To serve a global user base, cloud providers like Amazon, Google, and Microsoft set up data centers across the world. However, hosting and scaling services across these geographically distributed centers faces challenges in meeting QoS (Quality of Service) needs of users.
1. Multiple Data Centers
- Cloud providers (IaaS) have data centers in different countries for reliability and redundancy.
- Example: Amazon has centers in US East, US West, and Europe.
2. Challenges Faced
- Customers must choose a hosting region manually, without knowing where most users are.
- This leads to poor performance for distant users and difficulty maintaining QoS globally.
3. Need for Federation
- No single provider can cover the entire globe.
- SaaS providers want to use multiple cloud providers for better regional performance.
InterCloud Architecture
A proposed solution that:
- Federates multiple cloud providers.
- Enables dynamic resource sharing and scaling.
- Supports brokering and SLA-based negotiation between providers and customers.
Cloud Exchange (CEx)
- Acts as a marketplace between service providers and consumers.
- Supports auction-based and market-driven pricing.
- Handles secure financial transactions via a virtual banking system.
- Helps match resource demand and supply across clouds.
Benefits
- Global scalability
- Cost-effective service delivery
- High QoS and reliability
- On-demand resource expansion
- Efficient workload migration
