Applications integration in a hybrid cloud computing environment: modelling and platform

Abstract

With the development of application services providers and cloud computing, more and more small- and medium-sized business enterprises use software services and even infrastructure services provided by professional information service companies to replace all or part of their information systems (ISs). These information service companies provide applications, such as data storage, computing processes, document sharing and even management information system services as public resources to support the business process management of their customers. However, no cloud computing service vendor can satisfy the full functional IS requirements of an enterprise. As a result, enterprises often have to simultaneously use systems distributed in different clouds and their intra enterprise ISs. Thus, this article presents a framework to integrate applications deployed in public clouds and intra ISs. A run-time platform is developed and a cross-computing environment process modelling technique is also developed to improve the feasibility of ISs under hybrid cloud computing environments.

Keywords:

• cloud computing
• application service provider
• service oriented architecture (SOA)
• web services
• system integration

Acknowledgements

This work is sponsored by the China High-Tech 863 Program, No. 2001AA415340 and No. 2007AA04Z1A6; the China Natural Science Foundation, No. 61174168; the Beijing Natural Science Foundation, No. 9072007; China/Ireland Cooperation Foundation, the Aviation Science Foundation of China, No. 20100758002 and Tsinghua Asian Research Centre 2010 Youth Project C1.