Research Developer Cloud

a research cloud for easy and adaptable collaboration around research data

icon of a cloud with a checkmark inside of it
Attribution: 

Cloud-native services

 

develop and manage custom, interactive solutions for researchers

icon of a code fork
Attribution: 

Programmable infrastructure

 

apply DevOps practices enabled by Infrastructure as Code to help you automate, measure, collaborate and learn

icon of three people around a lightbuld
Attribution: 

Partnership-led approaches

 

partner with NeSI’s DevOps specialists to build software tools or manage a platform that can benefit your research community

Platform news

September 2024

Looking back on the platform's first year 

Last year at this time, NeSI launched its Research Developer Cloud at the New Zealand Research Software Engineering Conference (NZRSE). One year on, we're back at NZRSE and sharing insights from how the platform has progressed since day one. We'll share slides and a recording of the talk here afterwards.

If you're interested in learning more about how this platform could support your research project, click here to apply for access

To learn more about the incremental updates and improvements we're making to the platform's features, read our Release Notes here. On top of ongoing development of our cloud services, we are also working towards building Blueprints for useful patterns that can support your research applications and pipelines. If you’ve a specific use case in mind, let us know.

 

Features

Our platform's cloud building blocks include:

 

icon of a computer server
Attribution: 
Compute
Virtual machines optimised for high-performance computational needs. Multiple flavours of CPU and GPU resources to support a range of compute and memory requirements. 
→ Get started with our Compute User Guides

 

icon of a gear
Attribution: 
Images
Tailored operating systems to meet your research computing and data needs. Ready-to-use options available, as well as capability to create custom images and contribute to a pool of community-developed images. 
→ Get started with our Images User Guides

 

icon of storage
Attribution: 
Storage
Scalable storage space that can be dynamically mounted to your Compute instances. Options to encrypt storage volumes for added security. 
→ Get started with our Storage User Guides

 

icon of boxes connected to each other
Attribution: 
Networks
Fast, reliable, and secure connectivity built on the REANNZ national network. Options for network customisation and security groups. 
→ Get started with our Networks User Guides

 

icon of an ID card
Attribution: 
Identity
Identity management services to create application credentials and control access to your projects. 
→ Get started with our Identity User Guides

 

icon of code language
Attribution: 
Application Programming Interface (API)
All services are programmable via a public API to enable repeatable definition of infrastructure through software code.

 

 

Get started

We invite you to apply for early access if you are:

  • developing complex solutions that support custom workflows and a range of user experiences
     
  • seeking a locally owned and sovereign cloud computing platform to build and develop tools that can support research data collaborations 
     
  • interested in partnering with NeSI to apply DevOps approaches and best practice to your research activities
     

Apply for early access

 

Underpinning this platform is a collaborative culture, focused on supporting national research communities and missions. For an deeper dive into the vision and initial capabilities available, watch this explainer video on NeSI's YouTube channel.

If you'd like to chat with us about how our platform can support your research, get in touch.

 

What’s next

This new platform is being developed in phases based on agile and lean-startup principles, supporting iterative development and delivery of value alongside continuous discovery and learning. As more tenants are brought onto the Flexible HPC platform, we'll be expanding its capabilities and sharing our experiences and insights with the wider community. 

Learning as we grow

Collaboration and learning are among the pillars of DevOps practices. With that in mind, we're keeping our roadmap open as we explore opportunities to engage with developers in the research space. We're keen to learn what sorts of skills, features, use cases and support you need to build solutions that work best for your communities.

We want to work with you to strengthen Aotearoa's research developer ecosystem, rolling out future cloud services that are tailored to meet research DevOps needs. Want to be part of our journey? Let's talk.

Sharing what we know

Through past collaborations with research groups, our team has gained expertise in technologies such as Keycloak (identity management), Kubernetes (infrastructure management), and Ansible/Terraform (automated deployment).

As part of our collaborations with platform tenants, we will share blueprints of solutions created so that others can learn from them and apply similar approaches to their projects or build upon the solutions developed to deliver expanded benefits. 

Case studies from some of our current collaborations:

 

Shared responsibility model 

NeSI delivers secure, high performance, and flexible eResearch computing services to support New Zealand research communities. Within NeSI’s cloud-native infrastructure, security is a shared responsibility. NeSI’s team and research teams work in concert to ensure the platform and everyone’s data and software remain secure.

The way we work together on this platform is captured within a Shared Responsibility model. Shared Responsibility emphasises the kaitiakitanga, the collaboration, and the coordination essential to its maintenance and to protecting the research communities it enables. This shared way of working is becoming more common, yet there is plenty to learn.

NeSI are openly exploring how we can bring greater value to, or reduce the risk of your research efforts, and of how best to refine the attributes of this sovereign platform and how we carry our shared responsibilities. We’ll share our experiences and insights, and welcome you sharing yours. Reach out anytime.