Datacentre traffic is experiencing 2-digit growth challenging the scalability of current network architectures. The new concept of disaggregation exacerbates bandwidth and latency demands whereas emerging cloud business opportunities urge for reliable inter-datacenter networking. PROJECT will develop an end-to-end solution extending from the datacenter architecture and optical subsystem design to the overlaying control plane and application interfaces. PROJECT hybrid electronic-optical network architecture scales linearly with the number of datacenter hosts, offers Ethernet granularity and saves up to 94% power and 30% cost. It consolidates compute and storage networks over a single, Ethernet optical TDMA network. Low latency, hardware-level dynamic re-configurability and quasi-deterministic QoS are supported in view of disaggregated datacenter deployment scenarios. A fully functional control plane overlay will be developed comprising an SDN controller along with its interfaces. The southbound interface abstracts physical layer infrastructure and allows dynamic hardware-level network reconfigurability. The northbound interface links the SDN controller with the application requirements through an Application Programming Interface. PROJECT innovative control plane enables Application Defined Networking and merges hardware and software virtualization over the hybrid optical infrastructure. It also integrates SDN modules and functions for inter-datacenter connectivity, enabling dynamic bandwidth allocation based on the needs of migrating VMs as well as on existing Service Level Agreements for transparent networking among telecom and datacenter operator’s domains. Fully-functional network subsystems will be prototyped: a 400Gb/s hybrid Top-of-Rack switch, a 50Gb/s electronic-optical smart Network Interface Card and a fast optical pod switch. PROJECT concept will be demonstrated in the lab and in its operational environment for both intra- and inter-datacenter scenario

Application service providers (ASPs) now develop, deploy, and maintain complex computing platforms within multiple cloud infrastructures to improve resilience, responsiveness and elasticity of their applications. The CYCLONE project targets the ASPs, providing them with software and tools that 1) facilitate the deployment, management, and use of their complex, multi-cloud applications and 2) enhance the end-to-end security and network management of those applications. Using agile methodologies and continuous delivery, CYCLONE integrates and improves mature, open-source components, such as StratusLab, OpennNaaS, SlipStream, and TCTP. Participants from the bioinformatics and energy sectors will guide the initial platform development; use cases from additional sectors identified during the project will drive its subsequent evolution. Constant availability of the CYCLONE testbed allows all these users to rapidly prototype their complex cloud applications and to provide continuous feedback to the developers, thus validating the CYCLONE software’s design, implementation, and production quality. CYCLONE allows ASPs to aggregate resources from multiple cloud providers (private and public) to improve the reliability of their applications through geographic redundancy, to enhance the user experience by placing services (and data) near their users, to lower barriers between cloud providers via a cloud deployment engine with appropriate resource abstractions, and to tailor intra- and inter-site networking resources. Coupled with application-level security features and trust bootstrapping mechanisms, CYCLONE allows ASPs to define their own innovative and secure cloud platform tailored to their needs and trusted by their users.