Software-Defined Multi-Cloud Computing: A Vision, Architectural Elements, and Future Directions

TL;DR

This paper envisions a programmable multi-cloud architecture integrating SDN and NFV, focusing on cost-effective, SLA-compliant resource management, and discusses future challenges and solutions for auto-scaling and traffic management.

Contribution

It proposes an architectural framework for programmable multi-cloud environments with SDN and NFV, including resource provisioning, deployment, and management strategies.

Findings

Initial evaluation results demonstrate feasibility.

Simulation platform supports testing of proposed solutions.

Open challenges identified for future research.

Abstract

Cloud computing has been emerged in the last decade to enable utility-based computing resource management without purchasing hardware equipment. Cloud providers run multiple data centers in various locations to manage and provision the Cloud resources to their customers. More recently, the introduction of Software-Defined Networking (SDN) and Network Function Virtualization (NFV) opens more opportunities in Clouds which enables dynamic and autonomic configuration and provisioning of the resources in Cloud data centers. This paper proposes architectural framework and principles for Programmable Network Clouds hosting SDNs and NFVs for geographically distributed Multi-Cloud computing environments. Cost and SLA-aware resource provisioning and scheduling that minimizes the operating cost without violating the negotiated SLAs are investigated and discussed in regards of techniques for autonomic and timely VNF composition, deployment and management across multiple Clouds. We also discuss open challenges and directions for creating auto-scaling solutions for performance optimization of VNFs using analytics and monitoring techniques, algorithms for SDN controller for scalable traffic and deployment management. The simulation platform and the proof-of-concept prototype are presented with initial evaluation results.