CCOA: Cloud Computing Open Architecture

Cloud computing is evolving as a key computing platform for sharing resources that include infrastructures, software, applications, and business processes. Virtualization is a core technology for enabling cloud resource sharing. However, most existing cloud computing platforms have not formally adopted the service-oriented architecture (SOA) that would make them more flexible, extensible, and reusable. By bridging the power of SOA and virtualization in the context of cloud computing ecosystem, this paper presents seven architectural principles and derives ten interconnected architectural modules to form a reusable and customizable cloud computing open architecture (CCOA). Two case studies on infrastructure and business cloud are used to deliver business and practical value of infrastructure and business process provisioning services over the Internet. We also present some potential value-added services of the proposed CCOA to guide strategic planning and other consulting practices of cloud computing.