Moving a repository of scholarly content to a cloud

Abstract

This paper aims to describe the problems faced by MyAIS, an open access repository of scholarly content, the reasons for moving to a cloud infrastructure and the design of the system. MyAIS is supported by an IBM HS22V multiple blade server using virtualization technology. A single blade server runs both MyAIS's backend that handles the processing of digital repository and frontend that handles the web server. The whole system runs on a Linux platform. The virtualized servers deliver an infrastructure as a service (IaaS) to the Faculty of Computer Science, University of Malaya researchers as well as students. Sharing resources in the cloud cuts maintenance cost and leaves a smaller carbon footprint due to its modular design. Virtualization makes it easy to monitor access traffic and usage of hardware resources onthefly. The scalability and expansion of MyAIS is improved. It allows for faster system recovery in case of hard disk failure and speedy file move during migration. Larger bandwidth improves reliability and management of bottlenecks. There are still bottlenecks at the wide area network level resulting in sluggishness during peak hours. There is significant improvement in storage expansion through shared hardware resources. Cloud as an IaaS helps reduce the total cost of ownership and maintenance, increase system scalability to handle increased traffic, meet increasing demand for storage space for full text resources, and reduce downtime. It makes backup and disaster recovery easier. It is possible to accommodate other university repositories in future. © 2013, Emerald Group Publishing Limited