Dependability-oriented resource management schemes for cloud computing data centers

A major factor in the growth of the Information and Communications Technology has been the widespread use of data centers for deploying and executing web services, business processes, and scientific and e-commerce applications. While some data centers are designed to operate a specific business (e.g., Google’s search engine), others are used as the backbone infrastructure to deliver computing resources as services to hundreds of users (e.g., Amazon’s EC2 service). Relying on data centers for running applications, particularly when resources are delivered to the users as a service, offer significant benefits. For example, applications can benefit significantly from the economy of scale, and users are relieved from buying expensive hardware and software licenses and from maintaining the computing infrastructure.