Cloud Operating Systems: Analysis and Problems

The current state of cloud computing is defined by a complex combination of components, approaches, including operating systems that utilize a single virtual environment, middleware layers which try and, in most cases, succeed in combining the hardware components with the virtual products from other operating cloud systems and service providers (example, Google's Bigtable). However, there isn't a virtual distributed operating system that connects various cloud resources into a single, self-managing, programmable, adaptable, and reliable processing environment. In this position paper, we argue that a cloud operating system—a virtual distributed operating system with seemingly limitless CPU, memory, storage, and network resources—is crucial for realizing the full promise of the cloud. Having been established as a limitless OS, it is important to know the advantages and disadvantages as well so necessary decisions can be made before purchasing any software.