Lessons Learned from Research Computing in the Cloud
Advanced Computing Workshop 2015:
Research Computing in the Cloud
Research Computing in the Cloud
Speakers
Keynote: Ian Foster
Director, Computation Institute at the University of Chicago/ANL Lead, Globus
cloud project – View Ian’s presentation PDF here
Lincoln Stein
Program Lead, Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR) Informatics
and Biocomputing. Lincoln’s session will draw upon lessons from OICR’s cloud
computing experiences. – View Lincoln’s presentation PDF here
Dan Sinai
Interim CEO and the Board Chair, Compute Ontario National Administration
Committee, Compute Canada, Member Associate Vice President Research,
Western University – View Dan’s presentation PDF here
Research Computing in the Cloud
Panel debate: Build v Buy
Panelists:
Brian Fry, Senior Vice President, RackForce
Rodney Joyce, Cloud Computing Architect, IBM/SoftLayer
Barton Satchwill, Development Manager, Cybera
Ron Van Holst, Director, Research Development, High Performance
Computing at Ontario Centres of Excellence
Moderator:
Bill Appelbe, Project Director, ORION
Research Computing in the Cloud
What are the possibilities of connecting clusters when datasets grow very
large?
This will happen (when, not a matter of if) and then it will be harder to move data
between centres. Panelists predict more consortiums, specialization of resources, and
greater uptake of cloud to assist in the whole process.
What’s the importance of location to data centres?
This question is tied to privacy concerns; i.e. some organizations will not work with a party
if the data is being stored outside the country.
Also, the general public still fears that going to the cloud means a loss of control of
information; therefore Canada is really lagging in terms of overall cloud uptake.
Research Computing in the Cloud
Should we build or buy the cloud?
This discussion is very divided by this because it implicated uneven funding/resource allocation,
which opens up or closes the options.
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Suggest identifying usage needs before choosing a solution.
Pros of building: intelligence stays in-house and/or within industry, is more cost-effective.
Cons of building: no dedicated support or expertise compared to outsourcing, does not
scale well, and a lack of knowledge mobilization when you build for and by yourself.
If you can’t afford to buy, can you afford the inconvenience of figuring out troubleshooting
and network diagnosis in-house?
Pros of buying: leverage specialists and trust them to keep systems and technology up to
date and running smoothly; allows researchers and users to do their job.
Cons of buying: can be expensive. Audience was very curious about costs when enterprise
reps presented company accomplishments and services.
No one-size-fits-all answer.
Research Computing in the Cloud
What is the future of cloud?
• More activity in mobile space; need to identify how optimize the
technological opportunities
• Young people are eager adaptors of cloud technology; be ready to usher a
younger generation of users and, possibly, developers
Research Computing in the Cloud
Breakout Group Discussions
• Easing into the Cloud: What barriers are researchers facing in cloud computing?
• Buy or Build: Which route to opt for, and why?
• Governance and Funding: How should cloud computing be regulated and funded?
Research Computing in the Cloud
Easing into the cloud: What barriers are researchers facing in cloud
computing?
• Lack of education/training on how to effectively use the cloud
• Especially with patient data, there are concerns around privacy; where is
information going, how is it going to be used?
• One attendee pointed out that the younger generation doesn’t care as much as
older generations; how important will this concern be to heed in the future?
• Infrastructure and policy restraints – limits to whether cloud is allowed in the
institution (not an end user’s decision)
• Researchers face time constraints; grants come with a deadline by which project
should be completed
• Sheer project of migrating all the data from old to new cloud system is a lot of work
• Suggestions for easing into the cloud
• Start with projects suitable for the cloud
• Start with new research
Research Computing in the Cloud
Buy or build the cloud: Which route to opt for, and why?
Considerations:
• Preliminary decisions about technology standards are needed to determine
what you build or buy
• What are the known fixed costs for building cloud? Once identified, is there
room for regular op expenditures?
• Need to consider whether buy or build solution can be integrated with
other existing services
• HPC is not the same as IT applications; workflow is different
• The more compute you give them, the more they’ll use it, and the more
problems you can solve, faster and further
• Technology requires constant updating; where will updates come from?
• Where to locate the power – offsite?
Research Computing in the Cloud
Buy or build the cloud: Which route to opt for, and why?
If buying …
• If you don’t want data to be locked
up in a particular technology, then
buy it
• Users sometimes want to know
where data is: it’s hard to point to
“the cloud”
If building …
• Security/storage encryption will become
a DIY endeavor
• Build it right. It’s a long-term
commitment
• What is the total cost of ownership?
Consider maintenance, training,
power/electricity
• Ensure you keep in mind the policies with
which the technology needs to comply
(privacy, security)
• Do you have the personnel to manage the
data?
Research Computing in the Cloud
Governance and funding: How should cloud computing be regulated and
funded?
• How to convince CFI to change funding model/restrictions – to adopt
hybrid model (mix of Cloud and traditional HPC/local servers);
balancing OpEx vs CapEx?
• A key role of Compute Ontario will be lobbying at the highest levels (in Ottawa
and backed up by Queens Park) to affect change
• Sustainable solution?
• How to lower costs and drive cloud economy in Canada?
Research Computing in the Cloud
For more of the discussion from workshop attendees,
follow @ORIONnetwork and view #ORIONAC
If you enjoyed ORION’s Advanced Computing Workshop,
be sure to join us at our next event, THINK: Create
Possibilities on April 21.