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Tag: Cosmonic

Cosmonic Unveils PaaS for Building Wasm Applications

Cosmonic today at the KubeCon + CloudNativeCon North America conference unveiled a platform-as-a-service (PaaS) environment for building cloud-native applications using Web Assembly.

Based on the open source wasmCloud distributed computing environment now being advanced under the auspices of the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF), the Cosmonic PaaS gives developers access to a lightweight environment that makes it simpler to quickly build applications that can run anywhere.

Cosmonic CEO Liam Randall said a PaaS enables developers to achieve that goal by making databases and other non-functional services available via an abstraction layer that eliminates the need for developers to provision these resources themselves.

Designed to be deployed on any cloud service or on-premises IT environment, the Cosmonic PaaS also enables developers to define their own laptops, cloud resources or entire data center by combing resources to create Constellations. Cosmonic also enables developers to build a Super Constellation by adding customer-hosted components to the services provided by Cosmonic.

Originally developed under the auspices of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) for building browser applications, Wasm is a portable binary instruction format for building software that describes a memory-safe, sandboxed execution environment. The wasmCloud project was created by Cosmonic to provide an open source application runtime that hosts components, written as Wasm modules, that can then be loosely connected to build applications. Cosmonic reports there are now more than 100 members of the wasmCloud community.

The Cosmonic PaaS extends the capabilities provided by wasmCloud so developers can now more easily build Wasm applications via an abstraction layer defined by Cosmonic. Those applications are also more secure than applications built using previous software artifacts because all Wasm code is executed in a stateless and reactive sandbox that prevents malware from moving from one software component to another.

It may be some time before Wasm becomes the preferred artifact for building applications, but it’s clear the walls that have separated one IT platform from another are about to crumble. Every earlier format for building applications locked developers into a specific platform. Wasm is the first software artifact that enables applications to run on any platform, including Linux and Windows, without any modification required.

Once applications become much more portable, the longstanding goal of writing an application once and then deploying it anywhere may finally be achieved. Just as importantly, those applications will run in a memory-safe sandbox that is more secure than what can be enabled in legacy IT platforms. In fact, as more organizations review the security of their software supply chains, they may decide to accelerate their embrace of Wasm to build more secure applications.

Obviously, Wasm has major implications for DevOps teams, and Randall said Cosmonic is working toward integrating its PaaS with multiple continuous integration/continuous delivery (CI/CD) platforms.

It’s not clear how quickly Wasm will drive a transition to another era of computing, but the ramifications for how IT is managed in the next era of cloud-native computing could be profound. It remains to be seen how quickly developers are willing to embrace yet another software artifact for building and deploying applications. What is clear is that there are an increasing number of platforms that will make it possible to more easily embrace Wasm.

October 24, 2022
Cosmonic Previews Deployment Platform for Distributed Wasm Apps

Cosmonic has made available a preview of a platform for deploying applications built using the portable WebAssembly (Wasm) binary format that enables applications to be deployed on any platform.

Cosmonic CEO Liam Randall said the company is providing early access to the Cosmonic Platform Developer Preview platform to enable developers to experiment with a new type of software artifact that will be used to build a new class of cloud-native applications.

The Cosmonic Platform Developer Preview platform is based on wasmCloud, an open source application runtime that hosts components written as Wasm modules that can then be loosely connected to build applications. Originally developed under the auspices of the World Wide Web Consortium for building browser applications, Wasm is a portable binary instruction format for building software that describes a memory-safe, sandboxed execution environment.

That approach replaces the current predominant method for building software that relies on the aggregation of software components that tend to lack distinct boundaries. It’s that lack of distinct boundaries that enables malware to flow so easily from one software module to another. The wasmCloud runtime, originally developed by Cosmonic, provides a platform for deploying distributed Wasm applications and is now being advanced under the auspices of the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF).

Prior to Wasm, Randall noted, every format for building applications led to the creation of ‘walled gardens’ that resulted in developers being locked into a platform. Wasm is the first software artifact that enables applications to run on an platform, including Linux and Windows, without any modification required, said Randall.

It may be some time before Wasm becomes the preferred artifact for building applications, but it’s clear the walls that have separated one IT platform from another are about to crumble. Once applications become much more portable, the longstanding goal of writing an application once and then deploying it anywhere may finally be achieved. Just as importantly, those applications will run in a memory-safe sandbox that is more secure than what can be enabled in legacy IT platforms. In fact, as more organizations review the security of their software supply chains, they may decide to accelerate their embrace of Wasm to build more secure applications.

Naturally, the transition to Wasm will have major implications for DevOps teams, as it represents an opportunity to streamline deployment processes across multiple platforms. In effect, the total cost of application development and deployment would decline as processes spanning multiple platforms become more automated using platforms such as wasmCloud. Ultimately, much of the infrastructure complexity that developers need to navigate today would be eliminated, noted Randall.

It’s not clear just yet to what degree Wasm will drive a transition to another era of computing, but the potential to change almost every aspect of IT is on the horizon. Ultimately, the issue will be decided by how quickly developers are willing to embrace yet another software artifact for building and deploying applications. What is clear is that the number of platforms that will make it possible to experiment with Wasm are starting to multiply.

October 3, 2022
CloudNativeDay: WASM to Drive Next IT Epoch

WebAssembly (WASM) is poised to drive the next era of development of cloud-native applications that can truly run anywhere.

Liam Randall, CEO of Cosmonic, a provider of a platform for building and deploying WASM applications, told attendees at a virtual CloudNativeDay event that WASM will be at the core of a new IT epoch that will enable organizations to more quickly build highly portable applications that are not tied to any IT infrastructure platform and more secure.

WASM, at its core, is a portable binary instruction format for building software that describes a memory-safe, sandboxed execution environment. The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) drove the development of WASM as part of an effort to create a common format for browsers executing JavaScript code. Wasm is now being extended beyond browsers and JavaScript to enable developers to create a set of universal binaries that could work on any platform without modification.

That approach replaces the current predominant method for building software that relies on the aggregation of software components that tend to lack distinct boundaries between them. One of the issues of that approach is that it becomes relatively simple for malware to infect all the components of an application.

The Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) is now trying to advance the adoption of a Cosmonic’s WASM runtime that makes it possible to run WASM applications on any platform versus being constricted to building applications that can only run, for example, on Windows or Linux.

That level of portability will prove crucial as more organizations look to drive application deployments on a wide range of edge computing platforms, noted Randall.

It may be some time before WASM becomes the preferred artifact for building applications, but it’s clear the walls that have separated one IT platform from another are finally starting to crumble. Once applications become much more portable, the longstanding goal of writing an application once and then deploying it anywhere may finally be achieved. That’s not only critical in terms of overall application developer productivity, it has major implications in terms of streamlining the management of DevOps workflows as it becomes easier to both initially deploy applications and continuously update them.

In the meantime, as organizations continue to review their application development practices to better secure software supply chains, it’s become clearer that legacy approaches to building applications are fundamentally flawed. Rather than attempting to reengineer processes to encourage developers to better secure applications, it may be more effective to change the way applications are built. After all, considering all the processes required to secure legacy approaches to application development, it may be cheaper and easier to adopt a new app development method.

The challenge, of course, is, as always, taking that first initial step away from the inertia of legacy application development approaches.

August 10, 2022
KubeCon EU: Preview Cosmonic PaaS Built Atop wasmCloud
Demos, Cloud Native Developer’s wasmCloud Presentations and Networking

Arlington, VA, and Valencia, SPAIN – May 16, 2022 – WebAssembly pioneer Cosmonic invites you to preview Cosmonic wasmCloud Platform-as-a-Service. Attend WasmDay and Kubecon Rejekts presentations, when cloud native developers present their Wasm- and wasmCloud-related efforts. And network with wasmCloud pioneers over cocktails.

What: Preview truly portable business logic for distributed applications with WebAssembly + Cosmonic PaaS for wasmCloud. Imagine the rapid development of platform-agnostic multi-cloud, multi-edge and far-edge platforms that run at near native speeds that runs anywhere, at any scale. Fast, secure-by-default, distributed application development that eliminates entire classes of development challenges at significant cost savings.

WasmDay passes can be arranged at no charge.

Who: Liam Randall, CEO of Cosmonic and CNCF Cloud Native WasmDay Chair invites you to a 1:1 product preview and cocktail hour networking event.

Adobe, BMW and indie games developers will present their wasm- and wasmCloud-related efforts.

When: Product preview and 1:1 briefings: May 18-20 10:30 am – 4 pm CEST

Developer Presentations:
- BMW: Dynamic routing of ML workloads with wasmCloud (KubeCon Rejekts – May 14, 12:15 pm CEST)
- Adobe: Wasm beyond the browser: Use cases at scale (WasmDay May 16, 3:15 pm CEST)
- Indie games: Low-cost cloud platforms for game servers (WasmDay May 16, 3:15 -3:25 pm CEST)
Cocktail Hour Networking: May 18, 6:00 – 7:00 pm

Where: Product preview and 1:1 briefings: Banco 105, Mall Level of Feria Valencia (1 Level Above Solutions Showcase)

Cocktails: Deskarat, Avinguda de les Corts Valencianes, 28, 46015 Valencia

Contact: To schedule a briefing, to secure complementary WasmDay passes and to RSVP for cocktails, contact pr@cosmonic.com or call +1 650-200-0292.

About Cosmonic
Founded by open source veterans Liam Randall and Kevin Hoffman, Cosmonic is helping develop and promote wasmCloud PaaS, a universal runtime platform that enables developers to use cloud native technologies and Web Assembly to build portable, pluggable business logic that runs anywhere, including multi-cloud, multi-edge and far edge environments. For more information, visit www.wasmcloud.com.
May 16, 2022
Cosmonic Contributes WebAssembly Runtime to CNCF

Cosmonic today revealed it has donated its universal application runtime for building cloud-native applications using the WebAssembly (Wasm) development framework to the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF).

The Cosmonic wasmCloud runtime makes it possible to run applications built using WebAssembly on any platform. In comparison, applications built using containers are not as portable because IT teams can’t take a container application developed for Linux and run it on Windows. The container technologies for each operating system are implemented differently.

The CNCF will make wasmCloud available as a sandbox project and will invite other organizations to start making contributions as part of an effort to eventually put wasmCloud on par with other projects such as Kubernetes. There are already nearly 80 contributors to a wasmCloud runtime that was launched last November.

The CNCF is trying to advance other WebAssembly technologies including Krustlet, a tool for Kubernetes environments that listens for event streams from new pods so that the scheduler can then assign workloads.

However, the CNCF is now not the only organization looking to promote adoption of WebAssembly technologies. The Bytecode Alliance has launched WebAssembly (Wasm) and WebAssembly System Interface (WASI) initiatives as part of an effort to promote standards that would make it easier to run Wasm applications anywhere. Originally founded by Fastly, Intel, Mozilla and Microsoft, the Bytecode Alliance now also includes Arm, DFINITY Foundation, Embark Studios, Google, Shopify and University of California at San Diego.

At its core, Wasm is a portable binary instruction format for building software that describes a memory-safe, sandboxed execution environment. That approach might one day replace the current predominant method for building software that relies on the aggregation of software components that tend to lack distinct security boundaries between them. As a result, it becomes relatively simple for malware to infect all the components of an application.

Liam Randall, CEO of Cosmonic, said even though Wasm, in effect, provides another type of virtualization for applications, IT teams should not view it as a set of technologies that will one day obviate the need for containers. Applications developed using Wasm will be layered on top of various container platforms, he said.

There is, for example, already a Wasm project that creates a server-side Wasm runtime that enables applications to be deployed on a secure container architecture that is more efficient than Docker containers.

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) drove the development of Wasm as part of an effort to create a common format for browsers executing JavaScript code. Wasm is now being extended beyond browsers and JavaScript to enable developers to ultimately create a set of universal binaries that could work on any platform without modification.

It may be a while before the fruits of those labors are realized. However, it’s apparent the walls that have separated one IT platform from another are starting to crumble. Once applications become much more portable, the reasons why one organization may choose one platform over another will have a lot less to do with what developers prefer.

August 25, 2021