EU research project PrEstoCloud: Optimizing the alignment of cloud and fog resources

The kickoff meeting for the EU research project PrEstoCloud (Proactive Cloud Resources Management at the Edge for efficient Real-Time Big Data Processing) was held in Darmstadt on January 24-25. PrEstoCloud aims to develop a software infrastructure that manages the use of resources in the cloud and fog in a way that optimizes costs and improves the secure real-time analysis of big data. Cloud resources are computers and servers that are connected in a network via the internet, while fog resources are small decentralized computing units that are located close to production.

PrEstoCloud is being funded by the European Commission over a period of three years and unites a total of eleven partner organizations from industry and research into a project consortium. Representatives of the partner organizations from France, Germany, Serbia, Slovenia, Greece, Cyprus and Israel met for the kickoff at Software AG’s headquarters in Darmstadt, Germany. Software AG has also been entrusted with the leadership of the consortium.

For two days, the participants discussed the planned concept for the software infrastructure and the existing framework conditions. The heart of the solution is software that proactively adapts itself to continuously changing data streams and automatically ensures the optimal orchestration of cloud and fog resources. Changes to the data stream can occur at any time with regard to the volume or size of the data. “The software we are designing will be able to recognize changes or change patterns in the data streams in real time and implement the necessary adjustments in resource usage also in real time,” announces Dr. Harald Schöning, Vice President Research at Software AG.

Another aspect of research activities focuses on implementing and ensuring compliance with the European Union’s new mandatory data protection laws that will take effect in May 2018 all across Europe.

The business relevance of the new software infrastructure is treated in three applications from industry scenarios:

  • A logistics company that aims to cut costs for monitoring and managing its fleet in real time
  • A security and monitoring company that needs expanded, secure data analysis that complies with data protection laws
  • A media and data transmission provider that would like to offer video and audio streaming from different sources in real time at cost-effective conditions

The planned application scenarios were refined at the kickoff meeting, signaling the start of development activities. The project officially launched on January 1, 2017, and will run for three years.

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