Network-aware service placement in a distributed cloud environment

We consider a system of compute and storage resources geographically distributed over a large number of locations connected via a wide-area network. By distributing the resources, latency to users can be decreased, bandwidth costs reduced and availablility increased. The challenge is to distribute services with varying characteristics among the data centers optimally. Some services are very latency sensitive, others need vast amounts of storage, and yet others are computationally complex but do not require hard deadlines on execution. We propose efficient algorithms for the placement of services to get the maximum benefit from a distributed cloud systems. The algorithms need input on the status of the network, compute resources and data resources, which are matched to application requirements.

This demonstration shows how a network-aware cloud can combine all three resource types - computation, storage, and network connectivity - in distributed cloud environments. Our dynamic service placement algorithm monitors the network and data center resources in real-time. Our prototype uses the information gathered to place or migrate services to provide the best user experience for a service.