Platform for High-Assurance Cloud Computing

Cornells MRC effort undertook to help the military leverage cloud computing elasticity, better data center utilization, automated management. The core issue is that cloud computing is notoriously weak on consistency, fault-tolerance, and security. With our new cloud computing tool chain, applications needing high assurance can be implemented with ease and in the same general manner as is used to create todays standard cloud computing applications and services. Additionally, our SuperCloud a related but distinct project under the same MRC funding reduces vendor lock-in and permits application to migrate, to follow the sun or leverage inexpensive cloud resources. Jointly, these efforts offer a major advance in the ability of the government and military to leverage the cloud. We demonstrated our work in an area important to the military the smart power grid, protection of which has been identified as a major national defense priority. At the same time, progress towards a smarter grid offers a chance to save power and increase utilization of renewables. Using our MRC tool chain, we created GridCloud, and worked with ISO NE, NYPA and NY ISO to show that our solutions could host a resilient cloud in support of a smart bulk power grid.