization refers to the emulation of various types and configurations of computer equipment using clusters of standardized hardware components. Special hypervisor software makes these machines or hosts run multiple instances of guest virtual machines that share resources of the host. Because hypervisor is a piece of software, virtual machines’ creation and control can be done programmatically. Other IT hardware resources, like storage or network, can also be virtualized.
CISA Future
Regardless of where the underlying hardware is located, those virtual resources can be both created and accessed remotely over the internet. The data centers implementing the cloud can be owned and maintained by the cloud providers in their separate locations or by organizations on their premises. Virtualization and the Internet are cloud computing enablers.
They allow for the delivery of elastic, on-demand, pay-per-use IT system configurations in the cloud. Enter the cloud computing revolution. It is estimated that by 2018, at least half of IT spending will be cloud-based, going even higher in subsequent years. This is based on a Forbes magazine article. It does not mean that the traditional IT departments will die as some say.
Rather, their role is being redefined to accommodate the creation, configuration, and utilization of cloud environments using various deployment and service models. Also, not all applications can be moved to the cloud. For example, many organizations will prefer to run their mission-critical applications on-premises, so there will always be room left for traditional deployments.
Cloud Service Models
Cloud services can be delivered to the customer using several service models. Service models differ by what components of the hardware/software stack are maintained and managed by the cloud provider and the customer. This is a summary slide illustrating all cloud service models we’ll be discussing.
You manage blue elements, the customer, and green by the cloud vendor. Traditional deployments of IT systems are done on customer premises, and all components are maintained and managed by the customer. But it also applies to the private cloud delivery model, where an organization maintains an on-premises cloud to take advantage of the cloud computing paradigm.
Still, they retain full control over the whole stack.
An Infrastructure as a Service Model
Cloud service providers make virtualized physical cloud infrastructure elements – servers, storage, networks, and such – available to the customers. Because the provider implements the virtualization, they also own the virtualization layer.
After provisioning virtual resources through the web provider’s web portal interface, customers access those resources’ user interface screens over the Internet.
Regarded as one of the best certifications available in the industry, CISA certification will open up numerous aspirants opportunities. So, with the right preparation, one can crack this exam and pursue the course.