Project 6: “Build a Mini Cloud Platform” — Cloud Infrastructure / Distributed Systems

A complete “cloud-in-a-box” system that combines everything: a custom orchestrator that manages VMs across multiple hypervisor nodes, with distributed storage, an API for VM lifecycle management, live migration, and a web dashboard—essentially a minimal OpenStack/Proxmox you built yourself.

Quick Reference

Attribute Value
Primary Language See main guide
Alternative Languages N/A
Difficulty Expert
Time Estimate 2-3 months
Knowledge Area See main guide
Tooling See main guide
Prerequisites Completed at least 2-3 projects above, strong programming skills, networking knowledge

What You Will Build

A complete “cloud-in-a-box” system that combines everything: a custom orchestrator that manages VMs across multiple hypervisor nodes, with distributed storage, an API for VM lifecycle management, live migration, and a web dashboard—essentially a minimal OpenStack/Proxmox you built yourself.

Why It Matters

This project builds core skills that appear repeatedly in real-world systems and tooling.

Core Challenges

  • Designing a multi-node architecture with a control plane (maps to: distributed systems)
  • Implementing VM scheduling and placement (maps to: resource management)
  • Building distributed storage or integrating Ceph (maps to: software-defined storage)
  • Creating overlay networks for VM connectivity across hosts (maps to: SDN)
  • Implementing live migration with storage and memory transfer (maps to: stateful mobility)
  • Building a REST API and dashboard (maps to: cloud API design)

Key Concepts

  • Concept Resource
  • |———|———-|
  • Cloud architecture “Cloud Architecture Patterns” - Bill Wilder (O’Reilly)
  • Distributed systems “Designing Data-Intensive Applications” Ch. 5, 8, 9 - Martin Kleppmann
  • OpenStack architecture “OpenStack Operations Guide” - OpenStack Foundation
  • SDN fundamentals “Software Defined Networks” - Nadeau & Gray (O’Reilly)
  • API design “REST API Design Rulebook” - Mark Massé (O’Reilly)
  • KVM/QEMU integration “Mastering KVM Virtualization” Ch. 1-6 - Humble Devassy

Real-World Outcome

Deliver a working demo with observable output that proves the feature is correct.

Implementation Guide

  1. Reproduce the simplest happy-path scenario.
  2. Build the smallest working version of the core feature.
  3. Add input validation and error handling.
  4. Add instrumentation/logging to confirm behavior.
  5. Refactor into clean modules with tests.

Milestones

  • Milestone 1: Minimal working program that runs end-to-end.
  • Milestone 2: Correct outputs for typical inputs.
  • Milestone 3: Robust handling of edge cases.
  • Milestone 4: Clean structure and documented usage.

Validation Checklist

  • Output matches the real-world outcome example
  • Handles invalid inputs safely
  • Provides clear errors and exit codes
  • Repeatable results across runs

References

  • Main guide: VIRTUALIZATION_HYPERVISORS_HYPERCONVERGENCE.md
  • Primary references are listed in the main guide