Open-source cloud frameworks: A work in progress

07.05.2012
When IT consultancy OpenCredo set out to launch three new applications within seven months for a major insurance underwriter, it had three goals in mind: Trim development time from the usual years-long pace, allow for frequent changes from the client, and build a system that can handle unpredictable traffic spikes.

By using the Cloud Foundry open-source framework along with other open-source software, OpenCredo eliminated "heavy lifting" such as configuring virtual machines and adjusting the size of storage volumes, says CEO Russell Miles. The framework allowed developers to write code locally, share it with the client, and automate the integration, testing, and deployment of application components.

Among other advantages, Cloud Foundry makes it easier to scale an application by adding more instances without downtime, Miles says. Because of the way it works with other open-source software, new features can be added in minutes rather than hours.

Even with all those benefits, open-source cloud frameworks like Cloud Foundry are a work in progress. Many manage only physical servers or stand-alone applications, leading customers who need more sophisticated capabilities to create their own frameworks. However, they offer compelling value because they mask the complexity of cloud computing setups, and the open-source model is an attractive way to do that.

Understanding the Basics

The term "framework" is used to loosely describe collections of anything from development tools to middleware to database services that ease the creation, deployment and management of cloud applications. Those that work at the level of servers, storage and networks are infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) frameworks. Those that operate at the higher level of applications are platform-as-a-service (PaaS) frameworks.

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