[occi-wg] A note from the chairs

[Thijs Metsch]

Hi all,

As you know the goal of this working group is the creation of an API  
for cloud infrastructure services (IaaS).

As you also might know over the last weeks the overall progress  
stalled a little bit. This was because of presentations, OGF26 and a  
number of people who are busy doing other work beside OCCI.  
Nevertheless we now want to work hard on achieving our goal to have an  
API by the next OGF meeting.

This will be done in an open process where individuals as well as  
groups can participate.  Within an open process, with many voices, it  
can happen that certain opinions, feelings and favors for certain  
technical solutions lead to a logjam. Therefore it is certain  
necessary to respect and appreciate all possibilities. The following  
process is defined by all chairs of the group and will support all  
options and still lead to a consensus based solution.

Several steps need to be considered:

1.Operate on a requirements basis
    a)Categorize and compare existing APIs for Clouds. List what  
exists and look at the structure of their definition.
    b)Define and clearly state all requirements (which includes  
requirements on OCCI at large but as well as requirements on rendering  
formats)
    c)Define and clearly state all use cases which should be supported  
by the solution
    d)Prioritize all requirements and use those to look at technical  
solutions. Important is also a matching of the possible solution and  
the requirements.

2.Create a broad user base.
    a)Maintain a members register of people who are engaged in the  
process of the creation of the API
    b)Get statements who and when groups or individuals will implement  
the API

3.Create a clear representation and discussion base on the mailing- 
list and Wiki
    a)Create a clear structured Wiki where it is easy to find all  
information
    b)The representation of the API should be easy to read and  
implement.
    c)Include all use cases/requirements/comparison data in one place  
so they can be used for discussion (also see 1)

4.Collaborate with other  standardization bodies
    a)Define and look at overlaps of working groups
    b)Assign people to act as liaisons to get an exchange of knowledge  
between groups

We the chairs will support and look over this process. By doing so we  
hope to encourage all members to contribute to this open process and  
so get a broad user and member base. This process should lead to a  
broad consensus based on the requirements and opinions from the  
participant in this group. Please join the discussions and on  
particular issues feel free to contact the chairs.

Overall the following assignments and action items will be made for now:

* Work on requirements and use cases (includes the organization of an  
concall to prioritize): Thijs
* Members recruitment and backup of their engagement: Alexis
* Work on Wiki structure and API documentation: Sam and Andy
* Coordinate collaboration efforts: Thijs

Feel free to comment and discuss thinks. We will also discuss this a  
little bit during our concall tomorrow,

Have a great day,

-Thijs

-- 
Thijs Metsch                        Tel: +49 (0)941 3075-122 (x60122)
http://blogs.sun.com/intheclouds
Software Engineer Grid Computing
Sun Microsystems GmbH
Dr.-Leo-Ritter-Str. 7               mailto:thijs.metsch at sun.com
D-93049 Regensburg                  http://www.sun.com
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