The idea that gave rise to Cloud Computing today limits the possibilities of this tool. Cloud Computing, a paradigm converting not only software but also IT infrastructure in service, arose as a solution to the problem of large-scale Internet applications - in order to be able to attend to a large number of users through the externalisation of data centres to large providers such as Amazon, GoGrid and RackSpaces. The daily appearance of new providers of cloud infrastructure services is spurring the growth of these Technologies but generating the need for technological solutions that avoid what happened in the past in operating systems wars: the vendor lock-in.
Tecnalia, together with other European partners, such as the Second University of Naples and the European Space Agency, is developing the mOSAIC project, the goal of which is to create an open-source technology enabling the development of Internet applications based on Cloud Computing. Thanks to the mOSAIC platform software will be able to be developed rapidly and independently of the cloud provider.
Another of the objectives of mOSAIC is to optimise the resources of Cloud and facilitate its use. In fact, in its design, emphasis has been placed on the scalability of applications developed under the platform and extensibility of the system with new cloud providers. Thanks to mOSAIC, the companies developing the software will be able to change or increase their palette of cloud providers when they need in a transparent manner. Tools will be enabled to monitor and determine the quantity or the quality of infrastructure subcontracted and select the series of providers which are most suitable at any time.
The companies that have been the most advanced to date in Cloud Computing, such as Google, Amazon, Microsoft or IBM, have control of this technology, creating proprietary and closed services. It is expected that, with initiatives such as mOSAIC, the competitiveness between cloud providers will increase and thus facilitate the leap to the cloud for the companies, thanks to less dependence on providers.
The general architecture of the system is already described and available for downloading. It is hoped that by September of this year the public will have access to the first prototypes that will enable the rapid application development with the Java and Python programming languages and its deployment with extended-use cloud providers (IaaS). Also mOSAIC members are participating in the development of open standards for the interoperability between cloud providers.
With a different but complementary goal to mOSAIC, Tecnalia is involved in the European REMICS project. This project aims to reconvert already existing and long-lasting applications (such as those systems developed with COBOL) and reintroduce them to a new life cycle within the cloud framework. The REMICS concept is similar to the recycling of products: the regeneration of existing applications through recycling; using a new, more efficient paradigm for the execution of distributed applications: the cloud. To this end, methodologies are being created for the analysis and recovery of the code for its subsequent migration and validation of the system executed for cloud systems.
Tecnalia tries with both projects to offer viable solutions for businesses to move IT services to the cloud in a transparent and less traumatic way, increasing the competitiveness though a more efficient computing model based on services.