CCCORE: Cloud Container for Collaborative Research

Abstract

Cloud-based research collaboration platforms render scalable, secure and inventive environments that enabled academic and scientific researchers to share research data, applications and provide access to high-performance computing resources. Dynamic allocation of resources according to the unpredictable needs of applications used by researchers is a key challenge in collaborative research environments. We propose the design of Cloud Container based Collaborative Research (CCCORE) framework to address dynamic resource provisioning according to the variable workload of compute and data-intensive applications or analysis tools used by researchers. Our proposed approach relies on-demand, customized containerization and comprehensive assessment of resource requirements to achieve optimal resource allocation in a dynamic collaborative research environment. We propose algorithms for dynamic resource allocation problem in a collaborative research environment, which aim to minimize finish time, improve throughput and achieve optimal resource utilization by employing the underutilized residual resources. Keyword: Cloud computing Collaborative research Container Dynamic allocation Finish time Residual resources Throughput Copyright © 2018 Institute of Advanced Engineering and Science.All rights reserved. Corresponding Author:Salini Suresh, Computer Science, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore, India. Email: pnsalinisuresh@gmail.com INTRODUCTIONIn mid-1990's various grid-based cyberinfrastructures or e-infrastructures were constituted that integrated high-speed research networks and middleware services and endorsed researchers for collaborative sharing of distributed resources. These firmly unified science gateways served as resource providers for specialized as well as generic research initiatives [1]. However, restricted interface to the data, domainspecific nature of science gateways did not match the requirement of the researchers outside those domains [2]. With the advent of cloud computing, easy reconfigurable and adaptive Virtual private research environments and science clouds became a preferred alternative to a traditional grid or cluster-based einfrastructures. Cloud-based collaborative research platforms provide the researchers with computing, storage resources required to run their applications, and they can collaborate to share data and application, while he concentrates on his area of research. Cloud platform offers compute environment with the huge set of computing resources much bigger than what an individual research organization can afford. Organizations can scale up, scale down the resources, and pay for it according to the usage. Multitenancy provided by cloud architecture enabled the creation of domain and requirement specific virtual private research environments that expedited researchers for collaboration and sharing of the resources [3]. Several science clouds such as Nectar Research cloud [4] provides the infrastructure to run compute-intensive scientific applications [5], [6]. Even though a substant...

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