Michael Vögler

PatRICIA -- A Novel Programming Model for IoT Applications on Cloud Platforms

Cloud computing technologies have recently been intensively exploited for the development and management of large-scale IoT systems, due to their capability to integrate diverse types of IoT devices and to support big IoT data analytics in an elastic manner. However, due to the diversity, complexity and scale of IoT systems, the need to handle large volumes of IoT data in a nontrivial manner, and the plethora of domain-dependent IoT controls, programming IoT applications on cloud platforms still remains a great challenge. To date, existing work neglects high-level programming models and focuses on low-level IoT data and device integration. In this paper, we outline PatRICIA, which aims at providing an end-to-end solution for high-level programming and provisioning of IoT applications on cloud platforms. We present a novel programming model, based on the concept of intent and intent scope. Further, we introduce its runtime for dealing with the complexity, diversity and scale of IoT systems in the cloud. Our programming model defines abstractions to enable easier, efficient and more intuitive development of cloud-scale IoT applications. To illustrate our programming model, we present a case study with real-world applications for controlling and managing electric vehicles.

MADCAT: A Methodology for Architecture and Deployment of Cloud Application Topologies

The cloud computing paradigm introduces new possibilities and challenges for application design and deployment. On-demand resource provisioning, as well as resource and cost elasticity, need to be considered when realizing large-scale distributed applications for cloud environments. Current approaches do not sufficiently address the challenges of efficiently architecting and deploying cloud applications in a holistic manner and do not deal with the specific challenges encountered in cloud infrastructures. In this paper we introduce a methodology tackling the practical problems encountered when designing and deploying cloud applications. It enables the structured creation of cloud-native applications, addressing the complete application development lifecycle, from architectural design to concrete deployment topologies provisioned and executed on cloud infrastructure. By using iterative refinement and seamless provenance documentation of decisions made in the process, the methodology eases communication with relevant stakeholders and enables efficient design and deployment of distributed cloud applications.

LEONORE -- Large-Scale Provisioning of Resource-Constrained IoT Deployments

Internet of Things (IoT) devices are usually considered as external dependencies that only provide data, or process and execute simple instructions. Recently, IoT devices with embedded execution environments emerged that allow practitioners to deploy and execute custom application logic on the device. This approach fundamentally changes the overall process of designing, developing, deploying and managing IoT systems. However, these devices exhibit significant differences in available execution environments, processing, and storage capabilities. To accommodate this diversity, a structured approach is needed to uniformly and transparently deploy application components onto a large number of heterogeneous devices. This is especially important in the context of current large-scale IoT systems, such as in the smart city domain. In this paper, we present LEONORE, a service oriented infrastructure that provides elastic provisioning of application components on resource-constrained and heterogeneous edge devices in large-scale IoT deployments. LEONORE supports push-based as well as pull-based deployments and we show that our solution is able to elastically provision large numbers of devices using a testbed based on a real-world industry scenario.

Towards Automated IoT Application Deployment by a Cloud-Based Approach

Internet of Things solutions are typically domain-specific, relying on heterogeneous hardware, communication protocols and data models. In such system environments, the deployment of IoT applications is very intricate. The application environments differ from one system to another and service management procedures are non-standardized, making it hard for solution providers to efficiently deploy and configure applications for a large number of users. This paper proposes to employ TOSCA-a new standard for cloud service management-to systematically specify the components and configurations of IoT applications. We will demonstrate that, by using TOSCA, application models can be reused, and deployment processes can be automated in heterogeneous IoT system environments.

A Scalable Framework for Provisioning Large-Scale IoT Deployments

Internet of Things (IoT) devices are usually considered external application dependencies that only provide data or process and execute simple instructions. The recent emergence of IoT devices with embedded execution environments allows practitioners to deploy and execute custom application logic directly on the device. This approach fundamentally changes the overall process of designing, developing, deploying, and managing IoT systems. However, these devices exhibit significant differences in available execution environments, processing, and storage capabilities. To accommodate this diversity, a structured approach is needed to uniformly and transparently deploy application components onto a large number of heterogeneous devices. This is especially important in the context of large-scale IoT systems, such as in the smart city domain. In this article, we present LEONORE, an infrastructure toolset that provides elastic provisioning of application components on resource-constrained and heterogeneous edge devices in large-scale IoT deployments. LEONORE supports push-based as well as pull-based deployments. To improve scalability and reduce generated network traffic between cloud and edge infrastructure, we present a distributed provisioning approach that deploys LEONORE local nodes within the deployment infrastructure close to the actual edge devices. We show that our solution is able to elastically provision large numbers of devices using a testbed based on a real-world industry scenario.

DIANE - Dynamic IoT Application Deployment

Applications in the Internet of Things (IoT) domain need to manage and integrate huge amounts of heterogenous devices. Usually these devices are treated as external dependencies residing at the edge of the infrastructure mainly transmitting sensed data or reacting to their environment. Recently however, a fundamental shift in the basic nature of these devices is taking place. More and more IoT devices emerge that are not simple sensors or transmitters, but provide limited execution environments. This opens up a huge opportunity to utilize these previously untapped processing power in order to offload custom application logic directly to these edge devices. To effectively exploit this new type of device the design of IoT applications needs to change to also consider devices that are deployed on the edge of the infrastructure. The deployment of parts of the applications business logic on the device will not only increase the overall robustness of the application, but can also reduce communication overhead. To allow for flexible provisioning of applications whose deployment topology evolves over time, a clear separation of independently executable application components is needed. In this paper, we present DIANE, a framework for the dynamic generation of optimized deployment topologies for IoT cloud applications that are tailored to the currently available physical infrastructure. Based on a declarative, constraint-based model of the desired application deployment, our approach enables flexible provisioning of application components on edge devices deployed in the field. DIANE supports different IoT application topologies and we show that our solution elastically provisions application deployment topologies using a cloud-based test bed.

Towards the Internet of Cities: A Research Roadmap for Next-Generation Smart Cities

In this paper we outline the long-term vision for an Internet of Cities infrastructure, an interdisciplinary effort towards creating the scientific underpinnings for designing, developing, and managing next-generation smart city applications. Due to the large number of involved stakeholders and their possibly conflicting requirements, along with limited available knowledge and data, effective and efficient creation and subsequent operation of smart city applications is currently not possible. By holistically approaching the challenges of creating and operating such applications, we will create methodologies, frameworks, and approaches to enable the Internet of Cities, a global network of smart cities and their applications that securely and collaboratively work together to improve the quality of life of their citizens, as well as greatly improve cost and energy efficiency of city operation and infrastructure.

rtGovOps: A Runtime Framework for Governance in Large-Scale Software-Defined IoT Cloud Systems

The ongoing convergence of cloud computing and the IoT gives rise to the proliferation of diverse, large-scale IoT and mobile cloud systems. Such novel IoT cloud systems offer numerous advantages for all involved stakeholders. However, due to scale, complexity, and inherent geographical distribution of such systems, governing new IoT cloud resources poses numerous challenges. In this paper we introduce rtGovOps, a novel framework for on-demand runtime operational governance of software-defined IoT cloud systems. To illustrate the feasibility of our framework and its practical applicability to implement and execute operational governance processes in large-scale software-defined IoT cloud system, we evaluate our approach using a real-world case study on managing fleets of electric vehicles.

Web-Scale Service Delivery for Smart Cities

Smart cities encompass services in diverse business and technological domains. Presently, most of these services are delivered through domain-specific, tightly coupled systems, which entail limited scalability and extensibility. The authors propose Web-scale service delivery that addresses these limitations and encourage the creation of novel services based on a domain-independent, cloud-based service-delivery platform.

COLT Collaborative Delivery of Lightweight IoT Applications

Todays IoT solutions are typically delivered by domain-specific solution providers. In these solutions, components are highly customized for specific project requirements, limiting their users to the offerings of their providers. To overcome these limitations, we propose a novel mechanism that opens the market for OEMs and third-party developers. This paper introduces the IoT Application Market, where a range of stakeholders can distribute, sell, share and contribute features for lightweight device-specific IoT applications. Based on the offerings in the IoT Application Market, users can buy applications and deploy them in their environment through self-service.