A Novel Approach to Describe EdgeCloud SLA using TOSCA

Abstract: Nubo is a broker-less and decentralized edge cloud marketplace that provides APIexposure for integration between entities of the marketplace, i.e., service providers and customers of edge cloud. The core functionalities of this marketplace are implemented by using Hyperledger Fabric blockchain. Some of the marketplace features are Subscription to a service, Service registration, Service onboarding, and Application onboarding. Although it has many features, the Nubo marketplace does not provide performance assurance to the customers, which is one of the main reasons for the lack of trust between the service providers and customers. The SLA management can resolve this issue, and it builds a trusted environment in the marketplace. SLA management facilitates the generation of a formal contract between the service provider and the customer, in which the parties agree on the service’s anticipated performance level (measured in terms of QoS indicators). It also involves consequences in the form of a penalty when the expectations are not achieved during the contract period. One of the challenges in SLA management in the marketplace is to describe the SLA considering different edge cloud characteristics such as multi-parties, network services, etc. In this thesis, we studied the specific requirements for describing the edge cloud SLA and SLA intent, and then we proposed TOSCA models that can be used to describe SLA and SLA intent in the marketplace. In the end, we evaluated the proposed models with the help of an edge cloud use case.