Blueprint for the Intercloud - Protocols and Formats for Cloud Computing Interoperability

Cloud Computing is a term applied to large, hosted datacenters, usually geographically distributed, which offer various computational services on a "Utility" basis. Most typically the configuration and provisioning of these datacenters, as far as the services for the subscribers go, is highly automated, to the point of the service being delivered within seconds of the subscriber request. Additionally, the datacenters typically use hypervisor based virtualization as a technique to deliver these services. The concept of a cloud operated by one service provider or enterprise interoperating with the clouds operated by another is a powerful idea.