Three application migration tools to improve cloud computing interoperability

Cloud computing interoperability differs from cloud computing application programming interfaces and virtual machine mirroring format conversions. Cloud computing interoperability is primarily about application migrations, that is, between private cloud and public cloud, and between different public clouds. Application migration in cloud computing allows users to choose the best cloud computing technology to avoid being limited to a particular vendor, but without tools it is difficult to communicate across different cloud computing providers and services.

Each cloud provider determines which management programs, storage models, network models, and management tools and processes they use. This means that the environmental controls on the development and deployment of applications are limited, and the decisions made by the vendor will affect the functionality you can and cannot implement in the cloud.

Even if there is an open standard API for cloud computing that is common to all vendors, that's only part of the solution. Only relatively simple applications can move more easily to the target cloud. Most other application migrations depend on services such as infrastructure, identity management, and database directories, and must identify, replicate, or replace each component of the application in the target cloud. This article also applies to all of the application's subsidiary components.

But there are potentially good options available to users to reduce problems associated with cloud technology interoperability and application migration. Cloudswitch, Racemi Dynacenter 4.0, and Citrix NetScaler Cloud Bridge are three tools for implementing cloud application migrations. These tools do not require modifications to the application, and they allow the application to remain managed as if they were still running in a private cloud.

Tools for implementing application migration across the cloud

Some customers may not want to experience the entire process of allowing applications to function properly in the target cloud technology environment to overcome the problems associated with differences in different environments. From the user's point of view, the performance of the application should be exactly the same as they were delivered by the original Enterprise data Center (private cloud). The target cloud must be a transparent extension of the source cloud.

Application migration becomes easier if we can give the hypervisor independence required by virtual machines in the target cloud, cloud computing environments, and so on. This is the functionality implemented by products such as Cloudswitch, Racemi Dynacenter 4.0, and Citrix NetScaler Cloud Bridge.

Cloudswitch

Cloudswitch and its cloud computing isolation technology enables multi-tier application migrations in cloud computing, a virtual technology layer that runs automatically between the cloud computing vendor's hypervisor and the user's operating system. The virtual layer provides support for virtual machines as needed. It does not require any support from cloud computing providers to protect and isolate the customer environment in the cloud on behalf of the customer.

As a migrated mirror, the Cloudswitch tool automatically completes the following tasks:

1. Move data related to the migration application.

2. Encrypt data.

3. Map the application to the cloud, so the application will run in the target environment in exactly the same configuration as its original environment.

4. It provides a cryptographic channel and a two-storey bridge for the target cloud, so the target cloud maintains the security and network connectivity of the data center while maintaining the IP and MAC addresses.

The customer does not have to make any changes, while the Cloudswitch tool handles all cryptographic work and maintains network connectivity. From a user's point of view, managing a virtual machine running a migration application in the target cloud is equivalent to managing an application in the source cloud. You can think of this as managing the client's own private cloud in the target cloud.

If you create a new virtual machine within a cloud vendor such as Amazon or Terremark, the Cloudswitch tool provides the ability to move a virtual machine back to the datacenter or move it to another cloud. Cloudswitch Migrate existing applications and provide new applications in the cloud based on the user's specific configuration requirements.

Racemi Dynacenter 4.0

Unlike Cloudswitch, Racemi uses another method to implement the function of migrating applications. It first captures a physical or virtual server in an environment (data center or cloud) and then deploys it in a target environment (data center or cloud). The source hardware server and the target hardware server must be binary compatible, and the target hardware must have a driver that will be applied to the operating system (the client operating system) of the target hardware.

An important component of Racemi application migration is a management device. It can be viewed as a black box that runs software on configuration settings and receives reports from the managed server. The location of the management device can be located at the customer's private data center or a public cloud vendor.

To capture an application, the administrator connects the network server to the managed device and drops it into an agent. Agent software must be installed on each of the physical or virtual servers involved. Once the agent software is installed, it will save (to be captured) the server's hardware and software environment. When a captured server mirror is deployed later, the source server's hardware and software environment can be retrieved.

In order to deploy a captured server, you can create a virtual machine in the target environment. Then, with some technical means, Racemi will be able to access the virtual machine and replace the software preinstalled by the cloud computing provider in the virtual machine. When the virtual machine restarts, it will run a ram mirror that is disk-based and contains Racemi software. The virtual machine returns the hardware environment of its cloud computing provider. The management device has accessed the captured server environment and the target server environment and started a mapping process between the two environments. Once the mapping process is complete, the capture-deployment operation is completed and the device is migrated to the target environment.

The secret of Dynacenter 4.0 is its ability to compare source cloud and Target cloud configuration, and make the necessary modifications in operation to make the captured server compatible with the target environment.

Citrix NetScaler Cloud Bridge

NetScaler's design concept stems from the cloud computing bridge. By extending the source cloud to the target cloud in a mixed cloud environment, cloud computing bridges make cloud hosting applications seem to run on a continuous enterprise network.

NetScaler Bridge includes a secure channel to provide a connection between clouds and the migration of data and information without loss of security. It also provides transparent access to source cloud managed application services, such as DNS and LDAP. It creates an overlay network of logical extensions to the source cloud DMZ to ensure that the settings in the target cloud VLAN are the same as those in the DMZ VLAN.

One of the problems that must be addressed for such tools, including Cloudswitch and Racemi Dynacenter 4.0, is the performance of the application. Because your application runs in the target cloud, you must monitor its latency and costs. NetScaler Cloud Bridge uses technologies such as caching and wide-area file Services (WAFS) to implement this functionality. WAFS allows applications and users to make global file access and sharing over the WAN at LAN speed.

With secure networks and processed application performance in place, applications can move to the target cloud without making changes to applications and processes, or retrain users for access to applications. With NetScaler Cloud Bridge, you are more able to keep your data and directory services in a secure local location.

Cloud Computing Application Migration Tool Summary

These three application migration tools--cloudswitch, Citrix NetScaler Cloud Bridge and Racemi Dynacenter 4.0-- Focus not only on making the application migration tool simpler but also on managing the consistency of the software interface with the source cloud for migrating applications in the target cloud. None of these tool software requires any changes to the application, which means that each application has fewer changes because the environment is different between the cloud and the cloud.

Clearly, users do not want to be limited to individual cloud computing vendors or cloud computing vendors. Cloud computing users and vendors are far apart from the open standards and cloud computing interoperability issues. Even with the adoption of an open cloud computing standard, each supplier will continue to play its own expertise to differentiate itself from the competition, according to Joe Skorupa, vice president of Gartner. Suppliers do not want cloud computing to be a mere commodity because they do not want to compete on price alone.

But such tools give you more freedom to change suppliers freely when your cloud needs and business needs change.

(Responsible editor: admin)