Reliability issues related to the usage of Cloud Computing in Critical Infrastructures

The use of cloud computing is extending to all kind of systems, including the ones that are part of Critical Infrastructures, and measuring the reliability is becoming more difficult. Computing is becoming the 5th utility, in part thanks to the use of cloud services. Cloud computing is used now by all types of systems and organizations, including critical infrastructure, creating hidden inter-dependencies on both public and private cloud models. This paper investigates the use of cloud computing by critical infrastructure systems, the reliability and continuity of services risks associated with their use by critical systems. Some examples are presented of their use by different critical industries, and even when the use of cloud computing by such systems is not widely extended, there is a future risk that this paper presents. The concepts of macro and micro dependability and the model we introduce are useful for inter-dependency definition and for analyzing the resilience of systems that depend on other systems, specifically in the cloud model.

Contribution to multiuser videoconferencing systems based on cloud computing

Multi-user videoconferencing systems offer communication between more than two users, who are able to interact through their webcams, microphones and other components. The use of these systems has been increased recently due to, on the one hand, improvements in Internet access, networks of companies, universities and houses, whose available bandwidth has been increased whilst the delay in sending and receiving packets has decreased. On the other hand, the advent of Rich Internet Applications (RIA) means that a large part of web application logic and control has started to be implemented on the web browsers. This has allowed developers to create web applications with a level of complexity comparable to traditional desktop applications, running on top of the Operating Systems. More recently the use of Cloud Computing systems has improved application scalability and involves a reduction in the price of backend systems. This offers the possibility of implementing web services on the Internet with no need to spend a lot of money when deploying infrastructures and resources, both hardware and software. Nevertheless there are not many initiatives that aim to implement videoconferencing systems taking advantage of Cloud systems. This dissertation proposes a set of techniques, interfaces and algorithms for the implementation of videoconferencing systems in public and private Cloud Computing infrastructures. The mechanisms proposed here are based on the implementation of a basic videoconferencing system that runs on the web browser without any previous installation requirements. To this end, the development of this thesis starts from a RIA application with current technologies that allow users to access their webcams and microphones from the browser, and to send captured data through their Internet connections. Furthermore interfaces have been implemented to allow end users to participate in videoconferencing rooms that are managed in different Cloud provider servers. To do so this dissertation starts from the results obtained from the previous techniques and backend resources were implemented in the Cloud. A traditional videoconferencing service which was implemented in the department was modified to meet typical Cloud Computing infrastructure requirements. This allowed us to validate whether Cloud Computing public infrastructures are suitable for the traffic generated by this kind of system. This analysis focused on the network level and processing capacity and stability of the Cloud Computing systems. In order to improve this validation several other general considerations were taken in order to cover more cases, such as multimedia data processing in the Cloud, as research activity has increased in this area in recent years. The last stage of this dissertation is the design of a new methodology to implement these kinds of applications in hybrid clouds reducing the cost of videoconferencing systems. Finally, this dissertation opens up a discussion about the conclusions obtained throughout this study, resulting in useful information from the different stages of the implementation of videoconferencing systems in Cloud Computing systems. RESUMEN Los sistemas de videoconferencia multiusuario permiten la comunicaci��n entre m��s de dos usuarios que pueden interactuar a trav��s de c��maras de video, micr��fonos y otros elementos. En los ��ltimos a��os el uso de estos sistemas se ha visto incrementado gracias, por un lado, a la mejora de las redes de acceso en las conexiones a Internet en empresas, universidades y viviendas, que han visto un aumento del ancho de banda disponible en dichas conexiones y una disminuci��n en el retardo experimentado por los datos enviados y recibidos. Por otro lado tambi��n ayud�� la aparaci��n de las Aplicaciones Ricas de Internet (RIA) con las que gran parte de la l��gica y del control de las aplicaciones web comenz�� a ejecutarse en los mismos navegadores. Esto permiti�� a los desarrolladores la creaci��n de aplicaciones web cuya complejidad pod��a compararse con la de las tradicionales aplicaciones de escritorio, ejecutadas directamente por los sistemas operativos. M��s recientemente el uso de sistemas de Cloud Computing ha mejorado la escalabilidad y el abaratamiento de los costes para sistemas de backend, ofreciendo la posibilidad de implementar servicios Web en Internet sin la necesidad de grandes desembolsos iniciales en las ��reas de infraestructuras y recursos tanto hardware como software. Sin embargo no existen a��n muchas iniciativas con el objetivo de realizar sistemas de videoconferencia que aprovechen las ventajas del Cloud. Esta tesis doctoral propone un conjunto de t��cnicas, interfaces y algoritmos para la implentaci��n de sistemas de videoconferencia en infraestructuras tanto p��blicas como privadas de Cloud Computing. Las t��cnicas propuestas en la tesis se basan en la realizaci��n de un servicio b��sico de videoconferencia que se ejecuta directamente en el navegador sin la necesidad de instalar ning��n tipo de aplicaci��n de escritorio. Para ello el desarrollo de esta tesis parte de una aplicaci��n RIA con tecnolog��as que hoy en d��a permiten acceder a la c��mara y al micr��fono directamente desde el navegador, y enviar los datos que capturan a trav��s de la conexi��n de Internet. Adem��s se han implementado interfaces que permiten a usuarios finales la participaci��n en salas de videoconferencia que se ejecutan en servidores de proveedores de Cloud. Para ello se parti�� de los resultados obtenidos en las t��cnicas anteriores de ejecuci��n de aplicaciones en el navegador y se implementaron los recursos de backend en la nube. Adem��s se modific�� un servicio ya existente implementado en el departamento para adaptarlo a los requisitos t��picos de las infraestructuras de Cloud Computing. Alcanzado este punto se procedi�� a analizar si las infraestructuras propias de los proveedores p��blicos de Cloud Computing podr��an soportar el tr��fico generado por los sistemas que se hab��an adaptado. Este an��lisis se centr�� tanto a nivel de red como a nivel de capacidad de procesamiento y estabilidad de los sistemas. Para los pasos de an��lisis y validaci��n de los sistemas Cloud se tomaron consideraciones m��s generales para abarcar casos como el procesamiento de datos multimedia en la nube, campo en el que comienza a haber bastante investigaci��n en los ��ltimos a��os. Como ��ltimo paso se ide�� una metodolog��a de implementaci��n de este tipo de aplicaciones para que fuera posible abaratar los costes de los sistemas de videoconferencia haciendo uso de clouds h��bridos. Finalmente en la tesis se abre una discusi��n sobre las conclusiones obtenidas a lo largo de este amplio estudio, obteniendo resultados ��tiles en las distintas etapas de implementaci��n de los sistemas de videoconferencia en la nube.

Algunos retos de la protecci��n de datos en la sociedad del conocimiento. Especial detenimiento en la computaci��n en la nube (cloud computing).

Los continuos avances tecnol��gicos est��n trayendo consigo nuevas formas de almacenar, tratar y comunicar datos personales. Es necesario repensar el derecho fundamental a la protecci��n de datos, y arbitrar mecanismos para adaptarlo a las nuevas formas de tratamiento. a nivel europeo se est�� trabajando en una nueva propuesta de regulaci��n que consideramos, en general, muy apropiada para afrontar los nuevos retos en esta materia. para ejemplificar todo esto, en el presente estudio se plantea de forma detallada el caso de la computaci��n en nube, sus principales caracter��sticas y algunas preocupaciones acerca de los riesgos potenciales que su utilizaci��n trae consigo. Abstract: Rapid technological developments are bringing new ways to store, process and communicate personal data. We need to rethink the fundamental right to data protection and adapt it to new forms of treatment. there is a new ��european�� proposal for a regulation on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data, well suited to meet the new challenges. this study offers one example of this: the cloud computing, its main characteristics and some concerns about the potential risks that its use entails.

The new cloud computing paradigm: the way to IT seen as a utility

In the present competitive environment, companies are wondering how to reduce their IT costs while increasing their efficiency and agility to react when changes in the business processes are required. Cloud Computing is the latest paradigm to optimize the use of IT resources considering ?everything as a service? and receiving these services from the Cloud (Internet) instead of owning and managing hardware and software assets. The benefits from the model are clear. However, there are also concerns and issues to be solved before Cloud Computing spreads across the different industries. This model will allow a pay-per-use model for the IT services and many benefits like cost savings, agility to react when business demands changes and simplicity because there will not be any infrastructure to operate and administrate. It will be comparable to the well known utilities like electricity, water or gas companies. However, this paper underlines several risk factors of the model. Leading technology companies should research on solutions to minimize the risks described in this article. Keywords - Cloud Computing, Utility Computing, Elastic Computing, Enterprise Agility

Accessing advanced computational resources in Africa through Cloud Computing

Low resources in many African locations do not allow many African scientists and physicians to access the latest advances in technology. This deficiency hinders the daily life of African professionals that often cannot afford, for instance, the cost of internet fees or software licenses. The AFRICA BUILD project, funded by the European Commission and formed by four European and four African institutions, intends to provide advanced computational tools to African institutions in order to solve current technological limitations. In the context of AFRICA BUILD we have carried out, a series of experiments to test the feasibility of using Cloud Computing technologies in two different locations in Africa: Egypt and Burundi. The project aims to create a virtual platform to provide access to a wide range of biomedical informatics and learning resources to professionals and researchers in Africa.

Building sustainable capacity for health research in africa through cloud computing applications

Access to information and continuous education represent critical factors for physicians and researchers over the world. For African professionals, this situation is even more problematic due to the frequently difficult access to technological infrastructures and basic information. Both education and information technologies (e.g., including hardware, software or networking) are expensive and unaffordable for many African professionals. Thus, the use of e-learning and an open approach to information exchange and software use have been already proposed to improve medical informatics issues in Africa. In this context, the AFRICA BUILD project, supported by the European Commission, aims to develop a virtual platform to provide access to a wide range of biomedical informatics and learning resources to professionals and researchers in Africa. A consortium of four African and four European partners work together in this initiative. In this framework, we have developed a prototype of a cloud-computing infrastructure to demonstrate, as a proof of concept, the feasibility of this approach. We have conducted the experiment in two different locations in Africa: Burundi and Egypt. As shown in this paper, technologies such as cloud computing and the use of open source medical software for a large range of case present significant challenges and opportunities for developing countries, such as many in Africa.

El cloud computing en la pyme espa��ola

Las ��ltimas previsiones de mercado el cloud computing pronostican un crecimiento anual del 30%, ya que cada vez m��s personas adoptan la tecnolog��a m��s avanzada para almacenar informaci��n en un espacio virtual. Sin embargo, el cloud computing no es s��lo un sistema de almacenamiento de datos, sino que tambi��n se puede utilizar para ejecutar software y aplicaciones de forma remota, sin estar atado a un ��nico ordenador. Para una peque��a empresa, la externalizaci��n de TI a la nube reduce la necesidad de contratar personas con habilidades especializadas y libera a los directores para que puedan concentrarse en el negocio. En el segundo cap��tulo analizamos el estado del arte del cloud computing, para lo cual en primer lugar definimos qu�� es cloud, as�� como cu��les son sus ventajas e inconvenientes. Presentamos los diferentes modelos de cloud computing, y cu��les son sus principales proveedores actualmente. Para finalizar esbozamos unas pinceladas del siempre complejo marco regulatorio del cloud computing en Espa��a. En el Cap��tulo 3 presentamos la situaci��n de las peque��as y medianas empresas dentro del ecosistema empresarial espa��ol, bas��ndonos en los datos proporcionados por el Instituto Nacional de Estad��stica del a��o 2013. A continuaci��n, en el Cap��tulo 4, analizamos la penetraci��n del Cloud Computing en Espa��a, desde el punto de vista que tienen las peque��as empresas de las tecnolog��as cloud, as�� como del uso que estas hacen del mismo. Para este cap��tulo hemos utilizado el informe realizado por Deloitte para el Ministerio de Industria, Energ��a y Turismo. En el cap��tulo 5 veremos un caso real de soluci��n software as a service, desarrollado por mi empresa. Se trata de una aplicaci��n de gesti��n de activos inmobiliarios, que enfocaremos hacia las peque��as inmobiliarias. Para ello analizaremos la tipolog��a de Pyme hacia la que queremos dirigir el producto viendo en detalle el sector de las actividades inmobiliarias, as�� como describiremos qu�� tipo de aplicaci��n es y su funcionalidad (de modo muy resumido consiste en la gesti��n del ciclo de venta de todos los inmuebles de una agencia inmobiliaria, desde que el cliente solicita una visita, hasta que se lleva a cabo la firma de las escrituras). Posicionaremos el producto en precio y haremos una comparativa entre otras soluciones tanto cloud como on-premise para comparar su ventaja competitiva en precio. A continuaci��n describiremos c��mo pensamos hacer la comunicaci��n del producto, mediante la publicaci��n de la aplicaci��n en el App Exchange de Salesforce, ferias inmobiliarias, etc y describiremos los servicios de valor a��adido que ofrecemos. Por ��ltimo estableceremos las previsiones econ��micas a tres a��os de las ventas del producto. Por ��ltimo en el Cap��tulo 6 concluiremos el proyecto con una serie de reflexiones sobre los retos y las oportunidades a las que se enfrentan las Pymes actualmente, en lo que se refiere a la implantaci��n de sistemas en la nube, y m��s concretamente los retos y oportunidades que pueden tener las Pymes el sector inmobiliario con las soluciones cloud.

Resilience in Cloud Computing for Critical Systems. Resilience, Dependability, Reliability in the use of Cloud Computing in Critical Systems in Public Organizations.

La inform��tica se est�� convirtiendo en la quinta utilidad (gas, agua, luz, tel��fono) en parte debido al impacto de Cloud Computing en las mayor��as de las organizaciones. Este uso de inform��tica es usada por cada vez m��s tipos de sistemas, incluidos Sistemas Cr��ticos. Esto tiene un impacto en la complejidad internad y la fiabilidad de los sistemas de la organizaci��n y los que se ofrecen a los clientes. Este trabajo investiga el uso de Cloud Computing por sistemas cr��ticos, centr��ndose en las dependencias y especialmente en la fiabilidad de estos sistemas. Se han presentado algunos ejemplos de su uso, y aunque su utilizaci��n en sistemas cr��ticos no est�� extendido, se presenta cual puede llegar a ser su impacto. El objetivo de este trabajo es primero definir un modelo que pueda representar de una forma cuantitativa las interdependencias en fiabilidad y interdependencia para las organizaciones que utilicen estos sistemas, y aplicar este modelo en un sistema cr��tico del campo de sanidad y mostrar sus resultados. Los conceptos de ���macro-dependability��� y ���micro-dependability��� son introducidos en el modelo para la definici��n de interdependencia y para analizar la fiabilidad de sistemas que dependen de otros sistemas. ABSTRACT With the increasing utilization of Internet services and cloud computing by most organizations (both private and public), it is clear that computing is becoming the 5th utility (along with water, electricity, telephony and gas). These technologies are used for almost all types of systems, and the number is increasing, including Critical Infrastructure systems. Even if Critical Infrastructure systems appear not to rely directly on cloud services, there may be hidden inter-dependencies. This is true even for private cloud computing, which seems more secure and reliable. The critical systems can began in some cases with a clear and simple design, but evolved as described by Egan to "rafted" networks. Because they are usually controlled by one or few organizations, even when they are complex systems, their dependencies can be understood. The organization oversees and manages changes. These CI systems have been affected by the introduction of new ICT models like global communications, PCs and the Internet. Even virtualization took more time to be adopted by Critical systems, due to their strategic nature, but once that these technologies have been proven in other areas, at the end they are adopted as well, for different reasons such as costs. A new technology model is happening now based on some previous technologies (virtualization, distributing and utility computing, web and software services) that are offered in new ways and is called cloud computing. The organizations are migrating more services to the cloud; this will have impact in their internal complexity and in the reliability of the systems they are offering to the organization itself and their clients. Not always this added complexity and associated risks to their reliability are seen. As well, when two or more CI systems are interacting, the risks of one can affect the rest, sharing the risks. This work investigates the use of cloud computing by critical systems, and is focused in the dependencies and reliability of these systems. Some examples are presented together with the associated risks. A framework is introduced for analysing the dependability and resilience of a system that relies on cloud services and how to improve them. As part of the framework, the concepts of micro and macro dependability are introduced to explain the internal and external dependability on services supplied by an external cloud. A pharmacovigilance model system has been used for framework validation.

The University in the Cloud Computing.

With the advancement of Information and Communication Technology ICT which favors increasingly fast, easy, and accessible communication for all and which can reach large groups of people, there have been changes, in recent years in our society that have modified the way we interact, communicate and transmit information. Access to this, it is possible, not only through computers situated in a fixed location, but new mobile devices make it available, wherever the user happens to be located. Now, information "travels" with the user. These forms of communication, transmission and access to information, have also affected the way to conceive and manage business. To these new forms of business that the Internet has brought, is now added the concept of companies in the Cloud Computing ClC. The ClC technology is based on the supply and consumption of services on demand and pay per use, and it gives a 180 degree turn to the business management concept. Small and large businesses may use the latest developments in ICT, to manage their organizations without the need for expensive investments in them. This will enable enterprises to focus more specifically within the scope of their business, leaving the ICT control to the experts. We believe that education can also and should benefit from these new philosophies. ?Due to the global economic crisis in general and each country in particular, economic cutbacks have come to most universities. These are seen in the need to raise tuition rates, which makes increasingly fewer students have the opportunity to pursue higher education?. In this paper we propose using ClC technologies in universities and we make a dissertation on the advantages that it can provide to both: universities and students. For the universities, we expose two focuses, one: ?to reorganize university ICT structures with the ClC philosophy? and the other one, ?to extend the offer of the university education with education on demand?. Regarding the former we propose to use public or private Clouds, to reuse resources across the education community, to save costs on infrastructure investment, in upgrades and in maintenance of ICT, and paying only for what you use and with the ability to scale according to needs. Regarding the latter, we propose an educational model in the ClC, to increase the current university offerings, using educational units in the form of low-cost services and where students pay only for the units consumed on demand. For the students, they could study at any university in the world (virtually), from anywhere, without travel costs: money and time, and what is most important paying only for what they consume. We think that this proposal of education on demand may represent a great change in the current educational model, because strict registration deadlines disappear, and also the problem of economically disadvantaged students, who will not have to raise large amounts of money for an annual tuition. Also it will decrease the problem of loss of the money invested in an enrollment when the student dropout. In summary we think that this proposal is interesting for both, universities and students, we aim for "Higher education from anywhere, with access from any mobile device, at any time, without requiring large investments for students, and with reuse and optimization of resources by universities. Cost by consumption and consumption by service?. We argue for a Universal University "wisdom and knowledge accessible to all?

The educational learning lifecycle and the cloud computing

Currently, student dropout rates are a matter of concern among universities. Many research studies, aimed at discovering the causes, have been carried out. However, few solutions, that could serve all students and related problems, have been proposed so far. One such problem is caused by the lack of the "knowledge chain educational links" that occurs when students move onto higher studies without mastering their basic studies. Most regulated studies imparted at universities are designed so that some basic subjects serve as support for other, more complicated, subjects, thus forming a complicated knowledge network. When a link in this chain fails, student frustration occurs as it prevents him from fully understanding the following educational links. In this proposal we try to mitigate these disasters that stem, for the most part, the student?s frustration beyond his college stay. On one hand, we make a dissertation on the student?s learning process, which we divide into a series of phases that amount to what we call the "learning lifecycle." Also, we analyze at what stage the action by the stakeholders involved in this scenario: teachers and students; is most important. On the other hand, we consider that Information and Communication Technologies ICT, such as Cloud Computing, can help develop new ways, allowing for the teaching of higher education, while easing and facilitating the student?s learning process. But, methods and processes need to be defined as to direct the use of such technologies; in the teaching process in general, and within higher education in particular; in order to achieve optimum results. Our methodology integrates, as another actor, the ICT into the "Learning Lifecycle". We stimulate students to stop being merely spectators of their own education, and encourage them to take an active part in their training process. To do this, we offer a set of useful tools to determine not only academic failure causes, (for self assessment), but also to remedy these failures (with corrective actions); "discovered the causes it is easier to determine solutions?. We believe this study will be useful for both students and teachers. Students learn from their own experience and improve their learning process, while obtaining all of the "knowledge chain educational links? required in their studies. We stand by the motto "Studying to learn instead of studying to pass". Teachers will also be benefited by detecting where and how to strengthen their teaching proposals. All of this will also result in decreasing dropout rates.

Server power modeling for run-time energy optimization of cloud computing facilities

As advanced Cloud services are becoming mainstream, the contribution of data centers in the overall power consumption of modern cities is growing dramatically. The average consumption of a single data center is equivalent to the energy consumption of 25.000 households. Modeling the power consumption for these infrastructures is crucial to anticipate the effects of aggressive optimization policies, but accurate and fast power modeling is a complex challenge for high-end servers not yet satisfied by analytical approaches. This work proposes an automatic method, based on Multi-Objective Particle Swarm Optimization, for the identification of power models of enterprise servers in Cloud data centers. Our approach, as opposed to previous procedures, does not only consider the workload consolidation for deriving the power model, but also incorporates other non traditional factors like the static power consumption and its dependence with temperature. Our experimental results shows that we reach slightly better models than classical approaches, but simul- taneously simplifying the power model structure and thus the numbers of sensors needed, which is very promising for a short-term energy prediction. This work, validated with real Cloud applications, broadens the possibilities to derive efficient energy saving techniques for Cloud facilities.

GovCloud: the usage of cloud computing in public organizations

It has been shown that cloud computing brings cost benefits and promotes efficiency in the operations of the organizations, no matter what their type or size. However, few public organizations are benefiting from this new paradigm shift in the way the organizations consume and manage computational resources. The objective of this thesis is to analyze both internal and external factors that may influence the adoption of cloud computing by public organizations and propose possible strategies that can assist these organizations in their path to cloud usage. In order to achieve this objective, a SWOT analysis has been conducted, detecting internal factors (strengths and weaknesses) and external factors (opportunities and threats) that can influence the adoption of a governmental cloud. With the application of a TOWS matrix, by combining the internal and external factors, a list of possible strategies have been formulated to be used as a guide to decision-making related to the transition to a cloud environment.

Flexible Framework for Real-Time Embedded Systems Based on Mobile Cloud Computing Paradigm

The development of applications as well as the services for mobile systems faces a varied range of devices with very heterogeneous capabilities whose response times are difficult to predict. The research described in this work aims to respond to this issue by developing a computational model that formalizes the problem and that defines adjusting computing methods. The described proposal combines imprecise computing strategies with cloud computing paradigms in order to provide flexible implementation frameworks for embedded or mobile devices. As a result, the imprecise computation scheduling method on the workload of the embedded system is the solution to move computing to the cloud according to the priority and response time of the tasks to be executed and hereby be able to meet productivity and quality of desired services. A technique to estimate network delays and to schedule more accurately tasks is illustrated in this paper. An application example in which this technique is experimented in running contexts with heterogeneous work loading for checking the validity of the proposed model is described.

Proposta de framework para cloud computing em dispositivos m��veis

Disserta����o apresentada ao Instituto Polit��cnico de Castelo Branco para cumprimento dos requisitos necess��rios �� obten����o do grau de Mestre em Desenvolvimento de Software e Sistemas Interactivos, realizada sob a orienta����o cient��fica do Doutor Osvaldo Arede dos Santos, Professor Adjunto da Unidade T��cnico Cient��fica de Inform��tica da Escola Superior de Tecnologia do Instituto Polit��cnico de Castelo Branco.