Good Bye Vendor Lock-in: Getting your Cloud Applications Multi-Cloud Ready!

Abstract

Clouds offer significant advantages over traditional cluster computing architectures including flexibility, high-availability, ease of deployment, and on-demand resource allocation -- all packed up in an attractive pay-as-you-go economic model for the users. However, cloud users are often forced into vendor lock-in due to the use of incompatible APIs, cloud-specific services, and complex pricing models of the cloud service providers (CSPs). Cloud management platforms (CMPs), supporting hybrid and multi-cloud deployment, offer an answer by providing a unified abstract interface to multiple cloud platforms. Nonetheless, modelling applications to use multi-clouds, automated resource selection based on user requirements from various available CSPs, cost optimization, security, and runtime adaptation of deployed applications still remain a challenge. In this tutorial, we provide a practical introduction to multi-cloud application modelling, configuration, deployment, and adaptation. We survey existing CMPs, compare their features and modelling methods. Finally, we provide a practical hands-on training for getting your applications ready for multi-cloud using selected tools. By the end of this tutorial, attendees should be able to understand the benefits of the multi-cloud approach, and prepared to deploy their first managed multi-cloud application.