VT AppDeployment

General Project Information

• Full title: Automatic Deployment and Execution of Applications using Cloud Services
• Leader: Enol Fernandez, CSIC
• Mailing List:
• Meetings: link to Indico container
• Status: In progress
• Start Date: 15/04/2013
• Duration: 12 months
• Customer:

Motivation

Setting up the required computing environment is a serious overhead for the everyday work of researchers. Generic multi-purpose clusters cannot accommodate all different compiler/libraries options needed by the software packages without disturbing the work of everyone or generating an unsustainable work overhead to the system administrator. An IaaS cloud service allows the provision of customized application environments that perfectly fit the requirements of the researcher’s applications without the involvement and petting of the resource provider administrators. However, this customization requires administrator skills that most end-users do not have.

This mini-project will design and implement a new service model for EGI that will use the cloud resources within EGI's Federated Cloud Testbed for allowing researchers to deploy the Virtual Research Environments encapsulated in virtual machines they need for their resources. The strategy presented intends to profit from the flexibility of the EGI infrastructure to offer an enhanced service model in which users can access the infrastructure and perform the numerical work with a higher level of independence with respect to Computer Center system administrators. Such service is oriented to advanced users and VRC application managers. It will enhance the adoption of the infrastructure by large projects, which have complicated software stacks to deploy. From an operational point of view it will also reduce the overhead of the local site administrators when it comes to install application software and support complicated software stacks.

See also presentation on EGI CF 2013 mini-project session: https://indico.egi.eu/indico/contributionDisplay.py?sessionId=29&contribId=155&confId=1222

Objectives

Develop a contextualization service that aids scientific communities to execute their computing workload by automating the deployment of scientific software on virtual machines using the interfaces and standards within EGI’s Federated Cloud.

Outcomes/Deliverables

• MS1 (month 1) Analysis of requirements from users and level of support from the EGI cloud infrastructure.

• MS2 (month 4) Initial Implementation of VM contextualization.

• MS3 (month 5) REST API to the service.

• MS4 (month 6) Engagement of a broader community

• MS5 (month 8) Web interface A web application built on top of the REST API will provide users a graphical interface to the service.

• MS6 (month 10) Integration of Automatic Configuration Tools

• MS7 (month 10) Complete prototype of the service

• MS8 (month 12) Final version of the service

Members

• Enol Fernandez (CSIC)
• Alvaro Lopez (CSIC)
• Sven Heinemeyer (CSIC)
• Pablo Rey Mayo (FCTSG)
• Alejandro Feijoo (FCTSG)
• Javier Cacheiro (FCTSG)

Emerging Information

if relevant - may change the nature and objectives of the project

Resources

In preparation.

• github organization: https://github.com/AppDeployment

How is the Project Team to be resourced and how will members work? How much effort will be required from each individual, how will this effort impact contributing organisations? – do not confuse VT participants with stakeholders. VT participants do work for the project – others don’t have to do any work for the project. How will your funds be consumed?

Progress Reporting

In preparation

How will you measure your progress and how will you report this? To whom? The objective here is to assure others that your project is on track, but if there are problems then this is the path to getting help and more resources (time, funding, effort).

The Project Leader will provide a short emailed progress report on a weekly basis. The report will be due by 17:00 on Fridays and is to contain details of:

• Work achieved that week
• Work planned for next week
• Progress against the goals in the project plan
• Issues that the virtual team leader needs help with (e.g. non-responsive partners, more resources, support from EGI.eu teams, etc.)

The Team project manager will also provide a more comprehensive input for the EGI InSPIRE quarterly reporting.