Workshop: Cloud services for HPC users

eINFRA and experience from the Czech Republic

Experts from CESNETwere invited to share their experiences with both NCCs in this area. CESNET is an association of universities of the Czech Republic and the Czech Academy of Sciences. It operates and develops the national e-infrastructure for science, research and education which encompasses a computer network, computational grids, data storage and collaborative environment. During the workshop, representatives of the CESNET presented such topics as:

M. Ruda: Introduction, CESNET and Metacentrum: large-scale distributed computing infrastructure and services.

D. Antoš: CESNET and Metacentrum: operation and development of data storage as a part of the national infrastructure for science and research.

Cloud services as an (un)necessary part of the HPC provider portfolio – is it profitable?

Branislav Jansík from IT4Innovations and the head of the Czech competence center Tomáš Karásek presented the requirements of users for access to cloud services. It is the motivation, requirements and expectations of users, as well as the benefits and barriers from the point of view of the HPC service provider, have been the subject of a longer discussion. Participants also debated alternative platforms, "easy-access" services, microservice, HPC "market".

Both National Competence Centers plan to integrate HPC cloud services into their portfolios using the open-source platforms OpenNebula and OpenStack. CESNET representatives who have experience with both tools shared their benefits and technical support options.

The more general debate concerned in particular the issue of systematic and long-term support for the development and operation of HPC systems as a necessary component of the national research infrastructure.

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