Authentication, authorization and file synchronization in hybrid cloud: On case of Google Docs, Hadoop and Linux local hosts

Abstract

Cloud computing brings more flexible options for the Small and Medium Business (SMB). With the help of public cloud, such as Google Docs, the SMBs are able to share their business information in lower cost but higher efficiency. Integrity between local storages and the clouds is a critical issue which often messes up the SMBs` digital assets in a hybrid environment. The downside makes SMBs reluctant to embrace cloud technology, though they may benefit from it in the long-term. The drawback comes from two aspects: `the information chaos` and `the management crisis`. The chaos originates from the possibility of information inconsistency among replicas in different places. On the other hand, the managerial crisis lies in the non-trustable access to the digital assets. Our research refers to the de facto open standards, viz. OpenID and O`Auth, to solve the problem by identity authentication and access right authorization on the hybrid cloud. The mechanisms are implemented for the Linux-based local host as well as MS-Windows-based computers, a private cloud constructed with Hadoop, and the Google Apps as a public cloud scenario. Users can launch the login from whatever a local host and then have Google Apps, Facebook and Twitter deal with access right permissions on the respective clouds. At last, we validate, according to CMMI, the functionality, reliability, integrity, etc. of the mechanisms to show the superiority and applicability of our approach. © 2013 IEEE.