A Tool for Automatic Dependability Test in Eucalyptus Cloud Computing Infrastructures

Cloud Computing is a paradigm that dynamically provides resources as services through the Internet. The constant concern about the trust placed in cloud computing systems inspires dependability studies. A possible way of performing dependability studies, especially regarding reliability and availability, is through fault injection tools, which enable to observe the system’s behavior during the occurrence of fault events. This paper presents a fault injection tool, called EucaBomber, for reliability and availability studies in the Eucalyptus cloud computing platform. The tool supports fault injections in Eucalyptus hardware and software components at runtime, and also upholds reparation of both types of injected faults. The efficiency of EucaBomber is tested through a case study involving two different scenarios where faults and repairs of hardware and software are injected in the Eucalyptus platform simulating the system's events. Such a tool assists the system administrator and planners to evaluate the system’s availability and maintenance policies.