Cloud computing
What is it?
No single technology in Cloud computing is new. High performance compute clusters with multiple computing cores underpin modern computing infrastructure. High-speed networks have been deployed for many years, particularly in the research environment. So-called “thin clients”, mobile devices and enormous data archives and databases have also been around for some time. Virtual machine technology was invented in the 1960s and even pay-as-you-go computing has been attempted over the years.
However, Clouds leverage all of these things, and the combination makes them particularly attractive for both research and business. Putting it simply, a Cloud is a place where you can put your data, perform your computations and interact with others. You may not even be aware where the Cloud is located — it is available 24/7 from anywhere that is networked. It means that organisations can shift Capital Expenditure (so called CAPEX) to Operational Expenditure (OPEX), and this makes it easier to budget for infrastructure needs over the long term. Some Clouds support “pay-as-you-go”, meaning you can scale your infrastructure needs as demand changes.
Unfortunately, Cloud computing is also the latest hype, and has been promised as a solution to every ailment known to mankind. This makes it difficult for researchers to decide what’s in it for them, and what the appropriate choices are. At RCC we have built a team of experts in Cloud computing and are working with our partners (QCIF and ARDC) to provide simple and effective solutions in research.
Cloud computing embodies a few ideas:
On-demand and scalable access
On-demand and scalable access means that users should be able to scale resources dynamically without the need to purchase hardware. If you need one compute core today, but 1,000 tomorrow, it should be as simple as filling in a web form and requesting these. Amazon calls this “elastic computing” and promise unbounded resources, although clearly it is ultimately limited by the size of their Cloud. But, this can be very large.
Application services
Application services means the Cloud provider might expose high-level services that meet some business (or research) need. This currently works well for tools like email and calendars, but the number of applications of value to researchers is growing all the time; some of these will be very domain specific.
Location transparency
Location transparency means just that; you don’t know where your services are being sourced. Whilst this is liberating and simple for many users, there are clearly applications where physical location is important. For example, whilst you may not care where your email is handled, you might want data to be held in a particular data centre. Thus, most Cloud providers allow you to indicate a locale that restricts the actual domain. (A lot has been said about legal issues such as the US Patriot Act and censorship laws. This is a very tricky area that suggests the legal profession will ultimately have to deal with virtual locations rather than laws that govern physical domains. But that won’t happen overnight!).
Virtual machines
Virtual machines are a technical trick that simplify the deployment of new services, and are part of providing rapid scale-up and scale-down. Putting it simply, it means you can build a software stack locally and deploy it on as many physical machines as required.
Commercial Clouds also include pay-as-you-go economic models. This means you pay only for the infrastructure you use — whether that’s machine time or data storage space. Companies such as Amazon are happy to take your creditcard and provide services according to a charging schedule. This is incredibly useful for business applications, but not commonly used in research circles.
What’s happening at UQ?
UQ researchers have access to data storage on the Queensland node of the National Research Cloud called QRIScloud. Its main data centre is currently located at The University of Queensland’s St Lucia Campus and operated by QCIF and the RCC.
QRIScloud is an integral part of new, national research infrastructure, leveraging data collections stored in local and national nodes, and integrating with access to Queensland-based HPC facilities and specialised Cloud data services. It provides large-scale storage for UQ researchers and computational capacity suited to Cloud computing.
Virtual machines/research cloud
ARDC offers eResearch infrastructure in four key areas:
- Research Cloud
- Virtual Laboratories
- eResearch Tools
- A secure and robust hosting service — the National Servers Program.
The research cloud is a computing resource for all Australian researchers. If offers virtual machines where researchers can develop and deploy applications and collaborate in a uniform environment with controlled sharing of data.
Research data collections
QRIScloud makes available ARDC data collections. Researchers are welcome to apply to QRIScloud for data storage. The aim of ARDC is to fund infrastructure to store research data collections of national merit and collections of interest for future research.
Collections that do not qualify for ARDC data storage will be considered for an allocation of locally approved data storage for their research data collection, including collections still in development.
Want to know more?
Visit our webpage about QRIScloud. Also visit QCIF’s QRIScloud webpage or go directly to the QRIScloud portal.