Moving apps to OpenStack

The pressure to win the hearts and minds of cloud services users as to which platform marks the most appropriate one to match their needs is starting to build up. Not only are the major systems vendors now, such as IBM, HP and Fujitsu coming on strong, but the core software infrastructure players are also making waves.

In this context, the open source-based OpenStack, which has large US service hoster, Rackspace, both behind its development and as its primary implementation cheerleader, is one of the leading contenders as the software-only, service provider independent offering.

The one advantage many of the existing systems company contenders is that they do have a core element of service tools and applications already available – indeed, their availability is what has helped push some of them to accepting that offering a cloud platform is the next obvious step for them. With OpenStack, however, a key factor in its development will be how easy it becomes to transition applications to that environment.

This is a role that US-based GigaSpaces Technologies is pitching at with its Cloudify tools. This  is a free and open source application management platform which enables seamless migration of apps to OpenStack clouds, while maintaining interoperability with existing infrastructures and across different OpenStack and other cloud providers.

As OpenStack approaches its third birthday, it is picking up speed and gaining maturity. With the cloud, of course, enterprises and ISVs now need the flexibility and agility required by a continuously changing environment, and must be able to port their applications across different OpenStack providers and versions as needed.

Cloudify is an open source framework for deploying, managing and scaling applications on a cloud environment. Using `application recipes,’ it automates the setup, deployment, monitoring, auto-repair and scaling processes of mission-critical and big data applications on both public and private clouds, without requiring architectural or code changes.

The next major releases of Cloudify will introduce new levels of integration with OpenStack, specifically in the areas of Heat (the OpenStack infrastructure orchestration project), Cinder (OpenStack’s block storage project) and the OpenStack networking project.

Cloudify will also be compatible with OpenStack security (Keystone) and ultimately, will leverage other projects such as Ceilometer for metering and monitoring. In addition, Cloudify is also planning to conform to the OASIS TOSCA specification, which is becoming an emerging standard for application orchestration on the cloud.

“Enabling businesses to build and move applications to OpenStack clouds is critical, and open source solutions like Cloudify make it easier for developers to deploy and manage those applications across OpenStack environments,” said Mark Collier, COO, OpenStack Foundation.

GigaSpaces has decided that working with OpenStack is now its primary target for cloud in the enterprise, especially in building middleware for simplifying the deployment, management and scaling of any application.

According to Nati Shalom, CTO at the company,"the open source and community adoption nature of OpenStack enables us to do things that are unique to OpenStack. We have begun working with major customers in the investment banking and telecom industries, as well as with partners, such as IBM, HP and Alcatel-Lucent, to add native OpenStack and multi-cloud support.”