A Sun white paper discusses points to consider when deciding whether to move applications, services or components into the cloud. It defines a methodology to help enterprises determine whether to port applications to run in the cloud or to refactor applications to capitalize on some of the cloud's unique characteristics.

The proposed methodology is designed to help determine whether an existing application or "pattern" is compatible with the cloud, can run in the cloud, or can be refactored or optimized for the cloud. Each of these assessment types is defined. In brief, an application, service, or pattern is considered to:

• be compatible with the cloud if no business, architectural, technical, or compliance roadblock would prevent it from being moved to the cloud.

• run in the cloud if it can be packaged without any impact on its functionality. Here, packaging means a minimal amount of optimization is required, and it is not architectural in nature.

• be optimized to run in the cloud when it takes advantage of the unique characteristics of the cloud, making a functionality or service-level improvement as a result.

Making these types of assessments help enterprises devise strategies in moving applications into the cloud along with appraising its potential benefits.

An example of using the methodology is presented in an assessment of a two-tier Web service. The paper goes through the initial assessment phase, followed by which patterns could either be refactored or optimized, all the while demonstrating how this process would proceed.

Another example is presented involving an enterprise database cluster. It explores whether and how the central database functions could be moved to the cloud. This one shows some potential business roadblocks as well as technical ones that could be encountered.

In conclusion, the paper advises enterprises to consider first whether it is feasible at all to move an existing application or service into the cloud. Are there any technical roadblocks that may prevent such a move? Next, cost and/or risk considerations need to be examined to determine the practicability of moving the application to the cloud. Then, it is time to determine whether applications can run in the cloud or if it can be optimized to run there. Overall, the methodology presented gives cloud architects a starting point in devising strategies and making informed decisions in regard to computing in the cloud.

More Information

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Architectural Strategies for Cloud Computing [...read more...]

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