Apache Libcloud is now a top level project

The Apache Libcloud project has left the Apache Incubator where projects mature and has become a top-level project of the Apache Software Foundation. Libcloud is a Python implementation of a common vendor-independent API for cloud services which supports multiple backends to work with cloud provider specific APIs. The project hopes to allow developers to write cloud applications for a single API without the need to write vendor-specific code. The current Python implementation has back-end driver support for over twenty cloud platforms including Amazon EC2, Eucalyptus, OpenStack, Rackspace, GoGrid, IBM Cloud and Linode.

Libcloud arrived in the Apache Incubator in November 2009 with an initial focus on cloud computing functionality and is currently developing support for cloud storage and load-balancing. To move out of the Incubator, a project has to show that it has developed a well governed community under the Apache Software Foundation's principles and processes. "Graduation is a terrific milestone for Libcloud" said ASF VP Anthony Elder who mentored the incubating project. Libcloud's ascent to top level project also saw a new release, version 0.5.0.

Libcloud is used in a number of production environments in OOI CyberInfrastructure, Cloudkick, and Server Density. Cloudkick co-founder and original Libcloud developer Alex Polvi said "I'm happy to see that Libcloud has grown into such a successful community-based Open Source project".

Libcloud is a Python client library which acts directly on the required services, so developers need to work in Python. There is a Java implementation of Libcloud but currently it supports fewer back-end services. Still waiting in the incubator is a similar project, Deltacloud, which was initially developed by Red Hat. It takes a different approach by offering a common REST API which any application can call upon in any language.

Libcloud is available under the Apache Licence version 2 and can be downloaded from the project's site.

(djwm)