CASCloud: An Open Source Private Cloud for Higher Education

Cloud computing is the delivery of computing as a service rather than product. Cloud has fundamentally changed the way we use software, develop applications, and deliver resources. Studies have shown that cloud computing can play a major role in higher education. Nowadays, higher education institutions are teaching many IT courses. Their curriculum requires multiple servers, operating systems, network devices and many software tools to study and perform lab practical. Cloud computing can fulfil the growing demands of IT lab resources for HEI. Private cloud can provide alternative to hardware resources using virtualization. This paper presents the proof-of-concept private cloud for higher education and discusses the process of setting up a working model of a private cloud using OpenStack. Outcomes show that it can provide a cost effective solution for IT hardware devices and provision multiple operating systems required in higher education.