What you’ll be able to do
- Describe the same freight service as infrastructure, a platform, or software, and say what Riverstone still owns in each case.
- Assign patching, identity and access, logging, backup, and incident notification to a named side instead of “the cloud.”
- Explain why a provider feature that exists is not the same as a setting Riverstone has turned on, tested, and retained.
- Decide who restores customer addresses after a bad change, using the contract and the last restore test rather than the product name.
One service, three ways of renting it
Riverstone wants customers to see delivery windows without running every computer itself. The same job can be rented three ways. Infrastructure as a service (IaaS) is a virtual machine Riverstone installs and patches, including the operating system and TrackPort. Platform as a service (PaaS) is a managed place to run TrackPort: the provider patches the platform, and Riverstone still ships the application, its accounts, and its data. Software as a service (SaaS) is a finished tracking product: the provider runs the application, and Riverstone still decides who may sign in, which data is stored, and which settings are on.
Shared responsibility means that split, for this service and this contract, not a poster that says the provider handles security. F4 still applies: the provider may host the login, and Riverstone still chooses who is in Warehouse-Admins. F6 still applies: a backup feature that Riverstone has not tested is a hope.
Name the owner of each job
Write five jobs before you argue about a logo. Patching: who applies fixes to the operating system, the platform, and the application? Identity and access management (IAM): who creates accounts, requires multifactor authentication, and removes Friday’s contractor? Logging: who turns on the audit events, pays for retention, and can export them during an incident? Backup: who configures copies, who is allowed to restore, and when was the last test? Incident notification: who tells Riverstone, by when, and what Riverstone must tell customers.
Those answers move when the rental model moves. On IaaS, Riverstone usually patches the guest operating system and the app. On PaaS, the provider patches the platform and Riverstone patches TrackPort. On SaaS, the provider patches the product and Riverstone still reviews settings, access, and exports. A default log setting that drops address-export events is a Riverstone gap even when the provider operates the software.
| Job | IaaS | PaaS | SaaS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Patch the guest or the app | Riverstone patches the system and TrackPort | Provider patches the platform; Riverstone patches TrackPort | Provider patches the product |
| IAM and access reviews | Riverstone | Riverstone | Riverstone chooses users and roles; provider runs the directory feature |
| Logging and retention | Riverstone turns logs on and keeps them | Shared: platform logs and app logs need owners | Riverstone enables and retains the audit trail it needs |
| Backup and restore test | Riverstone | Riverstone confirms platform copies and tests restore | Riverstone confirms the provider copy and tests a restore |
| Incident notification | Riverstone notifies from its own evidence | Both sides, on the contract’s clock | Provider notifies Riverstone; Riverstone notifies customers |
Worked case: who restores the addresses
TrackPort addresses live in a SaaS tracking product. A bad import overwrites customer delivery addresses. Devon says the provider will restore them because “it is their cloud.” Maya opens the responsibility note. The provider operates the software and keeps platform copies. Riverstone chose the import identity, approved the file, and has not run a restore test this year. The provider’s status page does not say the platform is down. The loss is integrity of addresses Riverstone submitted.
The decision is not the product name. Ask who is allowed to restore, which copy predates the import, and how long the provider keeps it. If the contract says customer-initiated restore, Riverstone owns the action and the test. If the provider must perform it, Riverstone still owns the request, the check that restored rows match the last good file, and the customer notice. Write the open question if the retention window is unknown. Do not fill it with the logo.
CHECK YOUR JUDGMENT
A SaaS import overwrites TrackPort customer addresses. The provider’s platform is up. Who restores the addresses, and what should Maya not assume?
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