IC cloud: Enabling compositional cloud

Abstract

Cloud computing has attracted great interest from both academic and industrial communities. Different paradigms, architectures and applications based on the concept of cloud have emerged. Although many of them have been quite successful, efforts are mainly focusing on the study and implementation of particular setups. However, a generic and more flexible solution for cloud construction is missing. In this paper, we present a composition-based approach for cloud computing (compositional cloud) using Imperial College Cloud (IC Cloud) as a demonstration example. Instead of studying a specific cloud computing system, our approach aims to enable a generic framework where various cloud computing architectures and implementation strategies can be systematically studied. With our approach, cloud computing providers/adopters are able to design and compose their own systems in a quick and flexible manner. Cloud computing systems will no longer be in fixed shapes but will be dynamic and adjustable according to the requirements of different application domains.