Cloud Multi-Tenancy: Issues and Developments

Cloud Computing (CC) is a computational paradigm that provides pay-per use services to customers from a pool of networked computing resources that are provided on demand. Customers therefore does not need to worry about infrastructure or storage. Cloud Service Providers (CSP) make custom built applications available to customers online. Also, organisations and enterprises can build and deploy applications based on platforms provided by the Cloud service provider. Scalable storage and computing resources is also made available to consumers on the Clouds at a cost. Cloud Computing takes virtualization a step further through the use of virtual machines, it allows several customers share the same physical machine. In addition, it is possible for numerous customers to share applications provided by a CSP; this sharing model is known as multi-tenancy. Though Multi-tenancy has its drawbacks but however, it is highly desirable based on its cost efficiency. This paper presents the comprehensive study of existing literatures on relevant issues and development relating to cloud multitenancy using reliable methods. This study examines recent trends in the area of cloud multi-tenancy and provides a guide for future research. The analyses of this comprehensive study was based on the following questions relating to recent study in multi-tenancy which are: what is the current trend and development in cloud multi-tenancy? Existing publications were analyzed in this area including journals, conferences, white papers and publications in reputable magazines. The expected result at the end of this review is the identification of trends in cloud multi-tenancy. This will be of benefit to prospective cloud users and even cloud providers

Implementing a maintainable and secure tenancy model

Software-as-a-Service is a popular software delivery model that provides subscription-based services for customers. In this thesis, we identify key aspects of implementing a maintainable and secure tenancy model through analyzing research literature and focusing on a case study. We also study whether it is beneficial to change a single-tenant implementation to a multi-tenant implementation in terms of maintainability and security. We research common tenancy models and security issues in SaaS products. Based on these, we set out to analyze a case study product, identifying potential problems in its single-tenant implementation. We then decide on changing said model, and show the process of implementing a new hybrid model. Finally, we present validation methods on measuring the effectiveness of such implementation. We identified data security and isolation, efficiency and performance, administrative manageability, scalability and profitability to be the most important quality aspects to consider when choosing a maintainable and secure tenancy model. We also recognize that it is beneficial to change from a single-tenant implementation to a multi-tenant implementation in terms of these aspects

Cloud Computing Economics: Democratization And Monetization Of Services

Cloud computing is a modality for providing computer services via the Internet, by incorporating ubiquitous access through a web browser for the execution of single-function applications, such as those available as office suites, and comprehensive enterprise line-of-business applications pieced together from components residing in varying Internet locations.  This paper covers the democratization and monetization of software services and uses cloud computing as the primary delivery vehicle.  Cloud computing represents a contextual shift in how computers are provisioned and accessed.  There is opportunity and value in cloud computing for providers, ISVs, and customers.  The subject is covered from an economic perspective for each of the groups

Secure data sharing and processing in heterogeneous clouds

The extensive cloud adoption among the European Public Sector Players empowered them to own and operate a range of cloud infrastructures. These deployments vary both in the size and capabilities, as well as in the range of employed technologies and processes. The public sector, however, lacks the necessary technology to enable effective, interoperable and secure integration of a multitude of its computing clouds and services. In this work we focus on the federation of private clouds and the approaches that enable secure data sharing and processing among the collaborating infrastructures and services of public entities. We investigate the aspects of access control, data and security policy languages, as well as cryptographic approaches that enable fine-grained security and data processing in semi-trusted environments. We identify the main challenges and frame the future work that serve as an enabler of interoperability among heterogeneous infrastructures and services. Our goal is to enable both security and legal conformance as well as to facilitate transparency, privacy and effectivity of private cloud federations for the public sector needs. © 2015 The Authors

Exploring Predicate Based Access Control for Cloud Workflow Systems

Authentication and authorization are the two crucial functions of any modern security and access control mechanisms. Authorization for controlling access to resources is a dynamic characteristic of a workflow system which is based on true business dynamics and access policies. Allowing or denying a user to gain access to a resource is the cornerstone for successful implementation of security and controlling paradigms. Role based and attribute based access control are the existing mechanisms widely used. As per these schemes, any user with given role or attribute respectively is granted applicable privileges to access a resource. There is third approach known as predicate based access control which is less explored. We intend to throw light on this as it provides more fine-grained control over resources besides being able to complement with existing approaches. In this paper we proposed a predicate-based access control mechanism that caters to the needs of cloud-based workflow systems

A Survey of Security and Privacy Challenges in Cloud Computing: Solutions and Future Directions

While cloud computing is gaining popularity, diverse security and privacy issues are emerging that hinder the rapid adoption of this new computing paradigm. And the development of defensive solutions is lagging behind. To ensure a secure and trustworthy cloud environment it is essential to identify the limitations of existing solutions and envision directions for future research. In this paper, we have surveyed critical security and privacy challenges in cloud computing, categorized diverse existing solutions, compared their strengths and limitations, and envisioned future research directions