CloudSim was used for task scheduling simulations; MoBuCon tool was used for process mining and visualisation of constraint violations; OpenStack Octavia was used in load-balancing experiments and logging; CPN Tools was used to simulate and visualise dynamics of load-balancing in a hybrid cloud and GNU Octave was used in generating the plots.
Acknowledgement"You can make many plans, but the Lord's purpose will prevail." -Prov. 19:21 (NLT) Finally, at the end of this Ph.D. journey, I have the singular privilege of thanking personalities who have helped in divers ways to bring the work this far. To God be all the glory! Firstly, my deepest appreciation to the Chair and Members of Assessment Committee who agreed to spend valuable time in evaluating this thesis.Secondly, a major thanks goes to Professor Knud Erik Skouby, immediate past director of the centre for Communication, Media and Information technologies (CMI) for giving us the opportunity to work at the Center and paving the way for us to learn at many conferences and workshops. A major thanks also goes to Professor Reza Tadayoni, present director of CMI, for playing the initial role of technical supervisor at the formative stages of my Ph.D. journey.I express a deep and heartfelt gratitude to Professors Lene Tolstrup Sørensen and Sokol Kosta, my inspiring supervisors, who laboured day and night to ensure the rough ideas blossomed into interesting article publications.Many thanks to Professor Anders Henten, the Ph.D. School liaison in CMI, for advising on the legal fulfilments and also to the entire leadership of the AAU Ph.D. School for the continuous efforts to ease the academic lives of Ph.D. Fellows.To my co-authors Prof. Paulo R.M. Maciel and Prof. Raffaele Montella, I say thank you for your contributions and for the opportunity to collaborate.I am also thankful for the support I enjoyed from Staff and Ph.D. Fellows of CMI, with special mention to Anette Bysøe, Idongesit Williams, Alexander Osei Owusu and Joseph Wireku for their divers helps.A special thank you to my parents, siblings, wife and children for the love, support and understanding over the years on this arduous but exciting journey."We must be willing to let go of the life we planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us." -Joseph Campbell