EDITORIAL WHITEPAPER
The power
of PaaS
How cloud computing can standardize
DoD app development
THE POWER OF PAAS
How cloud computing can standardize
DoD app development
BY JOHN EDWARDS AND EVE KEISER
T
across platforms and devices, another essential attribute for the
development of cutting-edge tactical applications.
PaaS also gives developers greater visibility into their applications, which reduces time and fully enables cloud-aware development. With the ability to self-provision resources, PaaS developers
enjoy heightened independence.
“PaaS is a responsive, flexible and fiscally wise solution,” said
Archie Mackie, enterprise computing project director at Army Program Executive Office Enterprise Information Systems (PEO-EIS),
headquartered in Fort Belvoir, Virginia. “We are actively engaging
with industry leaders’ partners for insights into what works best
and lessons learned,” he added.
The big data and analytics capabilities of PaaS has attracted
the interest of the Office of Naval Research (ONR) in Arlington,
Virginia. “Over the next four years, ONR will be funding work in
these areas and is very interested in ideas and capabilities from
industry that can contribute to advancing our capabilities in these
areas,” said Wayne Perras, a program manager in ONR’s C4ISR
department.
“Within the DoD we are seeing some very special partnerships
forming around PaaS-based development and deployment models,”
said Brian Mikkelsen, director of DoD sales for Red Hat, an opensource software solutions provider in Raleigh, North Carolina.
“Specifically, the Air Force and Navy have come together to form
a memorandum of understanding detailing how they will use Red
Hat’s commercial-off-the-shelf-based PaaS solution, Red Hat Open
Shift, to standardize their mutual application development environments for Air Operations and Ship Board computing modernization. This is one of the real sea-change events empowered by the
shift to common development and run time environments.”
he Department of Defense’s rapid transition to an enterprise architecture requires a streamlined way to develop
and deploy the wide variety of applications that support
operations. Even as budgets tighten, apps for an intelligence-age
military must be continuously available and able to quickly scale as
demand rises.
Platform as a service (PaaS), a category of cloud computing
services, offers a solution. PaaS provides a platform for developers
to build, test and manage applications without building the supporting infrastructure. Developers can access self-service, on-demand tools, automation, resources and a hosted platform runtime
container.
PaaS simplifies life-cycle management. From building new
applications to removing outdated ones, PaaS automates the many
steps and functionalities associated with each phase of an application’s life. PaaS also streamlines the distribution of patches,
version updates and other routine maintenance services.
THE BENEFITS OF PAAS
PaaS allows development teams to focus on what they do best: develop applications. They can focus on application design without
regard to the underlying system.
PaaS boosts developer productivity by stripping away complexity, adding automation and allowing component reuse whenever
possible. By fostering a DevOps approach — bringing together
developers and operations specialists to work closely together
— PaaS simplifies and accelerates design and deployment, giving
developers straightforward and more precise control over these
processes.
Reduced application cycle time is a major PaaS benefit. Developers can create more services and move them out to end-users
faster than with traditional approaches. The approach also allows
improved resource utilization, including automated infrastructure
provisioning, which supplies the capacity developers need without
overestimating requirements. Meanwhile, PaaS’s emphasis on
standardization and extensibility also enables seamless portability
HOW PAAS WORKS
PaaS works by pushing an application to the cloud from a command-line interface or directly from an interactive development
environment (IDE) via a plug-in. Once it finishes analyzing the
application, PaaS hosts it inside a runtime container that matches
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THE POWER OF PAAS
drastically reducing the overall production time.”
its precise resource requirements. Besides flexible scaling capabilities, PaaS also supplies automatic configuration, high availability,
LOWERING COSTS OF DEPLOYMENT
load balancing and management tools.
PaaS can easily instantiate multiple application copies within
PaaS enables the deployment of applications and services without
a single cloud or multiple clouds to accommodate environments
the added cost and complexity of buying new hardware and softthat need to be isolated from others due to security considerations. ware or provisioning hosting capabilities, Mackie said. “The low
PaaS also can merge local resources and data into personalized
initial cost, incremental costs associated with usage growth, best
mashups for a variety of innovative Web services.
practices [and] resource sharing are expected to provide the Army
Container technology is an important PaaS attribute. Container
[with] significant cost savings/avoidances from the implementation
technology encloses a program — or a portion of one — inside a
of PaaS capabilities,” Mackie said.
software layer that connects seamlessly to an operating system
According to Perras, PaaS would help the military cut costs in
and other required computing resources. Placing a program into a
three different ways. “First, PaaS makes more efficient use of comcontainer provides several benefits, but a crupute and storage resources, requiring less physcial advantage is that it can be moved quickly
ical compute resources than would be required
and easily from one computer to another —
in non-PaaS conditions,” he said. Perras also
such as from a programmer’s laptop to a test
pointed out that PaaS capabilities can be mansystem to the cloud.
aged by a small number of administrators across
“Ten years ago everybody was adopting virtuthe entire military enterprise, instead of requiralization because they wanted to make better
ing PaaS administrators at every system and site.
use of their hardware footprint, but now there’s
“Third, operating PaaS capabilities at the enterArchie Mackie, Army PEO-EIS
container technology that can allow approxprise level eliminates all of the variations of local
imately six to ten times higher density levels
platform implementations that leads to software
on servers, and that is just one technology
inconsistency and large levels of software and
embedded inside PaaS,” said Jason Corey, DoD
data incompatibility,” Perras said.
programs lead at Red Hat.
Mackie said PaaS would help the Army develop more interoperable, shareable applications. “While the Army continues to be one of
SPEEDING UP EXISTING PROCESSES
the largest IT consumers in the country, many of its systems were
developed solely to meet specific requirements of a specific project
Enhanced speed and flexibility lie at the heart of PaaS. “You will
or mission,” he said. “The result is myriad siloed solutions, many
be able to take the application stack that you built on in your PaaS
of which were created prior to cloud-optimizing standards and
and field it on any infrastructure that you want to,” Corey said. “It
capabilities.”
is possible for someone to develop new applications in a PaaS to
Replacing aging, dedicated solutions with PaaS-created applicaleverage all the process efficiencies, but then when they field their
tions should also help the Army speed development times and cut
application they can host it in the same fashion they have for the
costs. “Once everyone is working from the same set of tools and
last 20 years. They can also choose to host that application inside
requirements, we expect the increased uniformity and reduction in
the PaaS to leverage newer age cloud architectures that provide
overall production time to significantly cut expenses,” Mackie said.
features such as auto scaling.”
PaaS provides standardized environments for software deTHE PAAS-SAAS-IAAS TRIANGLE
velopment, testing and accreditation, creating the potential to
significantly speed up existing processes. “PaaS can also help the
“When you talk about cloud computing, the three categories that
military move to the commercial paradigm where software is made typically come to mind are infrastructure as a service [IaaS], platavailable through PaaS app stores, making it easier and faster for
form as a service [PaaS] and software as a service [SaaS],” Corey
war fighters to obtain the latest capabilities,” Perras said.
said. “With each, what you’re doing is automating and abstracting
One of the biggest benefits PaaS brings to developers is unifordifferent layers of the technical infrastructure used to deploy or
mity. “Whether they’re enhancing a current application or creatconsume applications.”
ing a new one, every developer will work from the same set of
Corey said many potential PaaS adopters are confused about the
tools, processes and development standards,” Mackie said. “This
interrelationship between PaaS, SaaS and IaaS. “People sometimes
standardization streamlines the research and preparation process,
think that if you deploy platform as a service you get infrastructure
‘PaaS is a responsive,
flexible and fiscally
wise solution.’
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THE POWER OF PAAS
mend taking an inventory of what you have, but then understandas a service, and that’s definitely not the case,” he said.
ing that you should draw a line in the sand within your organiPaaS provides a set of capabilities that are complementary to
zation and mandate that when new application capabilities are
SaaS and IaaS. “The best way to think of it is as ‘layers,’ ” Mackie
developed for your department or agency they be developed using
said, noting that an effective IaaS solution must be in place before
these types of technology,” Corey said.
a PaaS implementation can occur. “Each layer is necessary,” MackThorough testing and pilot deployments are also essential to
ie said. “Working together, they provide a set of capabilities with
long-term PaaS success. “Put the application in a PaaS sandbox
progressively higher levels of functionality and service.”
and let people experiment,” Corey said. “It’s very low cost to do,
“You’re not going to inherently get all the capabilities of an IaaS,
because most of the technologies are open source.”
provided by an Amazon Web Services or Red Hat OpenStack
Mackie noted that the Army doesn’t expect PaaS to provide a
just by deploying PaaS,” Corey said. “The ability to spin up new
“quick fix” to aging applications. “Working with our outstanding
systems to scale your infrastructure out — that needs to really be
IT and security experts, both government personnel and industry
defined at the infrastructure-as-a-service level. PaaS allows you to
partners, we are confident all technical issues will be identified and
deploy your application stack on the infrastructure of your choice
addressed,” he said.
whether that’s bare metal, virtualization, or
Successful PaaS implementation also requires
IaaS.”
coordination and communication with all
IaaS provides virtual compute and storage
stakeholders, up to and including the end-user
resources within a cloud-computing environcommunity. “That includes everything: prepament, Perras explained. “PaaS and SaaS both
ration, scheduling, acquisition requirements
provide software functionality that runs within
and desired features and functions,” Mackie
a cloud-computing environment,” he said. The
said. “To overcome resistance to change, we
difference between the two technologies is
work closely with senior leaders, keeping them
that SaaS provides end-user applications and
briefed on all planned changes and any potenapp functionality while PaaS supplies software
tial impact to their organizations.”
development and runtime environments. “In a
Effective PaaS design and implementation
client-server paradigm, the client would be a
requires a team with expertise in several key arSaaS capability while the server would be the
eas. “Obviously, you need the technical experts
PaaS capability,” Perras said.
Jason Corey, Red Hat
to oversee application servers, orchestration
PAAS DEPLOYMENT PLANNING TIPS
services and development environments, as
well as the implementation of shared services,”
Planning a successful PaaS deployment priMackie said. “Our team helps to create and maintain configuration
marily depends on following a series of generally accepted best
and change management processes that make sure that, once
practices. “Knowing your applications is the single largest factor
implemented, the service/solution works for the Army for the long
you have to take into consideration when determining if you can
term.”
use PaaS,” Corey said. “We spend a lot of time assessing customPerras said successful PaaS planning and deployment hinges on
ers’ applications, because there’s very few applications in the DoD
several factors, including, “getting agreement among stakeholders
that are brand-new.”
as to which PaaS technologies to standardize on, keeping up with
Corey said adopters need to acknowledge at the beginning of the
the rapid rate at which PaaS technologies are evolving in comPaaS planning process that some applications, no matter how hard
mercial industry and ensuring that commercial PaaS technologies
an IT organization tries, will never be able to run within a cloud
incorporate the security capabilities that are required for war
architecture. Examples of such applications are programs that
fighting.”
require a specific legacy operating system or have a local database
A successful PaaS deployment also requires a strong set of
that can’t be geographically dispersed. “If you look at how native
system administration skills, according to Perras. “The skill set
cloud applications are written, they are generally designed to scale
for using a PaaS deployed capability is no different than using the
out,” Corey said. “They are built for very small servers that are
capability in a non-PaaS manner,” he explained. “For example, rundistributed across a large footprint.”
ning Web applications on a PaaS Web server requires the same skill
Corey recommends that planners carefully study the PaaS-oriset as running Web applications on a non-PaaS Web server.”
ented application development techniques and procedures used by
major businesses for insight on how to move forward. “I recom-
‘People sometimes
think that if you deploy
platform as a service
you get infrastructure
as a service, and that’s
definitely not the case.’
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THE POWER OF PAAS
HOW TO EXPLOIT PAAS SECURITY
natural progression, especially for programs of record that usually
have seven to 10-year planning periods, is that you won’t see largescale full-rate production implementations ... for probably three to
five years inside the DoD.”
Mackie said a string of successful commercial deployments has
convinced the Army that PaaS is an important technology with
strong potential. “While this model is relatively new to the Army,
private industry’s experience makes it clear: PaaS is a responsive,
flexible, and fiscally wise solution,” he said. “The Army seeks to
apply the lessons learned and experience of private industry in
providing a responsive and flexible capability to meet its mission
requirements.”
ONR, meanwhile, is working toward developing PaaS systems
that are easily deployed and supported at Naval tactical sites,
including vessels and the Marine Corps Tactical Operation Centers.
“The intent is to dramatically increase the amount of data and data
processing that can be performed at these forward tactical sites,”
Perras said. ONR also plans to leverage PaaS’s tactical capabilities
to develop advanced war-fighting analytics, Perras said.
“As we move through the implementation process, we continually maintain focus on our goal: creating a PaaS platform that
empowers the Army — from entire organizations to individual war
fighters — to successfully complete its mission,” Mackie said. n
Compared to traditional application development approaches,
PaaS facilitates more efficient and reliable security. Applications
can be easily created in accordance with defined security standards. For the high availability necessary for tactical and other
critical applications, tools are available to check for common
coding errors that can lead to security and performance issues.
“One of the benefits of PaaS is that if you accredit the platform
to a certain level, every time a new application needs to be put into
the platform you don’t have to re-accredit the entire thing,” Corey
said.
Commercial PaaS suppliers have yet to fully address the security
needs of military adopters, according to Perras. “The military has a
number of unique security requirements that are often not supported by commercial PaaS providers,” he said. “The military must plan
for obtaining these security enhancements, either through military-funded efforts or by encouraging industry to incorporate such
security enhancements directly into their product lines.”
THE POTENTIAL OF PAAS
Corey said the military is just getting its feet wet in PaaS adoption. “Like most new technologies, you’ll have early adopters,” he
observed. “We’re doing a lot of prototyping now, and I think the
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