TransOS: a transparent computing-based operating system for the cloud

Abstract

Cloud computing has become a hot topic recently. Among these research issues, cloud operating systems have attracted extensive attention. However, to date, there is no answer to such issues as what a cloud operating system is and how to develop one. This paper proposes a cloud operating system, TransOS, from the viewpoint of transparent computing, in which all traditional operating system codes and applications are centrally stored on network servers, and an almost bare terminal dynamically schedules the necessary codes selected by users from the network server, and runs them mostly with the terminal’s local resources. The TransOS manages all the resources to provide integrated services for users, including traditional operating systems. This paper first introduces the concept of transparent computing as a background and presents TransOS and its main characteristics. It then gives a layered structure-based designation of TransOS and finally illustrates one example of its implementation.