MRI: Development of a Virtual Cloud Computing Infrastructure

Princeton University, Princeton NJ

Investigators

Abstract

Proposal #: 10-40123 PI(s): Peterson, Larry L. Freedman, Michael J.; Pai, Vivek; Rexford, Jennifer Institution: Princeton University Title: MRI/Dev: Development of a Virtual Cloud Computing Infrastructure Project Proposed: This project, building VICCI, a programmable cloud-computing research testbed, enables a broad research agenda in the design of network systems that requires both multiple point-of-presence and significant processing/storage capabilities on the sites. VICCI, a distributed instrument with a point-of-presence at Princeton, GeorgiaTech, Stanford, and U Washington, along with international clusters in Europe and Japan, encompasses both a distributed set of virtualized compute clusters and networking hardware and the software that enables multiple researchers to innovate both at and above the infrastructure layer. It is designed to support research both into the design and deployment of large-scale distributed services that use an environment. VICCI enables research in - Building block services (addressing issues of replication, consistency, fault-tolerance, scalable performance, object location, and migration) designed to be used by other cloud applications, - Developing new cloud programming models designed for targeted application domains, and - Studying cross-cutting issues at the foundation of the cloud?s design and how to build a trusted cloud platform that ensures confidentiality and integrity of computations that are outsourced to the cloud. Plans include bootstrapping VICCI with working software from PlanetLab with an ultimate goal of folding the results into VICCI itself, thus creating an even more effective platform for research into scalable network systems. Broader Impacts: This project, strongly influenced by the experience with PlanetLab that has demonstrated the importance of deploying experimental network services on realistic platforms (i.e., platforms that are realistic enough to attract the real user community), provides a realistic environment to evaluate and deploy scalable new network services. VICCI supports deployment studies of prototype systems. Thus, it accelerates research and teaching processes by supporting seamless migration of scalable services and applications from early prototypes. Moreover, it offers a path to re-energize the innovative process that has led to new network services, widespread consumer adoption, and generation of new economic and social value. It also provides graduate students with extensive experience in building large-scale distributed systems and enables the design of more courses taking advantage of the instrument.