Semantic-based policy management for cloud computing environments

ISSN： 2043-9989

Source： International Journal of Cloud Computing, Vol.1, Iss.2-3, 2012-05, pp. : 119-144

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Abstract

Cloud computing environments do not allow use of a single access control mechanism, single policy language or single policy management tool for various cloud services. Currently, users must use diverse access control solutions available for each cloud service provider to secure their data. Access control policies may be composed in incompatible ways because of diverse policy languages that are maintained separately at every cloud service provider. Heterogeneity and distribution of these policies pose problems in their administration. The semantic web technologies can provide the solution to interoperability of heterogeneous cloud service providers. In this paper, we introduce a semantic-based policy management framework that is designed to give users a unified control point for managing policies that control access to their data no matter where the data is stored. We present the framework and describe its components. Furthermore, we present a proof of concept implementation and results of performance evaluation.