Intent-Based Policy Management for Fog-Cloud Platforms

以云计算为代表的体系结构在许多应用程序中都运行得很好。然而，有一些限制使其很难完全支持某些类型的应用程序。例如，物联网(IoT)应用可能需要快速分析传感器生成的大量数据，以便及时触发操作(例如交通控制、紧急响应)。通过互联网将数据传输到云数据中心可能会导致重大延迟，影响及时决策，从而使当前云的使用不适合具有严格实时要求的应用程序。此外，通过网络传输大量数据可能会影响与支持数据传输所需的网络基础设施相关的成本。为了解决这些问题，一种新的计算和网络范式--雾计算应运而生。雾计算的主要目标是通过将服务带到网络边缘来分发计算、存储、控制和网络服务，网络边缘是数据生成的地方，也是经常需要做出决策的地方，以满足应用程序的严格实时要求。其结果是形成了一个复杂的技术生态系统，我们将其称为雾云平台。应用程序可能需要雾节点和云上的软件组件。由于雾云平台的异构性，也由于不同所有者的结果，管理系统健康以确保应用程序可靠并拥有满足其运行时需求的资源的任务变得更加具有挑战性。目前，云数据中心由大型企业拥有，例如亚马逊。预计雾节点将由电信公司拥有，例如贝尔加拿大公司。随着时间的推移，所需的资源通常是动态的。这意味着雾云平台的管理将要求组件系统的所有者使用的管理系统能够动态协作和协调计算/网络资源的分配，以满足应用运行时的要求。通常情况下，没有一种“一刀切”的管理策略。引入策略是为了使管理系统能够指定管理系统在运行时解释的管理策略。这就允许管理策略发生变化。目前的方法运行良好，但随着我们转向雾云平台，需要对策略规范进行创新更改。我的研究计划的首要目标是开发一个基于政策的管理框架，支持雾云平台的管理。*拟议研究的结果将对雾云平台的管理业务产生直接影响，使自适应系统能够支持更有效的资源使用。

The architectural structure represented by cloud computing has worked very well for many applications. However, there are limitations that make it difficult to fully support certain types of applications. For example, an Internet of Things (IoT) application may require large amounts of data generated by sensors to be analyzed quickly in order to trigger actions in a timely fashion (e.g., traffic control, emergency response). Transferring data over the Internet to a cloud data center may incur significant delays that impact timely decision making which makes the use of current clouds unsuitable for applications with stringent real-time requirements. Furthermore, the transfer of large amounts of data over the network potentially could impact the costs associated with the network infrastructure needed to support the data transfer. To tackle these issues a new computing and networking paradigm, Fog Computing, has emerged. The main goal of fog computing is to distribute computing, storage, control, and networking services by bringing services to the network edge, where data is generated and where decisions will often need to be made in order to address stringent real-time requirements of applications. The result is a complex ecosystem of technologies, which we will refer to as the fog-cloud platform. Applications may require software components on both fog nodes and on clouds. The task of managing system health to ensure that applications are reliable and have the resources to satisfy their run-time requirements becomes more challenging due to the heterogeneity of the fog-cloud platform but also as the result of different owners. Currently, cloud data centers are owned by large businesses e.g., Amazon. It is anticipated that fog nodes will be owned by telecommunications companies e.g., Bell Canada. The resources needed are often dynamic over time. The implication is that management of the fog-cloud platform will require that management system used by the owners of the component systems are able to dynamically collaborate and coordinate the allocation of computing/network resources to satisfy application run-time requirements. Typically, there isn't a "one size fits all" management strategy. Policies were introduced to enable management systems to specify management strategies that are interpreted at run-time by management systems. This allows for changes in management strategies. Current approaches have worked well but as we move to fog-cloud platforms there is a need for innovative changes in the policy specification.  The overarching objective of my research program is the development of a policy-based management framework that supports management of the fog-cloud platform.  The results of the proposed research will have a direct impact on the management operations of the fog-cloud platforms enabling self-adaptive systems supporting more efficient resource use.