Updated March 6, 2023
Introduction to Cloudcraft
A drawing tool that helps in creating images of cloud infrastructures with a dynamic or static base is called Cloudcraft, where several in-built components are present to manage the features of the cloud. These components can represent several features of cloud infrastructure that help users to identify the tools and manage the same in their dashboard. It is mostly used for AWS that helps in creating new architectural designs for the components. With this, the visual image of the AWS platform is offered to the user through which they can plan the works and create the designs to interpret the same.
Why do we need Cloudcraft?
Visualization:
Cloudcraft was designed to provide a visualized version of AWS services where all the components of AWS are included in the features. Cloud infrastructure can be created with these tools that make AWS appear virtually to external users. This also helps users to monitor AWS services and know the key services that demand their attention. Infrastructure diagrams built with Cloudcraft helps users to manage the platforms and make them easy to work.
Collaboration:
Users can apply changes to their team members’ diagrams, and this editing helps Cloudcraft to work continuously without any lag in updating data. Also, documents can be attached to the features of the diagram that makes the infrastructure look more real for external users. These diagrams can be shared with colleagues by exporting or downloading them. This exporting feature helps the users to share the diagram with any of their peers and discuss the ongoing data analysis during any presentation.
Synchronizing data:
Cloudcraft helps users to connect with the services always, and hence the data is always updated. This makes the users synchronize the data and make use of the same for analysis purposes. When data is updated or changed in the AWS cloud environment, the infrastructure diagram made in Cloudcraft has changed accordingly, and this difference makes the users update their plans further. These live features in the diagram help the Cloudcraft users and AWS users in the data migration.
How does Cloudcraft work?
Platform: It works on Windows, Linux, Mac systems, and even web-based portals. It is also offered initially for a month for free where users can try to work. If it doesn’t work for them, they can quit, and if it works, they can take months or yearly subscriptions of Cloudcraft. Also, users can provide a quote after which the cost will be decided. The deployment diagrams are always cloud-based where it relates to AWS and deploys the diagrams.
Existing or new project: Cloudcraft helps to create a new project or enhance the data of an existing AWS project by connecting it with the application. Cloudcraft helps developers to imagine the flow of data and to have insights into the same data. Users can either share the insights with their colleagues or ask them for suggestions. Colleagues can edit the data in Cloudcraft. Overall it helps users to work with ease on a visual platform.
Data analytics pipelines can be created through which users can see the data load in the warehouse and manage the same data to other applications or resources. The details of the data in the warehouse can be collected easily with the help of Cloudcraft. Documentation in Cloudcraft makes the users do data interpretation.
These pipelines can be connected to web applications that make the user view the data flow either from AWS application or from Cloudcraft. The diagrams are dynamic, and changes in AWS affect the diagrams as well. These continuous changes and enhanced improvements make it appealing for users.
Advantages and Disadvantages
1. We can export Cloudcraft diagrams to the system and investigate the diagrams. When we export the same, data is also exported that helps the user to analyze the data and interpret it based on their needs. The status of the diagram in the tool and the display information can be understood from the exported data present in the system. AWS users have the benefit of calculating the inventory of data based on Cloudcraft.
2. Live diagrams are another advantage. When users connect Cloudcraft to running AWS analysis, live data is collected, and the changes are reflected in the diagram. This helps the user to know the configuration of the system and the cost incurred for the same. Cloudcraft features also enable users to shift between the diagram and the data collected from AWS.
3. Cloudcraft can be secured as it holds all the data details of AWS. This security can be enabled via the Cloudcraft application, which is offered for free of cost. External users can be allowed to do read-only on the data present in the application. The visual designer provides the architectural diagram, which does not have data details. These details can be given to external users than giving them entire data details.
4. Main disadvantage is that it works only for AWS services, and other cloud services cannot be integrated. The growth of Azure makes it difficult for users to work, which forces them to look for other visual designing tools to integrate with Azure and GCP as well. Also, hybrid architectural diagrams cannot be drawn with the help of Cloudcraft.
5. Cloudcraft provides visualization of only the data present in AWS and data analytics pipelines. The traffic present in analyzing this data and the security resource groups present to monitor each data pipeline cannot be shown. Users need to login to AWS to manually check the same. Version history is supported, but we cannot store all the version histories in the application.
We have alternatives like VisualOps, Hava, SketchUp, Lucidchart, Diagrams, and Mapper that have the same characteristics as Cloudcraft with certain changes in the application. The drop-down tool is not present, which is satisfied by these tools. Some help in 3D diagrams, and some have the provision of architectural design for other cloud services.
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