The Ontology-based Software Co-Evolution of Cloud and Mobile Computing - Literature review Example

?Running Head: The Ontology-Based Software The Ontology-Based Software Co-Evolution of Cloud and Mobile Computing Name Instructor Name Date of Submission The Ontology-Based Software Co-Evolution of Cloud and Mobile Computing Literature Review 1. Introduction to Cloud Computing and Mobile Computing Cloud computing can be thought of as an elaborate arrangement of computing facilities through a high end distribution of a vast range of information and communication technology resources from various access points. Lanois (2010, p. 29) explains cloud computing from a socio-technological perspective in the following words: “As consumers are spending an increasing amount of time online and demanding convenient, instant access to more content, cloud computing is becoming a rapidly growing technology and the industry’s new buzzword. In a nutshell, the idea behind cloud computing is that instead of having the software and data stored locally on a user’s own computer, they can all be stored on Internet servers, or “in the clouds,” and accessed as a service on the Internet.” According to the works of Shang et al (2010), the concept stack of cloud computing has four major components. These are the computing resources, the operating system & grid middleware, the cloud middleware and the application layers. Shang et al (2010) have taken a layered approach and the computing resources have been assigned as the baseline layer of this stack structure. Above this layer is the layer of grid middleware & operating system. Its role is to harness cluster computing facilities and virtualisation from the pool of computing resources. Next is the cloud middleware layer where the computing facilities are synchronically modified, organised and distributed. Finally, at the top of the stack model, there is the application layer where the real requirements of end users are addressed though a service oriented architecture or SOA. (Shang et al, 2010, pp. 150-151) Mobile computing, on the other hand, is a technology that has given rise to scalable networks with the help of different handheld and portable computing devices available to the end users. It emerged relatively earlier than cloud computing, and primarily used Internet based telephony and communication techniques. As early as the 1990s, experts defined adaptability to be the most critical feature of mobile computing, since it involves a diverse range of software and hardware platforms that must work together and interact seamlessly (Satyanarayanan, 1995). The research team led by de Oliveira (2010) have presented a detailed cloud computing taxonomy which can be utilised in an ontological approach (please refer to Figure - 1). In taxonomical construct of cloud computing, mobile devices are categorized under the sub-taxonomy of access. Along with the thin clients, mobile is the type of access to clouds apart from the desktop with handheld devices or mobile phones. Mobile computing can facilitate access to the cloud computing resources with the help of phones instead of the static workstations and desktops. (de Oliveira et al, p. 56) With the lapse of time, end users are becoming increasingly mobile. On the go, they not only need portable devices but also demand powerful computing facilities. This has given rise to the concept of “mobile workforce” (Liu, 2010, p. 4). In order to support such a mobile workforce at the business model sub-taxonomical cohort of cloud computing techniques (please see Figure - 1), organisations are looking forward to mobile cloud applications. These applications would be highly adaptable at the programming side, synchronising various kinds of hardware and software platforms ranging from similar to disparate configurations. Figure – 1: Taxonomy of cloud computing. Please note the position of mobile technology in the sub-taxonomy of “Access” located at the lower left-hand side corner of the illustration. Source: de Oliveira et al (2010, p. 52) 2. Migrating Existing Software to Mobile Cloud Application If a mutually inclusive co-evolution of cloud computing and mobile computing takes place in order to research and develop real-time industry standard mobile cloud applications, migration of the system software tools from either cloud or mobile configuration to both cloud and mobile configurations becomes necessary. Utilities compatible with both mobile and cloud environments must be based on a versatile kernel functional right at the operating system initialisation and boot up processes. (Lanois, 2011; Fuhrt and Escalante, 2010; Walz and Grier, 2010) In the assortment of existing applications in this category of system software, Windows Mobile and Android appear to have good prospects. According to Sheng (2012), lots of mobile applications are dependent on cloud computing today. Examples include iCloud, Windows Mobile & Azure, etc. Furthermore, Google introduced Android 2.2 in 2010, which offered enterprise level compatibility with cloud computing infrastructure. Reviewing the migratory characteristics and dynamics of Android technology to adapt with cloud computing, professional IT consultant Ingthorsson (2010) states: “Previously, Android users could of course access their Gmail and Google Apps remotely on their handsets, but enterprises generally haven’t been willing to accept the platforms due to its lack of control and security mechanisms. Now, Android 2.2 is fulfilling the minimum security demands required by enterprises, i.e. device locking and remote wiping. Then there are additional features, similar to what the MS Exchange Server Active Sync can enforce.” With regards to the utility aspects of pervasive computing systems, high end technological equipment has to be shared by different users from different geographical locations. Most of the utilities should be adaptable with the social networking websites too and render synchronisation of the offline files as well. Particularly through the last decade, the need for utility software applications to automatically adjust with the end users “has been recognized in many application areas and the research on user profiling and context has spread into many disciplines which are concerned with the development of computer systems that are to be used by heterogeneous user populations” (Golemati et al, 2007, p. 1) These technical research implications are suggestive that end user oriented or client centric software programming has become an important approach to facilitate the co-evolution of mobile and cloud computing technologies. This further involves development of distributed and ontology based user profiling, social networking, enterprise level security and high speed Internet facilities. (Walz and Grier, 2010; Golemati et al, 2007) 3. Issues in the Co-Evolution Mechanism Cloud computing has a multi-layered complex structure. For example, the YML-PC reference architecture with respect to the general concept stack of cloud computing is illustrated in Figure – 2. Figure – 2: The concept stack of cloud computing as related to the reference architecture of YML-PC. Source: Shang et al (2010, p. 150) There are numerous structural and functional complexities in creating scientific private clouds such as YML-PC. Consequently, there are different issues in the way of developing an enterprise level mobile cloud application. A model/program transformation framework is necessary that will provide the highly adaptive methodology necessary for software co-evolution in this direction. Further, a hierarchic and automated artificial intelligence (AI) system has to be devised to assign user and profile definitions across an utterly cross-platform environment. This is predominantly important because enterprises are seeking to manage mobility as a critical information technology requirement (Liu, 2010). An ontology based approach has been advocated by several experts (e.g. Chen et al, 2011) to solve these issues. 3.1 Model/Program Transformation In answering the question that how mobile and cloud computing techniques can be synchronised, scientists and engineers are adopting service oriented architecture (SOA) and client-centrism. Lanois (2010) points out that the Digital Entertainment and Content Ecosystem (DECE), which is an inter-industrial consortium, has come up with a user management system called UltraViolet. UltraViolet will be based on cloud computing. It will enable the users to procure digital contents from different providers, utilise digital locker storage, and access it athwart different technology platforms ranging from Android to iCloud, mobile phones to workstations (Lanois, 2010, pp. 31-32). At such levels of context awareness program, researchers like Huang et al (2005) have supported ontology alignment to model the synchronisation technique of mobile services through invocation and integration. Likewise, Katzan (2010) aims at developing a cloud computing modelling strategy based on clearly defined sets of categories, characteristics and correlations between the different ICT components taking part in it. 3.2 Ontology-Based System Integration In order to develop enterprise level mobile cloud applications, cloud computing has to be made highly adaptable. This inference directly follows from the works of mobile computing experts like Satyanarayanan (1995), where adaptability has been defined as the key characteristic of mobile computing equipment. These equipment include both hardware and software components necessary to manage the various user data. However, Golemati and her research team (2007, p. 1) have explained this issue in the light of cross-platform adjustment problems. An ontology utilised for organising the user profiles is generally specific to an application. A specific ontology is purposely functional in a particular domain. Since different ontologies are being continuously incorporated in new applications combining various domains, there is an increasing need to devise a standard ontology which will model user profiles across different platforms, technologies and specialties. Such a standard ontology would help to establish communication between diverse applications and “serve as reference point when profiling functionalities need to be developed” (Golemati et al, 2007, p. 1). From this perspective, Chen et al (2009) have proposed a method that would identify the reusable legacy codes capable of supporting Service Oriented Software Reengineering (SOSR). The method includes Software Component Ontology (SCO), Functionality Ontology (FO) and Domain Concept Ontology (DCO). Together, these ontologies can map application domain knowledge onto the diverse code entities with the help of formal and relational concept analyses. Finally, Chen et al (2009, p. 486) state that “the method can help software developers and maintainers to reengineer the tightly coupled legacy information systems to the loosely coupled and agile information systems.” List of References Chen, F. Yang, H., Zhou, H., and Chu, W., 2011. Requirements recovery by matching domain ontology and program ontology. In: 35th IEEE International Computer Software and Application Conference (COMPSAC11). Munich, Germany July 2011. New York: IEEE Chen, F., Zhang, Z., Li, J., and Yang, H., 2009. Service identification via ontology mapping. In: 33rd IEEE International Computer Software and Application Conference (COMPSAC09). Seattle and Washington, USA July 2009. New York: IEEE. de Oliveira, D., Baiao, F.A. and Mautoso, M., 2010. Towards a taxonomy for cloud computing from an e-science perspective. In: N. Antonopoulos and L. Gillam (Eds.), 2010. Cloud Computing: Principles, Systems, and Applications. New York: Springer, pp. 47-62. Fuhrt, B. and Escalante, A., 2010. Handbook of Cloud Computing. New York: Springer. Golemati, M., Katifori, A., Vassilakis, C., Lepouras, G. and Halatsis, C., 2007. Creating an Ontology for the User Profile: Method and Applications. In: Proceedings of the First IEEE International Conference on Research Challenges in Information Science (RCIS), Morocco 2007. New York: IEEE. Huang, J., Dang, J., Huhns, M.N., and Shao, Y., 2005. Ontology alignment as a basis for mobile service integration and invocation. J. Pervasive Comput. & Comm., 1(1), pp. 1-11. Ingthorsson, O., 2010. Android 2.2 and Mobile Cloud Computing. MTF LLC, Delaware. Available: http://cloudcomputingtopics.com/2010/11/android-2-2-and-mobile-cloud-computing. Last accessed on 6th October, 2012. Katzan, H., 2010. On an ontological view of cloud computing. Journal of Service Science, 3(1), pp.1-6. Lanois, P. (2011). Caught in the clouds: the web 2.0, cloud computing, and privacy? Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property, 9(2), pp. 29-49. Liu, S., 2010. Supporting a mobile workforce. IT Professional Magazine, 12(3), pp. 4-5. Satyanarayanan, M., 1995. Fundamental challenges in mobile computing. School of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon University. Available: http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~coda/docdir/podc95.pdf. Last accessed on 6th October, 2012. Shang, L., Petiton, S., Emad, N. and Yang, X., 2010. YML-PC: A reference architecture based on workflow for building scientific private clouds. In: N. Antonopoulos and L. Gillam (Eds.), 2010. Cloud Computing: Principles, Systems, and Applications. New York: Springer, pp. 145-162. Sheng, B., 2012. Introduction to Mobile and Cloud Computing. Computer Science Department, University of Massachusetts Boston. Available: http://www.cs.umb.edu/~shengbo/teaching/cs697/lecture1.pdf. Last accessed on 6th October, 2012. Walz, J. and Grier, D., 2010. Time to push the cloud. IT Professional Magazine, 12(5), pp. 14-16. Read More