Traditional Infrastructure
Traditional infrastructure, also known as on-premises or legacy infrastructure, refers to the physical hardware and software systems that organizations own, manage, and maintain in their own data centers or facilities. It typically includes servers, storage devices, networking equipment, and operating systems that are deployed and operated locally. This approach involves significant upfront capital investment and ongoing operational costs for maintenance, upgrades, and physical security.
Developers should understand traditional infrastructure when working with legacy systems, in highly regulated industries (e.g., finance, healthcare) where data sovereignty is critical, or for applications requiring low-latency access to on-site hardware. It's also relevant for scenarios where cloud migration isn't feasible due to cost, compliance, or technical constraints, such as maintaining proprietary hardware dependencies or avoiding vendor lock-in.