Blueprint model and language for engineering cloud applications

Abstract: The research presented in this thesis is positioned within the domain of engineering CSBAs. Its contribution is twofold: (1) a uniform specification language, called the Blueprint Specification Language (BSL), for specifying cloud services across several cloud vendors and (2) a set of associated techniques, called the Blueprint Manipulation Techniques (BMTs), for publishing, querying, and composing cloud service specifications with aim to support the flexible design and configuration of an CSBA.

A Reference Architecture for Service Lifecycle Management – Construction and Application to Designing and Analyzing IT Support

Service-orientation and the underlying concept of service-oriented architectures are a means to successfully address the need for flexibility and interoperability of software applications, which in turn leads to improved IT support of business processes. With a growing level of diffusion, sophistication and maturity, the number of services and interdependencies is gradually rising. This increasingly requires companies to implement a systematic management of services along their entire lifecycle. Service lifecycle management (SLM), i.e., the management of services from the initiating idea to their disposal, is becoming a crucial success factor. Not surprisingly, the academic and practice communities increasingly postulate comprehensive IT support for SLM to counteract the inherent complexity. The topic is still in its infancy, with no comprehensive models available that help evaluating and designing IT support in SLM. This thesis presents a reference architecture for SLM and applies it to the evaluation and designing of SLM IT support in companies. The artifact, which largely resulted from consortium research efforts, draws from an extensive analysis of existing SLM applications, case studies, focus group discussions, bilateral interviews and existing literature. Formal procedure models and a configuration terminology allow adapting and applying the reference architecture to a company’s individual setting. Corresponding usage examples prove its applicability and demonstrate the arising benefits within various SLM IT support design and evaluation tasks. A statistical analysis of the knowledge embodied within the reference data leads to novel, highly significant findings. For example, contemporary standard applications do not yet emphasize the lifecycle concept but rather tend to focus on small parts of the lifecycle, especially on service operation. This forces user companies either into a best-of-breed or a custom-development strategy if they are to implement integrated IT support for their SLM activities. SLM software vendors and internal software development units need to undergo a paradigm shift in order to better reflect the numerous interdependencies and increasing intertwining within services’ lifecycles. The SLM architecture is a first step towards achieving this goal.:Content Overview List of Figures....................................................................................... xi List of Tables ...................................................................................... xiv List of Abbreviations.......................................................................xviii 1 Introduction .................................................................................... 1 2 Foundations ................................................................................... 13 3 Architecture Structure and Strategy Layer .............................. 57 4 Process Layer ................................................................................ 75 5 Information Systems Layer ....................................................... 103 6 Architecture Application and Extension ................................. 137 7 Results, Evaluation and Outlook .............................................. 195 Appendix ..........................................................................................203 References .......................................................................................... 463 Curriculum Vitae.............................................................................. 498 Bibliographic Data............................................................................ 49

Orchestration of a large infrastructure of Remote Desktop Windows Servers

The CERN Windows Terminal Service infrastructure is an aggregation of multiple virtual servers running Remote Desktop Services, accessed by hundreds of users every day; it has two purposes: provide external access to the CERN network, and exercise access control to certain parts of the accelerator complex. Currently, the deployment and configuration of these servers and services requires some interaction by system administrators, although scripts and tools developed at CERN do contribute to alleviate the problem. Scaling up and down the infrastructure (i.e., adding or removing servers) is also an issue, since it’s done manually. However, recent changes in the infrastructure and the adoption of new software tools that automate software deployment and configuration open new possibilities to improve and orchestrate the current service. Automation and Orchestration will not only reduce the time and effort necessary to deploy new instances, but also simplify operations like patching, analysis and rebuilding of compromised nodes and will provide better performance in response to load increase. The goal of this CERN project, we’re now a part of, is to automate provisioning (and decommissioning) and scaling (up and down) of the infrastructure. Given the scope and magnitude of problems that must be solved, no single solution is capable of addressing all; therefore, multiple technologies are required. For deployment and configuration of Windows Server systems we resort to Puppet, while for orchestration tasks, Microsoft Service Management Automation will be used

The property finance business in South Africa

Problem Statement: The business of property finance has not been properly documented in South Africa. Available resource material focuses on the perspective of the property developer and investor largely neglecting the business of property finance. Thus comprehensive information on this business was not available to students and researchers This study set out to correct this deficiency. Research Procedure: Key property finance personnel in the major banks in the Republic of South Africa were interviewed to establish how the business of property finance is conducted. Jointly the interviewees represent 77% by volume of business over a period of two years A parallel process of literature research was undertaken to compliment the interview research and provide technical depth to the findings. Findings: The empirical and literature research results were combined to comprehensively document the processes, structures, systems, productsBusiness ManagementM. Com. (Business Management

Kenya Financial Sector Stability Report, 2013

The report presents trend analysis and in-depth assessment of the global and domestic macro-financial developments affecting and emanating from the macroeconomy and the financial system. It analyses the performance and interactions involving the real economy, financial markets, financial institutions, financial infrastructure, and review of the legal and policy frameworks in 2013

“Sukuk Issuance in Saudi Arabia: Recent Trends and Positive Expectations”

The objective of this research is to assess the potential for corporate sukuk in Saudi Arabia by examining issuance so far and seeking opinions from market makers as to how this type of financing can be taken forward. The research considers the appropriateness of Sukuk as long-term Shari’a-compliant financing instruments. One objective is to investigate how Sukuk issuers can tap liquid funds and harness them to contribute to the funding of infrastructure and industrial projects

Contextual governance for service oriented architecture composition

Currently, business requirements for rapid operational efficiency, customer responsiveness as well as rapid adaptability are driving the need for ever increasing communication and integration capabilities ofthe software assets. Functional decomposition into re-usable software entities, loose coupling, and distribution of resources are all perceived benefits of the investment on Service Oriented Architecture (SOA). This malleability can also bring about the risk of a more difficult oversight. The same service is ideally used in different applications and contexts. This situation forces a supporting infrastructure to allow and manage the adaptability to these different contexts of use. In this thesis, the author proposes to govern such variations in a cost efficient way by composing the core business function offered by a service with other services implementing infrastructure capabilities that fulfil varying non-functional requirements. However, as the number of services increases and their use in different contexts proliferates, it becomes necessary to automate policy enforcement and compliance monitoring. Furthermore, the composition of services into different business applications over a common infrastructure intensifies the need for end-to-end monitoring and analysis in order to assess the business performance impact. Managing the full life-cycle of service definition, deployment, exposure and operation requires management processes that take into account their composition with the infrastructure capabilities that take of non-functional requirements. In addition, policies may change during the life-time of a service. Policy updates may be the result of various reasons including business optimisation, of reaction to new business opportunities, of risk / threat mitigation, of operational emergencies, etc. It becomes therefore clear that a well-designed governance architecture is a prerequisite to implementing a SOA capable of dealing with a complex and dynamic environment.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo