Community Cloud Computing (0907.2485v3)

Abstract: Cloud Computing is rising fast, with its data centres growing at an unprecedented rate. However, this has come with concerns over privacy, efficiency at the expense of resilience, and environmental sustainability, because of the dependence on Cloud vendors such as Google, Amazon and Microsoft. Our response is an alternative model for the Cloud conceptualisation, providing a paradigm for Clouds in the community, utilising networked personal computers for liberation from the centralised vendor model. Community Cloud Computing (C3) offers an alternative architecture, created by combing the Cloud with paradigms from Grid Computing, principles from Digital Ecosystems, and sustainability from Green Computing, while remaining true to the original vision of the Internet. It is more technically challenging than Cloud Computing, having to deal with distributed computing issues, including heterogeneous nodes, varying quality of service, and additional security constraints. However, these are not insurmountable challenges, and with the need to retain control over our digital lives and the potential environmental consequences, it is a challenge we must pursue.

• The paper proposes a decentralized model that distributes computational control via community-operated nodes, reducing vendor lock-in and single points of failure.
• The paper demonstrates enhanced environmental sustainability by leveraging underutilized personal computers to lower energy consumption compared to centralized data centers.
• The paper introduces a community currency system for resource exchange, empowering individual agency and boosting overall system resilience.

Community Cloud Computing: A Paradigm Shift in Cloud Infrastructure

The paper "Community Cloud Computing" by Alexandros Marinos and Gerard Briscoe proposes a novel model of cloud infrastructure, termed Community Cloud Computing (C3), as an alternative to the centralised vendor-dominated cloud services model. This research addresses pressing concerns about privacy, control, environmental sustainability, and resilience that are prevalent in the traditional Cloud Computing paradigm and aims to decentralize the cloud computing architecture by leveraging networked personal computers.

Summary of Community Cloud Computing

The paper outlines the limitations of centralised Cloud Computing models, which are dominated by global vendors such as Google, Amazon, and Microsoft. These models face criticism for privacy issues due to data centralisation, potential vendor lock-in, and the environmental impact caused by large data centers. The authors propose C3 as a model that alleviates these issues by decentralising control across a community-based network, leveraging principles from Grid Computing, Digital Ecosystems, and Green Computing.

Key Contributions and Findings

1. Decentralisation of Control: C3 distributes both the computational resources and control across a community rather than relying on centralised data centers. This structure mitigates risks associated with single points of failure and vendor-driven architecture constraints.
2. Environmental Sustainability: C3 encourages effective utilisation of underutilised computing resources, promoting a more sustainable computing environment compared to traditional centralized data centers that are known for significant energy consumption and CO2 emissions.
3. Individual Agency: By using networked personal machines, C3 empowers end-users, offering them more control over their digital presence and data, a key differentiator from the traditional vendor Cloud Computing models.
4. Community Currency: This introduces a marketplace-like system where resources are exchanged using community-managed currencies, driving more efficient and cost-effective resource allocation.
5. Failure Resilience: C3's inherently distributed model increases robustness against system-wide failures, with nodes able to compensate for others’ downtime dynamically.

Implications and Future Directions

The transition to a Community Cloud model holds significant implications for both the technology and business sectors. The distributed model presents a compelling argument for reducing dependency on large-scale data centers, potentially curbing energy use and enabling a more democratized approach to cloud computing. However, the technical challenges associated with distributed computing, such as variable quality of service and security issues, are acknowledged as areas requiring further exploration.

Future advancements in C3 could catalyze a rethinking of cloud service provisioning, pushing toward open-source and community-driven innovations that could rival and complement existing cloud services. Furthermore, developments in distributed identity and P2P networking, along with advancements in declarative generative programming, could significantly enhance the feasibility and performance of Community Cloud infrastructures.

Conclusion

Community Cloud Computing presents a thought-provoking approach to mitigating the drawbacks of conventional cloud services. While technically challenging, the proposed model offers potential benefits in privacy, environmental sustainability, control, and resilience in a rapidly evolving digital ecosystem. It encourages further exploration of decentralised technologies and aligns with the original vision for the Internet’s potential for scalability and user empowerment. Continued research and development in this field could lead to transformative changes in how cloud services are conceived, deployed, and managed, bringing us closer to a sustainable and user-centric computing paradigm.