VMware Micro Cloud Foundry

VMware announced in November, 2012 the new version of Micro Cloud Foundry — the full-function local version of Cloud Foundry, a product of category 'platform as service' (platform as a service, PaaS) which can be set and started directly at the workstation of the developer.

In the program the new features designed to simplify process of transfer and scaling of the application developed locally on a cloud hosting were added. Besides, there were functions simplifying and accelerating development process in languages Ruby Java, Scala and Node.

According to representatives of VMware, Micro Cloud Foundry enjoys deserved popularity at developers as allows to develop and test quickly the application, and then to carry out scaling and transfer on any hosting on the basis of Cloud Foundry, and without any changes in the code or a configuration of the application.

'Micro Cloud Foundry represents a good example of how flexible approach to PaaS allows developers to develop and test easily applications on local computers that then to unroll them in cloud environments on the basis of Cloud Foundry without the need for making changes in the code or a configuration' — Ramnivash Laddad, the senior director on researches and development of VMware in article on the corporate website of the company tells.

'One of pluses of work with Micro Cloud Foundry is the possibility of combination of development processes and deployment when using the Micro Cloud Foundry environment as the proving ground for the fighting application version — Laddad continues. — Instead of installing the full-fledged Web server (for example Tomcat and so forth) (Java, Ruby and so forth) and services (Postgres, MongoDB and so forth), to you Micro Cloud Foundry is rather simple to download the execution environment, to start it and to unroll the application the vmc push command'.

'It is possible to start the Java and Node.js applications directly from the debugger, using the mode of 'hot swap' in JVM (Java Virtual Machine) when after making changes you do not even need to restart the application to see result. It is also possible to use a cover literally on the fly to look how the application, etc., etc. looks. And most it is interesting that all this can be done even without being connected to Network, thanking offline mode of Micro Cloud Foundry, allowing to develop applications for a cloud environment even without having connection with this environment' — Laddad notices.

'However, that all these goodies worked, it is absolutely necessary that Micro Cloud Foundry had the same feature set, as CloudFoundry.com — Laddad says. — It means that we should update continuously Micro Cloud Foundry in order that a set of its functions in accuracy corresponded to functionality of a main product. The existing earlier manual build process and testings of Micro Cloud Foundry VM at this stage just would not cope with a task. That is why, since this release, we implemented the new, improved process of synchronization of changes'.

Now, according to Laddad, VMware will have shorter turnover cycle of versions. The company will release the next release of Micro Cloud Foundry at once as soon as the next change is implemented in CloudFoundry.com. In the coming months, VMware is going to automate if not all, then the majority of aspects of assembly, testing and distribution of Micro Cloud Foundry. In addition to everything, the user interface Micro Cloud Foundry will undergo considerable improvements.