Open Cloud Computing Interface

Open Cloud Computing Interface (OCCI) is an open, extensible Application Programming Interface (API) and protocol family defined by the Open Grid Forum to manage cloud resources such as compute, storage, and network across heterogeneous cloud and virtualization platforms.

Expanded Explanation

1. Technical Function and Core Characteristics

OCCI specifies a RESTful protocol and a meta-model for managing cloud infrastructure resources. It defines core concepts such as resources, links, and mixins, along with categories that describe compute, storage, and network entities.

OCCI provides text-based message formats over Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) and supports content types such as plain text and JSON. It focuses on interoperability at the infrastructure layer and enables clients to perform operations like create, retrieve, update, and delete on cloud resources.

2. Enterprise Usage and Architectural Context

Enterprises and research infrastructures use OCCI as a management layer to interact with multiple cloud and virtualization technologies through a consistent API. It appears in systems that integrate private clouds, public clouds, and federated research clouds.

OCCI often operates alongside existing cloud management frameworks as a façade or interoperability endpoint, allowing orchestration tools, portals, and brokerage platforms to control virtual machines, networks, and storage without binding tightly to vendor-specific APIs.

3. Related or Adjacent Technologies

OCCI is part of a standards ecosystem that includes specifications from OASIS, DMTF, ETSI, and other bodies focused on cloud portability and management. It relates to models such as CIMI, Topology and Orchestration Specification for Cloud Applications (TOSCA), and OVF that describe cloud services and virtual appliances.

OCCI also intersects with infrastructure orchestration and configuration tools that consume cloud APIs, including multi-cloud management systems and platform toolchains that abstract underlying provider-specific interfaces.

4. Business and Operational Significance

For enterprises, OCCI offers a standards-based approach to reduce dependency on proprietary cloud management APIs. It supports cloud governance strategies that require consistent policy application and monitoring across heterogeneous environments.

In operational terms, OCCI enables automation and integration scenarios where tools must manage compute, storage, and network resources from different providers. It supports scenarios such as cloud federation, research infrastructures, and long-term interoperability of cloud management interfaces.