The High Performance Computer Centre (HLRS) at the University of Stuttgart together with 13 European partners has launched a Europe-wide project, the goal of which is the integration of an open and integrated platform, which will support the model-based implementation of cloud computing applications throughout their entire life cycles. The initiative, designed to take 48 months and going by the name of “PaaSage“, will be coordinated by the European Research Consortium in Informatics and Mathematics (ERCIM).
To date cloud solutions are still inadequately developed and require a high degree of expertise on the part of the developers as well as on the part of the provider in order to fulfil the requirements of an application. This is the only way at present to guarantee that the possibilities of cloud computing are able to be fully exploited. Due to the fact that the cloud infrastructures are not standardised, the porting of an existing application on a cloud platform continues to be problematic. The application is often very strongly bound to a certain cloud platform. PaaSage has therefore given itself the motto: ”develop once – deploy on many clouds“.
For this purpose PaaSage will realise an open and integrated platform, supporting the
development and the cross-platform implementation of cloud applications.
A methodology will thereby be taken into account which enables the model-based development,
configuration, optimisation and the installation of existing and new applications – irrespective of
the existing cloud infrastructure.
Lutz Schubert, PaaSage Project Manager at HLRS, describes the current situation as follows: ”A typical situation is as follows: a company attempts to expand its internal server cluster on an internal cloud solution in order to thereby gain flexibility and economic advantages. However, if a connection to a public cloud also becomes necessary along with the internal solution, interoperable problems or at least clear restrictions are frequently encountered due to the proprietary offer of the provider. These inadequacies are to be ironed out with PaaSage.“
“PaaSage will provide the necessary tools to clearly improve the programmability, the usability and the performance of clouds – namely beyond the approaches that exist at present“, assures Keith G. Jeffery, Scientific Manager of the project.
“We have to accept that the European industry has some catching up to do in terms of the development of new business fields and their further development on the basis of cloud computing technologies,“ admits the PaaSage Project Coordinator, Pierre Guisset. “Our top priority is to give small as well as large companies in Europe the possibility to take full advantages of clouds.“
PaaSage primarily addresses points which were listed in the final report compiled by a cloud computing expert group commissioned on behalf of the European Commission (see http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/ict/ssai/docs/future-cc-2may-finalreportexperts.pdf). The European cooperation project, supported by the EU in the 7th framework programme for research and technological development (FP7, ICT/Information and Communication Technologies) is funded with a total amount of € 8.4 million, of which € 6.3 million is borne by the EU.
The 14 members of the research initiative PaaSage are: University of Stuttgart/HLRS, Sysfera, STFC, SINTEF, Lufthansa Systems, INRIA, FORTH, Flexiant, EVRY, CETIC, be.wan, Automotive Simulation Center Stuttgart e.V., AG GWDG (see also: http://www.paasage.eu/consortium).
The project ”PaaSage“ gets its name from a wordplay comprising “Platform as a Service“ (PaaS) and ” Passage“.
The HLRS, Stuttgart’s High Performance Computer Centre at the University of Stuttgart, together with Leibniz Computer Centre in Garching near Munich and Jülich Supercomputing Centre comprises the National Gauss Centre for Supercomputing (GCS). All three GCS centres are equipped with super computers of the Petascale performance category and with this constitute an association with the most efficient system infrastructure in the whole of Europe by far.
About ERCIM GEIE
ERCIM - the European Research Consortium for Informatics and Mathematics - aims to foster
collaborative initiatives within the European research community and to increase co-operation with
European industry. Leading European research institutes are members of ERCIM. ERCIM is based in
Sophia Antipolis, France.
Contact: Prof. Michael Resch, High Performance Computer Centre, University of
Stuttgart,
tel. 0711/685-87269, email: resch@hlrs.de
Further information:
www.hlrs.de