What are 'cloud instances'?

Cloud instances refer to virtualized servers that can be provisioned on-demand in cloud environments. These instances are created from a template that includes an operating system and application software, allowing users to quickly deploy and utilize resources based on their specific needs.

The key characteristic of cloud instances is their flexibility and scalability. Users can provision these virtual machines when demand increases and terminate them when they are no longer needed, leading to optimized resource utilization and cost management. This dynamic provisioning is a hallmark feature of cloud computing, providing significant advantages over traditional physical server setups, where capacity must be pre-purchased and managed.

In contrast, physical hardware components in a data center do not embody the concept of cloud instances as they refer to tangible equipment rather than virtual resources. A type of cloud storage tier deals specifically with how data is categorized and stored within the cloud, which is unrelated to the computing power offered by cloud instances. Lastly, a monitoring tool for network traffic pertains to the analysis and oversight of data flow within a network rather than the provisioning of computational resources.