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OpenStack services cheat sheet for the AWS developer
AWS-savvy developers that have to work in OpenStack can use this handy cheat sheet as a quick reference to each vendor's cloud services.
Each public cloud provider has its own language. A compute resource or instance in Amazon Web Services, for example, is called Elastic Compute Cloud while OpenStack dubs its instance Nova. Developers familiar with one cloud provider often need a cheat sheet to help understand varying terms.
When one collaboration software provider moved its product to OpenStack, its AWS-savvy developers created an AWS to OpenStack cheat sheet to help ease the transition. Table 1 translates OpenStack services into more familiar AWS concepts.
| Service |
OpenStack |
AWS |
| A compute resource or instance |
Nova |
Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) |
| A file resource |
Swift |
Simple Storage Service (S3) |
| Raw block storage |
Cinder |
Elastic Block Store (EBS) |
| A system for managing networks and IP addresses |
Neutron |
Route 53 |
| Graphical interface to cloud resources |
Dashboard |
AWS Management Console |
| User and security management |
Keystone |
AWS Directory Service |
| Directory of machine images |
Glance |
Amazon Machine Instance |
| Billing system |
Ceilometer |
AMS Management Console |
| Service orchestration |
Heat |
CloudFormation |
| Database as a service |
Trove |
Relational Database Service |
| Bare-metal provisioning |
Ironic |
None |
| Messaging |
Zaqar |
SQS |
| Hadoop MapReduce |
Sahara |
Elastic MapReduce |
Table 1. List of AWS and OpenStack services by name.
In general, OpenStack services are limited compared to AWS. In many categories, AWS has multiple offerings; OpenStack has one. While OpenStack does have a full range of offerings that may make sense for certain organizations, its limitations suggest that companies should perform due diligence to ensure OpenStack meets their needs now and in the future. Table 2 shows a glossary for AWS offerings that lack a comparable OpenStack service. However, many OpenStack foundation members or providers may offer these services.
| Category |
AWS offering |
| NoSQL database |
Dynamo |
| Data warehouse |
Redshift |
| In-memory cache |
ElastiCache |
| Data archive |
Glacier |
| Data import and export |
Import/export |
| Integration of on-premises and cloud storage |
Storage Gateway |
| Content Delivery Network |
CloudFront |
| Docker integration |
EC2 Container Service; OpenStack support for Docker is scheduled for mid-2015. |
| Real-time streaming |
Kinesis |
| Security |
CloudHSM and KMS for key management |
| Federated and mobile user management |
Cognito, Directory Service and Security Token Service |
| Deployment |
OpsWorks and CodeDeploy |
| Application services |
Simple Queue Service, Simple Workflow Service, Simple Email Service, Simple Notification Service, CloudSearch, CloudTrail |
| Reactive programming |
Lambda |
Table 2. AWS offerings not available as OpenStack services.
In general, both public cloud providers support deploying applications and services directly via a Web application resource. They also offer the ability to provision compute and storage resources directly. However, AWS generally offers multiple options for each type of deployment and has a larger set of application support services.
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