7. Conclusion

In this paper, we described Orleans, a framework for building reliable, efficient, and scalable cloud applica- tions. We introduced the virtual actor abstraction, showed its benefits for programmability, and discussed implementation. We described production uses of Orleans and gave measurements of its performance.

There are many ways Orleans could be extended to simplify access to underlying platform capabilities and enrich them with more services. High on our list are exactly once semantics for messaging, event streaming, primary-copy replication, and transactions. Although these are all mature technologies, we expect innovation will be needed to make them reliable, efficient and scalable enough for ordinary developers.