Network considerations for open source based clouds

Cloud-based services are being consumed and developed at an unprecedented rate and cloud architects are looking for open-source options to architect and deploy next generation clouds. There are several use cases that can be explored for the aerospace industry. This paper will focus on the networking aspects of cloud architecture, which can be built via select open source technologies. This paper reviews, the three open source technologies, namely OpenStack, OpenDaylight and Open vSwitch and their corresponding networking sub components for cloud architectures. The benefits of adopting open source technologies vary from the standpoints of cost, flexibility, customizability, and auditability factors. OpenStack is an open source software that consists of interrelated projects for cloud processing, storage, and networking resources in a cloud data center. OpenDaylight is an open platform for network programmability to enable Software Defined Network (SDN) and Network Function Virtualization (NFV). OpenDaylight (ODL) software is a combination of components including a network controller, interfaces, protocol plug-ins and Application Programmable Interfaces (APIs). Open vSwitch (OVS), is an open source implementation of a distributed virtual multilayer switch. The main purpose of Open vSwitch is to provide a switching stack for hardware virtualization environments. This paper will review the networking considerations of OpenStack design and implementation, the cloud-related functions and applicability for OpenDayLight in cloud designs, and the details of Open vSwitch and its consideration for a virtualized cloud architecture. The paper will also explore aerospace industry cloud use cases and intersection of these open source technologies with a portrayal of a potential cloud architecture with these components.