Meaning of infrastructure

Infrastructure generally refers to the facilities that form the basis of industry and daily life, such as roads, railways, communication facilities, and public facilities. Infrastructure is an abbreviation of the English word infrastructure, and it means the lower structure. Infrastructure has the characteristic of referring to facilities that are shared by society. Specifically, infrastructure includes roads, railways, water and sewage systems, power grids, ports, dams, communication facilities, schools, hospitals, parks, and welfare facilities. will be treated.

In a broader sense, infrastructure is also used to describe a foundation or foundation that functions stably and permanently, and is sometimes expressed as “○○ infrastructure.” For example, new towns managed by local governments are referred to as “housing infrastructure.”

IT infrastructure

In IT-related fields, all IT-related equipment, installation locations, communication lines, networks, software, data, etc. are collectively referred to as “IT infrastructure,” as it refers to the underlying structure of infrastructure. Broadly speaking, it consists of hardware and software.

hardware

Hardware includes computers, servers, networks, storage, etc., which are IT devices with functions such as data input/output, data processing, and data storage. In addition, the power supplies, UPS, PDUs, surveillance systems, cameras, etc. necessary for the operation and operation of these devices are also treated as hardware.

software

To run a computer system, you need software that is appropriate for the purpose. Typical software includes Windows and MacOS. Application servers and web servers, also known as middleware, are also software.

Cloud expansion (cloud)

A noteworthy aspect of IT infrastructure in recent years is the expansion of cloud computing. Traditionally, most IT equipment such as servers and network equipment was procured by companies, secured storage space within the company, and managed and operated it in an “on-premises” format.

In recent years, the use of the “cloud” format has expanded, in which only the necessary services are contracted out from the IT infrastructure managed and operated by an outside specialist company and utilized over the Internet.

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