At the beginning of 2016, the EGI Foundation established a new framework to mediate service level agreements (SLAs) between user communities and service providers of the federation.
One of the main purposes of an SLA is to create a reliable, trust-based communication channel between researchers and providers to agree on services and their levels and types of support.
Throughout 2016 we worked with a number of research communities from different scientific fields and we are proud to announce the following agreements:
Peachnote
Peachnote is a music score search engine and lets users discover performances and improve their score reading. Peachnote will use EGI’s Cloud Compute to give visitors of their website access to a massive amount of music data.
Discipline: Arts and Humanities
Total: 104 virtual CPU cores, 162 GB memory and 8.8 TB storage
LSGC
The Life-Science Grid Community (LSGC) is a virtual research community that supports life-science applications on the EGI federation. LSGC will use EGI High-Throughput Compute and Online Storage for the community’s research activities.
Discipline: Life Sciences
Total: 25.9 TB storage and 46.2million CPU hours
Terradue
Terradue is leading the technical development of the European Space Agency’s geohazards and hydrology thematic exploitation platforms.
Terradue will use EGI Cloud Compute resources and services to help researchers tackle new data challenges.
Discipline: Earth Sciences
Total: 360 virtual CPU cores, 800 GB memory and 10 TB storage
EXTraS
The EXTraS project is on a mission to develop software tools important for enhancing the discovery potential of ESA’s X-ray space observatory XMM-Newton.
EXTraS will use EGI Cloud Compute services for the project’s activities.
Discipline: Astronomy and Astropshysics
Total: 50 virtual CPU cores, 200 GB memory and 1 TB storage.
DARIAH
The DARIAH Competence Centre is broadening the usage of e-Infrastructures in the field of the Arts and Humanities.
DARIAH will access EGI’s Cloud Compute to help advance this scientific domain.
Discipline: Arts and Humanities
Total: 30 virtual CPU cores, 70 GB of memory and 2TB of storage
DRIHM
The DRIHM project is a prototype research infrastructure for simulating extreme hydro-meteorological events such as flash flooding.
DRIHM will rely on EGI services to better plan research activities and programmes.
Discipline: Earth Sciences
Total: 50.5 million CPU hours, 326 GB memory and 10.5 TB storage.
MoBrain
The main objective of the MoBrain competence centre is to lower barriers for scientists to access modern e-Science solutions from micro to macro scales. EGI is contributing to MoBrain’s research programmes with HTC and Online Storage services.
Discipline: Life Sciences
Total: 55 million CPU hours, 384 GB memory and 61 TB storage
BILS
The Swedish Bioinformatics Infrastructure for Life Sciences (BILS) is a distributed national research infrastructure proving bioinformatics support to researchers.
BILS relies on Cloud Compute and Online Storage services from EGI.
Discipline: Life Sciences
Total: 172 virtual CPU Cores, 400 GB memory and 9 TB storage.
Why SLAs?
The SLA framework to systematise the commitment of resources between providers and users brings numerous benefits for all parties involved:
For resource providers
- Direct communication with user communities and clarity on expectations;
- Clear responsibilities and rules/policies concerning usage of the resources;
- Recognition and greater visibility to role of the provider by requiring an explicit acknowledgment.
For research communities
- Better communication and clarity on expectations;
- Increased confidence that services will be delivered;
- Easier planning of research activities.
For the EGI Foundation
- Promoting the EGI service value with funding agencies and policy makers at national and European level;
- Fulfilling the EGI mission of bringing scientists closer to the advanced computing services they need for research and innovation.
More information
If you would like to know how to better ensure resources and service levels, please contact sla@mailman.egi.eu
Małgorzata Krakowian is a senior operations officer at the EGI Foundation.