DMTF spec simplifies cloud management
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The Distributed Management Task Force's specification will simplify cloud infrastructure management and ensure that workloads can be easily moved among different cloud environments.
The Distributed Management Task Force has released a new specification designed to simplify cloud infrastructure management and ensure that workloads can be easily moved among different cloud environments.
Many organizations view cloud computing, an on-demand model that focuses on the pooling and sharing of compute resources, as a way to make more efficient use of IT operations over time. However, as the market for cloud services has grown, cloud vendors have introduced their own interfaces that let users run private clouds.
DMTF has developed Cloud Infrastructure Management Interface version 1.0 as a self-service interface for infrastructure clouds, which will let users run virtual servers across different hardware platforms.
CIMI has broad industry support, with companies such as Oracle and Red Hat submitting their application programming interfaces as consideration for the standard, said Winston Bumpus, chairman of the board of DMTF. Experience with real cloud issues has been factored into the standard, he noted.
CIMI is not seen as a replacement for vendors’ interfaces but, in the way the Lightweight Directory Assistance Protocol serves as a standard for organizing data within databases that follow the LDAP standard, the new specification will forge more interoperability between cloud providers, Bumpus told GCN.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology has led efforts within the federal government to help foster greater interoperability, portability and security standards for cloud environments. DMTF has been working closely with NIST on the U.S. Government Cloud Computing Technical Roadmap and associated reference architectures, Bumpus said.
CIMI V.1.0 includes two components: the CIMI Model and REST Interface over HTTP Specification and CIMI Primer.
The CIMI specification is the centerpiece of DMTF’s Cloud Management Initiative and is the first standard created by the Cloud Management Working Group (CMWG).
DMTF’s Cloud Management Initiative includes contributions from additional working groups including the Cloud Auditing Data Federation Working Group, the Network Services Management Working Group, the Software License Management Incubator and the System Virtualization, Partitioning, and Clustering Working Group. Additional announcements are expected from DMTF cloud-related working groups early next year.
Officials from Broadcom, CA Technologies, Citrix, Fujitsu, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Oracle, Red Hat, VMware, and SunGard announced support for CIMI v1.0
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