Cloud computing is believed to be another big wave of Internet technology after World Wide Web and mobile computing. The Open Group has identified cloud computing as a major driver to develop global GDP. In Hong Kong, the Office of Government CIO (OGCIO) has established the Expert Group on Cloud Computing Services and Standards (EGCCSS) to drive cloud computing adoption and deployment. Various cloud technical committees, including the two groups mentioned above, have identified the interoperability and portability of cloud services as a key principle for stimulating and driving economic benefits. EGCCSS has formed a Working Group Cloud Computing Interoperability Standards (WGCCIS) specifically to address this challenge. In this talk, Dr Thomas Lee shares his experience in working in WGCCIS as a co-opt member and introduces the Open Group Guide on Cloud Computing Portability and Interoperability. He explains the fundamental concepts of cloud interoperability and portability and the reference architecture to design interoperable interfaces between on-premise and cloud application components. He also discusses the architectural principles for supporting cloud service providers to develop interoperable cloud services. From the enterprise user perspective, he also summarizes some good practices from the Open Group Guide that help cloud consumers to formulate their cloud strategy to manage vendor lock-in when selecting cloud services.

1. Dr Thomas Lee
24 September 2013
Enterprise Architecture / Cloud Computing SIG Speaker Session
Hong Kong Computer Society

2. Agenda
 Importance of Cloud Computing Standards
 Cloud Portability and Interoperability
 OGCIO Expert Group on Cloud Computing Services
and Standards
 Cloud Reference Architectures
 Open Group Guide on Cloud Portability and
Interoperability
 Conclusions
224-Sep-2013 HKCS EA / CC SIG Seminar

3. Agenda
 Importance of Cloud Computing Standards
 Cloud Portability and Interoperability
 OGCIO Expert Group on Cloud Computing Services
and Standards
 Cloud Reference Architectures
 Open Group Guide on Cloud Portability and
Interoperability
 Conclusions
324-Sep-2013 HKCS EA / CC SIG Seminar

4. Standardization and Interoperability
 To technology, cloud computing is an evolution; to economy, it
will be a revolution:
 Share resources and optimize their use: technology and people
 Liberalizethe market: SMEs can compete with businessgiants
 Network effects will accelerate cloud adoption
 From independentcloud services to collaborativecloud services
 Value > Cost + Risk
 Interoperability is key to exponential growth of cloud computing
 Standardization is the means to this end
 Freedom and openness are the culture of Internet
 Many governments and consortiums set out initiatives to foster
cloud interoperability and portability
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5. Internet Growth and Standards
Source of Internet host statistics: Wikipedia / ISC
No.ofInternethosts(logscale)
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1980
Ethernet,
USENET 1982
TCP/IP,
SMTP
1983
DNS
1986
IETF
1988
OSI
1989
BGP
1995
802.1a/b
1992
GSM
1998
GPRS,
SNMPv1
2008
LTE
2009
WiMAX,
802.1n
2003
802.11g
2012
802.ac
2001
UMTS
(3G)
Internet
1991
HTML
HTTP 0.9
1995
JavaScript,
RSS, mp3,
PHP
2013
HTML5
(Draft)
1996
HTTP 1,
CSS
1994
W3C
1997
WAP,
HTML 4
2002
RSS 2
2000
REST,
WAI
1999
RDF
2003
SVG
Web
1998
XML,
SOAP
2005
OpenID
2010
OAuth 1,
CDMI,
OCCI 1.1
2002
WS-I
2004
WS-
Security
2008
OVF 1.0
2013
OVF 2.0
Cloud

6. Agenda
 Importance of Cloud Computing Standards
 Cloud Portability and Interoperability
 OGCIO Expert Group on Cloud Computing Services
and Standards
 Cloud Reference Architectures
 Open Group Guide on Cloud Portability and
Interoperability
 Conclusions
624-Sep-2013 HKCS EA / CC SIG Seminar

7. Portability and Interoperability
 Cloud portability: the ability to migrate application
runtime or data between different clouds
 Cloud interoperability: the ability of same or
different applications running on different clouds to
collaborate
 Between different public clouds or between public
clouds and private cloud (or on-premises
infrastructure)
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8. Portability
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Your VM / App / Data
Cloud A Cloud B / Private Cloud
Cloud Service Interface Cloud Service Interface

9. Portability
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Your VM / App / Data
Cloud A
Cloud B / On-Premises
Infrastructure
Cloud Service Interface A Cloud Service Interface B
Conversion/
Recompilation/
Adaptation
Converted VM / App /
Data

10. Interoperability
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Cloud A
Your App X Cloud B
Your App X
Cloud C
Your App Y
Compatible processes,
protocols and data formats

11. Agenda
 Importance of Cloud Computing Standards
 Cloud Portability and Interoperability
 OGCIO Expert Group on Cloud Computing
Services and Standards
 Cloud Reference Architectures
 Open Group Guide on Cloud Portability and
Interoperability
 Conclusions
1124-Sep-2013 HKCS EA / CC SIG Seminar

12. OGCIO Expert Group on Cloud Computing
Services and Standards (EGCCSS)
 Draw expertise from the industry, academia, community
and Government to facilitate and drive cloud computing
adoption and deployment in Hong Kong, as well as
facilitateexpert exchanges among cloud experts both
within Hong Kong and with the Mainland.
 Working Groups:
 Working Group on Cloud Computing Interoperability
Standards (WGCCIS)
 Working Group on Cloud Security and Privacy (WGCSP)
 Working Group on Provision and Use of Cloud Services
(WGPUCS)
24-Sep-2013 HKCS EA / CC SIG Seminar 12

13. Key Deliverables
 InfoCloud portal that provides guidelines for
 Cloud service consumers
 Cloud service providers
 E.g., how to become a government cloud service provider
 Useful practice papers and checklists:
 Practice Guide for Procuring Cloud Services by OGCIO
 Practical Guide to Cloud Computing by Cloud Standards
Consumer Council
 Cloud StandardizationWhitepaper (雲計算標準化白皮書) by China
ElectronicsStandardization Institute (中國電子技術標準化研究院)
 Checklist for SMEs on selecting Cloud Service Providers
 Checklist for porting an application to cloud (under review)
 Directoryof cloud technical standards
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14. Hong Kong Cloud & Guangdong
Information Portals
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15. 24-Sep-2013 HKCS EA / CC SIG Seminar 15

16. Major National and Global Initiatives
 Open Group
 Guide on Cloud Computing Portability and Interoperability
 IEEE
 P2301 - Guide for Cloud Portability and Interoperability Profiles
 P2302 - Standard for Intercloud Interoperability and Federation
 ITU Focus Group on Cloud Computing
 7-part technical report on cloud standardization
 National Instituteof Standardsand Technology (NIST)
 NIST Cloud Computing Standards Roadmap
 US Government Cloud Computing Technology Roadmap
 China Electronics StandardizationInstitute (中國電子技術標準化研究院)
 Cloud Standardization Whitepaper (雲計算標準化白皮書)
 Cloud Data Center Reference Architecture (雲計算數據中心參考架構)
24-Sep-2013 HKCS EA / CC SIG Seminar 16

17. Agenda
 Importance of Cloud Computing Standards
 Cloud Portability and Interoperability
 OGCIO Expert Group on Cloud Computing Services
and Standards
 Cloud Reference Architectures
 Open Group Guide on Cloud Portability and
Interoperability
 Conclusions
1724-Sep-2013 HKCS EA / CC SIG Seminar

18. Reference Architecture
 A reference architecture depicts what business and IT
service building blocks can be delivered by public and
private cloud services
 RA helps an enterprise to define its cloud adoption
strategyand roadmaps and refine its Configuration
ManagementDatabase
 RA helps an service provider position itself what services
to sell, what to developon its own, what to procure
from others
 Whether an interface is based on open standards
determines the interoperability and portability of building
blocks
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19. NIST Reference Architecture
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 Can be based upon to develop the enterprisecloud adoption landscape:
as-is, transitions, target
 Map cloud vendors / services being and to be used on the building blocks

20. Other Cloud RAs
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CESI Conceptual Model
ITU Cloud Architecture

21. Map Application Components to Cloud
Services
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Network
System (OS)
System (Physical)
Platform
Data
Application
Security
Management Internet
Backend OS
RDB S
Schema
Enterprise
Firewall
EnterpriseSystem
Management
Intranet
Physical Server
Android
DB
Data Access Mobile App
Data on
Mobile
Directory
Service
Vendor’s
Hypervisor
App Server
Vendor ’s
CDN
Push Server
App Server
OS
Data on App
Server
OpenID
CloudService
Management
Business
Logic
 Show which application componentsare deployed on public clouds
and on-premises (or private cloud) in solutionarchitecture
 Each componentshould be loosely coupled from each other
 Templates for different types of solutions, e.g., CRM, HR, mobile
 Exit strategy should be planned for each cloud component
 Check whether the componentcan be deployed to other vendors or
private cloud with minimal modification
Deployed on
cloud

22. Agenda
 Importance of Cloud Computing Standards
 Cloud Portability and Interoperability
 OGCIO Expert Group on Cloud Computing Services
and Standards
 Cloud Reference Architectures
 Open Group Guide on Cloud Portability and
Interoperability
Conclusions
2224-Sep-2013 HKCS EA / CC SIG Seminar

23. Open Group Guide
 Open Group Guide: Cloud Computing Portability and
Interoperability by The Open Group, April 2013
 Explains major cloud portability and interoperability issues
 Recommends customers on how best to achieve portabilityand
interoperabilitywhen using
 Recommends suppliers and standardsbodies on how standards
and best practices should evolve
 Cloud computing enables massive economic activities and
makes significant contribution to GDP
 Like Internetyet with even greater potential
 Potential will not be realized without portability and
interoperability
 Growth of the Internet is largely due to high level of portabilityand
interoperability
2324-Sep-2013 HKCS EA / CC SIG Seminar

24. Architecture for Portability / Interoperability
 Business architecture
 Business strategy, organization, functions, business processes
and information needs
 Information systems architecture
 Application architecture
 Capabilities that provide business
functions and manage data assets
 Data architecture
 Logical / physical data assets,
data management resources
 Technology architecture
 Platform services, logical /
physical technology components
Business
DataApplication
Technology
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25. Cloud Service Models
24-Sep-2013 HKCS EA / CC SIG Seminar 25
Source: Open Group Guide - Cloud Computing Portability and Interoperability

26. Cloud Portability
 Data portability
 Reuse of data components across applications
 Application portability
 Reuse of application components across PaaS’s
 Platform portability
 Platform source portability: reuse of platform
components across IaaS’s
 Machine image portability: reuse of bundles of
platform + application + data (i.e., VM image) across
IaaS’s
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27. Platform Portability
Platform source portability Machine image portability
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Source: Open Group Guide - Cloud Computing Portability and Interoperability

28. Cloud Interoperability
 Application interoperability
 Between different / identical application components
 Data synchronization between components in different
clouds
 Platform interoperability
 Between platform components, e.g., database
 Set-up and transfer of application session states:
 User ID and authentication
 User locale and preferences
 Other application states (e.g., items placed in shopping carts)
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29. Cloud Interoperability (Cont’)
 Management interoperability
 On-demand self-service management of different clouds
(SaaS, PaaS, IaaS, public / private)
 E.g., manage cloud services together with in-house
systems using generic system management COTS
 Publication and acquisition interoperability
 Between marketplaces, app stores, etc.
 Standard interfaces to different stores
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30. Distributed Computing Reference Model
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Source: Open Group Guide - Cloud Computing Portability and Interoperability

31. Applications Mapping to DCRM
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Source: Open Group Guide - Cloud Computing
Portability and Interoperability

32. Portability / Interoperability Interfaces
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Source:OpenGroupGuide-CloudComputingPortabilityandInteroperability

33. Portability / Interoperability Interfaces (Cont’)
24-Sep-2013 HKCS EA / CC SIG Seminar 33
Source:OpenGroupGuide-CloudComputingPortabilityandInteroperability

34. Security of WS-I and HTTP WS Styles
Source: Open Group Guide - Cloud Computing
Portability and Interoperability
14-Aug-2013 34HKCS EA / CC SIG Seminar

35. Application Design Principles
 Loose coupling
 Service-orientation
 Stable interfaces
 Described interfaces
 Human / machine readable descriptions
 Use of marketplaces (a.k.a. app stores)
 REST (Representational State Transfer)
 BASE (Basically Available, Soft State, Eventual
Consistency)
 c.f. ACID (Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation Durability)
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36. Recommendations
• Problem areas:
• Platform-platform / application-platform interfaces
• Service descriptions and management interfaces
• Data models, machine image formats
• Loose coupling, service-orientation, stable and
described interfaces, marketplaces, REST, BASE
• Each area covers:
• Problem summary
• Recommendations for current practice
• Recommendations for standards development
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37. Application-Platform Interfaces
 Problem summary
 Various programming languages to be chosen for the interface
 No agreementon what functionalityis needed
 No commonlyaccepted application-platform interface standards
 Recommendations for current practice
 Enterprisesshould seek to use cloud platforms with vendor-
independentprogramming interfaces
 PaaS vendors stating that they support .NET or J2EE should say
which versions they support
 Recommendations for standards development
 The industryshould identify best practice in use of direct HTTP
and JSON, including means of authenticationand access control
(such as OAUTH), and develop standard profiles for
interoperabilitybetween service platforms using this approach.
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38. Machine Image Formats
 Problem summary
 A standard machine image format makes portability possible across
different infrastructure service providers, as well as across infrastructure
services of a single provider.
 The DMTF OVF standard is designed to meet the need for a machine
image format standard.
 Recommendations for current practice
 Enterprises developing cloud infrastructure services should evaluate the
OVF standard and support it if feasible.
 Enterprises developing cloud management systems should evaluate the
OVF standard and support it if feasible.
 Enterprises procuring cloud infrastructure services or cloud management
systems should evaluate the OVF standard and look for support for it as
appropriate.
 Recommendations for standards development
 The industry should work to ensure that the OVF standard is and remains
fit for purpose, and to encourage its use.
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39. BASE Transactions
 Problem summary
 There is a need for robust and scalable services that are
loosely-coupled and have stable interfaces that are easy
to describe.
 Recommendations for current practice
 Applications should be designed using the
Representational State Transfer (REST) style, though
without insisting on its full rigor.
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40. CAP Theorem
 You can only guarantee at
most two of them
 ACID
 Consistencyand Availability
 BASE
 Availabilityand Partition
Tolerance
 Designed for scalability
 Eventualconsistencymay
not ensure data are
consistentas expected
24-Sep-2013 HKCS EA / CC SIG Seminar 40
Consistency
Availability
Partition
Tolerance

41. Agenda
 Importance of Cloud Computing Standards
 Cloud Portability and Interoperability
 OGCIO Expert Group on Cloud Computing Services
and Standards
 Cloud Reference Architectures
 Open Group Guide on Cloud Portability and
Interoperability
 Conclusions
4124-Sep-2013 HKCS EA / CC SIG Seminar

42. Conclusions
 Architects can formulate a cloud reference architecture for their
enterprises
 To further develop cloud adoption landscape, strategy and roadmap
 Interoperability and portability are factors to consider when
adopting cloud services in addition to costs and security
 Manage (rather than avoid) vendor lock-in
 Open standardsvs. fast time-to-market/ lower TCO
 Exit strategy should be planned in solution architecture
 Cloud vendors should develop products for portability and
interoperability
 In the long run, these features will become a competitiveadvantage
 Cloud interoperability will become a determinant of success
 Like what happened to the Internet / Web
24-Sep-2013 HKCS EA / CC SIG Seminar 42

43. Thank You