This document discusses Apache Libcloud, a Python module that provides an API abstraction for various cloud providers, highlighting its key features and functionality, including compute nodes, data volumes, and load balancers. It also outlines the differences between WS-* specifications and Web 2.0 approaches in cloud computing, and provides examples of how to deploy and manage cloud resources using Libcloud. Additionally, it emphasizes the importance of contributing to the Libcloud project and integrating with cloud providers like CloudStack and Exoscale.

1. Sebastien Goasguen,
@sebgoa
Apache libcloud

2. Background

5. The Ten areas covered by the 60 core WS-* Specifications
WS-* Specification Area Typical Grid/Web Service Examples
1: Core Service Model XML, WSDL, SOAP
2: Service Internet WS-Addressing, WS-MessageDelivery; Reliable
Messaging WSRM; Efficient Messaging MOTM
3: Notification WS-Notification, WS-Eventing (Publish-
Subscribe)
4: Workflow and Transactions BPEL, WS-Choreography, WS-Coordination
5: Security WS-Security, WS-Trust, WS-Federation, SAML,
WS-SecureConversation
6: Service Discovery UDDI, WS-Discovery
7: System Metadata and State WSRF, WS-MetadataExchange, WS-Context
8: Management WSDM, WS-Management, WS-Transfer
9: Policy and Agreements WS-Policy, WS-Agreement
10: Portals and User Interfaces WSRP (Remote Portlets)
Web 2.0 Grids and Parallel Computing, Geoffrey Fox

6. WS-* Areas and Web 2.0
WS-* Specification Area Web 2.0 Approach
1: Core Service Model XML becomes optional but still useful
SOAP becomes JSON RSS ATOM
WSDL becomes REST with API as GET PUT etc.
Axis becomes XmlHttpRequest
2: Service Internet No special QoS. Use JMS or equivalent?
3: Notification Hard with HTTP without polling– JMS perhaps?
4: Workflow and Transactions
(no Transactions in Web 2.0)
Mashups, Google MapReduce
Scripting with PHP JavaScript ….
5: Security SSL, HTTPAuthentication/Authorization,
OpenID is Web 2.0 Single Sign on
6: Service Discovery http://www.programmableweb.com
7: System Metadata and State Processed by application – no system state –
Microformats are a universal metadata approach
8: Management==Interaction WS-Transfer style Protocols GET PUT etc.
9: Policy and Agreements Service dependent. Processed by application
10: Portals and User Interfaces Start Pages, AJAX and Widgets(Netvibes) Gadgets

7. No more EC2 SOAP

8. GCE is RESTfull

9. Standards and de-facto standards

10. Adapters
Client side

11. Interfaces
e.g EC2 interface to CloudStack: ec2stack
e.g GCE interface to CloudStack: gstack
Server side

12. Libcloud API

13. libcloud
• Python module that
provides a Cloud
Provider API
abstraction
• Ability to write apps
using multiple
providers
• Now with an
improved CloudStack
driver

14. Functionality
Manages:
• Compute nodes
• Data volumes
• DNS
• Load balancers

15. DNS providers
6 providers:
• Route53
• Rackspace
• Linode
• Zerigo
• Gandi
• hostvirtual

16. LB providers
7 providers:
• EC2 ELB
• CloudStack
• Rackspace
• Ninefold
• gce
• Gogrid
• brightbox

17. Compute Providers
40 providers including:
• CloudStack
• OpenStack
• Opennebula
• Rackspace
• EC2
• GCE

18. Installation
pip install apache-libcloud
Or from source:
git clone https://git-wip-
us.apache.org/repos/asf/libcloud.git
python ./setup.py install

19. Test installation
$ python
Python 2.7.5 (default, May 19 2013,
13:26:46)
[GCC 4.2.1 Compatible Apple Clang 4.1
((tags/Apple/clang-421.11.66))] on darwin
Type "help", "copyright", "credits" or
"license" for more information.
>>> import libcloud

20. Base API
Base Classes
• Node()
• NodeImage()
• NodeSize()
• NodeLocation()
• StorageVolume()
• NodeDriver()

21. Base API
Base Methods
• list_nodes()
• list_images()
• list_sizes()
• list_locations()
• create_node()
• destroy_node()
• create_volume()
• …..

22. New API
• list_key_pairs()
• create_key_pair()
• get_key_pair()
• delete_key_pair()
• Possible to promote new API as soon as
there is support in several providers.

23. Deploying nodes
Create a node and execute a script to
configure it
deploy_node()
script=ScriptDeployment(wordpress)
msd = MultiStepDeployment([script])
deploy_node(name='apachecon',image=image,siz
e=size,ex_keyname=mykey,pub_key_identity=</p
ath/to/key>,deploy=msd)

24. Contributing to libcloud
http://docs.libcloud.apache.org

25. Github integration
http://github.com/apache/libcloud

26. CloudStack Driver
Apache Libcloud

27. Ecosystem
Contributing to Apache CloudStack

28. API

29. Extension methods
For specific drivers, e.g:
def ex_list_networks()
def ex_create_security_group(self,
name, description)

30. CloudStack + libcloud
from libcloud.compute.types import Provider
from libcloud.compute.providers import
get_driver
Driver = get_driver(Provider.CLOUDSTACK)
conn=Driver(key=apikey,secret=secretkey,secure=T
rue,host=host,path=path)

31. CloudStack/libcloud basics
conn.list_locations()
images=conn.list_images()
offerings=conn.list_sizes()
conn.list_nodes()
conn.create_node(name='yoyo’,
image=images[0],
size=offerings[0],
extra_args={'keypair':’testkey'})

32. CloudStack basic zones
Instances isolated at Layer 3 through
security groups
Usual access to instances through ssh key
pairs.
Similar to AWS EC2

33. CloudStack Basic Zone
conn.ex_list_security_groups()
conn.ex_create_security_group(name=’libcloud')
conn.ex_authorize_security_group_ingress(security
groupname=’libcloud',protocol='TCP',startport=22,
cidrlist='0.0.0.0/0')
conn.ex_delete_security_group(’libcloud’)

34. CloudStack Advanced Zone
Creates isolated guest networks (L2
isolation).
Need to manage IP and port forwarding
rules, possibly NAT and firewalls.

35. Advanced zone
ex_list_networks()
ex_list_public_ips()
ex_create_port_forwarding_rule()
ex_create_ip_forwarding_rule()
ex_allocate_public_ip()
ex_release_public_ip()

36. CloudStack “inherited” Drivers
Apache Libcloud

37. KTUCloud

38. iKoula
http://www.ikoula.com

39. Exoscale
http://exoscale.ch

40. from libcloud.compute.types import Provider
from libcloud.compute.providers import
get_driver
Driver = get_driver(Provider.IKOULA)
conn = Driver(key=apikey, secret=secretkey)

41. from libcloud.compute.types import Provider
from libcloud.compute.providers import
get_driver
apikey = os.getenv('EXOSCALE_API_KEY')
secretkey = os.getenv('EXOSCALE_SECRET_KEY')
Driver = get_driver(Provider.EXOSCALE)
conn = Driver(key=apikey, secret=secretkey)

42. Time for Demos ?
Apache Libcloud

43. Conclusions
• Use libcloud to abstract API differences.
• Useful if you are using multiple cloud
providers
• Actively developed and easy to contribute
to
• @libcloud
• dev@libcloud.apache.org