A Model‐Centric Approach to the Design of Resource‐Aware Cloud Applications

Cloud‐based data processing, or cloud computing, is more than just a convenient solution for individuals on the move. The modeling language abstract behavioral specification (ABS) is a concurrent, executable modeling language with a formal semantics. This chapter explains why it is particularly well‐suited as a basis for model‐centric design of resource‐aware cloud applications. ABS supports the modeling of deployment decisions and resource awareness. The chapter illustrates the modeling of resource‐aware systems in ABS by considering a virtualized service in which user requests trigger computational tasks whose resource cost varies with the size of input data. Making deployment decisions at design‐time moves control from the provisioning layer to the client layer. The client service becomes resource‐aware. This provides a number of attractive opportunities: fine‐grained provisioning, tighter provisioning and application‐controlled elasticity. Resource aware services give the client better control of resource usage, to meet service‐level agreements at lower cost.