  This paper proposes a novel secure live virtual machine migration framework
by using a virtual trusted platform module instance to improve the integrity of
the migration process from one virtual machine to another on the same platform.
The proposed framework, called Koror\=a, is designed and developed on a public
infrastructure-as-a-service cloud-computing environment and runs concurrently
on the same hardware components (Input/Output, Central Processing Unit, Memory)
and the same hypervisor (Xen); however, a combination of parameters needs to be
evaluated before implementing Koror\=a. The implementation of Koror\=a is not
practically feasible in traditional distributed computing environments. It
requires fixed resources with high-performance capabilities, connected through
a high-speed, reliable network. The following research objectives were
determined to identify the integrity features of live virtual machine migration
in the cloud system:
  To understand the security issues associated with cloud computing, virtual
trusted platform modules, virtualization, live virtual machine migration, and
hypervisors; To identify the requirements for the proposed framework, including
those related to live VM migration among different hypervisors; To design and
validate the model, processes, and architectural features of the proposed
framework; To propose and implement an end-to-end security architectural
blueprint for cloud environments, providing an integrated view of protection
mechanisms, and then to validate the proposed framework to improve the
integrity of live VM migration. This is followed by a comprehensive review of
the evaluation system architecture and the proposed framework state machine.
The overarching aim of this paper, therefore, is to present a detailed analysis
of the cloud computing security problem, from the perspective of cloud
architectures and the cloud... [Abridged]
