Networked cloud orchestration: A GENI perspective

Abstract

This paper describes the experience of developing a system for creation of distributed linked configurations of heterogeneous resources (slices) in GENI. Our work leverages a number of unique architectural solutions (distributed architecture, declarative resource specifications, unique approach to slice instantiation) which is applicable to a wider set of problems related to autonomic co-scheduling and provisioning of heterogeneous networked resources. We discuss the architecture, the resource description mechanisms and some of the algorithms used to enable our system. We conclude with an analysis of a real experiment at allocating resources from multiple providers across a very wide geographic area (spanning Massachusetts, Illinois and North Carolina) to create a single private Layer 2 network connecting virtual machines on the campus of Duke University to a sensor testbed at University of Massachusetts, Amherst.