Crane Cloud: a resilient multi-cloud service layer for resource constrained settings
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Date
2021
Authors
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Publisher
Makerere University
Abstract
Whereas the main cloud providers have set up cloud services on stable
infrastructure, developers and users situated in low-resource settings access cloud
services and platforms using low-end computing devices that often connect to the
Internet via slow mobile connections. These settings require custom software
abstraction layers that consider such bandwidth constraints and intermittent
connections as a rule rather than the exception. In this paper, we identify key
challenges for developing for and accessing cloud services in resource constrained
settings, namely, (1) Frequent Internet partitions and bandwidth constraints, (2)
Data jurisdiction restrictions, (3) Vendor lock-in, and (4) Poor quality of service.
To address these challenges, we propose a set of design considerations and
properties for a resilient multi-cloud service layer, that includes: (1)
Containerisation and orchestration of applications, (2) Service scheduling and
replication, (3) Portability and multi-cloud migration, (4) Resilience to network
partitions and bandwidth constraints, (5) Automated service discovery and load
balancing, (6) Localised image registry, and (7) Support for platform monitoring
and management. We present a prototype validation case study, Crane Cloud, an
open source multi-cloud service abstraction layer built on-top of Kubernetes that
is designed with inherent support for resilience to network partitions, microservice
orchestration (deployment, scaling and management of containerized
applications)a localized image registry, support for migration of services between
private and public clouds to avoid vendor lock-in issues and platform monitoring.
We evaluate the performance and user experience of Crane Cloud by
implementing and deploying a computational and bandwidth intensive machine
learning system shows lower response time compared when hosted on other
public clouds.
Description
Keywords
Microservices, Kubernetes, Containers, Orchestration, Low-resource settings, Portable cloud apps, Cloud native platforms
Citation
Bainomugisha, E., & Mwotil, A. (2021). Crane Cloud: a resilient multi-cloud service layer for resource constrained settings. Makerere University